Lights, camera, action! In this tutorial, we’re diving into the basic building blocks of great filmmaking. From aperture to shutter speed to frame rate, we’ll guide you through the fundamentals of getting a good exposure. To make things easy, we’re drawing from the diagram of the exposure triangle originally created for photographers. Thanks to our friends at Shutterstock, we’ve even got a free bag tag featuring the triangle for easy reference on your next shoot. (Download it below).
Let’s start at the very top of the triangle with aperture and how your iris can affect your depth of field. Aperture is the opening of a lens diaphragm — how much light passes through and reaches your camera’s sensor. The measurements for aperture are focal stops (or f-stops), which actually scale in a way you might find illogical. But don’t worry, we’ll break it down for you.
Depth of field is the distance around your focal point that is also in focus. If your subject is in focus, with the rest of your image blurred out, this is called shallow focus — or having shallow depth of field. You achieve this look by using a lower f-stop. On the other hand, if you use a higher f-stop, you can maintain detail and focus throughout the entirety of your shot. This is known as having a large — or deep — depth of field.
Now, let’s talk about ISO. Altering your ISO means changing how sensitive your camera is to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive it’ll be to light. The higher the number, the more sensitive it’ll be. But be careful not to raise the ISO too high, as this can yield a poor image by adding “noise” or “grain” to your footage.
Shutter speed is the refresh rate of your camera — or how long each frame gets exposed to light. With a higher shutter speed, we’re going to get crisper images, which are great for action films or fight scenes since they capture so much detail. Lower shutter speeds are going to have some blur in the motion, which will actually feel more natural to your audience.
Frame rate is how many frames your camera is capturing per second. The industry standard for filmmakers is 23.98 frames per second — or 24p. This is the classic cinema look to which we’ve all become accustomed over the years.
So, we’ve covered everything in the exposure triangle — and even discussed a bit extra. Now you’re set with the basic building blocks to becoming a great filmmaker. Experiment with all of them and be sure to check back in with us here at PremiumBeat for more advanced tips.
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