Infrared is used in cinema from time to time. I recently noticed it in the Van Gogh biopic At Eternety’s Gate. The film has one very short scene where black and white IR is used. Here’s what cinematographer Benoit Delhomme told Hollywood Reporter:
It’s a scene where van Gogh has a conflict with Paul Gauguin [Oscar Isaac] about how to paint. But what is a right way to paint? They talk about color, and boom, the screen becomes black and white,” says Delhomme. The black and white also seems to emphasize the texture of the painting, while in the script, the texture of van Gogh’s paintings are likened to sculpture.
Much longer was the IR sequence in the science fiction movie Ad Astra. The filmmakers combined 720nm images with those in the visible spectrum to make the sequence with the rover chase on the moon more other-worldly. I didn’t notice it first, but after watching it, while browsing for background info, I came across an article on IndieWire.
Wired magazine also reported on it in a longer video:
