Crushed Blacks

Crushed blacks are shadows driven down so far that detail in them collapses to solid black, clipping at the bottom of the tonal range. It can be an accident from heavy-handed contrast or a deliberate stylistic choice to deepen mood and add punch. As a look, crushing the blacks gives an image a rich, contrasty, moody feel common in thrillers and music videos. As a problem, it discards shadow detail you can never recover and can introduce banding. A colorist controls it by watching the bottom of the waveform and the lift control: let the blacks kiss zero for snap, but pull back if texture in dark wardrobe, hair, or scenery is disappearing. The judgment call is how much shadow information you are willing to trade for contrast and mood.