how to get a monochromatic look?

[nycineaste]

I want to be able to make videos that are monochromatic, low saturation, practically black and white. I saw a film called "Red Shoes" today that was largely green. I think Minority Report is another example, being basically desaturated and blue.

As a side note I see this as a vital skill, since I won't have a production designer and a set/costume budget anytime soon.

what do you folks do for this? I know I should experiment, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts about using, lets say, curves, versus a tinted version, versus levels, and in what order, I dunno. Is magic bullets "tint" control best for this? I have vegas and magic bullet editors, just wondering what other's procedure might be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2bmImPNKbM

 

[William_Robinette]

As a side note I see this as a vital skill, since I won't have a production designer and a set/costume budget anytime soon.

This is going to be your biggest hurdle. Not saying it can't be done and not to be a downer but having good production design and costuming will get you 90% of the way there. This is one area where really knowing what you are putting in front of the camera is going to help the look you have in mind much better then trying to push colors around in post. Especially if you are not recording to a robust and malleable medium.

 

[nycineaste]

Especially if you are not recording to a robust and malleable medium.

Yes, this is the genesis of the question! I've been noticing, while experimenting extensively with the color correction tools in vegas, that it's not that easy to push the colors where you want them yet have good contrast/blacks, no banding or other weird cheap-looking side effects, etc.


On my last short I DID manage to get a color scheme going with props- I do know color theory, so I had props that were all warm, (yellow, orange, red, brown) I shot it warm (balanced to daylight), and the whole thing worked. I should probably be grateful I know how to do this and repeat the process, since its clear the options for this kind of stuff on no budget are limited.

 

[kylevant]

This is going to be your biggest hurdle. Not saying it can't be done and not to be a downer but having good production design and costuming will get you 90% of the way there. This is one area where really knowing what you are putting in front of the camera is going to help the look you have in mind much better then trying to push colors around in post. Especially if you are not recording to a robust and malleable medium.

I completely agree with this. This kind of look is 90% in the production design and costumes. Look at Wes Anderson for a great example: he loves yellow, but usually the source of all that yellow isn't from the grading but rather from the production design.

I always say that grading is just there is enhance what you already have on camera, and that what separates the big guys from the small guys: production design.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

I want to be able to make videos that are monochromatic, low saturation, practically black and white. I saw a film called "Red Shoes" today that was largely green. I think Minority Report is another example, being basically desaturated and blue.

As a side note I see this as a vital skill, since I won't have a production designer and a set/costume budget anytime soon.

what do you folks do for this? I know I should experiment, but I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts about using, lets say, curves, versus a tinted version, versus levels, and in what order, I dunno. Is magic bullets "tint" control best for this? I have vegas and magic bullet editors, just wondering what other's procedure might be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2bmImPNKbM

I shot B&W film for years. Only shooting 'color' for Weddings. So, after 'years' of seeing the scene, then eventually seeing the B&W result one develops a sense for what is going to work relative to how colors map into 'contrast' of B&W.

I'd recommend the tried and true "Wratten 90" filter to 'monochromatize' the scene for you to evaluate until you develop the sense of what happens.

Even though you mentioned having 'some color', I think the exercise of going to B&W then to a 'tone' is still valid. Even with just desaturation and maintaining some small amount of color, the exercise will benefit.

The procedure I use typically is to make a B&W track, then layer that, and use layer modes to bring down the saturation, rather than the more direct path... Just something about the 'desat' function that doesn't yield what I look for...

 

[David Jimerson]

A few notes on color: yellows tend to make more pleasing whites than white; reds often make for good greys or blacks. Red is usually darker than blue.

You really want to test as much as you can before you try to shoot. And remember, contrast is pretty much your only tool for bringing out detail. Things you might rely on in color won't necessarily do anything for you in B/W.