Fundamentals Of Lower Cost Filmmaking (LCF)

Chai TeaThe other day I was sipping a Chai Tea Latte at my local Starbucks when the Barrista, who has known me for a year or so, asked  "So you're a filmmaker, right?" The follow-up questions made it clear he was considering how to do something similar either as a hobby or professionally, but didn't know how to start.

I get these kind of questions pretty regularly but for some reason this time it stuck in my head and I began asking myself what advice would I have for someone interested in starting as cheap as possible and growing from there  - in other words Lower Cost Filmmaking or LCF. So this blog post is about a few ideas I came up with for a person with little or no background who just wants to do something to get started.

I thought I would begin by discussing some gear related issues and in later posts get more into the creative and planning aspects.

FILM - A GOOD ENOUGH WORKING DEFINITION
Okay, I never went to film school but here's a working definition.  To get the obvious out of the way, the "films" I will be concentrating on here are more precisely digital videos that are created with a film aesthetic and technique.  So with that in mind, I am defining film as 

 a motion-based (versus still image) visual presentation focused on story.

Yes, that's very broad and that's exactly my intention - to me it doesn't matter how the work is distributed or displayed, how long it is or even so much what the exact content is so long as at some level there's a story.  

But please, let's not get stuck on academic arguments on what is and is not a film.

IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING THE CHEAPEST
The specific suggestions I make may not be the absolute least expensive options out there but they are definitely lower cost alternatives when compared to professional-level gear.  Here's a challenge, do you think you could make a great movie while owning no video camera at all?  Impossible?  Notice I said "own" - don't forget you can rent just about anything - in the long run renting may or may not save you money but it's a great way to get a feel for a camera or other gear with minimal up front investment.  In Hollywood, practically all the equipment they use, including cameras and lights, are rented for the duration of the project and then returned.

CAMERAS
Technically you can make a "film" just using a series of still images - it's called animation  - but I am concentrating here on cameras that capture traditional video.

On the low, low end the iphone, Flip video cameras and similar models can get you started. How about something like the GoPro cameras - certainly that could be an interesting way to go too.  In fact, some of the cameras that are not "professional" at any level are in fact a great way to dip your toes in, to see how you can work around the camera's limitations while empowering yourself, the filmmaker, to focus on creativity and story.  Even a webcam could work assuming you can figure out some way to lug around a laptop while filming.

Now I am going to do something that may surprise you…I am going to skip over the most obvious entry level camera solutions - video cameras that are designed to basically capture your vacation, birthdays and other family events - what we generically call camcorders.  In many ways those cameras can be a step up from something like a Flip or iphone but basically the video they produce looks more like a sitcom or America's Funniest Home Videos than anything reminding me of "film."  Cost wise, camcorders are not even the least expensive way to go.

Canon GL1My first "real" camera was the Canon GL1 - at the time it cost me something like $5,000 and as I recall it shot at HDV resolution (less than "full HD") but did have 3 sensor chips which was one of its big advantages.  For a few months anyway it was kind of the cool new camera to have in that price range.  Today, for that same $5,000 I could buy TWO cameras that are so good they are used for every day TV shows, commercials, feature films and anything else you can think of.  Best yet, you'll still have money left over for a very good 50mm lens.

If you do find yourself going the camcorder route - despite my earlier comments, don't sweat it.  You can still make something very exciting and engaging, even make it look like film if you work hard enough at it.

One of the best available tools for someone interested in filmmaking are actually cameras that are mostly thought of as the kind used to photograph still images - DSLRs.  Most all of them have some kind of video capability and the best ones have huge sensor chips in them giving you the ability to not only film in less light but also to acheive very film looking images.  They are not perfect and are definitly more of a challenge to work with than say an iPhone or camcorder but my bottom line opinion is that it is so worth it.  

That's why my top recommendation for the person starting out is to get a DSLR still camera that shoots video in at least 1280x720 resolution, that has interchangeable lenses and which, ideally, accepts sound from an external microphone.  If it only has a small built-in microphone, we can work with that too for entry-level projects.  Here's something else you really, really want to look for; a DSLR that gives you full manual control of aperture, shutter speed and ISO in movie mode, not just when capturing still images.

I used to film with a more traditional professional video camera but I sold it in order to get into DSLRs.  The camera I use now is definitely on the low end but it's possible to get fantastic results with it - much better than with any other camera I've ever owned.  It's the Canon T2i which you can get with a so-so kit lens for $650 or less.  (I'd suggest buying the camera body alone first for about $500 and then spending $300 or so on your first lens - Canon makes a great 50mm)  I've written extensively about the camera elsewhere in my blog so I won't belabor the point here but instead go to something that is hugely important - sound.

SOUND
Good sound is just so critical to creating a watchable film that it's impossible to overstate just how important it is.   DSLR cameras capture awful sound on their own yet I still recommend them over many other alternatives.  That's because the sound my audience hears in the finished film is almost never the sound captured by the camera itself but was instead captured by a totally separate microphone attached to an external recording device.  That audio becomes the "real" sound for my film.

The sound captured by the camera is only used so that I can in editing sync the good "real" sound to the crap fest audio captured by the camera, then I basically throw the camera-captured sound out.

One little technique I strongly recommend is that you look for a DSLR camera that has an input allowing you to connect an external microphone - that way the sound captured by your camera will be much better, maybe even good enough to use in your finished film under ideal conditions but mostly it is there to give you a better audio source to sync your "real" sound to.

EXTERNAL RECORDERS AND MICROPHONES  
Zoom H4NFor external digital recorders you have lots of options…the most popular one right now is probably the Zoom H4N but it sells for $300 which may be too expensive to start off with so look around online for options.  

Ideally you want a digital recorder that has XLR mic inputs to match your external recording microphone and something that records in an uncompressed audio format like wav, au or aiff.  But if your digital recorder of choice only has a mini plug input you can buy XLR to mini-plug adapters easily.

In terms of selecting your external microphone itself I would start by looking for a shotgun style mic which will mainly record the person speaking without picking up too much sound from the sides or behind the microphone.  You'll have to figure out how you are going to place any mic you settle on.  For interviews, lots of people use wireless lavaliers which are the small tie-clip style microphones you see news anchors use.  But you may be able to get away quite easily with wired lavaliers which are much less expensive and can provide quite good sound - you just have to hide the cable and they are not great when the person being mic'd is moving around a lot.  A shotgun mic is usually either held by a stand and hung over the subjects head just off frame or is put on a "boom pole" and then someone holds the pole over their head making sure the microphone is always pointed to the mouth of whomever is speaking and that it is not being seen in the shot. This type of arrangement may or may not work for you depending upon the project and the particular scene.   Unlike wired lavaliers a boom operator/sound recordist can usually move themselves to follow a speaker that is moving around.

RECORDING ALL DIALOGUE IN STUDIO
Depending upon how creative you are with your project you may even be able to get away with recording no sound at all during production but waiting until the main photography is done and then recording all the spoken audio in your "studio" which may be nothing more than a spare, quiet room with a laptop and external microphone. 

Even in Hollywood they often replace the actor's dialogue that was recorded on set with sound recordings made in a sound studio where they have much more control.  Of course that means the actors (or whoever is speaking on screen) has to re-record their exact same words while matching lip movements and emotional overtones - that's not something that would be practical to do for a documentary project but for a narrative film you might be able to do something with what the pros call "non sync sound."  I've never really tried it myself.

LIGHTING - CHINA BALL
As you progress, you will discover that lighting is a lot more than just making sure you have enough light for the camera to see - it can heavily impact the feeling of the scene and be an important part of the overall storytelling.  Light, shadow and color go together and are powerful tools.  Up until recently capturing any kind of usable video required lots and lots of light.  All that lighting gear can get very expensive very fast but here again there are great alternatives including those of the "do it yourself" variety.  You may have begun to notice all the gear that is involved in filmmaking - moving all that stuff around, packing and unpacking it, setting up etc. takes time and even more when things break.  So my thought is look for ways to simplify your setup when you're starting out and that goes for lighting too.

If you'll pardon a moment of humor:  one thing that's very fashionable for film people to say to each other over drinks is "oh, no, no, no,  I never use artificial lighting - that's just so...well, "artificial" isn't it and I really hate how all that stuff just clutters my set - therefore I only dare film with available/natural light."  At this point, for a bit of extra pinache you may want to throw in the name of same famous director, painter or black and white stills photographer and talk about how your lighting is inspired by one of their most obscure works.  Sounds a lot cooler to say than I couldn't afford to buy any lighting gear and I don't know how to use it anyway, doesn't it?

"China Ball"First of all, DSLR cameras, if you go that route, have incredible low light recording capabilities which means  you can get away with just using whatever light is around and maybe some cheap reflectors to bounce light where you need it.  A great cheap alternative are "China Balls" - the round paper and balsa wood shades that go around standard lightbulbs.  These very cheap lights actually give off a nice soft light and can easily be hung from a ceiling or even attached to something like a boom pole on a stand and hung over the talent.  

You may be thinking of using hardware store halogen lights that are typically housed in yellow cases and can be used either on a stand or simply placed on the floor.  Many people starting out do actually go that route but just be aware that these blasters are very hot and can be dangerous to handle - even setting stuff on Electric Cord for China Ballfire if you're not careful! The light they give off, while very bright, is rather glaring and what we call "hot." They will give you blasts of uncontrolled light and create harsh shadows which may not be too pleasing.   Skip them if you can.

There are however lots of cool alternatives that can be found right there in the same hardware store aisles.  For instance, you might take a look at those banks of fluorescent tubes that typically are hung from ceilings.  You can mount them vertically on some kind of stand and insert soft, daylight temperature bulbs to give you pleasing light that is much safer to use and won't burn your hand if you touch it or cause your talent to sweat buckets if placed too close to them.  Why not take a look at the aluminum cone type workshop lights that have claps for attaching them wherever you need them.  Instead of using conventional light bulbs with them, try compact fluorescent bulbs or maybe even the ones with small LED lights inside.  Then find some material to cover the opening of the cone to diffuse the light.  One great trick is to find parchment paper that is used in baking - you want the white bleached kind not the normal style which is often brown - these convenient sheets are designed to not burst into flames and can be held onto your lights with something as simple as a clothes pin or office paper clamp.  Don't confuse these sheets with wax paper - that could cause quite a mess!  I've heard ordinary typing paper can work too but be careful about not getting it too hot.

MOVING THE CAMERA SMOOTHLY AND KEEPING IT STILL
No one likes to watch movies that utilize so much swaying, handheld camera work that it makes you physically nauseous.  Yet having motion in the frame is a technique that can make a rather boring shot much more interesting so the trick is to know when to use motion and how to create smooth motion with your camera. 

Manfrotto 561BHDV-1Handholding small cameras without any kind of support system is very iffy and the more zoomed in you are on your lens the more each small movement will be exaggerated.  You can use software to stabilize footage during editing but the results are often not satisfactory.  Bottom line, get a tripod to start off with and not one you bought at an electronics store like Best Buy.  Good tripods are expensive so buying used is something to consider for the Low Cost Filmmaker.  One in-between solution is called a monopod which as the name suggests has only one main leg (like a walking stick) but it can do a lot to improve the steadiness of your shots.  The one I recommend is from Manfrotto and is called the 561BHDV-1 - it currently sells for about $270 on Amazon.com which is a real super bargain when compared to tripod prices.

EDITING
It's pretty obvious you are going to need a computer to edit all your raw camera footage into your final video.  Even though the upfront cost is higher I recommend Macs because they come built-in with most everything you are going to need including a video editor called iMovie which, for an entry-level editor, is actually quite remarkable.  There's also iPhoto to manage and do light editing of your still images.   If you go the PC route check out Adobe Premiere Elements - you can buy a bundle with Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements together for under $120.  

FORM A TEAM
You'll have a much better time and maybe even learn faster if you team up with some friends on your film projects.  Ideally one person can be in charge of lighting, someone else sound and then a third person on camera.  Although one person can do it all - it's a lot to keep your eyes on and understand for the beginner.

WHAT TO CREATE FIRST
I would suggest that you consider a minute "mini documentary" as your first project because it's relatively easy to get started, all you need is an interesting person to profile or issue - interesting to you that is.  There are many elements you can put together to form your documentary film including interviews, audio, music, text, background video (called "B-roll" in the film/tv industry), and motion or still graphics.  You'll find tons of great example documentaries on sites like Vimeo and YouTube to inspire and teach you.  

Cool New Mic For DSLR Video Filmmakers

Rode just announced the Rode VideoMic HD-  a fantastic looking microphone built especially for we HD DSLR video shooters.  What's so neat is that it includes both a headphone jack AND a built in recording capability using microSDHC cards.  I can see this being a great backup to the DSLR's built in mic and a worthy successor in their well-reviewed VideoMic lineup.

No price or availaiblity information has been released yet.

Of course, if you've ever attached any external microphone to your DSLR and somehow forgot to turn it on/power it up what happens is that the camera records NOTHING, nada.   Have I ever done that?  Hmmmm, yes.  

Here's another thought:  I am curious what would happen with this new mic if you did power it up but then opted not to plug it in into the side of your DSLR - would it still work as a standalone recorder?  I think it probably would.  The normal mode of operation would be to, naturally, plug the Rode VideoMic HD in and that would vastly improve the quality of the sound being recorded along with your video.  I still plan on using my Zoom H4N for my true production sound which captures the audio from my wireless mic setup but this new Rode gives one an extra bit of security so far as having some good backup sound just in case your dual sound setup fails for any reason.

Here are the full list of specs released by the company on their new offering:

• Integrated digital recorder (microSDHC)
• RF-bias, true condenser shotgun microphone
  (based on RØDE NTG3 technology)
• Line and Mic (mixer) inputs (with 'plug-in' power)
• High level headphone amplifier for monitoring
• Three-level High Pass Filter (0, 75Hz, 150Hz)
• Integrated Blimp wind protection and shock mounting
• Multi mode outputs 
  (Dual mono/split 0db and -10db for auto safety/dual mono + 20dB)
• High frequency 'boost' switch for increased intelligibility at distance miking
• Utra-lightweight metal casing
• Quick release mounting system

Documentary Rig - Canon T2i, BeachTek, Rode Video Mic, Z-Finder

I am about to leave Northern California to head out for a 5 day assignment in Los Angeles to direct and film a documentary project. This will be a challenging project because I am going to be filming in situations where I probably won't have the luxury of attaching mics to everyone beforehand and will have to be very mobile to catch the real life action as it happens - so this means sometimes going handheld.

 Here's the rig I came up with - not too fancy but functional. The camera body is my trusty Canon T2i, in its hot shoe I've mounted the Rode VideoMic. Normally I film using a dual sound setup that relies on wireless lavalier mics and the Zoom H4N but because I needed to be able to record more spontaneously I went for this mic after I experienced a little bit of drama with another Rode I will tell you about in a second.

If you are wondering how the audio workflow will work - it's pretty simple "sync sound." The Rode VideoMic of course captures the audio and through the mini-jack cable sends the signal to the BeachTek. I then have another short mini-jack cable that takes the output from the BeachTek and sends it to the T2i - so the audio is being recorded along with the video file. I am sending the T2i a stereo signal but the left channel has a 20HZ tone added to it which is how the BeachTek defeats the Automatic Gain Control function built into the T2i. During editing I will split the channels apart and throw away the LEFT track.

To the T2i body I will attach a Canon 24-70mm 2.8L USM lens which I rented specifically for this project. When not using the 24-70mm I will be working my standard lens which is the Canon 50mm 1.4. To the T2i I have attached another rented piece of equipment - Canon's BG-E8 battery grip with a couple of Canon LP-E8 batteries. The grip adds a nice amount of weight to the camera, helping with stabilization, and comes with an optional battery holder designed to hold 4AA batteries which is nice for an emergency situation.

Below that is mounted the Zacuto Z-Finder loupe which allows me to see the LCD screen no matter how bright it is outside and makes possible pin-point focusing. ( I believe I have the 3x model) Because I am using the battery grip I also had to rent a special extended frame for the Z-Finder which raises it up so that it can sit level with the T2i's LCD screen.

Screwed into the bottom of the Z-Finder's Gorilla Plate is the BeachTek DXA-SLR audio adapter. This device defeats the T2i's Automatic Gain Control function and gives me the ability to monitor sound as it is being recorded. I had a few difficulties getting it set up properly but in the end I think the majority of my issues had to do with the shotgun mic I tried to use at first before I settled on the Rode VideoMic. That mic was the Rode NTG-2 which is very nice for voice over work but just wasn't delivering enough signal strength to use the BeachTek effectively.

I have a small quick release plate for my tripod screwed into the bottom of the BeachTek so that I can quickly rest my arms and shoulders after hauling this package around. So, like I said, this is for handheld work and as you can tell I don't have any rails or shoulder mounts but I think just the increased weight alone will help me get steadier shots than I would just using the T2i without any of the additional gear. Frankly, this is going to be a bit of an experiment - I will use my traditional setup for sit down interviews where I have the time to set things up in advance.

DSLR's require a lot of extra steps to use them properly but the results are SOOOO worth it. For instance, I actually have at least 3 things to make sure I turn on and set correctly if I want to get useful video out of this rig. First I have turn on the Rode VideoMic (it has a small power switch that is easy to overlook in the heat of the moment but fortunately if it's not powered on I won't hear anything in my headphones so that should clue me in, ha ha!) - Next of course the camera has to be turned on (I'm unlikely to forget that one!) and finally there's a power switch on the BeachTek. The BeachTek has a variety of dials and switches on it too which must be set properly to get the desired results but for the most part it's set it once and forget it.

Actually there's a fourth power button on the Battery grip but since I don't use any of the controls I just leave that one off. Look for my next post where I will share how everything worked out.

Perfect Canon T2i/550 Exposure - The Video

This video is the follow-on to my recent blog post titled: “The Perfect Aperture, Shutter Speed or ISO To Use For T2i HD DSLR Video”

In it, I attempt to answer the second most popular Google search query leading visitors to my Web site: “how to know what aperture to use when filming T2i.”

The answer MAY surprise you.

Perfect Canon T2i/550 Exposure - The Video from Steve Crow on Vimeo.

The Perfect Aperture, Shutter Speed or ISO To Use For T2i HD DSLR Video

First off, let me say that my headline is very misleading. Simply put, there is no single absolutely "correct" or "perfect" shutter speed, aperture or ISO setting for any given scene.

I wrote the headline this way on purpose to reflect the second most popular Google search query leading visitors to my Web site. As you can see in the screen grab below, " Crow Digital Media" is the number one query but right there at number two is: "how to know what aperture to use when filming T2i." Up until now I haven't had any content answering this question, for several good reasons.





Interesting...I wanted to investigate this question in depth to see if my gut instincts on this topic are "correct" (there's that word again!) or if I'm crazy as a loon.

Something seems very off base about the question itself. For instance, why didn't they ask what the "correct" ISO or shutter speed is? Basically, the question comes down to exposure - I think the real question they have is "what is the correct exposure for this particular scene and how do I get it?" And I have a very precise answer: "it depends."

EXPOSURE IS A CREATIVE CHOICE, RARELY A TECHNICAL ONE
This is the crux of my view on the matter. Any exposure that isn't so blown out or underexposed that it takes away from your view of what the image should be is, in my view, "correct."

There is software and hardware called Waveform Monitors that allow you to determine if your video follows the "Broadcast Safe" standards set by the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) and their 0-100 scale. These technical requirements tell you if your whites in the scene are "too white" or the darker areas "too black" but even those standards are designed for TV broadcasts in the United States - they were never meant to be applied to footage destined to be shown on a movie screen, in Europe or to a video on YouTube. In other words, they don't really apply to you unless you want to show your stuff on TV or cable.

WE ARE CREATIVE FILMMAKERS ALLOWED TO MAKE CREATIVE EXPOSURE CHOICES
Remember that scene in the movie "Apocalypse Now" when Marlon Brando, playing the terrifying and presumably insane Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, moves his face out of the shadows and then just barely into the light to confront Martin Sheen, the Army officer sent to kill him? Would anyone say that scene was "under exposed?"

Had our Canon T2i traveled back in time to be on that movie set, its built-in light meter would no doubt have said a big "YES" but it would be as incorrect as it could be. Why? Because that scene was carefully lit and filmed to fulfill the director's vision. The shadows were used to great effect so that we could hear Brando's voice coming out of the dark before we ever saw his shaved head move into the smoke filled light. Had the scene been filled with more light we would have lost that chilling moment.

What exposure does my scene need in order to best tell the story is the question you should be asking yourself first. Next we'll talk about how to achieve it with your T2i.

GIVE ME THE CAMERA SETTINGS ALREADY!
Okay, Okay, here comes the geeky stuff all you gear heads (like me!) really wanted to know in the first place. No matter if you are taking still photographs with your T2i or filming 1080p HD video, your exposure is controlled by three settings that all work together:

• Shutter Speed


• Aperture or "F stop"


• ISO

Changing any one of these three settings will make your video darker or lighter. You do have your T2i set to fully manual exposure control for video don't you? If not, go into the camera settings and make that change right away. Yes, it means more work for you but it's worth every bit of initial pain and learning to master your craft.

For me, one of these settings almost always stays the same no matter how I set the other two. Because of the "180 degree rule" my shutter speed is basically kept at 1/50th of a second since 99% of the time I film my video at 24 frames per second to help achieve a more filmic look. The only time I would change it off 1/50th would be if I wanted to do a slow motion scene in which case I would have to first set my T2i to film at 720p/60 fps and then I'd change the shutter speed to be closer to 1/30th of a second.

So that leaves me with two controls with which to adjust the overall lighting in my scene as captured by the camera: ISO and aperture.

One of the great things about shooting video with HD-DSLRs is the amazing range of ISOs we can now select from; anything from 100 to numbers in the thousands depending upon your camera. A rule of thumb is to stay below 800 ISO in order not to introduce too much noise but, as always, rules were made to be first understood and then broken.

That leaves aperture. In my mind, aperture is your greatest tool. Different lenses will give you different aperture options but the lower the aperture number the more light will be let into your scene.

TURN ONE UP, THE OTHER DOWN
I find this process very similar to color grading your video footage, if you raise one value up, your next move is generally to move another slider down. Likewise, let's say I want to achieve a shallow depth of field look to my footage of outdoor plants and flowers filmed on a sunny, California afternoon. That's my creative vision of the scene.

To achieve it, the first camera adjustment I make is to lower the aperture setting to something like 2.0 for the shallow depth of field but now my entire picture is blown out, there's simply too much light hitting the camera's sensor. I want to keep my new aperture setting and I can't change my shutter speed because it's already set to 1/50th where I like it - so that leaves only my ISO settings.

So in this case to compensate for the blown out scene I would want to lower my ISO until I get the image I want.

But what happens if I dial my ISO all the way down to 100 and the image is still too bright? In that case there is one other option. You can purchase Neutral Density (ND) filters that screw to the front of your camera's lens and cut down the amount of light by up to 8 full stops. There are even a couple of manufacturers that make adjustable, rotating filters that give you anywhere from 2-8 stops of...errrr..."less light."

So basically I am always juggling different combinations of aperture and ISO settings to get the image I want, sometimes using a set of ND filters to help out when shooting outdoors on bright sunny days if I want to keep my aperture setting open to achieve that shallow depth of field look.

DIFFERENT SETTINGS, SAME EXPOSURE
Because shutter speed, aperture settings and ISO can act to negate or enhance each others effects in sort of a push/pull relationship, it's mathematically possible to film two different video clips that look nearly exactly the same yet each clip used different exposure settings.

In fact, author Bryan Peterson points out in his famous book on photography titled "Understanding Exposure" that depending upon the lens attached to your camera, you will have no less than six different aperture/shutter speed combinations that result in the same overall exposure (you may notice differences in the overall sharpness and definition of the image however.)

All Aperture/Shutter Speed Combinations with the same “Exposure Value” number are more or less equal. This chart doesn’t take into account ISOs.

Even though video shooters may be more likely to manipulate aperture/ISO settings than aperture/shutter speed, the same idea applies.

THE T2i THINKS IT KNOWS WHAT EXPOSURE YOU SHOULD USE
I can't tell you how it works but the software inside your camera has a formula it uses to determine what the "correct" exposure should be. But really it's only an estimate and it can't take into account your creative choices like wanting to purposely darken or lighten a scene. Still it tries.

If you press the shutter button halfway down and hold it (even while in video mode) you will notice a rectangular marker underneath a small, ruler-like graphic called an "exposure compensation meter." It measures from -2 on the left to Zero in the middle and +2 on the far right.



From the camera's perspective, it wants you to have that rectangular marker set at Zero, if it's at +2 it means it thinks your image is 2 points overexposed. Therefore the camera thinks that if you can lessen the amount of light in the image by 2, you will have achieved "correct" exposure.

This can be done by lowering the ISO, closing down the camera's aperture so less light is let in or changing your shutter speed to a higher number meaning the shutter is actually open for a lesser amount of time. You could change all 3 values, two of them or just one - the camera doesn't really care. In fact, you could not change any settings on the camera itself and instead screw on one of those ND filters to let in less light into the front of the lens and that would work too.

There's a two button combination you can use (the AV +/- button and the scroll wheel) which together will allow the camera to semi-automatically adjust your overall exposure up or down to get that marker right in the middle.  I've recently begun testing  to see if I can determine what values the camera changes in order to "correct" the exposure but so far the results are inconclusive.

But remember, our T2i's light meter is only a tool, WE are the filmmakers and may decide to overrule the camera's helpful suggestion.

EXPLORERS OF LIGHT AND LIGHTBOXES
Canon has assembled a prestigious panel of some of the best photographers in the world under their "Explorers of Light" program. While most of us will never be members of this select group, we are all still explorers of how light works and how light or darkness can be used to achieve our vision.

It occurs to me that I haven't mentioned one other huge area of lighting and that is the use of artificial light or reflectors. By changing our camera settings we are changing the way our camera reacts to the light in a scene, but there's always the option of changing the light we are working with, by adding to it, taking light away, changing the color of the light, reflecting it or even diffusing.

On a Hollywood film set that's what the Director of Photography is in charge of, as DSLR cinematographers we should learn from their bag of lighting tricks. After all, we are now filmmakers.

NOTE:  I'll be releasing a video on this topic in the next couple of days, it's already in editing!