 Hello again, and hope you're well. Over the last two videos, we tore apart two very talented directors' work, and we learned how they use light and camera walks to generate interest. We explored two such as anal zones and why they are better than false color, and briefly discussed contrast ratios. Due to more popular requests, we'll be breaking down some of those terms in detail so we understand better. One of those terms is contrast ratio. Now, we have all heard this term before. What exactly do they do, and how can we apply them to the process of filmmaking? Well, let's start by defining it. The contrast ratio of an image is the luminance or the brightness difference between the brightest part of the image and the darkest part of your image. In cinematography, we get to calculate contrast ratios and stop, as other mediums such as photography and display industry use exponential ratios. For now, let's dig to stop. While photography world uses f-stop, the cinema world uses t-stop as it speaks to the light transmission that happens through the lens when light passes through the iris of a lens. A scene or an image is generally populated with different light values, and we can understand or communicate them easily by using stops. When an item is said to be a stop brighter, it means it's twice the brightness of the reference value, whatever you're comparing to that's what I mean by reference value. If it's two or three stops brighter, what that translates to is that it's four times the luminance or eight times the brightness of the reference value, as it is calculated exponentially. There are two kinds of contrast ratio that you may likely use. Your key light to your feel light or key to feel light is called or your key to your background. Something to know is that the higher your contrast ratio, the moodier your image will get. To measure your image contrast ratio, you will need tools such as your light meter, EL zones on cameras or monitors. And right now there isn't a standard between manufacturers, even what they consider their IRE to represent. Do you even know what IRE stands for? The Institute of Radio Engineers in 1895, well 1895, that was when the Lumiere brothers made one of their first films. They didn't even have sound back then. But we're basing our exposure on radio signals from 125 years ago. And of course a waveform monitor and histogram is a guide, but it wasn't specific enough for me. And then when the digital world came in, I thought why couldn't I interpret my image through 18% gray? And that would give a standard to all camera manufacturers, be it Airy, Sony, Panasonic, or Red, 18% gray is 18% gray. We could then take a frame grab from the digital chip and you could see a representation of the exposure in your frame and how much detail in either the highlights or the shadow area you want to hold. One would be able to create a frame grab of a scene and recreate it exactly in the exposure values at a later time. Which is actually a plug-in tool or a properly designed show lot calibrated to first color. We usually call technical lots because they are designed for the specific functions of helping cinematographer understand what's going on within the image. Let's digress for a bit. So I've set up a couple of scenes that actually shows the dynamic range of several images using Ed Lakman zones, which is also known as EL zones. And as you can see in this range, you could see the dynamic range that exists in the picture. And this begs an interesting question that exists that dynamic range is not only applied to just the camera, which is also like the bucket that actually can house this data sum of information, but also the scene you're dealing with has its own dynamic range of which you can use your conscious ratio of painting the creative user that you're doing high key, low key or silhouette or depending on what the story calls for. You could take all this information and distill them in actually picking your camera in the pre-production process to set up yourself for success. And this will inform whether you're using light control devices such as flags or rags or nets or diffusion to be able to either lower the dynamic range of the scene or expand it more to the artistic intent of the scene. And it just makes the whole concept of conscious ratio and dynamic range a little bit more robust and interesting. So let's get back to the conversation, the main conversation we had going. If the conscious ratio is set up in pre-production way ahead before the show or the films that it will help the DP and the gaffer to quickly light up and set up quickly and also lead to more image consistency rather than finding it by feel on the day or may not or may lead to several inconsistencies that would happen with the exposure of the image. More work for the colors, you know, right? But an experienced cinematographer will know how to navigate all of this with ease as lighting is one of the major contributors in creating mood as the other collaborators such as wardrobe, the set pieces and most of all the performance of the talent. Maximus Decimus Peridius, commander of the armies of the North, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true Emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife will have my venues in this life or the next. Also, while in location scouts, you can quickly lend the dynamic range of your location, giving the available light present by using your light meter and this may also help inform your prep process in choosing the right camera that would have the proper dynamic range suited for the challenges of that project. Now here are some things to keep in mind when understanding conscious ratio. First ever again, like we said at the beginning, conscious ratio refers to the difference in the brightness between the brightest and the darkest area of your image. A high conscious ratio will create a dramatic and moody look while a low conscious ratio will create a soft and more natural look. Consider your subject matter. The conscious ratio you are choosing should reflect the tone and the mood of your scene. For example, if you're shooting a horror film, a high conscious ratio will lead to deep shadows and brighter highlights and can create an ominous dark scary mood. On the other hand, if you're shooting a romantic scene, a lower conscious ratio with soft light can create a more intimate and romantic atmosphere. Consider also your location. The lighting environment you're shooting in will affect your conscious ratio. If you're shooting in a shadowing and dark location, you may want to use high conscious ratio to emphasize the darkness and also create a sense of tension. If you're shooting in a very bright open-lit open space area, a lower conscious ratio may appropriately create some naturally looking mood. And sometimes you may have to flip the rules on your head and that's where your skill as a cinematographer comes into play. Using things like negative fields to take away light, shaping and sculpturing light to actually deliver the mood of the scene or creating a high conscious ratio by using more negative fields and more light control tools, or by actually introducing more light and opening up the shadowy area to actually make it more alive. Now that's the skill of a cinematographer. Also, choosing your lighting equipment carefully can also impact the entire conversation of conscious ratio because the type of light you use can have a very big impact on the conscious ratio. For example, if you use hard light like Fresnel's because of their lenses, they are very hard light. They create strong shadows. You can create more contrast by placing them at an angle that creates deep shadows. If you use soft lights like diffuse softbox, you can create more evenly lit and naturally looking less conscious look. Also, balancing your exposure, it is important that you ensure that the highlights and the shadows are properly exposed as we're exposing your highlight can lead to blown out looks like we already know. Well, when you're exposing your shadows can lead to creating very muddy and dark look. If you ever watched the last season of Game of Thrones where we all complain of how difficult it was to see into the shadows who was who, now that's a reference example of a dark muddy look. You will need to adjust your light and camera settings to expose your image right. This is where we can actually now go into whether we're exposing high key, low key or you're exposing an image to become a silhouette. High key is when your background is actually matching the levels of luminance of your key or it's higher than your key. Low key is when your background is darker or is black than your key. The silhouette is when the key is underexposed or black against a properly exposed or bright background. Overall, conscious ratio is an important factor to consider when lighting for your film at its greatly affect the look and feel of your scene. By understanding principles of conscious ratio and carefully choosing out your light equipment, you can create the mood and atmosphere that suits your subject matter and your location. Tag us on an Instagram handle with your best intriguing image you have that shows your unique contrast ratio and stand the chance to win a Canon C17 camera package for one day. Winners will be announced in the next video. The context is open to all those who live in the Lagos area. So until next time, look out for yourself, be safe during this election and improvise, adapt and overcome and look forward to all your images and who's going to take away the prize. Thank you.