Unlock New Artistic Insights: Why VFX Artists Should Watch Favorite Films in Black and White

As VFX artists we can find inspiration and fresh perspectives by exploring our favorite movies in black and white.

Back in 2014, director Steven Soderbergh shared a black-and-white version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, incorporating The Social Network soundtrack as an exercise in studying staging. This unique approach can be a valuable learning experience for a VFX artist as it allows you to observe the movie’s visual elements, composition, and lighting in a different light.

By watching films in black and white, VFX artists can gain insights into the underlying visual storytelling techniques and explore how the absence of color impacts the overall cinematic experience. This exercise encourages you to analyze the movie’s visual components more attentively, and enabling you to infuse your own VFX work with new creative ideas and techniques. Artist and author Austin Kleon goes into more depth on his experience of this technique.

If you’re curious to try this approach, simply adjust the picture settings on your TV to turn off color, increase contrast, and reduce brightness. By doing this, you can witness familiar movies in a whole new light, almost like experiencing an old movie as a fresh story. Give it a shot with your favorite films and see which ones resonate best in black and white, as some might surprise you with their captivating transformation.