advice for black and white

[kari]

Considering doing something in black and white. What I would prefer is to shoot it in hd and then in post change it to black and white. I have tried this already and it appears something is missing...but I don't know what.

I am shooting a shop outside and inside and the shop is old fashioned. I am parking an old car outside of it and placing props that will give it a 1950's/1960's look.

Inside will require lighting which will be another experienment in and of itself.

This is for a commercial that I already posted already. In this commercial what I plan is to shoot the exterior of the building. Then the interior and then the beach as it is close by (stating in vo that its steps away from the beach).

I want to change from b/w to color then and show modern day.

Anyway, its a plan in my head right now. I was asking for advise on anyone who deals in black and white because I never really use it but for fun. This also has to translate to tv so I don't know if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GuerrillaAngel]

Film festivals don't like B&W shot on video. It does not look that great. If you're gonna do it anyway, proper B&W lighting is paramount -- each shot must have a lot of contrast.

Good luck.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Here is a video about lighting tips for film noir. I understand that you are going for more of an olden days feel rather than film noir, but it is definitely worth watching. I would also suggest watching Pleasantville and doing some experimenting with your equipment to achieve a similar look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzJbxCgEKdU&feature=channel_video_title

 

[kari]

Thanks! I am going to try to film an exterior shot old style (old props like old car and skates ect) and see whats it like in b/w in post.

Interiors I think I will stick to color.

 

[Lucky Hardwood]

Considering doing something in black and white. What I would prefer is to shoot it in hd and then in post change it to black and white. I have tried this already and it appears something is missing...but I don't know what.

Grain maybe?

 

[Chrisk]

It's all n the conversion. Simply desaturating the image will not cut it. Photographers use a variety of different techniques to get authentic looking monochrome. Maybe read up on some photography resources, you'll also get an idea as to why simple desaturation is not the key.
The most common technique is to just use the red channel, it's popular because that affords higher contrast with blue skies, akin to shooting through a red filter (incidentally a very strong red filter was used in old black and white films to make day shoots look like night, incandescent lighting would make it through the filter more than ambient daylight). Another popular technique is just to keep the luminance channel in lab mode but no real idea if you can do that in video, haven't looked into it.
On top of that a boost in contrast will take you a step closer to authentic black and white.
If you are looking for a very old feel early film materials where only sensitive to blue light, so use only blue channel. That has the effect of darkening lips and cheeks for higher contrast on faces.

 

[David.rhsc]

I am shooting a shop outside and inside and the shop is old fashioned. I am parking an old car outside of it and placing props that will give it a 1950's/1960's look.

You'll get the most mileage selling the look out of your production design, old car, costumes, the signage in the shop window, the objects on display in the window, etc. You could have the perfect b/w silver nitrate look and still not sell it if the frame is full of incongruities.

Grain maybe?

Yes, but more importantly, softness.

Take a look at old B/W films that aren't Noir; there's a softness to the image in general, but it is often quite enhanced (especially on leading ladies). Wide variety of ways to get there, but I'd be inclined to filter/net/nylon the lens rather than doing it after the fact. Not everyone likes to bake things into their image these days, so ymmv.

It's all n the conversion. Simply desaturating the image will not cut it. Photographers use a variety of different techniques to get authentic looking monochrome. Maybe read up on some photography resources, you'll also get an idea as to why simple desaturation is not the key.
The most common technique is to just use the red channel, it's popular because that affords higher contrast with blue skies, akin to shooting through a red filter (incidentally a very strong red filter was used in old black and white films to make day shoots look like night, incandescent lighting would make it through the filter more than ambient daylight). Another popular technique is just to keep the luminance channel in lab mode but no real idea if you can do that in video, haven't looked into it.
On top of that a boost in contrast will take you a step closer to authentic black and white.
If you are looking for a very old feel early film materials where only sensitive to blue light, so use only blue channel. That has the effect of darkening lips and cheeks for higher contrast on faces.

Also this.

Lots of filtration in b/w photography. Always save the actual desaturation for the computer, but the filtration can be done on camera just as well as in post. Also lets you (given the right monitor) light with the filtration in place and view the desaturated image (done by monitor, not by camera). Again, a personal preference and unless you have time to experiment with filters, I'd say you're safer with post-processing options. Light filtration (soft, maybe a coral?) might give you a little help though.

If you happen to be shooting a RAW image (RED, ARRI) then don't use strong color filters. Save that for the channel work that Chris describes. Works better that way apparently.

 

[knightly]

When converting from color to B/W, consider all 3 color channels as possibilities in differing amounts... They will get you much different results by playing with how they are blended.