Why do black and white?

[Philminder]

I'm shooting something for school right now, and it has to be in the style of a director or type of movie. We're doing a humourous dialogue heavy scene, and it reminded us of Kevin Smith and Clerks, so we thought about taking it one step further and doing it in black and white just like Clerks. However, my understanding is that Clerks was black and white due to circumstance rather than artistic choice (ie. no money for more expensive colour film).

So other than "Kevin Smith did it in Clerks and that was our style of choice," I can't think of any reason to do it.

Looking through some older threads, I discovered that a lot of people have wanted to either shoot in black and white or convert their film to black and white. Why make that choice? Is it the content, for the visuals? Reading about it for still photography, some people think that certain things look better in black and white, like buildings or landscapes, because you focus more on the shapes. Is there a good reason to do it for people? For comedy?

[Janke]

Story is the main thing. If B&W helps the story, use it. If it hinders the story, stay in color.

[drapeama]

Story is the main thing. If B&W helps the story, use it. If it hinders the story, stay in color.

Exactly. If there's absolutely no reasons for the short to be all B&W, as J said, simply shot it and leave it in color.
Another thing you can do (which gives you more flexibility as well) is to shoot in color and desaturate in post (each colors at the desired levels) to get the right B&W look.

[Bertzie]

It would certainly make your video stand out. Not much is done in black and white these days. Can you think of any particular reason it NEEDS to be in color? If you want to make it black and white for no other reason than because Clerks was, then by all means do it.

[cgbier]

I think standard desaturated video looks more than bland, just like 50's TV. Don't just desaturate your imagery, but play around with the color wheels to imitate a channel mixer.
Some theory behind the channel mixer: RGB channel mixer

The idea behind is to simulate color filters that were used in B&W to accentuate skin colors or an overcast sky.

It'll get you more dynamic into your footage.

[pro-hobbyist]

It would certainly make your video stand out. Not much is done in black and white these days. Can you think of any particular reason it NEEDS to be in color? If you want to make it black and white for no other reason than because Clerks was, then by all means do it.

You missed that he is doing this for school, and school video projects are notorious for using black and white to make up for a lack of... other things. I would probably stick to color. Unless, of course, you realize after shooting that the fluorescent lighting made everything look horrible, then make it black and white

[Bertzie]

Lack of skill? Lack of pie? What are the other things?!

[EvilBastardProductions]

It would certainly make your video stand out. Not much is done in black and white these days.

Go on vimeo and look through the short films... there's more b&w than colour.... apparently its meant to be "arty" or something

[Bertzie]

They also tend to be depth of field circle jerks.

[Krane]

By all means don't do it just to do it. Rather have a purpose in mind. If someone asks you why black and white, you need to have a good (hopefully artistic) answer in mind.

Black and white is not limited to black and white but many subtle shades of gray. You can experiment to find the best combination, but its best to have some direction in mind. I remember seeing a great video on youtube of this technique. Pick up a book of black and white photos/art from the library and see what you can discover.

[Fremont]

The main reason for shooting black and white is to emphasize texture and tonality.
Shooting b&w can be both easier and harder than shooting color. You don't need to care about light color and distracting color elements in the frame. On the other hand, you need to work harder on deptn and separation.