What effect used on BMWFilms.com?

Hey I was wondering if anyone had a good technique to achieve the look of images at BMWFilms.com.

I am referring to the washed out flattened look of the photos they are using.

I experimented using different threshold and opacity settings but I thought that someone might know of a better way.

Thanks!


link:
http://www.bmwfilms.com

In Macromedia Flash, when you vectorize raster images, that flat white/black look I "think" comes naturally to that program, but the effect can definitely be duplicated in Photoshop.

Take this picture of prez. Bush as an example (hope my ISP's hosting isn't down, as it likes to do often)

I went to the channels menu, copied the red channel and adjusted the levels until the picture suited me.

I then gaussian blurred that channel copy and re-adjusted the levels until the blurred areas sharpened back up.

I then cut out the background on the prez, but I probably should have done that before I gaussian blurred/level adjusted the pic, but the effect is still fairly good.

Once you achieve the look you want, go to the top menu bar, go to select>load selection and a menu will pop up. Select the name of the channel you were editing, check the invert box on that menu, make a new layer in the layers menu, and fill the selection with black (or whatever color you wish). this will leave an image with totally transparent white areas. Just make a layer with a different, lighter color, such as white, and put it behind the other layer.

[wiseass answer]
You see, most pictures, the images, are 2d...height and
width, as is the case with the ones viewed on the page.

when you scan a picture or upload it, you're not getting the
depth of a normal photograph.
[/wiseass answer]


i got no idea
what you're talking about


[/wiseass answer]

ok...i'm thinking it's a photocopy or something of that nature....

(filter > sketch > photocopy)
make sure your foreground color is set
to the color you want it to be...and just fool
around with the settings


[edit]
damnit mrbogus...
you msut've clicked submit likea second RIGHt before me
:(
my wise ass answer sketch won't be as
hilariously unfunny.
poo...but i think my method is better...i'm gonna test it
now to see if it comes out to the same thing

Yeah, I know about the sketch>photocopy method. I just think the method I use gets a smoother, less aliased look.

Also a tad more controllable. But it isn't nearly as fast as using that photocopy filter.