This is how James Cameron used a light meter to shoot The Terminator within its B-movie budget

Director James Cameron attends the American Cinematheque 30th Anniversary Screening Of "The Terminator" Q+A at the Egyptian Theatre on October 15, 2014 in Hollywood, California.

Today, the Terminator franchise is a pop culture juggernaut. But back when the first movie was filmed, in 1984, James Cameron was a "less than zero" B-moviemaker working with a budget that was nowhere near enough for the scope of the project.

However, it was Cameron's guerrilla filmmaking tricks – including using a light meter to dictate where he could film the potentially budget-crippling night shoots on the cheap – that enabled The Terminator to go from potential sci-fi schlock to a $78 million blockbuster that spawned one of Hollywood's most enduring franchises.