Many filmmakers choose to shoot films in black and white to show historical context, but how can the filmmaker add depth and contrast to his black and white films? It is usually not enough to shoot a film in black and white for it to be effective. You must use some techniques to bring your characters to life and add "color" to a colorless film.
Color Juxtaposition
To accent the effect of black and white, some filmmakers use spots of color within a black and white film. The 1993 film "Schindler's List," directed by Steven Spielberg, uses a color introduction and ending while the main body of the film is in black and white. Also, there is a girl in a red dress that appears several times during the film. It add realism and a memory device to the film. Spielberg used this method to help the audience better relate to a single character without ever having seen her face or seen her develop during the course of the movie. In addition, a powerful scene when the protagonist, Oscar Schindler, sees the girl dead (after having seen her alive earlier in the film) serves to remind the audience of her presence. She makes an impact without saying a word simply because Spielberg used a color in a black and white film.
You can use this effect in the same way, but for a variety of purposes. In the 1998 film "Pleasantville," the director (Gary Ross) gradually added color to the black and white film to accent the changes that were occurring in the plot and characters. While he associated black and white with dull and ordinary characters, Ross used color to indicate that characters were going through interesting and varied changes. Although this technique requires a great deal of post-production work, it can be a very effective method of using black and white film in an interesting way.
Contrast
When filming in black and white, the temptation is to ignore the colors present in your mise en scene (individual scene presentation) when shooting. Resist this temptation. In fact, some critics consider color to be almost as important in black and white films as in color films. The reason: contrast. Darker colors contrast with lighter colors, and the way in which you blend the different shades of black and white will greatly influence how the audience sees your film.
Use black as an antagonist shade while contrasting it with white and lighter protagonist shades. This extreme contrast is obviously clear to the viewer. However, subtle changes in contrast may be difficult to detect. To avoid this problem, never save black and white photography for post-production. In other words, set your digital camera to black and white and shoot through that view rather than shooting in color and editing into black and white. During post production, you can add contrast or accents to certain situations, but shooting in black and white makes the process a great deal easier.
Tags: black white, black white, black white film, white film, film black