Yeah, i'd be interested in knowing this too as I plan to do the same thing.
If you watch the Schindlers List DVD there is a bit on the documentary about things to consider when shooting in B&W. Such as making sure your costumes are not too similar to your background, and also putting plenty of light on the actors faces so they stand out in B&W.
Hope this helps a little.

no on a good mini dv cam put it in black and ? white mode and shoot it. it should act the same as if you were shooting black and white or sepeia or color.it should be no problem with a good sony or panasonic. however the cannons (xl1)i hear have problens at times with black and white in auto focus.and don't forget use hershys sunday surup for blood in black and white (looks like the blood they used years ago

william cheney of cheney productions film co www.cheney2004.50megs.com

You don't really need to do anything different with the lighting, but like anything in film it looks alot cooler if you design it with it in mind. I don't have much experience in this feild but I would recomend taking a look at later photos of Johnny Cash (The Man Comes Around in particular) its done with very harsh lighting and in my opinion dosent so much look as if the colorful world was shot in black and white but more that the world itself was black and white.

Make Love Not War!

ok thankyou

anything else i need to consider with background colours and costumes?

just rember that shade more than color is important, so try to have a dark backround and bright actors or vice versa. Also rember that it's not nesisary to color things so you can forgo painting in many instance where the shade is the same as what you would otherwise want.

Make Love Not War!

Also, be aware of shadows. In a B&W film, shadows can look extremely effective, or in some cases, disatrous. Just be aware, and good luck with the film.

Check out the documentary "Pie plates over Hollywood" on the Ed Wood DVD. Its got a lot of info about shooting in B&W. In fact that whole DVD is littered with helpful tips and such. Check it out.

ok thanks 'the company', i knew i'd seen something useful about black and white somewhere but i forgot that it was on ed wood

You might want to try using filters such as a red filter, for a deeper more pronounced look.