Black & white videos versus color - is there a preference

[MichaelL_Photo]

Hello Everyone,

I was recently looking at some old 1950s and earlier films containing quicksand scenes - my favorite is Tarzan's Hidden Jungle with that amazing sinking scene with Vera Miles. But there are many others...

So, I got to thinking - do the old black & white films add to the drama? Does it make the quicksand sinking scene more dangerous looking? These older films had a higher contrast and stronger lighting, too.

Nearly everything put out today (in movies as well as the video clips) is in color - naturally, this works exceptionally well for the more sensual and erotic scenes, where you get to see skin tones, hair colors, even the color of the model's eyes. However, for the dramatic sinks, I'm thinking the black & white just might have an upper hand.

Just some random thoughts for a Friday.

Mike
SDVP

[Water333]

I'd be down for a black & white scene

[dlodoski]

Robert thought about this and offers a scene in both black & white and color versions.

As far as shooting in color and rendering it as black & white, in the not-too-distant past, this would have resulted in a mediocre look. I have not tinkered with them, but now there are some pretty sophisticated filters that could make it look right - with the high contrast etc. Combined with a film grain filter, it could be rather catchy.

In any case, I would consider following Robert's lead and offer both versions.

[Fred588]

Some video players, such as VLC can display a color video as black and white (the effect is called sepia) and can even add film grain.

[Duncan Edwards]

Black and White has it's place but it's about more than just and absence of color. If you really want to use it properly it's about light and contrast. You can do things with shadows and high key light that will give you the mystery and drama you may not get from color. In 2012 I threw together a scene with a "vintage" look and thought about asking the editor to render it in b/w but the light just wasn't there. While it was hardly serious work it would have looked "cute" but not better. If I ever get another shot at something like that I may try a little harder to get it right. Technology makes it possible to do more with color now than you ever could before. In 1980 you couldn't approach the contrast range of b/w without a lot of light but now digital color will do all kinds of neat tricks. Anyhow, if the subject matter and photography were right it might be cool to tinker with.

[MadMax359]

if there were two versions, i'd probably prefer the color one... but i have to admit, this black & white shot of "Jane Parker" looks great

[Fred588]

This is, of course, only my opinion, but as a producer who must pay attention to the budgetary side of film making, I think just about all attempts at any kind of retro look should be done in post production rather than with the camera. While it is true that such an approach might not work quite as well as doing something by design, the retro approach also involves some loss. To put it simply one can render 4k footage to 2k but you cannot render 2k footage to 4k. Yes, I do know that black and white footage can be colorized but that is VERY expensive and not at all the same as shooting in color, especially HDR color.

[mudxdresser]

I grew up with black and white television and when we were finally able to afford a color television, I never looked back. Making a black and white retro video look good is something of a lost art form as, well, most everything is filmed in color nowadays. Whenever I see a black and white retro video, my first thought is always, gee, wish this were in color...

I'll up the ante on this however, what I would like to see is someone make a Sin City/Sin City 2 like video. Not just the high contrast black and white with selective color but the whole noir atmosphere...

[mudxdresser]

Incidentally, is there a video that goes with the Jane-217.jpg photo? Couldn't find anything by that name on the Studio 588 list...

[Fred588]

Incidentally, is there a video that goes with the Jane-217.jpg photo? Couldn't find anything by that name on the Studio 588 list...

I am not sure about 217 but for the one labelled 218 see scene 465. The specific photos may have been filmed separately (I do not specifically remember) but the scene I mentioned is probably the one.