Chapter 5 — Quiz

Twenty-five questions to check your command of exposure for video. Mix of multiple choice, true/false (with justification), short answer, and "what's wrong with this shot?" perception questions. Answer from memory, then check the key at the end — and read the one-line explanations even for the ones you got right.

Multiple choice

1. In video, which control is treated as "pinned" and therefore not used to fix brightness? - A) ISO - B) Aperture - C) Shutter - D) ND filter

2. "A stop" of light means: - A) A fixed number of ISO points - B) A doubling or halving of the amount of light - C) The point where the image clips - D) One rotation of a variable ND

3. Raising ISO from 800 to 3200 is a change of how many stops, and what does it do to the image? - A) One stop; no effect on noise - B) Two stops brighter; more noise - C) Four stops brighter; less noise - D) Two stops darker; more noise

4. An ND8 filter removes how many stops of light? - A) 1 stop - B) 2 stops - C) 3 stops - D) 8 stops

5. The chief reason a video shooter needs ND filters far more than a stills photographer does is: - A) Video sensors are more sensitive to light - B) The video shutter is pinned by the 180° rule, so it can't be sped up to darken a bright scene - C) ND filters improve autofocus - D) Video files clip more easily than photo files

6. On the waveform, brightness is read: - A) Left to right, dark to bright - B) Bottom to top, dark (0) to bright (100) - C) As a circle, by hue - D) Only in shades of green

7. Which failure can you never recover in post? - A) Slightly underexposed shadows - B) A shot that's a touch too dark overall - C) Clipped (blown) highlights pinned at 100 - D) A face exposed one stop low

8. "Native ISO" (base ISO) is best described as: - A) Always the lowest ISO number on the camera - B) The ISO where the sensor is cleanest and holds the most dynamic range - C) The ISO the camera picks in auto mode - D) A setting only cinema cameras have

9. You're shooting a bright exterior at 24 fps, want f/2.8 for a soft background, and the image is badly overexposed with ISO already at base. The correct move is: - A) Raise the shutter to 1/2000 s - B) Close the aperture to f/16 - C) Add an ND filter - D) Lower the frame rate

10. A monitoring LUT is useful when shooting Log because it: - A) Records a sharper image - B) Shows a normal-contrast preview while the camera still records the flat Log file - C) Removes noise from the shadows - D) Replaces the need for a scope entirely

11. Zebras set to about 70% are commonly used to: - A) Warn of clipping - B) Meter a correctly-exposed face (stripes just kiss the cheeks) - C) Show the noise floor - D) Set white balance

12. The one exposure control that changes brightness with essentially no side fee to the image is: - A) ISO - B) Aperture - C) Shutter - D) ND filter

True / False — with a one-sentence justification

For each, mark True or False and say why in one sentence.

13. Raising ISO makes the sensor collect more light.

14. You can judge a Log exposure reliably by looking at the flat image on your camera's screen.

15. An ND8, a "3-stop ND," and a "0.9 ND" are three names for the same filter.

16. Closing the aperture darkens the image and deepens the depth of field.

17. Because underexposed shadows can be lifted in post, it's always safe to underexpose heavily to protect highlights.

18. A false-color palette is standardized, so the colors mean the same thing on every camera.

19. Auto-exposure that "breathes" (brightens and darkens mid-shot) is a sign of amateur footage that locking exposure would fix.

Short answer

20. In two or three sentences, explain why the exposure triangle "has one side pinned" in video but not in stills, and name the fourth control video shooters add.

21. State the order of the six-step exposure workflow from the chapter (foundation → note it), in brief.

22. Explain the reasoning behind "expose to the right" for Log — and the hard limit that stops you from overdoing it.

What's wrong with this shot? (perception)

23. A described clip: An outdoor interview looks great sitting still, but every time the subject gestures or the camera pans, the motion strobes and stutters with an unnatural, crisp jitter. The shooter insists their shutter is "fine." Diagnose the most likely cause and the fix.

24. A described clip: A talking-head is shot indoors with a bright window directly behind the subject. On the waveform, the skin sits low (around 25) and the window is a solid wall pinned at 100. Name both exposure problems, say which is fatal, and give one on-set fix.

25. A described clip: A dim, lamp-lit night interior. The image is bright enough and correctly framed, but the shadows are crawling with colored speckle and the skin looks like sandpaper. What almost certainly happened, and what were the two things the shooter should have tried before the choice that caused it?

More practice (mixed)

26. (Multiple choice) A cheap variable ND filter pushed to its maximum setting can introduce which artifact? - A) Rolling shutter - B) A dark cross or "X" across the frame, and sometimes a color cast - C) More sensor noise - D) Extra motion blur

27. (True/False — justify) A properly-made ND filter changes the color of your image as well as its brightness.

28. (Short answer) Explain in two or three sentences why native ISO can be a higher number than the camera's lowest ISO, and what you might lose by setting ISO below native.

29. (What's wrong with this shot?) A described clip: an outdoor shot at midday. The subject is squinting, the front of their face is flat, hard, and harsh, and the background behind them is nicely exposed. The exposure brightness is fine — but it looks unpleasant. Diagnose the problem and prescribe the setup fix.

30. (Multiple choice) In the six-step exposure workflow, when do you raise ISO? - A) First, before anything else - B) To set the depth of field - C) Last — only when you've run out of light and can't open up or add any - D) Never, under any circumstances

Answer Key

Topics to review by question