• Wondering which camera, gear, computer, or software to buy? Ask in our Gear Guide.

Should I shoot in B &W for this reason?

A few months ago, I had a DP wanting to take on a bigger project of mine, but then he dropped out, saying it was because I refused to shoot in black and white, when really, I needed to save the movie.

He said it's the only real way to hide color distractions in the background. Since I chose real locations, there is always something in the background he found distracting, color wise, that could not be altered or repainted cause the location owner would not allow it of course.

He said that that's why a lot of indie films and microbudget films look amatuer, cause it looks like home video when you have no control over the colors of the location being used. Which is why Hollywood either uses sets, or has no problem finding locations where they can recolor, and pay the owner enough money to be okay with it.

Was he right though? It seems me may be since footage I have posted way before, distracted some people with background colors, as well as other people being told the same thing about theirs. Should I shoot future projects in B &W for that reason, even though it's not really an artistic choice, but more of a compromise choice?
 
That's what I figured. But he says more people are accepting of black and white then a distracting background.

So when you acquire locations to shoot in, what do you do about distracting colors, since most location owners will not permit you paint over them? Plus finding locations that were built to suit cinematography standards seem realistically difficult to impossible. So what do you do then?
 
But if there is something in the background of a scene, then I have to hire a specialist to go through every frame, and recolor it, which will cost a lot more money, for every distracting background item. I don't think that's a do-able solution on my budgets.
 
Grading software like Speedgrade, or plugins like Colorista II will allow you to select a color, then change it's hue or saturation. It's almost like magic. So rather than doing it frame by frame, you end up only having to do shot by shot. Sometimes I've used it to make grass greener, or to take that distracting pink dress a woman in the background wore and make it light blue or grey.
 
but then he dropped out, saying it was because

He was being polite. Think of it like this: "It's not him, it's you." He met you, got to know you and didn't want to work with you. Instead of saying he didn't want to work with you, he worded it in your language that you'd understand.

It's going to happen when you refuse to learn what you're doing and waste everyone's time.
 
You could try using a DP who knows how to move the camera 2ft to the left to get rid of a distracting background object - or use depth of field properly, or viewpoint, or focal length. That DP is bullshitting to hide his own inadequacies.

Besides, why would you shoot in B&W. Always shoot in colour & convert to B&W if you want to later. Hell, even 'The Man Who Wasn't There' did that - and that was on film.
 
I told the DP we can shoot in color and then decide whether or not to convert to black and white later. He said that will not work, cause B & W requires different lighting and less fill light compared to color and you have to decide on if you want your movie in B & W before shooting, because of the lighting styles that are required for it, compared to color.
 
I told the DP we can shoot in color and then decide whether or not to convert to black and white later. He said that will not work, cause B & W requires different lighting and less fill light compared to color and you have to decide on if you want your movie in B & W before shooting, because of the lighting styles that are required for it, compared to color.

He sounds very knowledgeable for someone that cannot shoot movies in color people would want to watch
 
Lighting ratios are lighting ratios. There certainly are reasons you might want to shoot in monochrome for specific effects, and if you're trying to mimic a particular style of B&W photography it may be easier to light it specifically in monochrome (although that could be previewed live on a monitor). In general though you should be fine shooting in color and converting later - in fact you'll have more control over the final look if you know what you're doing in the grading process. If you aren't absolutely sure of the final look you're trying to achieve I wouldn't recommend shooting in monochrome.

It really sounds like this guy just didn't want to do the project and used this as an excuse.
 
before calling your dop mental, i would like to know why you choose this guy. is it coz he owns a camera and he is the only one who works for free, or is it a camera man who you really trust and who knows you and your resources best, or at least way better than we do.

what he says is a true thing, it is way easier to shoot b/w than shooting in color. and it is way easier in many ways, not only from the technical side. on the other hand there is color grading, there are vfx, you can change a lot after shooting.

imo there is no such thing like, a film is better when it has color, or there are no people who want to see b/w.
if it is a good film then people will watch it, if it is not that good...

i think he has good reasons to shoot in b/w but if you dont like the idea then you either have to convince him or find another dop.

however, if my dop would ask me to shoot on b/w i would do it coz i trust him, he knows way more about camera work than i do, so for me there would be no reason not to trust him. but i am the kind of guy who would never ask for a control monitor or for a view into the view finder, i am happy when he takes care about that.
 
before calling your dop mental, i would like to know why you choose this guy. is it coz he owns a camera and he is the only one who works for free, or is it a camera man who you really trust and who knows you and your resources best, or at least way better than we do.

what he says is a true thing, it is way easier to shoot b/w than shooting in color. and it is way easier in many ways, not only from the technical side. on the other hand there is color grading, there are vfx, you can change a lot after shooting.

imo there is no such thing like, a film is better when it has color, or there are no people who want to see b/w.
if it is a good film then people will watch it, if it is not that good...

i think he has good reasons to shoot in b/w but if you dont like the idea then you either have to convince him or find another dop.

however, if my dop would ask me to shoot on b/w i would do it coz i trust him, he knows way more about camera work than i do, so for me there would be no reason not to trust him. but i am the kind of guy who would never ask for a control monitor or for a view into the view finder, i am happy when he takes care about that.

I picked him because he had the best demo reel out of any other aspiring camera person I know. Even though a lot of his demos are film noir, that was cool, cause I though that shadowy lighting such as that, would be good for my crime thriller script. I just didn't want to shoot it in black and white cause I thought it would be better in color, especially since a lot of viewers of today dislike black and white.

I asked some friends if what black and white movies they liked and they said the only one they recall liking is Clerks. That goes to show how unpopular it is by today's generation. I can recolor distracting background objects in post. Even though it would take a lot more time and devotion, I can do it, if it's worth it. I suggested the same thing to him way back, but he really doesn't like having things be fixed in post, and just is much more confident getting it right, in camera.
 
He has a point. I planned on doing the exact same thing because a location looked like crap. However, as the director I did it to make it easier for myself and everyone else involved. It's weird that the DP so obviously overstepped his boundaries.
 
Back
Top