David, don't be too hard on yourself. Setting the proper exposure is not easy. The zebra pattern is only a guide. The way it works is as follows in principle:

Set the level - now, the JVC has somewhat 'approximate' settings; 60-70, 80-85, etc. and then 'Over 95' and 'Over 100'. To determine which setting you use and for what is very personal and individual. So, I will share what I do.

I use the 60-70 setting when shooting people-centered material. This setting provides guidance for proper exposure for Caucasian skin. If used (and the person is properly lit) approximately 30% of their face, namely the cheek, tip of nose, possibly parts of forehead would show the zebra pattern. It could get annoying to shoot with it on, so if the lighting is consistent (as with an interview, for example), once you set your exposure, you can turn the zebra off. Also note, that these rules don't apply for darker skins - the darker the person, the less zebra you would see.

If I am shooting landscapes I set the zebra to 'Over 100'. 100 indicates overexposure - in other words, areas cover with zebra over 100 will have little or no detail. For landscape shots I don't want to see any zebra on the ground but might get little in the white clouds or sun reflections on water, glass, chrome, etc. The overall amount of zebra in the frame should be minimal, perhaps some 10-15% maximum. I say this because in some conditions, i.e. partly cloudy, the areas covered by clouds might be too dark unless you compromise a little in the clouds. It's very much a judgment call.

Now, the most difficult is the situation where you are shooting with no control of lighting, location or anything else. You might (and likely will) find yourself making sacrifices and blowing out background in order to see the person's face - or keeping the face slightly underexposed in order to maintain some background. This will all depend on the situation, importance of the subject and the call you, as the DP will make.

Shooting a dramatic material is another whole chapter and the application of the zebra pattern , evethough in principle the same, in practice might be quite different. Just a quick example could be a dramatic scene in a dark basement: the actors may not have any zebra on their faces because you are conveying the fact that they are in the dark place. So, you are underexposing their faces by a stop or two on purpose.

Another example might be someone walking in a hallway with sun-lit windows. As they are passing by the windows, their faces are well lit and you'd see 70% zebra but in between the windows they get darker and no zebra would be visible. This is also another example of creatively determining WB: it could be that you don't want the image too warm and WB to the sunlight. The oposite is WB in the shade and let the sunlight put warmth on the people's face when they pass by the windows.

A lot of this is subjective and good results will come with experience. Good luck.

Exposure is one of the items that makes this "art". In today's technically oriented world, it seems there is a need to quantify, quantify, quantify. In the end, the image is a reflection of the sentiment one wants to convey. I'm not even gonna touch the "good art" vs "bad art" topic. Beauty is in the eye of the blah, blah. What makes digital video somewhat unique is that the LCD in the viewfinder is not a perfect reproduction of the scene that you record. Then art takes on a little good old Kentucky windage.

Thanks for that Jiri.

That makes much more sense to me now. The earlier test in the garden I had all but eliminated the Zebra (50% landscape and 50% sky), but the scene was underexposed this time. If I had left a small amount as you suggest here then I would've been pretty close, at least as close as I can get with the equipment I have. Slowly this is all clicking into place and once I have these fundamentals tied up I can worry less about the 'higher spec' worries!

I had read a bit of this situation on another thread (the guy, I forget who, recording in the church under an environment described by you above).

I go back a bit to the Neon lighting WB a bit back on this thread: Ironic as a project I want to get going (personal rather than commercial paid...though it all helps) has a scene set in a store in Chinatown here. I really like the work of Christopher Doyle in Asia and Chan-woon Park in South Korea: they seem to have a distinctive, green hue to them often set under these very same atmospheric neon's. With a couple of scene file plays and WB I'm hoping I can nail that one...!

Like this! http://www.scoutgallery.com/doyle_im...ges_5_2046.jpg

Yes - be great if I had access to a top range field monitor or even dedicated HD monitor at home, so yes I have to rely on that little fella!
Aye - good art/bad art...one man's meat is another man's poison...some might not be too keen on south Asian cinematography!

Kentucky Windage? :)

Kentucky Windage...

A term coined, I beleive, by us yanks, referring to the accuracy of the American Long Rifle during the Revolutionary War and later in the War of 1812. The kentucky Long Rifle was extremely accurate at long distances when placed in a skilled frontiersman's hands. The frontiersman knew, from experience, how to accurately compensate for the effect of wind on his musketball trajectory when fired over a long distance. The long rifle was most famous in Kentucky...hence the term kentucky windage refers to hitting a target at long distance by pure skill and judgment.

I like it Bill!!
I'm off out this evening with friends (rare 'pass out' from the missus!)
I'm gonna somehow squeeze that into the conversation and see who picks up on it! :)

Thanks.
 

Just a quick thanks for all your help and input over the past couple of weeks.
Fortunately the deadline for getting the footage in was extended. This enabled me to really hammer the points made on here into my synapses!
It's all now second nature for me to back focus check; white balance for each scene; check the zebra/exposure...etc.
I do all pretty much without thinking now and the resulting footage is far, far superior to the old 'winging it' days.
Bit of an art to manage the exposuse I find (using the zebra) - guidelines help but it's only when you consistantly check your work at the end of the day when you realise you may have slightly unexposed (getting buildings to be lit without blowing the sky takes a little practice).
Maybe a cliche to suggest that you're best learning from your mistakes, but these past couple of weeks have demonstrated how true that is.
Sorting out these fundamentals allows me to concentrate on the myriad other techniques/applications that you find in this game.

Thanks again folks.
Dave.

How do actually change the white balance to a level higher than 5600 on the HD200?