shutter speed, background and

You've got it. The camera will allow you to adjust that setting for a while before you have to press the shutter half way again so you don't have to hold the shutter down all the time you are adjusting. If you want the image a little brighter move the level to the right a bit, a bit darker to the left. Dead center is the camera's idea of properly exposed.

azpix wrote in post #2940625
Do you just press half way and watch on the exposure level indicator until it gets to 0 and that is properly exposed according to the camera?

Yes, except if you just accept the camera's exposure value you might as well have been in an auto mode in the first place !
It's normal to switch to manual because the scene is tricky (predominantly light/dark, backlit, etc) and you want to give more or less exposure than the meter is suggesting.