using light meter

[Mikko]

if I have Kodak's Vision 35mm film, ASA 100 and ASA 500 + S8 ektachrome films, and I'm shooting in a bar/club where is not so much light, how do I meter the light? From there where the camera is or where the person I'm filming is?

(did ya get it?)
thanks
M

[Nigel]

If you are using an incident meter then I would meter where they are with the meter pointing towards the camera. If you Spot Meter then meter what you want to expose for. If you have more detailed questions email me. Good Luck

[mattias]

hard one. measure at the subject towards the "key" light and you'll have a starting point. aiming the dome at the camera in the usual way usually doesn't work very well in low key situations. my best advice would be to shoot a polaroid or two.

when using vnf in a low key bar scene, make sure there's a lot of smoke in the air, and/or add a general fill at about 2-3 stops under your exposure or the contrast will make the picture look much too dark at best or milky and grainy if you're unlucky.

[ekoe]

mikko,
you always want to meter for the light illuminating your subject. from there, it depends on what sort of light meter you're using as to whether you can meter from the vicinity of your camera or not. if you have an incident meter (like a sekonic l-398, the sort with a white dome or plate over a photosensitive cell) you will need to hold the meter in the light illuminating your subject with the dome pointing toward the camera. if you have a reflective spot meter (the sort with a viewfinder, like the minolta l505), then you simply isolate the area you wish to meter for within the viewfinder. with the reflective meter, you could obtain a light reading for your subject from beside your camera, without having to meter from that respective light-pool.
i hope i understood your question correctly.
is this a student project? if so, contact your instructor so they can show you how to use your particular lightmeter. better to ask... before you sink the cash.
good luck.
-e.

[mattias]

ekoe,

neither of the methods you're suggesting -- while being the norm for high key scenes -- will work very well in a low key lighting setup. a spot meter would be necessary for a reflected reading to avoid getting too much black averaged in, and pointing the dome towards the individual lights is better for the same reason if you're using an incident meter.

[IndieFilmsOnline.com]

December 10m 2000

SHOOTING IN A CLUB
AT NIGHT

Here's the deal.
Grab your camera.
Put some 500 ASA or 800 ASA
film in it.

Point it toward something
interesting.

Open up your F Stop to
wide open.

Correct it in Telecine.

I have a light meter
that I use in dark clubs.
I hold it up in the light
hitting what I want to shoot.

The reading on the meter
says: NOT MUCH LIGHT

Then I turn the dial on the
back of the meter
and it says: OPEN UP ALL THE WAY

I use a Spectra Incident Meter.
They work great.

Look for Light Meters
listed on the Directory II page of http://www.Super8Directory.com

------------------
JOHN LONGENECKER |
Cinematographer |
www.IndieFilmsOnline.com | [email protected]

[IndieFilmsOnline.com]

http://www.Super8mmDirectory.com

------------------
JOHN LONGENECKER |
Cinematographer |
www.IndieFilmsOnline.com | [email protected]

[Mikko]

Thank you all!
I think the method John Longenecker said is the best for me, 'cos I'm shooting a document and while metering the light the whole scene might be over.
The filmstock that I have is not the Vision stock that I told. It's the older EXR (or something) I got them free 'cos they are old, but kept in cold. 5 rolls of ASA 100 and 5 rolls of ASA 500.
How about shooting sound without a soundcamera? (still talking about 35mm)
I use DAT tape. Editing with Avid or Beta edit. What problems I might come a cross?

Thanks!
M

[mattias]

well, assuming the level of light doesn't change much, you only have to take a new reading when you move to an entirely new camera position. shouldn't take that long? by the way, there's no way you can correct much in telecine if you've shot ektachrome. it has to be correctly exposed.