Appendix A: Camera & Exposure Reference

This appendix condenses Chapters 2–5 — the camera-and-image foundations — into a scannable field reference: the numbers you actually reach for on set, in one place. Everything here is a starting point to adjust for the story, not a recipe or a rule. When you want the reasoning behind a table, go back to the chapter it points to. Notation follows the book's conventions: frame rate in fps, shutter as an angle or fraction, aperture as an f-number, ISO as a whole number, focal length in mm (quoted full-frame-equivalent where sensor size matters), aspect ratio as a ratio, and "a stop" as one doubling or halving of light.

A.1 Frame rate — the look of motion (Ch. 2)

Frame rate is a look, not a quality setting. Higher is smoother, and smoother is sometimes exactly wrong.

Decision rules: pick one frame rate for the whole project and stay on it (the exception is slow-motion inserts you plan to slow down); deliver at the rate you shot; choose 24 fps on purpose for anything that should feel like cinema — using 60 fps for a story piece gives the cheap "soap-opera" look.

A.2 The 180° shutter rule (Ch. 2)

The rule, as arithmetic: shutter ≈ 1 / (2 × frame rate). A 180° shutter angle exposes each frame for half its duration, which is the amount of motion blur the eye reads as natural. The shutter is a motion setting, not a brightness control.

Break it only on purpose: a faster shutter (smaller angle — 1/500 s, 90°, 45°) freezes each frame for a sharp, staccato, tense feel; a slower shutter (near 360°, toward 1/24 s) piles on blur for a woozy, dreamlike smear. Never raise the shutter to fix a bright day — that wrecks your motion. Cut the light with an ND filter instead (see A.8).

A.3 Resolution & aspect ratio (Ch. 2, 23, 36)

Resolution is the pixel count — how many "buckets" hold the picture. Note that 4K is four times the pixels of 1080p (double width, double height), so roughly four times the storage and computer load.

Shoot progressive (p), not interlaced (i). The pro reason to capture more resolution than you deliver is reframe headroom — punch in, reframe, stabilize, and fake a second angle inside one shot without softening the delivery. The cost is storage and editing load, managed with proxies (Ch. 27).

Aspect ratio is the shape of the frame. Decide it before you shoot and frame for it on set — you can crop a 16:9 capture to a tighter shape, but you can't add what the frame never held. (Exact platform specs change; confirm current delivery targets in Ch. 36.)

A.4 Capture format quick guide (Ch. 3)

The one honest question that drives every format choice: "What will happen to this footage in post?" Match the format to the whole pipeline — card, computer, skill, deadline, delivery — not to what sounds impressive.

Codec vs container. A codec is how the picture is compressed (H.264, H.265, ProRes, DNxHR); a container is the file wrapper/extension (.MOV, .MP4, .MXF). The extension names the box, not the codec inside — which is why a file that "won't import" is almost always a codec problem, not a container one.

Bitrate & cards. Bitrate (data kept per second, in Mb/s) is how hard the image is compressed — higher means more detail kept and larger files. For anything you'll grade, or that has skies, shadow detail, or busy motion, shoot the highest bitrate your card can sustain. Compression damage (banding, macroblocking, smearing) is baked in and permanent. Watch the units: bitrate is megabits (Mb/s), card write speed is megabytes (MB/s), and there are 8 bits in a byte — so 200 Mb/s ÷ 8 = 25 MB/s of writing. Buy cards rated comfortably above that (look for Video Speed Class marks V30/V60/V90 — the number is the guaranteed minimum MB/s).

Bit depth + chroma subsampling — the two numbers that decide whether footage survives a grade or a key. Invisible on set; visible the instant you push it.

The flexibility ladder — climb only as far as the job and your pipeline actually need.

Two traps to avoid: 8-bit Log (grading a flat 8-bit image bands badly — pair Log with 10-bit or shoot a good standard profile) and reaching for Log or RAW "to be professional" with no grading plan or pipeline to carry it. And the one card rule that protects footage you can never re-shoot: never format or reuse a card until its footage lives in at least two other places (offload, back up, then confirm it imports and plays — the seed of the 3-2-1 rule, Ch. 37). Compressed RAW formats you'll hear named include Blackmagic RAW, Apple ProRes RAW, REDCODE, and Canon Cinema RAW Light.

A.5 Focal length — what each range says (Ch. 4)

Focal length is a storytelling choice: it sets the viewer's relationship to the subject. Quoted here as full-frame-equivalent, because sensor size changes what a bare mm number frames (see the crop-factor table below). Remember the threshold idea: perspective — how deep or compressed space looks — is set by camera-to-subject distance, not by the lens. A longer lens compresses only because it lets you shoot from farther away.

Sensor size & crop factor (Ch. 2) — the number that converts a real focal length into its full-frame-equivalent framing. A smaller sensor "crops in," so the same lens frames tighter.

A bigger sensor buys low-light performance and makes shallow depth of field easier — at the cost of size, weight, and pricier lenses. It's a trade, not a ranking.

A.6 Aperture & depth of field (Ch. 4)

Aperture does two jobs at once: it controls light (A.7) and depth of field. Read as an f-stop, where a smaller number is a bigger opening and more light — and a shallower zone of focus.

  THE f-STOP SCALE (each step = one stop = half the light of the step to its left)

   f/1.4     f/2      f/2.8     f/4      f/5.6     f/8      f/11     f/16
  (  O  )   ( O )    ( o )     ( o )     ( · )    ( · )    ( . )    ( . )
   BIG hole  ------------------------------------------------------>  small hole
   more light ----------------------------------------------------->  less light
   SHALLOW depth of field ------------------------------------------>  DEEP depth of field
   "wide open"                                                        "stopped down"

Depth of field is the front-to-back zone that looks acceptably sharp. Three levers make it shallower (more background separation), and they stack:

1. Open the aperture (smaller f-number: f/8 → f/1.8)
2. Use a longer focal length (35mm → 135mm)
3. Get the subject closer to the camera (and farther from the background)

Reverse all three for deep focus (everything sharp). Shallow isolates the subject — "composition by subtraction," the cheapest way to direct the eye and hide a messy room. Deep keeps context and is miss-proof for run-and-gun. Bokeh is the character of the out-of-focus blur, not merely that it's blurred. Decide depth of field on set — the edit can't refocus a soft shot or cleanly blur a deep one, so err a hair deep on anything critical.

Prime vs zoom: a prime is one fixed focal length (usually sharper, faster, lighter — makes you move your feet); a zoom covers a range (flexible for fast reframing when you can't move). On a phone, favor the main "1x" lens (best sensor and optics), treat the values between the named lenses as fake digital zoom, and know that "portrait mode" computes its blur in software (watch its edges on hair and glasses).

A.7 The exposure triangle for video (Ch. 5)

Exposure is overall brightness; a stop is one doubling or halving of light — the single currency every control is priced in, which is what makes them interchangeable. The video twist: the shutter is pinned by the 180° rule (A.2), so you balance the image with the levers that are left.

                       EXPOSURE (overall brightness)
                                  △
                balance these  ╱     ╲  balance these
                              ╱       ╲
                        ┌── ISO ──┐ ┌── APERTURE ──┐
                        │ gain /  │ │ f-stop /      │
                        │ noise   │ │ depth of field│
                        └─────────┘ └──────────────┘
                    ╔═══════════════════════════════╗
                    ║  SHUTTER = PINNED (180° rule)  ║  ← never move it for brightness
                    ║        1/50 s @ 24 fps         ║
                    ╚═══════════════════════════════╝
                    ┌───────────────────────────────┐
                    │  ND FILTER — subtracts light,  │  ← the "free" lever
                    │  no image cost                 │
                    └───────────────────────────────┘

Every lever moves brightness by the same currency (stops), but each charges a different side fee:

One currency, four wallets: a stop of ISO = a stop of aperture = a stop of ND. Take a stop away in one place, hand it back one-for-one somewhere else — no arithmetic.

A.8 ISO & ND decision reference (Ch. 5)

ISO amplifies the light already captured — and amplifies noise with it. Keep it at or near your camera's native ISO (also base ISO), the setting where the sensor is cleanest and holds the widest dynamic range. Native isn't always the lowest number: many stills-style cameras base around ISO 100, many cinema cameras around ISO 800, and some have dual native ISO (a low base and a second, higher base that stays clean for low light). Look up your camera's native ISO(s) once and note them. Raise ISO only as a last resort — a slightly noisy shot you can see beats a clean shot too dark to use, but noise is baked in and de-noising in post softens real detail.

Dynamic range — the span from darkest to brightest a camera holds in one exposure — sits around 12–15 stops on modern sensors (approximate; makers measure it differently). The eye handles far more (often cited as ~20 stops), which is why many real scenes hold more range than the camera can, forcing you to choose which end to protect.

The ND ladder — three industry names for the same darkness. Each row down removes one more stop (halves the light again).

So ND8 = "3-stop" = "0.9" — the same filter. A bright, sunny day often needs ~6 stops (ND64) to hold f/2.8 at 1/50 s and native ISO. Fixed NDs are cheapest and most color-accurate (you swap them); a variable ND dials a range with a twist (convenient, but cheap ones add a color cast or a dark cross at extremes); matte-box/drop-in NDs mount on larger rigs. Phone path: pin the shutter near 1/50 s with a manual app, then add a clip-on ND so the pinned shutter survives daylight. Take the ND off when you move into dim light.

A.9 Reading the scopes (Ch. 5)

Judge exposure on a scope, not your eye — your vision adapts to the room and the screen, and camera displays are tuned to look punchy, not accurate. These read the actual signal.

Skin placement: a common starting point on a standard (non-Log) image is skin in the upper-middle, roughly the 60–70 region of the waveform — bright enough to read, with headroom before clipping. Meter the actual face in front of you: a deeper skin tone sits lower than a paler one, and forcing every complexion to the same number exposes some people wrong. False color is your best tool for placing this person's skin correctly.

Protect the highlights (the asymmetry that governs bright scenes): clipped highlights (pinned at 100) are gone forever — no grade recovers detail that was never recorded. Underexposed shadows can be lifted in post, at a noise cost. So when in doubt, err dark — better a touch under than blown. Note: the false-color palette is not standardized — learn your camera's three key colors (clipping, correct skin, noise floor) and trust them.

Exposing Log: never by its flat grey eye-look. Preview with a monitoring LUT (shows a normal-contrast image while the flat Log file still records), and/or read false color and the waveform against your camera's published middle-grey and white targets. You may rate Log a touch brighter to lift the shadows off the noise floor — but only until important highlights and skin approach clipping. Highlights win.

A.10 Settings starting points (Ch. 2–5)

Starting points to adjust — never recipes. Frame rate 24 fps / shutter 1/50 s throughout unless the piece calls for otherwise (the pinned foundation). Set ISO to native; move brightness with ND (bright) or aperture/light/ISO (dim); judge on a scope.

The walk-up order on any camera (Ch. 2)

  1. RESOLUTION + FRAME RATE   ← set once per PROJECT (e.g. 4K, 24 fps)
  2. SHUTTER (180° rule)       ← derived from frame rate: 24→1/50, 30→1/60
  3. EXPOSURE (ISO / aperture / ND) ← right brightness WITHOUT touching shutter (Ch. 5)
  4. WHITE BALANCE             ← make white look white for the room       (Ch. 12)
  5. FORMAT / CODEC            ← how it records: quality vs card space     (Ch. 3)
  6. AUDIO                     ← levels and a mic; sound is half the picture (Ch. 14)

The repeatable exposure workflow (Ch. 5) — run top to bottom, every time

1. Lock the foundation. Frame rate → 180° shutter. The shutter is now pinned; don't move it for brightness.
2. Set ISO to native — your cleanest starting point.
3. Choose aperture for the story — the depth of field the shot wants; treat brightness as a side effect.
4. Balance the light on a scope, not your eye. Too bright → add ND. Too dark → open the aperture, add light, then raise ISO (last).
5. Place the subject, protect the highlights. Skin in the upper-middle; nothing important pinned at 0 or 100.
6. Lock it and note it. Write down frame rate / shutter / ISO / aperture / ND so every shot and take matches — consistency is what makes a scene cut together and lets a colorist balance it once.

For the full reasoning, worked examples, and the diagrams behind every table here, see Chapter 2 (sensor, resolution, frame rate, shutter), Chapter 3 (codecs, bit depth, color, Log, RAW), Chapter 4 (lenses, aperture, depth of field), and Chapter 5 (exposure, ISO, ND, scopes). Software-specific menu paths for scopes, LUTs, and proxies are translated across editors in Appendix E.