How do I make my video B&W?
- Thread starter Litwak57
- Start date
1) Lighting.
2) Lighting.
3) Lighting.
So, did I mention lighting?
There are some good 'recipe' settings to help get a better result in-camera when shooting for B&W, try a search. To get a good B&W look you need to create a good contrast (again with the lighting...). Then apply a Color-corrector filter in FCP (or Color Corrector 3-way), desaturate and adjust your black levels & white levels to what you think looks best.
I made a short film last week for a film challenge and DID NOT adjust my camera settings for B&W....since, at the time, I wasn't planning to have it play in B&W. Had I known I would've shot it a little differently. It was in post that I thought our lighting created enough contrast to be able to pull off a decent B&W look.
Check it out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwxE3odiIb4
2) Lighting.
3) Lighting.
So, did I mention lighting?
There are some good 'recipe' settings to help get a better result in-camera when shooting for B&W, try a search. To get a good B&W look you need to create a good contrast (again with the lighting...). Then apply a Color-corrector filter in FCP (or Color Corrector 3-way), desaturate and adjust your black levels & white levels to what you think looks best.
I made a short film last week for a film challenge and DID NOT adjust my camera settings for B&W....since, at the time, I wasn't planning to have it play in B&W. Had I known I would've shot it a little differently. It was in post that I thought our lighting created enough contrast to be able to pull off a decent B&W look.
Check it out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwxE3odiIb4
Blaine
Mr. Hollywood
If you're really planning on doing B&W, you want your lighting to give you great contrasts so you won't have the typical flat look you get from merely desaturating the imagine in FCP. The editorial desaturation is quite simple. The cinematography required to achieve a good look isn't.
Dick Campbell
Veteran
So chstick, understand about the contrast lighting. What camera settings do you mean, and how do you set them (I'm shooting with the HVX btw.)
your clip was good, seemed to capture the effect well.
Well, had I known in advance that I'd make it B&W, I would've done a few things different.
I had my DVX settings set for recording a flat color image (as usual) so I could CC & manipulate in post.
DETAIL -7
ALL OTHERS 0
GAMMA Cinelike D
KNEE Auto
MATRIX Norm
SKIN TONE DTL ON
V DETAIL Thin
24pa
Once again, had I set out for B&W, I probably wouldn't have shot in front of a blank white wall. Other than that, the 'therapist's office' was OK and the actors were already wearing somewhat neutral colors. My friend had just acquired a brand new ARRI light kit and we were really just experimenting the entire 4 hours of shooting. I was going for a kind of 'color film noir' type of look (think LA Confidential). As you can see in my short film, sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. For what I would've done differently in-camera....
I probably would've bumped up the DETAIL to about -5 or -4. (to retain the edges just a little better)
Drop the CHROMA LEVEL to -7 (and maybe the CHROMA PHASE and COLOR TEMP to -1 or -2). this will help to get rid of DV artifacts and help create a little more 'organic' B&W look.
I may have also used a BLACK PRO MIST filter as well. (a low contrast filter could help give it more of a 'film look')
I've also read in the DVXuser forums that some people don't white balance (which they believe will give you less noise...i guess) however, I think you should always white balance...just in case, for some reason, you might need to, or want to go back out to color.
Thank you for the kind words regarding our short film, however, it was part experimental and part accidental.
Although I now want to go out and make a better B&W short.
Chris
I had my DVX settings set for recording a flat color image (as usual) so I could CC & manipulate in post.
DETAIL -7
ALL OTHERS 0
GAMMA Cinelike D
KNEE Auto
MATRIX Norm
SKIN TONE DTL ON
V DETAIL Thin
24pa
Once again, had I set out for B&W, I probably wouldn't have shot in front of a blank white wall. Other than that, the 'therapist's office' was OK and the actors were already wearing somewhat neutral colors. My friend had just acquired a brand new ARRI light kit and we were really just experimenting the entire 4 hours of shooting. I was going for a kind of 'color film noir' type of look (think LA Confidential). As you can see in my short film, sometimes it worked and other times it didn't. For what I would've done differently in-camera....
I probably would've bumped up the DETAIL to about -5 or -4. (to retain the edges just a little better)
Drop the CHROMA LEVEL to -7 (and maybe the CHROMA PHASE and COLOR TEMP to -1 or -2). this will help to get rid of DV artifacts and help create a little more 'organic' B&W look.
I may have also used a BLACK PRO MIST filter as well. (a low contrast filter could help give it more of a 'film look')
I've also read in the DVXuser forums that some people don't white balance (which they believe will give you less noise...i guess) however, I think you should always white balance...just in case, for some reason, you might need to, or want to go back out to color.
Thank you for the kind words regarding our short film, however, it was part experimental and part accidental.
Although I now want to go out and make a better B&W short.
Chris
Last edited:
When I mentioned those, I was referring to a post I ran across about a year ago where someone had detailed their DVX settings that, supposedly, would help yield the best B&W. I've been searching but have not yet been able to come across that post. However, I will attempt to try out my own personal B&W 'camera settings recipe' within the next couple weeks and let you, and the DVXusers, know how it works out.
In the meantime, I would appreciate anyone else's comments on what they think would help attain a better B&W image (in camera settings OR in post)
oh yea, this too
My apologies to Litwak57 for seemingly taking over his thread, but I am very interested and serious minded about trying to get a great black & white image out of a prosumer DV or HD camera (most notably my DVX-100B).
Also, my apologies to hoarp001, but, just adjusting the saturation is only one link in the chain (& mentioned twice already). Again, sorry.
If you just take anything you've shot and desaturate to zero, 9 out of 10 times you'll probably end up with a very flat looking image. You need lighting to create the appropriate CONTRAST be able to make it look good. If you look at the film GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, they spent something like triple their lighting budget (on lighting) to be able to achieve that great B&W look.
In addition to the lighting, there are things you can do 'in-camera' to improve your chances of getting better B&W once you bring it into post. I'm trying to find out what, of many, possible settings can help the effort. I have heard many things including using a red filter to lessen the red channel (which I can only assume would help once in post).
As for post (FCP), well it seems quite easy in comparison to all of the above.
Also, my apologies to hoarp001, but, just adjusting the saturation is only one link in the chain (& mentioned twice already). Again, sorry.
If you just take anything you've shot and desaturate to zero, 9 out of 10 times you'll probably end up with a very flat looking image. You need lighting to create the appropriate CONTRAST be able to make it look good. If you look at the film GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, they spent something like triple their lighting budget (on lighting) to be able to achieve that great B&W look.
In addition to the lighting, there are things you can do 'in-camera' to improve your chances of getting better B&W once you bring it into post. I'm trying to find out what, of many, possible settings can help the effort. I have heard many things including using a red filter to lessen the red channel (which I can only assume would help once in post).
As for post (FCP), well it seems quite easy in comparison to all of the above.