Some of the most iconic films and scenes in history were shot in black and white, often because of a very deliberate intention. This awesome video will walk you through the unique aspects and considerations you should take into account when you're lighting a black and white scene of your own.
Coming to you from Aputure, this great video talks about how lighting differs when you're filming in black and white versus color and how to maximize its effectiveness. I personally love the look of black and white for a lot of different stories, and it's particularly hard to imagine some of the most iconic such scenes I can remember being as effective in color. For example, death's arrival in "The Seventh Seal" is particularly unnerving due to his jet black cloak that stands in complete darkness among the surroundings, the effectiveness amplified by the obvious symbolism and clarified by the use of only luminance, not a spectrum of color. And of course, there's the famous shower scene in "Psycho." Though Hitchcock shot it in black and white mostly because of budget concerns and because he thought the violence would be too intense for audiences if it was shown in color, the hard-edged contrasts and grittiness add to the effect. Give the video above a watch and try out the techniques yourself.
