Premiere Pro CS6 Techniques: 100 Creative Black & White

Andrew Devis

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Although there are some obvious ways to create black and white footage in Premiere Pro, the usual approaches can often leave a lot to be desired in terms of creativity and artistic influence. So, in this tutorial, Andrew Devis shows how to use an little known effect to make stunning and creative black and white productions in Premiere Pro which can add a great deal to the artistic credibility of your work.

Comments

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Re: Premiere Pro CS6 Techniques: 100 Creative Black & White
by Andrew Devis

Hi Jose

I'll download the file and have a look at it and get back to you.

Andrew :o)

... because it's all about stories ...

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Re: Premiere Pro CS6 Techniques: 100 Creative Black & White
by Jose Angel Santana

Thanks Andrew. I've just experimented with your method and it is truly very useful for working with color captured images.

I use the Lumix GH2 which has a rather remarkable way of emulating the 16mm Tri-X film look in a way that is arguably almost indistinguishable from the real thing. You may already know about it: found by Hunter Hampton Richards: http://vimeo.com/17472698

So, shooting in this way, can you suggest a way to work with native Black and White captured footage that might give the same kind of control and flexibility that your approach brings to working with color?

To allow for blending of channels and such to create an effect.

Thanks, I realize this is a variation on your lesson.

Jose Angel Santana

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@Jose Angel Santana
by Andrew Devis

Well, you really got me thinking on this one! Obviously you could play with Luma Curves, but that won't give you the same level of control that you have with other approaches because there is only one effective channel of information to play with.

So, I've spent some time having a play with the footage and have found a way which can have some effect but I wouldn't say it was straight forward - but it will give you some creative control.

What I did was take a copy of the footage and applied Fast Color Correct (FCC)to it and then decided on which 'channel' I wanted to work with. So, if it was green, I took the Balance Magnitude and the Balance Gain (the control point and the slider in the middle of the color wheel) to max on the green axis. This will colorize the shot to make it green.

Next I applied the 'Calculations' effect and took the 'Input' channel to green which then turns the image back to black and white but with a very different luma view to the original.

I then added Luma Curves to change the contrast of the shot.

Next, I copied the clip to video 2 and 3 and changed the FCC to Red on Video2 and Blue on Video 3 and the appropriate input channel in the Calculations effect on each layer.

The last step would be to change the blend modes for the layers on Video 2 and 3 and play with Opacity to change the blend for different looks.

However, you can also play with the FCC controls and the Luma curve to get a wide variety of looks - possibly too many choices to play with!

What I would do is to get it to work on 3 video layers so that you get an end result that you really like and then make a preset for each video layer which you can then apply and adjust on any future footage.

There may well be other approaches but the problem with grey images is that there isn't any color channel information to work with, so you have to fake it if you want this kind of creative black & white control ...

Have a go and see if you can make it work. Having a good computer that is able to quickly show you any changes you make will help!

All the best
Andrew

... because it's all about stories ...

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@Andrew Devi
by Jose Angel Santana

Thanks Andrew! I'll do as you did and see what happens. Great suggestions. As I"m new to PP, it's also very useful to find out about "luma curves." Before hearing from you what I've played with since asking my question is going to "levels" and adding R, G, or B to the blacks and whites. Then, using your "calculations" approach on that minimally colorized footage. With some patience and experimentation and doing as you suggest in your reply that provides some options. At least enough to drive myself crazy for a while. Your post really opened my eyes to some possibilites. And like your reply points to, I think one has to colorized the black and white to an extent and then work with the "calculations" adjustments you've shared with us. Thanks so much. - Jose

And yes, it IS "all about stories."

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Re: Premiere Pro CS6 Techniques: 100 Creative Black & White
by Andrew Devis

Thanks Immanuel, it is a great trick that can turn the ordinary into something special with very little effort. Thanks for the comment.
Andrew

... because it's all about stories ...

•

Re: Premiere Pro CS6 Techniques: 100 Creative Black & White
by Immanuel Heims

What a great hint with the calculations Effect! Hidden treasure. Thank you!!

creative media & more, Germany
Videography ❘ Postproduction ❘ Media Design ❘ Photography
MEHR ALS BEWEGTE BILDER. BILDER, DIE BEWEGEN!

http://www.immanuel-heims.com
https://vimeo.com/heims/albums/sort:alphabetical/format:thumbnail

s.d.g.

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