Monochrome Color

Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white. However, scientifically speaking, monochromatic light refers to visible light of a narrow band of wavelengths.

Brief

You need to treat Black and White as Color. This task requires you to travel from point A to point B. Through this journey you are required to record the moment and create a story telling. You are given freedom to choose the format of this task. This task also requires a clear understanding about the positive and negative color and the balance in visual. You will explore on how to show mood, emotion and expression in monochrome colors.

Research

Monochrome

A monochrome image is an image consisting of a single color against a neutral background. For example, old "green screen" monitors were called monochrome monitors because they used a single color (green or amber) against a neutral background (black). All black and white images are monochrome images, but not all monochrome images are black and white. For example, a monochrome image might consist of black on yellow.

Black and White

A black and white image is a specific type of monochrome image which uses black against a white background.

Grayscale

Graysacle is a method of representing black and white images on a computer. Grayscale images are represented using only 256 shades of gray rather than the full pallet of colors.

Monochrome photography can be used to give pictures an ‘antique’ look, but it has creative benefits too. The lack of colour means it’s already one step removed from reality, so that people are more likely to look at the way you’ve made the photograph and less likely to be distracted by the subject matter itself.

Samples of monochrome photography

Monochromatic colors are all the colors (tints, tones, and shades) of a single hue.

Monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints. Tints are achieved by adding white and shades and tones are achieved by adding a darker color, gray or black.

Monochromatic color schemes provide opportunities in art and visual communications design as they allow for a greater range of contrasting tones that can be used to attract attention, create focus and support legibility.

The use of monochromatic color provides a strong sense of visual cohesion and can help support communication objectives through the use of connotative color. The relative absence of hue contrast can be offset by variations in tone and the addition of texture.

Task

With that understanding, I chose to have a monochrome storyboard based on facial expressions and the theme of my storyboard being, TGIF which means 'Thank God Its Friday'.

The term TGIF is mostly used when the weekend has come and people are excited over it and use it as an expression to show excitement, joy, happiness. The only downfall of this is that is only happens on the weekends hence the excitement and joy will die down when sunday comes and thats when the whole week has to come to TGIF for the excitement to build. My TGIF storyboard will depict the excitement that runs through knowing its Friday and realizing that its Sunday and no more weekend.

Photoshoot Setup

Set up was done indoors in my apartment and I had my equipment already set up. The softbox, my tripod, camera and my model (my friend) who was the one who was going to pose and have these facial expressions done. My camera was already set into monochrome mode and was going to make it easier to shoot and also control the amount of black and whites in the photo.

Softbox light ready.

Me taking photos of the expressions.

Having my subjcet pose as the weekend comes to an end.

Facial expressions through the camera.

After the shoot, I got the photos and compiled them and then started to look through which would make the cut and edit in photoshop.

Images from the shoot.

The editing process in photoshop.

Most of the images were going to have a levels and curves adjustment layer as a preset for editing the pics with ease.

Compilation of the images for my storyboard before finally exporting.

FINAL'TGIF' MONOCHROME STORYBOARD

After completing this, I felt very satisfied with the outcome for what I had expressed through monochrome color. As much as I didnt clearly get the understanding of the full on meaning, researching and looking at photography samples as well as knowing some common facial expression stages, it was quite easy for me to depict this one , all that was needed was just to shoot and edit and after that was done, finally got the full design of how the expressions can be toned down from knowing its Friday and then he phase of knowing the weekend is coming to end all the way to saddness on sunday. Now I cant wait for Friday and say TGIF!