Lighting for Black and White

[newsuper8er]

Hello guys!

Well i have my TRI-X and my PLUS-X that i found on ebay , and soon enough im gonna make a short film in Super 8 Black and White . After reading into the two film stocks, ive decided to shoot the Interior scenes in Tri-X and the Exterior scenes in Plus-X. Anyway, ill cut to the point; what tips do you guys have on Black and White cinematography? Lighting? etc.

I own a Bauer 609XL if anyone wants to know.

PS. Do i still use the filter for daylight like i do with K40? I dont see why i might need it because there is no color. But ive read stuff recently which talks about using the filter in Black and White super 8 filming. Im a little confused.

Any help/suggestions would be appreaciated like usual. All the help from you guys will help so much! I cant wait to post some clips of my film on here when ive done it 8) .


Steven.

[timdrage]

PS. Do i still use the filter for daylight like i do with K40? I dont see why i might

You're correct, there's no need for that filter due to no colour. However you might want to use other filters to achieve various effects such as increased contrast (eg orange filter for dark skies etc)

[matt5791]

"Painting with Light" by John Alton - all you need to know about lighting black & white.

Although old, this book has a lot to offer, and I love the writing style - "if you want to achieve this look do this. If you want to create this mood do that"

very straight forward. Just substitute the older fashioned lights he talks about in you mind for modern ones.

Matt

PS - available from Amazon

[audadvnc]

Do i still use the filter for daylight like i do with K40? I dont see why i might need it because there is no color. But ive read stuff recently which talks about using the filter in Black and White super 8 filming.

Pan-X and Tri-X are both panchromatic films, meaning they response to red light as well as green and blue. But even panchromatic films are still somewhat more blue/green sensitive. An argument in favor of using the daylight filter is that it provides a more natural tonal sensitivity. Outdoor scenes shot with 85 or yellow (minus-blue) filters give more sky contrast; without filters, clouds fade off into an almost white sky. Try it.

For more extreme sky effects a la Ansel Adams, use a red filter. Day for night shooting is sometime done with red filters and polarizers.

Green filters are sometimes used to enhance skin tones.

[Actor]

PS. Do i still use the filter for daylight like i do with K40? I dont see why i might need it because there is no color. But ive read stuff recently which talks about using the filter in Black and White super 8 filming. Im a little confused.

The Super8 ISO specification calls for a notch 1 inch below the locator slot on the cartridge. Absence of this notch causes the camera to disengage the 85 filter, regardless of the position of the filter switch.

Both Plus-X and Tri-X do not have the filter notch so with most cameras you will not be able to engage the filter when you use these films. You will have to use an external filter if you want to turn daylight into tungsten.

However, some cameras do not detect the filter notch. My Minolta does not. Look for a sensing pin one inch below the locator pin. If your camera has one you will not be able to engage the 85 filter.

Of course you could always cut a filter notch in each cartridge (but I don't recommend it).

[MovieStuff]

There are a couple of things to look out for in black and white. One is the importance of "value" in your subject's clothing. For instance, let's say you had a well tanned actor with brown hair, wearing a red shirt, blue pants and standing in front of a green wall. Obviously, on color film you can see him fine. However, in black and white, all those colors -even his skin and hair- will be grey. If they are all accidentaly the same "value", then they end up being the same shade and density of grey and the guy will disappear in front of the wall!!! Not literally, of course, but you get the idea. I would suggest taking photos of your actors in their clothing and using photo shop to desaturate the color to see how they will look before you start shooting.

Now, related to this is the use of a rim light to help seperate the actor from the background. This can sometimes be useful because, while you can always change the actor's clothing, you can't always change the background beyond lighting adjustments. Using a rim light helps in black and white to add definition to the edges of an actor that, otherwise, would be lost due to a lack of color to tell the eye where the edge of the person was in the scene. It also looks damned classy.

Roger