Monochramatic Scenes

[Ckulakov]

The scenes from Spielbergs "Catch Me If You Can" in the home of Frank and his family and the Russian winter scenes in Moscow from "The Bourne Supremacy" all looked bleak, cool, and 'monochrome', and even the directors characterized the scenes as being 'monochrome'. But how can they be monochrome when you see blues, greens and whites all in one frame?

This has been bugging me and I whant to learn what I can do to make my scenes look 'monochrome' by their standards or the way they look in those scenes.

What type of procedures, filters, or colors will I need to make a scene look cool, bleak, and monochrome?

 

Thank You in advance

 

Constantine Kulakov

[drew_town]

I think in those instances the directors were referring to an overall dominate color. Bourne Supremacy would be white. It's not technically a monochrome ("one color") but it is dominantly white. If you want that look it'll come through with set design, art design, wardrobe, and makeup. If you want to true monochrome, the image is often tinted or black and white.

[Dominic Case]

Art direction is often the key to the colour "look" of scenes, whether bright colour themes (as in Hero) or the desaturated monochrome(ish) look you mention.

 

Look out of the window in winter - it IS more or less monchrome, you don't have to do much more. Put people in grey overcoats, desaturate everything that's left with a bit of snow or mist, and it's there.

 

If that's not enough, then the magic of a DI will change the colours. But why change something digitally if you can photograph somethoing the way it is by working with the set designer and art director.

[drew_town]

I also think that overall tones in art design works on more of a subtle and unconscious level where a monochrome look can be more in-your-face. The snow in Bourne Supremacy really helps to calm the movie down. Paul Greengrass in his commentary says he likes it for its truthful and honest attributes. That's something that can really add to your story. Granted that Hero was rather in-your-face with its color schemes, but I think generally that's the case. M. Night Shyamalan uses colors to symbolize ideas in his movies.