Cinematography Pre Assessment Quiz

A cinematographer needs to achieve an exposure of f/8 on a subject using a 1000W tungsten light positioned 8 feet away. The light has an efficiency of 80%. Given the inverse square law and assuming no diffusion, what would be the required distance from the subject to achieve the same exposure at f/4?

• A) 4 feet

• B) 11.3 feet

• C) 16 feet

• D) 22.6 feet

You are lighting a scene with an HMI light rated at 1200W, with a color temperature of 5600K. You plan to dim the light by 50% to reduce exposure. By what percentage does the light intensity decrease, and how will it affect the color temperature?

• A) 25% intensity decrease; color temperature remains the same

• B) 50% intensity decrease; color temperature shifts warmer

• C) 75% intensity decrease; color temperature shifts cooler

• D) 50% intensity decrease; color temperature remains the same

A cinematographer is shooting at 24 fps with a shutter speed of 1/48th of a second. If they switch to shooting at 60 fps and want to maintain the same motion blur, what should the new shutter speed be?

• A) 1/60th of a second

• B) 1/96th of a second

• C) 1/120th of a second

• D) 1/240th of a second

You’re lighting a subject with a key light at 5600K and need to balance it with a 3200K tungsten fill light. What gel would you apply to the tungsten light, and how many stops of light will be lost as a result?

• A) Full CTB; approximately 2 stops

• B) Full CTO; approximately 1 stop

• C) Half CTB; approximately 1 stop

You are shooting a scene at ISO 800, f/5.6, and a shutter speed of 1/50th with a natural light source. The key light is measured at 320 foot-candles. You need to reduce the exposure by 2 stops to avoid overexposure. What should be the new foot-candle level of the key light?

• 80 foot-candles

• 160 foot-candles

• 220 foot-candles

• 40 foot-candles

What is the inverse square law in relation to lighting?

• Light intensity increases proportionally to the square of the distance from the light source

• Light intensity decreases proportionally to the square of the distance from the light source

• Light intensity remains constant regardless of distance from the light source

• Light intensity decreases linearly with the distance from the light source

In a typical Hollywood lighting setup, what is the purpose of a "topper"?

• To provide additional soft fill light from above the subject

• To control spill light from hitting the ceiling

• To block light from reaching the top part of the subject, creating shadows

• To diffuse the key light evenly across the subject's face

What is the primary role of a "best boy electric" on a film set?

• Operating the dimmer board for controlling lights

• Supervising all the grips on set

• Assisting the gaffer with electrical distribution and management

• Handling the organization of camera equipment

What type of light modifier would you use to create hard shadows on a subject's face?

• Softbox

• Fresnel lens

• Scrim

• Barn doors

Which of the following phenomena is responsible for color shifts when shooting under certain LED lights, particularly at specific dimmer settings?

• The Kelvin shift effect

• The CRI (Color Rendering Index) fluctuation

• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) frequency fluctuation

• The Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) anomaly