What do you think about creating a Black and White preset, then shooting?

M

MelonDome

First off, hello to all my fathers who I haven't seen in a long time. I've been working on A LOT of indy projects for film school kids to build a resume, and been cramming units at college. I still haven't forgotten the veterans and I still love you guys as mentors. I've been reading, but haven't been posting.

So I did some searching on the forums and I read that B/W is a dying craft because people don't know how to light it correctly. It seems most people just shoot in color and desaturate in post. Well, what if I created a black and white preset on the Xh-A1, so I can see only b/w on the view finder. That way I can have a good DP light accordingly to bring out the film nourish look? I'm interested in hearing thoughts and opinions. Thank you
 
Sounds like a solid methodology. To be honest, I don't think it's an issue of people being confused about how to light for b/w, but one of setting up the necessary additional lighting for the hallmark crisp contrast of film noir...imo, of course. I think some of our more experienced forum members can give you better advice, than I. :)
 
I agree that if it is a Film Noir look you want, it has more to do with lighting, achieving shadows in the right place, and camera angles.

I mean, I think if you could do a black and white through the screen, and ALSO give it the "grainy" appearance, it would be wild. Are you trying to capture the effect of maybe what old time camera operators saw through the viewfinder?


But of course, the world was black and white then anyway, and didn't come into colour till around 1950 ;)
 
If your DP is not experienced in lighting for b/w, setting your camera so you can see what the image looks like desaturated is a very good idea. Just make damn sure you won't change your mind later.
 
That's what we did on my last movie which was shot "noir" style. Pulled all the color out on the monitor so we could see what we were getting. The footage was actually in color as it went into the camera, then color pulled out in post, and the blacks crushed. It took about a half a day of me reminding my DP "Shadows are your friend Ron", for him to really get in the flow of the style.
 
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Great info guys.

Gonzo, I really like that idea. So you still shot in color, but made your viewfinder b/w. When you desaturated in post, were you satisfied?

See the problem about shooting in color and desaturating in post, is that you risk not efficiently capitalizing on the hard shadows on set.

I want to light the film similar to Raging Bull.





Gonzo_Entertainment said:
That's what we did on my last movie which was shot "noir" style. Pulled all the color out on the monitor so we could see what we were getting. The footage was actually in color as it went into the camera, then color pulled out in post, and the blacks crushed. It took about a half a day of me reminding my DP "Shadows are your friend Ron", for him to really get in the flow of the style.
Click to expand...
 
MelonDome said:
Great info guys.

Gonzo, I really like that idea. So you still shot in color, but made your viewfinder b/w. When you desaturated in post, were you satisfied?

See the problem about shooting in color and desaturating in post, is that you risk not efficiently capitalizing on the hard shadows on set.

I want to light the film similar to Raging Bull.
Click to expand...

Very satisfied. It was my first film and I made mistakes, but 1000% happy with the look. Unlike a lot of digital black and I have seen it looks "right". Pulling all the color out of the monitor allows you to see what the footage looks like desaturated so you can take advantage of the hard shadows. Here's the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odo8gIyOtRU
 
I learned a similar thing with my flip screen-the "brightness" was hiding the real lighting conditions and I didn't discover it until I put it on the computer.

Now I have the "brightness" turned off and use a monitor when I can, and adjust that accordingly.
 
Gonzo_Entertainment said:
Very satisfied. It was my first film and I made mistakes, but 1000% happy with the look. Unlike a lot of digital black and I have seen it looks "right". Pulling all the color out of the monitor allows you to see what the footage looks like desaturated so you can take advantage of the hard shadows. Here's the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odo8gIyOtRU
Click to expand...

Nice trailer! Congrats on the Lovecraft fest as well. The look of the lighting pays off - you just can't get the same look with "post only" no matter how well you can crush blacks.


To the OP:

Monitoring in B/W to better see what you are getting is a great idea, especially if you can create the setup under controlled conditions and with your post guy seeing the settings you are using to light by eye. That way s/he has a chance of matching it in post. The biggest thing though is to look at the scene as you are lighting it and deciding what you want the view to see, and what you want to obscure with shadow.

If you can find a copy of Alton's book "Painting with Light" you'll get a wealth of technique for the style you are shooting.
 
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