going to tackle slog3 and show you my reasoning behind exposure and also how to color grade it
these two go hand in hand and it's impossible to exclude grading from the conversation because the
way you plan to create can also affect the way you expose there are four ways i used to judge
exposure in s-log3. number one with my eyes number two using the camera's metering modes number three
using zebras and number four using an external monitor an external monitor is not essential but
it's definitely a more reliable solution i don't recommend using only your eyes because it can
be deceiving in certain lighting conditions but your eye is still a great way to quickly expose
especially if you're shooting indoors or in low light situations here you simply have to turn on
the gamma assist function on your camera to do a rec 709 conversion this will give you a flattering
image similar to what you will see when shooting on other picture profiles which makes shooting a
lot more enjoyable without the need for a monitor if you are used to exposing with your eye on other
picture profiles you'll feel right at home yet i recommend switching the lcd brightness to manual
with the brightness set to plus two at all times for consistency number two using the metering
modes here you have a bunch of options but the multimeter is the one i use the most especially
for run and gun type shoots this is not a one size fits all solution so it's important to understand
how it behaves in different situations first let's look at an ideal scene the reason i say this is an
ideal scene is because there's a good balance of shadows midtones and highlights and a multimeter
does a better job in a more balanced image now the popular opinion is to overexpose and shoot between
plus 1.7 and plus 2 where 2 presents 2 stops with a cap at plus 2 when it starts to flicker although
this method is safer can result in a lot more work because you have to bring down the highs and mids
to an acceptable level if you compare it to a scene shot at plus 1 where the skin tone took
priority you end up with brighter shadows but you sacrifice dynamic range in the highlights unlike
previous generation sony cams exposing correctly for skin tones won't give you noise in the shadows
but it depends on what you want out of your scene so here's the crux slightly overexposing will give
you more detail in the lows but you also sacrifice some range in your eyes overexposing means more
time in post where getting the perfect exposure is simply a click away from a beautiful image
here you get deeper blacks but more pleasant roll off in the highlights the choice is up to you the
more important subject to cover here is whether or not you can trust a multimeter because it
behaves differently depending on your scene your cardo meter jumps up to plus two and immediately
starts flickering the moment we introduce the haze that's because it's picking up a larger surface of
overexposed highs accentuated by the backlight and the two overexposed tube lights the overall
exposure didn't change but if the haze was there permanently you'd be inclined to drop the exposure
based on the flicker this also happens when filming into a strong backlight like the sun
where it's impossible to expose for everything the multimeter is highly sensitive to highlights
but unlike your eye it can't tell which part of the image you want to expose for
here's an example where even at plus 1.3 we're blowing out the skin tones way more than usual
in this case the reason the multimeter doesn't give us an accurate reading is because there's
a lack of highlights which causes the meter to lower its average it's only when we get closer
to plus zero where the skin tones are properly exposed so how does it work in this example you
can see how radically different the multimeter behaves when aimed at a scene with no highlights
to a scene with some highlights to seen with a lot of highlights even though they are lit with the
same strength the spot meter is a good alternative because you can identify the exposure of an exact
part of the image and yeah the highlights are the easiest since that's the part we want to expose
for you can also check yourself using the zebra function here you've got the option to customize
your settings and i use both c1 and c2 with c1 i focus on the mid tones with a standard setting on
50 with a plus t threshold the idea is to increase the exposure until the zebras start to appear over
the brightest parts of the skin you still have some freedom here to increase the exposure but
the limit is indicated when zebras previously there start disappearing like these two spots
on the face are a clear indication that i'm starting to reach clipping point by bringing
in a full light the multimeter is telling a different story but you can check yourself
using the zebras on the skin tones the great thing about zebras is you don't have to shoot with it on
and you can simply toggle it with a quick shortcut on the camera ultimately the best way
to expose using the zebras is to use a grey card brilliantly explained by gerald undone on youtube
the reason i'm not focusing on this method is because it's impractical for the average content
creator on day to day and in the field shooting if however you're doing a controlled setup like an
interview it's worth checking out as it will give you great results if you don't have skin tones to
measure the zebras do your next shot is using c2 with a focus on the highlights and your standard
settings set to 75. this is quite lower than what most users will suggest but for me it gives me a
solid indication of when i'm nearing overexposure as you can see the moment i hit zebras over my
main subject i know i need to go down a stop that doesn't mean i'm not allowed to see zebras
so going back to our first scene i'm ignoring the zebras in the areas that doesn't directly
affect my subject to prove the zebras are working you'll also see the multimeter starting to flicker
when the zebras appear so the colors do not see zebras in the relevant highlights in the scene
in this case the blouse now you might ask why i'm not using the histogram and the short of it is
that it's just not reliable enough the histogram is a great tool for stall photography but
ultimately what you're looking for is a waveform which leads me to my next point one of the great
perks that come with using an external monitor is the waveform and false color false color is
probably the easiest way to expose because you can see the exact IRE value on the relevant subject
in this example the book a clear indicator of highlights if i want an exact exposure
i would stop at 80 mark but for that slight overexposure i'll go up to 95 if i want more
detail in the shadows if you don't have clear white highlights your next target should be mid
tones which is also where your skin turns like so generally i would stay in the 55 to 65 IRE range
using the waveform is my personal favorite just because it's such a familiar picture in post
i use the waveform all the time when color grading so i already have an idea where i want
my highlights and midtones based on the light i plan to use if i don't have any specific lut
in mind i prefer to expose with a waveform before applying my rec709 monitor light
with the waveform it's easy to make the call based on where i want priority for example sometimes i
don't mind clipping the blacks if i really need to retain more extreme highlights the exceptional
dynamic range that comes with s-log3 is one of the biggest selling points of these cameras
and to never use it would be a crime when i say i prefer it over the easy profiles what i really
mean is that it takes me just one click to get my visuals to a point where you can already use it
and any additional adjustments is something i would have had to do anyway
if i'm striving for perfection at least in slog3 i have a better dynamic range to start with so if i
don't utilize the full range it's still going to look better than a baking profile as for grading
i did a detailed breakdown of my workflow now available exclusively on the alpha universe you
can watch it for free just click the link below and make sure you register for the event as it
will only be live for a limited time only if you want to see more videos like this one make sure
you check in from time to time as i often share tutorials exclusive to the platform and with that
i like to thank sony for sponsoring today's video if you still have questions let me know in the
comments and i'll do my best to answer thanks so much for watching and i'll see you in the next one