Exposure

How much light the image is given: the sum of aperture, shutter and sensitivity. Not a technical chore; the first draft of mood.

Exposure is a budget with three purses: the iris's width, the shutter's patience, the sensor's eagerness. Balancing them is the cinematographer's continuous act, and the balance point is expressive before it is correct, the same room can be rendered morning-bright or evening-heavy by intent alone.

Correct exposure is a convention, not a law: faces read, highlights hold, shadows keep their secrets. Placing the scene against that convention, a stop under for weight, protection for a window's glare, is where mood begins. Our dark visual language is, at root, an exposure philosophy: underexpose the world, spend the light on one thing.