to shoot in BW or not to shoot in BW at DVinfo.net

Philippe Gosselin · November 27th, 2004, 10:57 PM

Hi all,

Just a quicky here : will shoot next week and the short film is in BW , if you were me would you :

a : switch the BW option on

or

b: shoot it in color and apply the BW while editing

Thanks to all in advance

Phil

Ken Tanaka · November 27th, 2004, 11:00 PM

Quickie Answer: b.

Philippe Gosselin · November 28th, 2004, 05:01 AM

And Ken is our winner for today ladies and gentlemen , and now a bonus question ,if answered correctly ,for 10000$ answer this :

Why?

HIHIHIHI :)

Mathieu Ghekiere · November 28th, 2004, 05:52 AM

Hey Philippe, I will be shooting one in BW also, and I asked the same question here and I got the same answer, but heh, with a little more clarification:

You have much more options. Although you probably won't do it, you can leave the thing in color, you can play more with settings in postproduction, add more contrast and such...

Like me, I'm going to work with some manipulation too (blue screen) so I NEED to shoot in color anyway, at least for a couple of shots.

It comes down to the fact that you have much more freedom afterwards.

Good luck!

Rob Lohman · November 28th, 2004, 06:25 AM

The single best thing you can do is TEST IT YOURSELF, on
something similar to what you will be shooting. The idea with
doing it in post is that you have much more control over HOW
you are converting color to B&W and how it will look. There are
multiple ways to create a B&W look.

It is adviced to bring a monitor with you that you can dial the
color out (if you shoot it in color and do B&W in post) so you
know what it will it more or less look in B&W and you can see
which colors give you problems (that look the same in B&W).

However if you test it yourself you can see if that works for you
or if you want to shoot in B&W directly. I would go for the post
option as well.

Ken Tanaka · November 28th, 2004, 01:01 PM

Mathieu and Rob covered the answer, Phillipe. Unlike b&w film, b&w video is an applied affect. That is, you are always recording color information on video. Shooting in regular color and monitoring in b&w (or using a camera that offers a b&w viewfinder) best facilitates establishment of correct lighting and exposure while enabling you to make the most of your post-processing alternatives.

Have fun.

November 27th, 2004, 10:57 PM	#1
Philippe Gosselin Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Montreal , Canada Posts: 197	to shoot in BW or not to shoot in BW Hi all, Just a quicky here : will shoot next week and the short film is in BW , if you were me would you : a : switch the BW option on or b: shoot it in color and apply the BW while editing Thanks to all in advance Phil

November 27th, 2004, 11:00 PM	#2
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Quickie Answer: b. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

November 28th, 2004, 06:25 AM	#5
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	The single best thing you can do is TEST IT YOURSELF, on something similar to what you will be shooting. The idea with doing it in post is that you have much more control over HOW you are converting color to B&W and how it will look. There are multiple ways to create a B&W look. It is adviced to bring a monitor with you that you can dial the color out (if you shoot it in color and do B&W in post) so you know what it will it more or less look in B&W and you can see which colors give you problems (that look the same in B&W). However if you test it yourself you can see if that works for you or if you want to shoot in B&W directly. I would go for the post option as well. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 28th, 2004, 01:01 PM	#6
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Mathieu and Rob covered the answer, Phillipe. Unlike b&w film, b&w video is an applied affect. That is, you are always recording color information on video. Shooting in regular color and monitoring in b&w (or using a camera that offers a b&w viewfinder) best facilitates establishment of correct lighting and exposure while enabling you to make the most of your post-processing alternatives. Have fun. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

November 28th, 2004, 05:01 AM	#3
Philippe Gosselin Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Montreal , Canada Posts: 197	And Ken is our winner for today ladies and gentlemen , and now a bonus question ,if answered correctly ,for 10000$ answer this : Why? HIHIHIHI :)

November 28th, 2004, 05:52 AM	#4
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	Hey Philippe, I will be shooting one in BW also, and I asked the same question here and I got the same answer, but heh, with a little more clarification: You have much more options. Although you probably won't do it, you can leave the thing in color, you can play more with settings in postproduction, add more contrast and such... Like me, I'm going to work with some manipulation too (blue screen) so I NEED to shoot in color anyway, at least for a couple of shots. It comes down to the fact that you have much more freedom afterwards. Good luck!