“TONING

As distinct from tinting, a toned image consists of a color image embedded within a layer of colorless gelatine, so that while the highlights are clear, the shadows are colored.

The coloring matter may consist of an inorganic colored compound or a dye, or of a mixture of both, and by wholly or partially replacing the black and white silver image by one or more of these substances, a colored image is produced.

It is, of course, important that the colored compound should be as transparent as possible so that the full tone will be apparent on projection. In this respect, while some samples of toned film appear colored in the hand, they produce a substantially black and white image on projection, so that when judging any particular tone, it is absolutely necessary to view the image on the screen.

Of the various inorganic colored compounds, the metallic ferrocyanides are the most suitable for toning purposes of which:

Iron (ferric) ferrocyanide is blue,
Copper ferrocyanide is red, and
Uranium ferrocyanide is reddish brown.

It is the object in toning to replace the metallic silver composing the image more or less by one of the above compounds or by a mixture of these. In this way intermediary tones are obtained.

Toning may be effected either by a single solution process or a two solution process.

Two Solution Process

This consists of first converting the silver image into silver ferrocyanide by a suitable bleaching bath, thoroughly washing, and acting upon the ferrocyanide image with a metallic salt, usually in presence of an acid, the metallic ferrocyanide being produced by double decomposition. The reaction, however, is never complete, so that the image is mixed with undecomposed silver ferrocyanide which tends to make the image opaque, but at the same time it also adds “body” to the latter. Providing allowance is made in the original positive for this intensification, good tones are obtained. (See Tone G.)

Single Solution Process

Instead of the two separate baths used above, a single Solution may be employed consisting of a metallic ferricyanide dissolved in a suitable solvent (say, an alkali salt of citric, tartaric, or oxalic acids) in presence of an acid and certain other salts.

On immersion of the positive film in this solution the silver image is converted to silver ferrocyanide, while the colored ferrocyanide is formed simultaneously and combined with it.

In either of the above cases in view of the fact that the metallic ferrocyanide is deposited in a colloidal condition in presence of the gelatine of the film, its state of division and the nature of the tone are usually affected by the presence of certain salts, changes of temperature, concentration of the baths and other factors which must be maintained constant in order to obtain uniform results. With such single baths it is possible to secure tones which are unobtainable by a two solution process, though as such single solutions are sensitive to light and rapidly attack foreign metals which may be present in the shape of faucets, etc., such Solutions are comparatively unstable and require care in their use.

Nature of the Positive to be Toned

Since most toning processes either intensify or reduce the original image, in order to obtain uniform results, commence toning with positive film of the correct density.

Three standards of positive film have been chosen: Thin, Medium and Normal. (See chart.) The “Thin” and “Medium” Standards are obtained by giving a slight overexposure and a shorter time of development.

The exact degree of intensification which takes place in any particular case will soon be learned after a few trials.

Nature of the Developer

Any good Elon-Hydrochinon, Kodelon-Hydrochinon, or straight Hydrochinon formula will give satisfactory tones, though in the case of Tone G an Elon-Hydrochinon developer is essential in order that a rich olive color may be obtained.

For toning, it is necessary that the developed film should be entirely free from fog, since a thin veil becomes intensified in most of the toning processes. Fog may be caused by:

(a) Oxidation of the developer, noticeable by the brown coloration produced after continued use. The remedy is to renew the developer.

(b) Carelessness in compounding the developer. The usual mistake consists in adding the carbonate to the Elon and Hydrochinon without previously adding a portion of sulphite to prevent oxidation. It is not advisable, however, to add the whole of the sulphite to the Elon and Hydrochinon in the first place, otherwise the Elon may precipitate. Mixing the developer with water which is too warm will often cause fog.

(c) The presence of copper, brass, and tin, the fumes from sodium sulphide, etc., in the developing baths are to be strictly avoided. A salt of copper if present only to the extent of one part in 10,000 will produce fog on cine positive film.

Fixing

This operation should be complete and, if possible, carried out in two consecutive baths and followed by thorough washing, otherwise uneven coloring will result. In order to eliminate any possibility of uneven toning it is always advisable to tone immediately after washing and before drying.

Control in Toning

As in the case of tinting, the nature of the tone obtained with the various solutions depends on the following factors:

a. The nature and dilution of the toning solutions.
Except in those cases where it is recommended to revive the bath by adding more acid, it is not advisable to modify the composition or dilution of the various solutions, as these have been adjusted to give the best results.

b. Temperature of toning.
In most cases a change of temperature from 60 to 70 degrees F. has merely the effect of changing the time of toning. It is advisable, however, to maintain the temperature of the various solutions between 65 degrees and 70 degrees F.

c. Time of toning.
Except in the case of tones F and G when toning proceeds to a limit, the nature of the tone produced varies with the time of toning, reaching a limit in from 10 to 15 minutes, so that in a shorter time intermediate tones are produced. Since most of the toning processes intensify the original image, if an intermediate tone is required, it is usually necessary to commence toning with denser film than when toning is to be carried to the limit. See tones B, C and D.

When producing intermediate tones, it is therefore possible either to tone in the normal bath for a given time or in a diluted bath for a longer time. In order to reduce the number of individual toning baths to a minimum it is recommended to vary the time of toning rather than to vary the dilution of the bath and to judge the tone by inspection. Since the strength of the toning bath falls off with use, inspection is necessary in all cases except Tones F and G. Before commencing work with any bath, it is advisable to make a test on a short length of film.

Permanency of Tones

The permanency of the tones produced largely depends on the care exercised throughout the various Operations. The silver sulphide image may be considered permanent, though in the other cases, where more or less silver ferrocyanide is present, the toned image is not absolutely permanent, being somewhat soluble in hypo and affected by fumes of sulphuretted hydrogen.

In the case of the iron and uranium tones, the colored ferrocyanides are dissolved by alkali such as sodium carbonate, so that the toned film should not be washed for too long a time in water which is at all inclined to be alkaline. In no case however, if the instructions are carefully followed will the toned image deteriorate during the active life of the film. Moreover, so far as can be ascertained, the wear and tear of film which has been toned by the methods recommended is in no way impaired, though by virtue of the hardening action of most of the toning baths on the gelatine it is advisable, especially during the winter months, to immerse the film for three or four minutes in the usual 2% glycerine bath after toning.

Should film have to be stored for long periods of time, toning is inadvisable, nor is it advisable to tone valuable film unless duplicates are available.

The life of the toning bath has been carefully investigated in each case, the term “life” being considered as the total length of film capable of being toned by a given volume of fresh Solution when toning is conducted continuously and without interruption.

In all cases it is false economy to exhaust a toning bath to the limit and thus obtain inferior tones, since the cost of the chemicals employed is insignificant compared with the value of the film being treated. Since the figures given represent the capacity of the bath for toning under the best conditions, they only apply providing the baths are kept covered as far as possible when not in use, to exclude light, and providing no foreign metallic surface, however small, is allowed to come into contact with the Solution.

As mentioned above, single solution baths are not intended for occasional use. In such cases two-solution methods should as far as possible be employed, although it has only been possible to recommend the latter for the production of sulptiide and blue-green tones.

Stability of the Solutions

All toning solutions containing potassium ferricyanide are sensitive to light, the ferricyanide being reduced to ferrocyanide. Therefore when not in use the tanks should be carefully covered so as to screen the Solutions from sunlight. It is also very important that no metallic surface however small should come in contact with the Solutions; any metal pegs on the racks or pins used to hold the film together will gather the tone in preference to the film, causing the formation of sludge. Piain wooden racks with or without wooden pegs should be used, and metal faucets replaced by wooden plugs.

If any considerable amount of sludge forms in the tank at any time, it is due either to incorrect mixing, the action of light, or to the presence of foreign metallic substances.

TONE A

Tone A Red (Copper)

Positive Employed: Normal

After immersion of the well washed film in water for one minute, bathe in the following:

Dissolve each ingredient separately in as little water as possible, mix the filtered Solutions so obtained in the order given, and dilute to the required volume. The Solution obtained should be light green in color and perfectly clear. The ammonium carbonate should be almost transparent and free from white powder, and should be dissolved in cold water, while the ammonium citrate employed should be neutral. Most samples contain acid, which acid would neutralize the ammonium carbonate and affect the resulting tone. The free acid is usually citric acid, and should be neutralized with a Solution of ammonia using litmus as indicator.

Temperature of Toning: To obtain the best results the temperature of the bath should be from 65 degrees to 70 degrees, F.

Time of Toning: Five to ten minutes.

Time of Washing: 10 minutes.

Life of Bath

With use the bath precipitates a brown sludge of copper ferrocyanide, and in consequence becomes weaker by virtue of the loss of copper, though 50 gallons of the Solution will tone about 10,000 feet of film. It is necessary to keep the film entirely submerged in the tank,’ or constantly in motion when on the drum, otherwise if the film is frequently examined, especially during the first few minutes of toning, streaks are liable to occur.

TONE B

Tone B Red (Uranium)

Positive Employed

Thin.

Immerse the well washed film in the following:

Mix in the order given. The solution obtained should be perfectly clear and pale yellow in color.

In view of the fact that the nature of the tone is influenced largely by the acid content, it is very important that the uranium nitrate should contain no free acid, and this may be assured by neutralizing a Solution with dilute ammonia until a slight permanent precipitate is obtained. It is convenient to keep stock Solutions of the above (say, 10% Solutions) from which a new bath may be expeditiously compounded. A 10% hydrochloric acid Solution is one containing 10 parts by volume of the concentrated acid per 100 volumes of the final Solution.

Temperature of Toning: 65 degrees to 70 degrees F.

Time of Toning: Ten minutes.

Since this and the following single Solution methods of toning produce a marked intensification of the silver image – which intensification increases with the time of toning it – follows that the nature of the tone changes with time also. The composition of the bath has been so adjusted that the maximum effect is produced in about 10 minutes, the tone passing through a series of changes from brown to red during this time.

It is therefore possible to obtain intermediate tones by withdrawing the film from the bath at shorter intervals, though in such cases the contrast of the original black and white film should be adjusted accordingly, since with slight toning very little intensification takes place. (See tones C and D.)

Time of Washing: Ten to fifteen minutes.

The highlights will become clear in the above time, though a thin yellowish brown veil may remain in the clear gelatine as a result of the intensification of minute traces of fog, but this has no effect on projection. If the bath is working correctly the yellowish veil is only just perceptible, but if appreciably visible, then either the film was fogged during development, or the bath was not compounded correctly. Washing should not be carried out for too long a period, especially with water inclined to be alkaline, because the toned image is soluble in alkali.

Life of Bath

Fifty gallons of Solution will tone about 5000 feet of film without any appreciable change in the tone, after which the rieh tone tends to flatness as a result of a deficiency of aeid in the bath. At this point the bath may be revived by the further addition of aeid to the extent of the original amount, when a further 5000 feet may be toned. At this stage the richness of tone falls off rapidly and the bath should be thrown away.

Used intermittently over a period of several days the life of the bath is approximately the same. With continued use a slight brownish floeculent preeipitate may form in the bath, but this should only be slight, otherwise it is caused by incorrect mixing, the action of light, or by contact with a metallic surface.

TONE C

Tone C: Red Brown (Uranium)

Positive Employed: Medium

The toning f ormula employed and the instruetions to be followed are the same as for Tone B, the time of toning being about 5 minutes at 65 degrees to 70 degrees F.

TONE D

Tone D: Brown (Uranium)

Positive Employed: Normal

The toning formula employed and the instruetions to be followed are the same as for Tone B, the time of toning being about 3 minutes at 65 degrees to 70 degrees F.

TONE E

Tone E: Sepia (Uranium and Iron)

This particular tone is obtained by suitable mixture of red and blue toning Solutions. By varying the proportions of these baths, tones varying from red to sepia may be obtained.

The following is only one of the many tones produced by this method. Increase in the proportion of the iron bath makes the tone colder, and vice versa.

Positive Employed: Medium

Immerse the well washed film in solution for tone B (red brown) 5 vols.

Solution for tone H (blue) 1 vol.

Time of Toning 3 to 4 minutes at 65 degrees to 70 degrees F. The instruetions regarding method of procedura, life of bath, etc., are exactly the same as for tone B.

TONE F

Tone F (Sulphide) Positive Employed

With a thin positive a warm brown tone is obtained, while with denser film the effect is that of a blue-black tone.

A trace of iron in the sodium sulphide will do no härm providing the Solution is boiled and the precipitated iron sulphide allowed to settle before use. The well washed positive is thoroughly bleached in A, washed for 5 minutes, and immersed in Solution B until the film is thoroughly toned.

Temperature of Toning: 65 degrees to 70 degrees F.

Time of Toning: Four to five minutes.

Time of Washing: Ten to fifteen minutes.

Life of Baths

The toning baths A and B are comparatively stable and will keep until exhausted.

TONE G

Tone G: Olive Green (Iron)

Positive Employed: Thin to medium.

The best tones are only obtainable on film developed in an Elon-Hydrochinon developer. Thoroughly bleach the well washed film in :

Time of Bleaching: Two to five minutes.

After washing for 10 to 15 minutes, tone in the following at 65 degrees to 70 degrees F.:

Time of Toning

Toning should be complete in from 3 to 5 minutes.

Time of Washing: Ten to fifteen minutes.

If the highlights are stained blue, or if the image will not completely tone in the shadows, this is due to insufficient washing öfter bleaching. When bleaching, it is important to examine the film as little as possible, otherwise streaks are liable to be produced due to the action of the air at those parts where the Solution drains off the film. It is also important to tone immediately after bleaching and washing.

Life of Baths

Bleach A.

Providing the Solution is screened from the light and kept covered to prevent the undue escape of ammonia, the bath keeps fairly well, but if it shows any signs of weakening, it should be revived by the addition of a further quantity of ammonia equal in amount to that originally used. If so revived at intervals, 50 gallons will bleach 40,000 feet of film before exhaustion.

Solution B.

Fifty gallons of Solution B will tone 30,000 feet of film without further addition of acid, when it should be thrown away.

TONE H

Tone H Blue (Iron) Positive Employed Thin or Medium, according to result desired. Tone in the following:

The method of compounding this bath is very important. Each of the solid chemicals should be dissolved separately in a small quantity of warm water, the Solutions allowed to cool, filtered into the tank strictly in the order given, and the whole diluted to the required volume. If these Instructions are followed, the bath will be a pale yellow color, perfectly clear, and will remain so for a considerable period.

Time of Toning: Five to ten minutes at 70 degrees F.

Time of Washing

Wash for ten to fifteen minutes until the highlights are clear. A very slight permanent yellow coloration of the clear gelatine will usually oeeur, but should be only just perceptible, when it will have no effect on projeetion. If the highlights are stained blue, then either the film was fogged during development or the bath was not compounded correctly. Washing should not be carried out for too long a period, especially with water inclined to be alkaline, because the toned image is soluble in alkali.

Life of Bath

If the acid is renewed to the extent of the original amount after toning each 5000 feet, the bath is capable of toning 15,000 feet per 50 gallons of Solution.

If even after revival, the tone remains flat, the bath is exhausted and should be thrown away.

After continued use, a slight bluish sludge will collect in the bath, but this is not harmful. Should this form, however, to any appreciable extent, it is due either to incorrect mixing, the action of light, or to contact with metallic surfaces.

TONE I

Tone I: Pale Blue (Iron)

The instructions are as for Tone H with the following modifications:

Positive Employed: Normal.

Time of Toning

Two to four minutes according to depth of tone desired.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1918): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester NY, pp. 15-16)

“Toning

Toning involves the colouring of the black portion of the monochrome silver image. The image is no longer black-and-white (i.e. black through shades of grey to white), but is now colour-to-white through various shades of that one colour. This can be accomplished through one of two very different processes:

Metallic toning is not a dyeing process like tinting. This is a chemical process that replaces the silver image with a coloured metallic salt produced in the film during the process. The dye is generated from the silver image together with the ingredients of the toning solution. The salts most commonly used were metal ferricyanides, so the silver was first converted to silver ferrocyanide (a process called ‘bleaching’) in one solution, then in a second solution was replaced by another metal to form, for example, Copper ferrocyanide (which is red), or by Iron to produce Ferric ferrocyanide (which is bright blue).

Other metals produced other colours.

The dye database lists all the metal ferricyanide ‘recipes’ known, but in practice most tones were either Iron Tone Blue, ferric ferrocyanide (also called Prussian Blue), or copper ferrocyanide, a red/brown. Uranium was widely recommended but was extremely toxic, and although I have analysed several likely frames I have never seen a (red) Uranium tone for certain. Many others, especially vanadium, were very unpredictable in production. Some of the olive green tones created by modifying the chemistry of Iron Tone Blue technique fade in time to produce unexpected and bizarre polarized images (once thought to be intentional on the part of the original laboratory; see Hertogs and de Klerk: Disorderly Orders).

In most cases the final image was actually a mixture of the coloured new metallic salt and some residual silver ferrocyanide. Silver ferrocyanide is visually white by reflected light, but will appear dark by transmitted light, as in film projection. In some metallic toning processes a third stage was possible.

The removal of any silver ferrocyanide by a process called fixing results in a saturated bright clear image, and was particularly recorded in the literature for the Iron Tone Blue. How often this tedious three stage process was actually carried out in the silent era is unknown. During the late 1990s analyses were carried out at Soho Images in London to qualitatively define the colourants of film fragments from the 1920s. Just one film example was a bright blue tone which contained no silver at all, and this was presumably made using this elaborate process.”

(Read, Paul (2009): ‘Unnatural Colours’. An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Era Movies. In: Film History, 21.1, pp. 9-46, on pp. 14-15)

“Toning was achieved through a process where a coloured compound was substituted for the silver of the emulsion without colouring the gelatin of the film. This could be obtained in three ways:

A by direct toning, in which the silver salts are replaced by another coloured metallic compound;

B by toning in two baths, where the silver image is transformed first into a colourless salt, and then into a coloured salt;

C by mordanting, in which the silver is replaced by an insoluble silver salt capable of fixing organic colouring agents.

The three different systems of toning – devised to increase the variety of available colours – cannot easily be differentiated by a cursory examination of the prints from this era. The possibilities offered by toning alone were in fact limited by the number of metals (such as iron, uranium and copper) which would yield colour compounds. With mordanting, however, because some organic compounds can be altered by colouring solutions, the variety of colours that could be obtained was practically equal to the quantity of basic substances available. The introduction of toning by the use of mordants, towards the end of the 1910s, was a response to aesthetic requirements, and to a market which demanded ever more complex and sophisticated colouring effects.

In the direct examination of a piece of nitrate film, a tinted print shows colouring in both the dark and the light areas of the frame, and on the edges of the film (Plate 47). With toning and mordanting, only those areas retaining the silver of the emulsion are coloured. The remaining parts of the frame appear as white, and the edges remain uncoloured (Plate 48). Tinting, toning, and stencil (or, more rarely, hand-painted) colour may be seen together in the same shot, thus multiplying the creative possibilities of these techniques (Plates 44, 51 and 52). Every individual scene with tinting, toning, or a combination of the two had to be immersed in a separate bath, so the film stock to be treated was wound on reels containing all the scenes to be treated with a particular colour. In most tinted prints and all toned prints, segments with different colours had to be rejoined with splices in every positive print. In a nitrate copy of The Red Lantern (Albert Capellani, 1919) held by the Cinémathèque Royale in Belgium there is a scene set in a dance hall where changing effects of light are achieved by fragments in various colours, joined with splices.

There are no such splices, however, in nitrate prints of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rex Ingram, Metro Pictures, 1921) in the shot where a woman sings the ‘Marseillaise’ while the colour changes from blue, to black and white and then red, alluding to the French flag. In this case, the effect was possibly obtained by consecutively immersing portions of the footage corresponding to the entire shot in different colour baths without cutting the positive print (Plate 50).

It has been stated so often as to become a cliché that a colour in a motion picture was chosen most frequently for its specific dramatic, atmospheric, or psychological connotation, such as blue for heavenly scenes (as in Robert William Paul’s The ? Motorist, 1906), or for night-time settings, the transition from blue to yellow or ochre where a character enters a dark room and switches on a light, or red to indicate fire. The utility of this approach to colour is undeniable, but that alone is not adequate to explain the enormous variety of options that were available to filmmakers and their audiences. If it were simply a matter of associating colours with events or such emotional states as hatred or passion, the palette would have been rather limited, if only because the symbolic meanings of colour were never codified or generally agreed upon by the public. In popular wisdom at the turn of the century, yellow was widely associated with compromise and cowardice, yet only rarely used this way in film. In the often-cited instance of The Lonedale Operator (David W. Griffith, Biograph, 1911), blue tinting supports the stratagem of the heroine who, in the dim light of a room, holds a monkey wrench in her hand in order to make it seem to the two bandits that she has a gun. It is true that in this case the association of the colour blue with lack of light has more than a conventional value. But this derives from a theatrical tradition, while the philosophy and use of colour in silent cinema also obeyed other criteria, which were not necessarily more sophisticated but certainly made no effort to simulate reality.

One could say: primary colours for primary sensations. But then, if red equates with fire and violence, blue with the sea, with rain and darkness, and green with the natural world, what was done with purple, orange, mauve, and all the intermediary shades (including silvered dark gray toning, often difficult to distinguish from plain black and white) cited in the manuals and recognisable only after close examination of a nitrate print? And why was such a diversity of shades exploited in non-fiction subjects? Production companies tinted and toned their films using the resources at their disposal. In some feature films, the first reel would show a relatively wide variety of colours, gradually decreasing in the remaining footage. Here, the spectacular display of tinting and toning might be compared to black and white films of the 1920s with Technicolor sequences occurring at critical points in the story, or the concentration of grand scenic and sound effects in the first ten minutes of a feature film.

For the major companies of the 1910s (among them Pathe, Ambrosio, Gaumont, Metro, Cines, Famous Players-Lasky, Nordisk), the use of a gamut of tones was often a point of prestige; to middling and minor companies, colour was an expensive luxury to be used only when necessary (and at times even contrary to the sense of the scene, as we see in the many nocturnal settings tinted in amber yellow). An ochre yellow predominates in the feature films of the poverty row companies, sometimes alternating with blue. Elsewhere, the same colour would be used just to give a feeling of comfort and warmth to the viewing experience. Apparently, one colour was better than nothing, and it would allow low-budget firms to claim that their films were not in black and white after all. By and large, the poorest companies produced films with no colour at all; others avoided colour altogether in certain genres of film addressed to lower-class audiences, such as one- or two-reel comedies of the 1910s, which are largely in black and white.

Tinting and toning in a silent film could also vary according to the time and place of distribution. A company might re-release copies of its films using colours different from those initially distributed, more or less elaborate as circumstances dictated. Once exported abroad, moreover, a film was virtually abandoned to its fate in matters of colour. If the production company sent a second negative to another continent (as was the practice from the early 20th century), it might send recommendations on the tinting and toning, or indicate colour on the blank frames preceding each scene in the negative, but there was no guarantee that the recipient would follow those instructions, and little or no supervision of what was actually done. Local distributors would have the last word in this matter, and determine colour schemes following their own taste or the predilections of their clientele.”

(Cherchi Usai, Paolo (2000): Silent Cinema. London: BFI, pp. 24-27)

“METALLIC TONING

A somewhat different effect than that obtained by tinting can be obtained by toning the film either by metallic salts or by combinations of metallic salts and dyes, or both. A good example of toning in a major feature picture was the MGM production The Good Earth, which was given an overall brown tone with a Uranium Nitrate Toner. Regarding this film John Nickolaus, Manager of MGM Laboratory, 1937, stated that “to the best of our knowledge this is the first complete major release to be toned in its entirety, and furthermore, it is the first picture to be toned in a modern developing machine.”

The picture The Good Earth was approximately 12,000 feet long consisting of 14 reels.

There were approximately 500 release prints made from the original negative, all of which were toned.⁷ Toning differs from tinting in that it produces a colored image embedded in a layer of colorless gelatin. Thus the highlights remain colorless while the halftones and the shadows are colored. When a silver image is treated in a solution containing potassium ferricyanide and a metal salt, it is oxidized and converted to silver ferrocyanide and at the same time a colored metal ferrocyanide is precipitated. For example:⁸ Suitable solutions for metallic toning in this way were:

Cyan-Blue Tone

4Fe(Fe(CN)₆) + 4Ag = Ag₄(Fe(CN)₆) + Fe₆ [(Fe(CN)₆)]₃
Ferric ferricyanide + silver = silver ferrocyanide + ferric fcrrocyanide

Red-Orange Tone

4Ag + 2K₃Fe(CN)₆ + 2(UO₂)(NO₃)₂ = Ag4(Fe(CN)6) + (UO₂)₂ (Fe(CN)₆) + 6KNO₃
Silver + potassium ferricyanide + uranium nitrate = silver ferrocyanide + uranium ferrocyanide + potassium nitrate

Cyan-Blue Tone

Ammonium persulfate 0.5 gram
Ferric alum 1.25 grams
Oxalic acid 3.0 grams
Potassium ferricyanide 1.0 gram
Ammonium alum 5.0 grams
Hydrochloric acid (10%) 1.0 ml
Water to 1.0 liter
Orange-Red Tone
Uranyl nitrate 2.5 grams
Potassium oxalate 2.5 grams
Potassium ferricyanide 1.0 gram
Ammonium alum 6.0 grams
Hydrochloric acid (10%) 5.0 ml
Water to 1.0 liter

Red Tone

Potassium citrate 70.0 grams
Copper sulfate 12.0 grams
Potassium ferricyanide 12.0 grams
Ammonium carbonate 6.0 grams
Water to 1.0 liter

Sepia effects were obtained by a two-bath process which produced a silver sulfide image:

Sepia Tone

Solution A
Potassium ferricyanide 20.0 grams
Potassium bromide 5.0 grams
Water to 1.0 liter

Solution B
Sodium sulfide 5.0 grams
Water to 1.0 liter

Film was first bleached in solution A then toned in solution B.”

References

⁷ NICKOLAUS, J. M., “Toning Positive Film by Machine Methods,” Journal of The Society of Motion Picture Engineers, July, 1936, p. 67.

⁸ GLAFKIDES, PIERRE, Photographic Chemistry (London: Fountain Press, 1960), II, 647-651.

(Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, pp. 19-20)

“Visually similar to tinting is the process of toning (color plate 3).

Adapted for film at the turn of the century, toning involved manipulating the silver in a print’s emulsion, either by replacing it chemically with a colored compound or with a mordant that would absorb dye more readily, or by bleaching the silver in the emulsion and then coloring the film with a dye that would only adhere to where the silver had been. Similar to tinting in that a single color dominates the image, toning is different in that the hues are richest in the densest parts of the image (the shadowy parts of the frame that originally possessed the greatest amount of silver). The lightest areas, by contrast, absorb little or no color. The visual difference between tinting and toning can be quite pronounced, as toning, unlike tinting, can provide the colors with a rich variety in saturation density across the image. At other times, it can be difficult to distinguish between the processes onscreen with images that have little variation in density; if one inspects a nitrate print by hand, however, with tinting the color will be found around the sprockets on the unexposed film edges, while with toning the edges will remain clear. The reasons for tinting and toning were at times fairly evident: to create certain diegetic meanings, such as blue for night or red for fire. However, at another level, these colors were often thought about and applied in terms of their connotative meanings: a blue tone might provide both a sense of darkness and the chilly sensation of a wintry night, while a red tint might connote passion, and yellow warmth.

These sensual meanings tell us much about how color and the cinema were thought about in the early twentieth century.

[…]

Lastly, these various processes were often combined, producing a wide variety of effects: tinting with hand coloring, tinting with toning, tinting with stenciling (color plates 5 and 23). Regarding the usage of these techniques, based upon surviving nitrate prints and on historical accounts, the general estimate is that color processes were used occasionally on prints through 1907 and that between 1908 and 1925 color (predominantly tinting and toning) became more popular, used in varying degrees in roughly 80 percent of prints produced before the decline in coloring at the end f the 1920s. These estimates are extremely general and to some extent problematic. The 80 percent estimate, for instance, comes from Kodak advertising that promoted the adoption of its pre-tinted film stocks, and other sources suggest that this estimate may be exaggerated.⁵ With the loss of so many silent films and their colors, compounded by conflicting records, it is impossible to develop an exact estimate of color usage during the silent era.

Still, one of my chief aims here is to provide more precision to our knowledge of the uses of color in silent cinema. For instance, at George Eastman House, I have carried out research on the Davide Turconi Frame Collection, which comprises approximately 23,500 nitrate frame fragments of early films (usually two to three frames each—see .the color plates for samples from the collection).⁶ These 23,500 fragments were cut out from approximately 800 internationally produced films made primarily between 1908 and 1912 and distributed in Europe. Of these fragments, approximately 58 percent contain applied color (tinting, toning, hand coloring, and/or stenciling). However, if one bases these estimates upon the eight hundred titles represented in the collection, rather than just the clips themselves, 74 percent of the titles contain some degree of color: 69 percent with tinting, 13 percent with toning, 9 percent with stenciling, and 3 percent with hand coloring. From the Turconi Collection, we can gain at least a fragmentary snapshot of color usage during these early years of cinema.

References

⁵ See the Kodak ad “Eastman Positive Film with Tinted Base,” American Cinematographer 2.18 (October 1,1921): 14. For a lower estimate of color usage during the early 1920s, see F. E. Ives, “Color Toning of Cinema Films,” American Cinematographer 3.11 (February 1923): 13,22.

⁶ For more information on the collection, see Joshua Yumibe, “From Switzerland to Italy and All around the World: The Josef Joye and Davide Turconi Collections,” in Early Cinema and the “National,” ed. Richard Abel, Giorgio Bertellini, and Rob King (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008), 321-331; and Paolo Cherchi Usai and Joshua Yumibe, “The Davide Turconi Collection of Nitrate Film Frames (1897-1944),” Journal of Film Preservation 85 (November 2011): 46-49.”

(Yumibe, Joshua (2012): Moving Colors. Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism. New Brunswick et al.: Rutgers University Press, pp. 4-6)

“Toning was also adopted for films in the late 1890s from intermedial practices: specifically from the toning of lantern slides and photographic prints (for example, the brown tones of albumen and Van Dyke prints and the blue tones of cyanotypes). One of the earliest references to the toning of films appears in Henry Hopwood’s 1899 Living Pictures: “It is possible, now, however, to procure films coated with almost as great a variety of emulsions as in lantern-slide work; and the use of a chloride of silver film will often give a warm appearance to a hard picture which would present an absolutely wintry aspect in black and white, while the variety of colors obtainable, used with discretion, is of the greatest service.”⁴⁴ Hopwood does not go into technical detail; however, silver chloride is the basic, light-sensitive material in film and photographic emulsion. Since the mid-nineteenth century, photographers had been developing methods of transforming silver chloride into various colored metallic compounds by the use of gold, platinum, and lead toning baths. Hopwood suggests that these methods were adapted to color films by the late 1890s, although without more technical description it is difficult to ascertain the precise toning techniques he is referring to.

In fact, multiple methods of film toning were used during the silent era, though all worked by manipulating the silver in a positive print’s film emulsion to add color to the grey and black areas of the image. Different methods allowed for a greater variety of available toning colors; however, some methods were more stable and colorfast than others. The various toning guides produced in the 1910s and 1920s by companies such as Agfa, Kodak, and Pathé provide detailed descriptions of the various methods.⁴⁵ The two basic categories are metallic toning and dye toning.

With metallic toning, the silver chloride was bleached and then dyed with a metal salt that only adhered to areas where the silver had been. This was achieved through either a single or a double bath process: with the single bath, the bleach and the metallic compound worked on a print’s silver chloride in a single step

whereas in the double bath process the bleaching and metal coloring were separated. The single bath process was quicker and cheaper, but since the colors produced were reactive both to heat and to light they were relatively unstable on film prints, particularly in comparison to the metallic tones produced by the double bath process, which were not prone to fading. However, the range of metallic colored tones was relatively limited: iron blue, copper red, reddish-brown from uranium, greenish-yellow from vanadium, and warm brown from silver sulfide.

To expand the range of available tones, dye toning (or “mordanting,” a technique also used for coloring cloth, in which a mordant substance helps fix organic dyes to fabric) was adapted to film toning and worked in a similar way to the double bath metallic toning process. In the first bath, the silver chloride was bleached into a mordant; the second bath was then a dye bath in which the colorant only adhered to the mordant in the image. A much wider range of colors could be employed in the mordanting process; however, as the colors were achieved through organic dyes, they also were more susceptible than metallic tones to fading over time.

One of the first advertisements for toning is found in a catalog by the British filmmaker Cecil Hepworth from 1903 that includes a page promoting his company’s recently developed toning process (likely metallic toning), available in three colors, “Warm Rich BROWN / Bright RED / Brilliant BLUE.”⁴⁶ The catalog goes on to explain that these “colors are not produced by staining or dyeing the picture [that is by tinting], and the effect is the opposite of that produced by ‘tinters.’ In our films, the image is a colored one, while the highlights remain pure white.” Similar to tinting in that the toning produces a uniformly colored world, as Hepworth’s catalog points out, there are important differences as well. Rather than fully immersing every inch of the scene, toning clings to objects and works by contrast with the lighter background. With the uniformity “of one color dominating the scene, toning does not create as much of a separation between background and foreground as hand coloring and stenciling do, but rather functions somewhere in between those processes and tinting. As for actual films that were toned, there are extant Pathé examples of toning at least as early as 1905—for instance, Le Chemineau (The Tramp, Albert Capellani, 1905, with blue toning)—and the Edison Company began promoting toning as “monotinting” in 1906 for titles such as Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, The Night Before Christmas, and Life of an American Policeman, and in 1907 for The “Teddy” Bears, though none of these Edison films are known to survive in color.⁴⁷ Like Hepworth, the Edison Company promoted toning as a better process than tinting, largely in relation to toning’s colorfastness (again, presumably metallic toning). Hepworth noted that the process was new and therefore the company could not make guarantees about its permanency, but the catalog does state that none of its sample prints “have shown the least sign of change.”⁴⁸ The Edison Company was more assertive in its ads, claiming that toning is a chemical process, the colors are fixed and permanent, cannot be washed off, will not fade and will last as long as the film itself….

The usual method employed for tinting films is to put them through a solution of aniline dye. Red, green and blue are the colors mostly used. This is simply a cheap staining process. The colors are not fixed or permanent, can be washed off by water, and fade in a short time under the intense light of the Projecting Kinetoscope.⁴⁹ As promotional materials, these assertions must be taken skeptically; however, they do usefully call attention to the issue of colorfastness. As the Edison ad notes, dyes could quickly fade during projection because of the intensity of the lamp. This instability of colorants makes it difficult to ascertain how widely they were employed on films during silent cinema, for so many of these early hues of the cinema have been lost through fading and destruction. Kodak suggested in advertisements in the early 1920s that as much as 80 percent of films were at least partially tinted, and a general periodization based upon surviving nitrate material is that tinting and toning were used somewhat infrequently before 1905, but the methods began to be adopted more widely during the single-reel era and then throughout the 1910s.⁵⁰ Toning seems to have followed a similar pattern during the early 1900s and 1910s, but in general it was not used as much as tinting, and usage dropped in the 1920s with the adoption of pre-tinted film stocks. Pre-tinted stocks could be combined with toning to produce a wider variety of color effects, but surviving prints suggest that dual tinting and toning also declined in the twenties. It is worth pointing out that in estimating the quantity of film tinting, Kodak was using these numbers to promote the adoption of its pre-tinted stock. F. E. Ives, for instance, suggests that color tinting and toning in the 1920s may not have been so widespread: “The larger element of cost is of such importance, I was told in one of the larger Hollywood studios, that their efficiency experts would permit a limited amount of tinting, but prohibit the use of the more costly chemical processes.”51 Even if Ives is correct about a general reduction in color due to growing concerns about cost in 1920s Hollywood, the degree of tinting and toning in the 1920s varied widely across productions and in different national contexts.

Despite uncertainty regarding the 1920s, the estimated increase in tinting and toning at the end of the first decade of the 1900s is corroborated by surviving print evidence (as in the Davide Turconi Collection, discussed in the introduction) and by developments in positive cutting techniques during the single-reel era. Tinting and toning preclude cutting the negative into continuity for easier development of positive release prints, because each section of the positive that is tinted and/or toned has to be subjected to the color process before it can be edited. The result is that every positive print must be spliced together in continuity after the various sections have been color treated, which is a more complicated and considerably more expensive process than producing continuity prints from an already edited negative.

One procedure developed during the single-reel era to help coordinate tinting, toning, and positive print assembly involved cutting the negative according to plans for tinting and toning. All shots that were to be colored a specific hue were printed together, then colored at the same time, separated once the colors dried, and finally cut into continuity. To facilitate these complex operations, beginning in the latter half of the first decade of the 1900s, shots were labeled on the edited negative with frame “slugs” ranging on average between one and four frames. These slugs preceded each shot with identifying footage numbers for continuity editing and coloring instructions scratched or printed into them. The information on the slugs was carefully coordinated with continuity scripts that provided print editors with detailed instructions for cutting the final print into continuity. This not only shows the growing complexity of film structure and print production during the single-reel era, but it also indicates how color was an integral part of the editing system and remained so into the 1920s. Given how much of the material history of early color has been lost through decomposition and fading, slugs and their accompanying continuity scripts provide important traces of these processes, even after the actual colors have been lost.⁵²

References

⁴⁴ Henry V. Hopwood, Living Pictures: Their History, Photo-Production, and Practical Working (London: Optician and Photographic Trades Review, 1899), 204.

⁴⁵ Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film, eds. 1-4 (1916, 1918,1922/1924 reprint, and 1927); Le film vierge Pathé: manuel de développement et de tirage (Paris: Les Etablissements, 1926); AGFA, Kine-Handbuch (Berlin: Wolfen,ca. 1929). Also see Paul Read, and Mark-Paul Meyer, Restoration of Motion Picture Film (Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000), 186-191.

⁴⁶ “A Selected Catalogue of the Best and Most Interesting ‘Hepwix’ Films,” 6.

⁴⁷ For Edison, see the catalog “No. 288, Edison Films to July 1906,” in Motion Picture Catalogs, G-514; and the Edison ads for Dream of a Rarebit Fiend in the New York Clipper through March 1906 and for The “Teddy” Bears in the New York Clipper (March 2,1907): 11.

⁴⁸ “A Selected Catalogue of the Best and Most Interesting ‘Hepwix’ Films,” 6.

⁴⁹ Edison Manufacturing Company, “No. 288, Edison Films to July 1906,” G-514.

⁵⁰ See the Kodak ad in American Cinematographer 2.18 (October 1,1921): 14.

⁵¹ F. E. Ives, “Color Toning of Cinema Films,” American Cinematographer 3.11 (February 1923): 13, 22.

⁵² For a useful discussion of these cutting techniques and their implications for film history and restoration, see Luciano Berriatua and Camille Blot-Wellens, “The Colors of Phantom” trans. Debra Lyn Christie, in the DVD booklet for Phantom: The Authorized Restored Edition (Los Angeles: Flicker Alley, 2006).”

(Yumibe, Joshua (2012): Moving Colors. Early Film, Mass Culture, Modernism. New Brunswick et al.: Rutgers University Press, pp. 100-105)

(Read, Paul (2009): ‘Unnatural Colours’. An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Era Movies. In: Film History, 21.1, pp. 37-39.)

“2° Virages

135. Malgré la variété des effets qu’ils permettent d’obtenir, les virages doivent être distribués judicieusement dans une bande positive.

D’ailleurs, la plupart des virages amènent un renforcement notable de l’image. Il faut donc prévoir les tableaux destinés aux virages et les tirer en conséquence.

Pour être virée avec avantage, une image ne doit pas être voilée. Tout voile, quelle que soit son origine, est accentué par le virage. Les films présentant une teinte jaunâtre, provoquée par leur développement en bain révélateur oxydé, sont également impropres à être virés.

Il est indispensable aussi que les films destinés à être virés aient été parfaitement fixés et lavés.

136. Une image virée est constituée par un composé coloré qui se substitue à l’argent, partout où il y en a, sans teinter la gélatine du film.

Le composé coloré peut être un sel métallique coloré, obtenu en partant de l’image primitive (virages simples), ou encore une matière colorante organique qui se fixe sur l’image après la transformation de celle-ci en iodure d’argent, ou en un autre sel capable de la mordancer (virage par mordançage).

VIRAGES DIRECTS (en un seul bain).

137. Virage N° 1 (bleu) au fer. – Préparation du bain: On prépare séparément les solutions suivantes:

On filtre chaque solution.

Pour l’emploi, mélanger ces trois solutions dans l’ordre indiqué, puis étendre à 30 litres.

Mode opératoire:
Un séjour de cinq minutes du châssis dans ce bain suffit à virer l’image dans toute son épaisseur. Un lavage postérieur est indispensable pour éliminer la coloration bleue dans les parties claires.

Le spécimen 68 représente le virage bleu obtenu avec ce bain.

138. Virage N° 2 (brun) à l’urane. – Préparation du bain: On dissout séparément les produits suivants dans l’eau:

Ces solutions sont filtrées puis mélangées dans l’ordre indiqué; compléter ensuite à 30 litres.

La liqueur obtenue doit être limpide. Un trouble proviendrait de l’inobservation de ces indications.

Rôle de l acidité du bain:
La teneur en acide influe beaucoup sur le mélange ainsi obtenu. Il est important de partir d’un bain ayant exactement la teneur en acide prévue dans la formule. Aussi, vérifier que la solution de nitrate d’urane n’est pas acide au tournesol.¹ Si elle est acide, ajouter quelques gouttes d’ammoniaque jusqu à commencement de trouble dans la solution.

L’acidité du bain diminue avec le métrage traité: dans un bain de 30 litres, on pourra virer 250 mètres de film sans rien changer; mais, après ce métrage, il est bon d’ajouter au bain une nouvelle dose d’acide chlorhydrique égale à la première.

Cette addition permettra de virer encore 300 mètres, après quoi il est préférable de renouveler entièrement le bain.

Coloration obtenue:
Elle varie avec l’intensité du positif, et plus encore avec la durée de séjour du film dans le bain. Une modification de cette durée permet donc de donner la même teinte à des positifs de densités assez différentes. Le spécimen n° 69 viré à l’urane montre un des tons chauds couramment obtenus par ce bain.

Remarque:
Si le bain est utilisé de façon intermittente, on peut y constater un léger trouble qui n’altère d’ailleurs pas sa qualité.

Virage N° 3 (rouge) au cuivre. – Préparation: On dissout ensemble:

Cette solution est filtrée et on lui ajoute la liqueur suivante:

On complète ensuite à 30 litres.

Coloration obtenue:
Elle varie suivant l’intensité du positif. Le spécimen N° 70 représente un film positif rouge viré avec ce bain.

139. Remarques sur les virages directs.

Lavage:
Eviter de prolonger inutilement le lavage des images ainsi virées, et ne jamais utiliser des eaux alcalines.

Stabilité des bains:
Ces trois bains qui sont destinés à former des ferrocyanures colorés, par réaction sur l’argent de l’image, agiraient de même en présence de tout autre métal. Aussi le matériel de virage doit-il être de préférence en ébonite pour les tubes, et en ardoise pour les bacs. Le matériel mobile, châssis ou tambour, doit être uniquement affecté aux virages; son imperméabilisation doit être parfaite. Pour utiliser du matériel métallique – ce qui est à éviter – il faudrait que celui-ci soit recouvert de plusieurs couches d un vernis imperméable.

Conservation et entretien des bains de virage direct:
La conservation de ces bains exige certaines précautions, car ils sont en général très sensibles à la lumière. Il faudra protéger contre l’éclairage du soleil les récipients du qui les contiennent.

Même à l’abri de la lumière, ces bains peuvent se troubler. Ce phénomène amènerait des irrégularités dans le virage. La stabilité du bain est notablement améliorée quand il est protégé contre les poussières par un convertible du bois.

Une question se pose souvent, celle de l’entretien d’un bain de virage semblant s’épuiser rapidement. Le bain de virage bleu en particulier perd parfois très rapidement son énergie sans raison apparente. Dans ce cas, l’addition d’une petite quantité d’une solution de persulfate de potassium ou de persulfate d’ammoniaque à 3 %>, fraîchement préparée, aura pour effet de regénérer le bain en réoxydant les sels ferreux pouvant s’être formés.

140. Efficacité du virage. – On se demande parfois pourquoi certains positifs virés sont affaiblis tandis que le virage aurait dû les renforcer. La cause en est soit un lavage insuffisant, soit l’emploi des mêmes châssis que pour le développement, le fixage et le virage. On conçoit que l’introduction d’hyposulfite par le film mal lavé ou par le châssis encore imprégné vienne former avec le ferricyanure du bain le bain d’affaiblissement déjà indiqué (Voir § 74.)

En conséquence, il faut non seulement affecter aux virages des châssis spéciaux, mais encore assurer avant virage un lavage soigné.

Ces virages sont complets en six ou huit minutes. Un plus court traitement produit un virage superficiel pouvant être léger; mais cette opération faite sur châssis risque d’amener des irrégularités de teintes (les tours du châssis étant toujours virés plus vite que le reste). Nous recommandons plutôt, pour obtenir des virages légers, l’emploi des mêmes bains à une dilution plus grande.

141. Virages mixtes. – Il est possible de combiner certains de ces virages en vue d’obtenir des teintes intermédiaires et quelquefois même deux tons différents sur le même film. Un positif viré par un traitement de deux minutes au bain de virage N° 2, puis passé trois à quatre minutes au bain de virage N° 1 présentera une série de tons qui peut varier du bleu au brun-rouge, suivant l’intensité de l’image positive.

La durée du traitement dans chacun des bains N° 1 et N° 2 influe également sur la tonalité de l’image.

Un effet également agréable peut être obtenu par le virage direct mixte N° 4.

Virage N° 4 (fer et urane).

Préparation du bain:

On fait, d’autre part, les solutions suivantes:

Les solutions A et B sont mélangées, C est ajoutée et on complète à 30 litres.

La durée du traitement dans le bain variera suivant le ton désiré; les tons obtenus varieront eux-mêmes avec l’intensité des positifs. Le spécimen n° 71 représente un positif contrasté viré au bain n° 4. Il montre deux tons différents.

Les remarques sur la conservation des bains de virage doivent s’appliquer également à ce bain spécial.

Virage en deux bains

L’argent est transformé d’abord en un sel incolore, puis en un sel coloré.

142. Virage N° 5 (sépia). – L’argent de l’image est transformé en sulfure d’argent présentant en transparence une teinte sépia. En pratique, on transforme d’abord l’argent en bromure, la sulfuration s’obtenant rapidement dans un bain de monosulfure.

Préparation: On prépare les deux bains suivants:

Mode opératoire:
Le film est blanchi par un traitement de quatre minutes environ dans le premier bain et lavé jusqu’à décoloration complète, il est ensuite passé au bain de sulfure où il doit rester de six à dix minutes. Il faut laver abondamment après sulfuration.

Les lavages ont dans ce virage une grande importance. Il faut que le film ne contienne plus d’hyposulfite à son entrée dans le bain de blanchiment. Il faut en outre, qu’il n’entraîne pas de ferricyanure dans le bain de sulfuration.

Remarque:
Les concentrations données suffisent pour le virage par sulfuration en bac, elles peuvent être augmentées quand on veut opérer sur machine où il est intéressant que le traitement soit le plus court possible. Il ne faut pas dépasser toutefois une concentration en sulfure de 7 %, au risque de désagréger la gélatine.

Ce virage doit se faire très à l’écart des laboratoires de développement et des magasins de réserve de films vierges, les vapeurs sulfureuses étant très dangereuses pour l’émulsion vierge avant le développement.

143. Insuccès des virages directs.

Virage inégal: Séchage avant virage. Ne jamais sécher avant virage.

Trainées: Film encore imprégné du bain de virage, ayant trop longtemps séjourné à l’air. Dans les virages en deux bains, lavage insuffisant entre les deux opérations.

Taches blanches, taches claires, petits points clairs: Eclaboussures sur la pellicule virée. Lavage à l’eau trop alcaline; passer le film, après virage, dans de l’eau acidulée à l’acide acétique (1 %) avant son séchage.

Blancs colorés: Bains mal préparés; dans le cas d’épuisement du bain par réduction, ajouter un oxydant (persulfate de potassium à 3 %).

144. Stabilité des images virées. – En suivant les modes opératoires indiqués et en utilisant les formules citées, les images obtenues sont, en général, stables.

La stabilité de l’image en sulfure d’argent est égale à celle de l’image argentique.

Les virages par formation de ferrocyanure sont stables, si le lavage a été soigné. Cependant de telles images ne doivent pas être exposées à des émanations sulfureuses qui provoqueraient une métallisation (formation de sulfure d’argent).

145. Résistance du film viré. – Un film viré dure autant qu’un film ordinaire, mais certains virages durcissent la gélatine par tannage. Si on juge utile d’assouplir le film, la solution de glycérine déjà prévue pourra servir:

¹ Le papier tournesol rouge, trempé dans une solution basique, bleuit; le papier tournesol bleu, trempé dans une solution acide, rougit.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, pp. 129-135. (in French)

“Virage N° 1 (bleu) au fer. – Préparation du bain: On prépare séparément les solutions suivantes:

On filtre chaque solution.

Pour l’emploi, mélanger ces trois solutions dans l’ordre indiqué, puis étendre à 30 litres.

Mode opératoire:
Un séjour de cinq minutes du châssis dans ce bain suffit à virer l’image dans toute son épaisseur. Un lavage postérieur est indispensable pour éliminer la coloration bleue dans les parties claires.

Le spécimen 68 représente le virage bleu obtenu avec ce bain.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, pp. 129-130. (in French)

“Virage N° 3 (rouge) au cuivre. – Préparation: On dissout ensemble:

Cette solution est filtrée et on lui ajoute la liqueur suivante:

On complète ensuite à 30 litres.

Coloration obtenue:
Elle varie suivant l’intensité du positif. Le spécimen N° 70 représente un film positif rouge viré avec ce bain.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, p. 131. (in French)

“Virages mixtes. – Il est possible de combiner certains de ces virages en vue d’obtenir des teintes intermédiaires et quelquefois même deux tons différents sur le même film. Un positif viré par un traitement de deux minutes au bain de virage N° 2, puis passé trois à quatre minutes au bain de virage N° 1 présentera une série de tons qui peut varier du bleu au brun-rouge, suivant l’intensité de l’image positive.

La durée du traitement dans chacun des bains N° 1 et N° 2 influe également sur la tonalité de l’image.

Un effet également agréable peut être obtenu par le virage direct mixte N° 4.

Virage N° 4 (fer et urane).

Préparation du bain:

On fait, d’autre part, les solutions suivantes:

Les solutions A et B sont mélangées, C est ajoutée et on complète à 30 litres.

La durée du traitement dans le bain variera suivant le ton désiré; les tons obtenus varieront eux-mêmes avec l’intensité des positifs. Le spécimen n° 71 représente un positif contrasté viré au bain n° 4. Il montre deux tons différents.

Les remarques sur la conservation des bains de virage doivent s’appliquer également à ce bain spécial.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, pp. 132-133. (in French)

“Virage en deux bains.

L’argent est transformé d’abord en un sel incolore, puis en un sel coloré.

Virage N° 5 (sépia). – L’argent de l’image est transformé en sulfure d’argent présentant en transparence une teinte sépia. En pratique, on transforme d’abord l’argent en bromure, la sulfuration s’obtenant rapidement dans un bain de monosulfure.

Préparation: On prépare les deux bains suivants:

Mode opératoire:
Le film est blanchi par un traitement de quatre minutes environ dans le premier bain et lavé jusqu’à décoloration complète, il est ensuite passé au bain de sulfure où il doit rester de six à dix minutes. Il faut laver abondamment après sulfuration.

Les lavages ont dans ce virage une grande importance. Il faut que le film ne contienne plus d’hyposulfite à son entrée dans le bain de blanchiment. Il faut en outre, qu’il n’entraîne pas de ferricyanure dans le bain de sulfuration.

Remarque:
Les concentrations données suffisent pour le virage par sulfuration en bac, elles peuvent être augmentées quand on veut opérer sur machine où il est intéressant que le traitement soit le plus court possible. Il ne faut pas dépasser toutefois une concentration en sulfure de 7 %, au risque de désagréger la gélatine.

Ce virage doit se faire très à l’écart des laboratoires de développement et des magasins de réserve de films vierges, les vapeurs sulfureuses étant très dangereuses pour l’émulsion vierge avant le développement.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, pp. 133-134. (in French)

“Virage N° 2 (brun) à l’urane. – Préparation du bain: On dissout séparément les produits suivants dans l’eau:

Ces solutions sont filtrées puis mélangées dans l’ordre indiqué; compléter ensuite à 30 litres.

La liqueur obtenue doit être limpide. Un trouble proviendrait de l’inobservation de ces indications.

Rôle de l acidité du bain:
La teneur en acide influe beaucoup sur le mélange ainsi obtenu. Il est important de partir d’un bain ayant exactement la teneur en acide prévue dans la formule. Aussi, vérifier que la solution de nitrate d’urane n’est pas acide au tournesol.¹ Si elle est acide, ajouter quelques gouttes d’ammoniaque jusqu à commencement de trouble dans la solution.

L’acidité du bain diminue avec le métrage traité: dans un bain de 30 litres, on pourra virer 250 mètres de film sans rien changer; mais, après ce métrage, il est bon d’ajouter au bain une nouvelle dose d’acide chlorhydrique égale à la première.

Cette addition permettra de virer encore 300 mètres, après quoi il est préférable de renouveler entièrement le bain.

Coloration obtenue:
Elle varie avec l’intensité du positif, et plus encore avec la durée de séjour du film dans le bain. Une modification de cette durée permet donc de donner la même teinte à des positifs de densités assez différentes. Le spécimen n° 69 viré à l’urane montre un des tons chauds couramment obtenus par ce bain.

Remarque:
Si le bain est utilisé de façon intermittente, on peut y constater un léger trouble qui n’altère d’ailleurs pas sa qualité.”

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, pp. 130-131. (in French)

“A more sophisticated range of color variations could be obtained through toning. The print was immersed in a chemical bath that substituted a colored compound for the silver in the emulsion. This dyed only the darker areas of the image, leaving the rest of the gelatin completely transparent. It is, therefore, easy to identify a toned print by the fact that the perforated edges are not colored and the light parts of the image appear white.

The toning dye was a colored metallic salt. Toning was accomplished either in a single dye bath (direct toning) or in two baths. In the latter case, the silver of the emulsion was replaced first by an uncolored salt, then by a pigmented salt. The original photographic image had to be extremely sharp; any haziness or nebulosity could jeopardize the final result.

Mordanting, or dye fixing, was a variation of the toning procedure.

The silver emulsion was replaced by a nonsoluble silver salt. The metallic salt itself had no color or was very dimly colored; it acted as the mordant, fixing the pigment. The intensity of the final color was proportional to the amount of the mordanting material, which in turn corresponded to the original quantity of silver in the emulsion.

In a print colored by mordanting, as in a toned print, the transparent parts of the image are white, and the margins of the film have no color. This rule is particularly useful in identifying the processes involved in those nitrate prints colored with a system combining tinting with mordanting or toning; tinting leaves its traces around the perforation, while toning is visible only on the image.”

(Cherchi Usai, Paolo (1996): The Color of Nitrate. Some Factual Observations on Tinting and Toning Manuals for Silent Films. In: Abel, Richard (ed.): Silent Film. New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, pp. 21-30, on pp. 26-27)

“In principle, toning by metallic ferrocyanide is based on the fact that the finely divided silver of the photographic image is an excellent reducing agent. As such, the metallic silver of the image may be converted into an image composed of silver salts (if a suitable supply of negative ions is available to form insoluble silver compounds); these silver compounds may then be converted into insoluble salts of metals other than silver. Many of the salts of heavy metals are highly coloured, so this chemical procedure serves as a method of converting a black-and-white silver image into a highly coloured non-silver image.

Examples of metals and the colours of the ferrocyanide salt produced by them include:

Cobalt – Violet
Copper – Reddish brown
Iron – Prussian blue
Molybdenum – Brown
Nickel – Reddish brown
Titanium – Yellow
Uranium – Reddish brown
Vanadium – Yellow Orange”

(Oliveira, João S. de (2002): Black-and-White in Colour. In: Roger Smither (ed.), This Film is Dangerous. A Celebration of Nitrate Film. Brussels: FIAF, pp. 117-122, on pp. 118-119.)

(Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé, p. 140. (in French)

“Tönen und Färben des Films.

Um die Eintönigkeit der schwarz-weißen Bilder bei der Vorführung zu beleben, gibt es, abgesehen von der bereits beschriebenen vorteilhaften Verwendung der farbigen Zelluloidunterlage zwei Methoden, die wohl zu unterscheiden sind:

1. Die Tonung („Virage”, „Chemische Färbung”). Sie besteht darin, daß das schwarze Silberbild durch chemische Umsetzungen verschiedenster Art in ein farbiges Silberbild verwandelt wird, während die Lichter, d. h. die silberfreien Gelatineteile, farblos bleiben.

2. Die Färbung (Kolorierung) – gewöhnliche Färbung im Gegensatz zur “chemischen Färbung”. Sie besteht darin, daß das schwarze Silberbild unverändert schwarz bleibt, während die Gelatine gefärbt wird, also im wesentlichen die Lichter farbig erscheinen.

Tonung: farbiges Bild auf ungefärbtem Grunde.
Färbung: schwarzes Bild auf farbigem Grunde.

Man kann auch die beiden Verfahren miteinander kombinieren und erhält dann farbige Bilder auf andersfarbigem Grunde. In diesem Falle hat stets erst die Tonung zu erfolgen und dann die Färbung.

Tonen.
Die einfachsten Tonungen, wie z. B. blau, braun und rot, erzeugt man dadurch, daß das im Bild vorhandene metallische Silber in die Eisen- (blau), Uran- (braun) oder Kupfer- (rot) Verbindung der Ferrocyanwasserstoffsäure überführt wird. Diese Art des Viragierens läßt sich im wesentlichen nur für die drei genannten Farben und deren Mischungen anwenden. Eine weitere Reihe Farben läßt sich durch ein anderes Verfahren erzielen, das darin besteht, daß das schwarze Silber des Bildes zunächst in eine mehr oder weniger farblose Verbindung (z. B. Jodsilber) übergeführt wird. Diese Verbindung kann durch bestimmte Anilin-Farbstoffe in verschiedenen Tönen angefärbt werden, während die Gelatine die Farbe nicht aufnimmt. Natürlich ist dieses Verfahren nur mit ganz besonderen Farbstoffen möglich, für welche die genannte farblose Verbindung ein ausgesprochenes Haftvermögen besitzt, das heißt, daß diese farblose Verbindung als „Beize” für die Farbstoffe dient.

Die besten Erfolge ergeben jedoch jene ersten Prozesse, bei welchen das metallische Silber in eine an sich gefärbte Verbindung übergeführt wird.

[…]

TONEN

Allgemeines über Tonen des Films ist bereits im I. Teil S. 79 gesagt worden.

Wir geben nachstehend einige nähere Vorschriften, die sich in der Praxis besonders gut bewährt haben.

1. Eisenbad (blau).

Man löse 375 g Ferrizyankalium
mit 0,5 g Kaliumbichromat

zusammen in 40 l Wasser auf und füge diese Lösung zu einer zweiten Lösung, die man herstellt aus:

425 g Eisenammoniakalaun,
500 g Oxalsäure,
40 1 Wasser.

Das Zusammengeben der Lösungen, die vorher filtriert sein müssen, soll nur bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur erfolgen und unter gutem Umrühren. Es bildet sich auf diese Weise eine klare, etwas gelblich gefärbte Lösung, die keinerlei Trübung enthalten soll, falls sauber und mit den richtigen Gewichtsmengen gearbeitet worden ist. Die Tonungsdauer ist je nach der gewünschten Farbnuance verschieden.

Besondere glasklare Töne erzielt man durch nachträgliche Fixage in einem verdünnten Fixierbad. Wir bemerken ausdrücklich, daß das Fixierbad erst nach sehr gutem Wässern des blau getonten Films angewandt werden darf, da sonst ein Abschwächen und Wegfressen der Details eintritt. Nach dem Fixieren ist wiederum gut zu wässern.

2. Uranbad (gelbbraun).

Man löse 500g Ferrizyankalium
in 10 l Wasser,
füge hinzu: 50 ccm einer 1 prozentigen Lösung von Kaliumbichromat
und setze das Ganze zu einer Lösung von:

550 g Uraniumnitrat,
5 00 g Oxalsäure,
40 l Wasser.

Genau wie bei dem Eisenbad müssen beide Lösungen getrennt filtriert und bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur unter gutem Umrühren miteinander gemischt werden. Es entsteht auch hier eine gelbliche Lösung, die keinerlei Niederschlag enthalten darf. Nach längerem Gebrauch des Bades muß die Oxalsäuremenge etwas aufgefrischt werden; man gehe dabei bis zu einer Gesamtmenge von 1000 g, füge also noch einmal, evtl. in Portionen, 500 g Oxalsäure in etwas Wasser gelöst hinzu; auf diese Weise wird das andernfalls mit der Zeit leicht eintretende Verschmutzen der Weißen vermieden.

3. Kupferbad (rotbraun).

Man löse: 500 g Kupfersulfat mit
2500 g Natriumzitrat (oder 2250 g Kaliumzitrat)
in zusammen 30 1 Wasser auf

und gebe hinzu die Lösung von:

400 g Ferrizyankalium in
20 1 Wasser,

nachdem man dieser Lösung 50 ccm Kaliumbichromatlösung, 1 prozentig, hinzugefügt hat. Auch hier muß beim Zusammengeben der filtrierten Lösungen gut gemischt und auf normale Temperatur geachtet werden.

Über die Anwendung der Bäder 1-3 ist noch folgendes zu sagen: Eine wässrige Lösung von Ferrizyankalium zusammen mit Fixiersalz wirkt bekanntlich als Abschwächer (Farmerscher Abschwächer). Enthält daher ein Film, und sei es auch nur in Spuren, Fixiersalz, so wird beim Eingehen in das Tonungsbad neben dem beabsichtigten Tonungsprozeß auch sofort ein Abschwächungsprozeß einsetzen. Es ergeben sich mithin zwei absolute Notwendigkeiten für jeden, der Tonungen mit gutem Erfolg anwenden und seine Tonungsbäder brauchbar erhalten will:

1. Man verwende für Tonungen – das gleiche gilt auch für Färbungen – nur allein für diesen Zweck reservierte Rahmen und benutze nicht etwa solche, die auch zur Entwicklung bzw. Fixierung des Films verwendet worden sind.

2. Der Positivfilm muß ganz besonders gut ausgewässert sein, wenn er getont werden soll. Um sicher zu gehen und die erforderliche Gleichmäßigkeit des Films auf jeden Fall zu garantieren, ist es aber zweckmäßig, den Film unmittelbar vor der Tonung noch einmal einige Minuten lang zu wässern; auf diese Weise wird man am besten Fehlschläge ausschließen und auch eine Zersetzung des Bades vermeiden, die bei den relativ teuren Chemikalien pekuniär ins Gewicht fallen würde.

Ferner sei noch darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß man zu tonende Positive etwas zarter in Deckung halten soll, da die Tonung, gleichzeitig etwas verstärkend wirkend, sonst zu dunkle Bilder gibt.

Neben diesen Hauptpunkten ist aber folgendes nicht außer acht zu lassen:

Es ist bekannt, wie wenig empfindlich unser Auge dafür ist, ob eine weiße Fläche, z. B. weißes Papier, aus reinem Weiß besteht oder ob diesem eine geringe Menge Schwarz beigemischt ist, so daß ein sehr helles Grau entsteht. Unser Auge beurteilt z. B. zwei Papiere, von denen das eine mit reinem Permanentweiß gestrichen ist, während das andere mit einem Gemisch von 90 Teilen Permanent weiß und 10 Teilen Schwarz belegt ist, als gleich weiß. Im Gegensatz hierzu findet aber das Auge die geringsten Zusätze von farbigen Substanzen. So wird z. B. eine Mischung von 90 Prozent weiß und 10 Prozent eines blauen Farbstoffes von unserem Auge sofort als lichtes Blau erkannt. Daraus folgt für die Zwecke der Virage:

Liegt ein Bild vor, dessen Himmel beispielsweise wolkenfrei ist, so wird mit bloßem Auge ein geringer allgemeiner Schleier, der über dem Himmel liegt, gar nicht empfunden werden, so lange er aus schwarzem Silber besteht. Sowie aber der Film getont wird, beispielsweise blau, wird ein störender Blauschleier über dem ganzen Bild erscheinen. Es folgt daraus, daß nur solche Films getont werden sollen, deren Lichter absolut klar sind. Überbelichtete oder bei der Entwicklung gequälte Films, bei denen sich ein allgemeiner Grau- oder Gelbschleier gebildet hat, sind keinesfalls geeignet zur Tonung.

Endlich sei noch darauf hingewiesen, daß der Film in den obigen Bädern erst ganz allmählich den endgültigen Farbton annimmt. Beispielsweise geht der Ton des Urantonbades von Schwarz über Biester nach dem eigentlichen Rötelton über. Man ist daher imstande, in jedem Bade, je nach der Deckung des Originals und nach der Dauer der Tonung, verschiedene Töne zu erzielen. Für ganz lichte Tönungen ist es zweckmäßig, die Bäder mit dem geichen Volumen Wasser zu verdünnen.

Haltbarkeit der Bäder

Die die Bäder bildenden Substanzlösungen sind mehr oder weniger lichtempfindlich, z. B. können die im Blaubad angewandten Chemikalien zur Herstellung des bekannten Blaupauspapiers dienen. Daher müssen die sämtlichen Bäder vor längerem Lichtzutritt (insbesondere Sonnenlicht) geschützt werden. Ebenso wie das Licht wirkt auch Staub zersetzend auf die betreffende Flüssigkeit unter Erzeugung eines stark gefärbten Niederschlages. Dieser wird sich als Schleier auf dem zu tonenden Film festsetzen und evtl. zu Verschmutzungen Anlaß geben. Man schützt daher die Bäder, solange sie nicht im Gebrauch sind, durch Auflegen eines sauberen Deckels aus Holz vor Staub und Belichtung.

Bei der Ausarbeitung der Bäderrezepte war es vor allem unser Bestreben, große Haltbarkeit derselben zu gewährleisten. Es ist uns dies auch in weitem Maße gelungen, und die nach den angegebenen Rezepten hergestellten Bäder sind haltbarer als die meisten in der Literatur angeführten.

Bei den jetzigen hohen Preisen der für die Tonung benötigten Chemikalien ist es unter Umständen wirtschaftlich, den Tonungsprozeß in zwei Phasen zu zerlegen, wobei man dann statt des einen relativ empfindlichen Bades zwei praktisch unbegrenzt haltbare Bäder anwendet. Dabei ist das erste Bad ein sogenanntes Bleichbad, das für alle gemeinsam angewendet wird. Der Film wird darauf gespült und dann in einem Tonungsbad, das nach der zu erzielenden Farbe verschieden ist, nachbehandelt. Es muß auf diese Weise ein wenig an Arbeit mehr geleistet werden; man vermeidet aber mit ziemlicher Sicherheit Fehlschläge, die durch die relativ leichte Zersetzlichkeit beim Einbadverfahren vorkommen können. Ein Vorteil des Einzelbades besteht jedoch darin, daß man hierbei die Umänderung des Farbtones von Schwarz zur gewünschten Farbe genau verfolgen und unterbrechen kann. So ist z. B. im Kupferbad der Ton zunächst schwarzbraun, geht dann zu einem rotbraunen und schließlich zu einem gelbbraunen Ton über. Bei dem Zweibadverfahren dagegen wird zunächst das schwarze Silber in eine grauweiße Substanz übergeführt. Diese muß nachher vollständig in ein farbiges Bild verwandelt werden. Unterbricht man die Tonung schon früher, so kann zwar der erreichte Effekt der Färbung recht befriedigend sein. Es muß aber gesagt werden, daß die dann nicht vollständig umgesetzte Silberverbindung nicht haltbar ist und am Lichte nachdunkelt. Die Haltbarkeit des Bildes ist erst dann eine vollkommene, wenn die grauweiße Zwischenverbindung vollständig in die farbige Verbindung umgesetzt ist. Es ist daher bei dem Einbadverfahren leichter, bestimmte Töne einzuhalten als bei dem Zweibadverfahren. Seiner größeren Wirtschaftlichkeit wegen mögen indes einige Rezepte angegeben sein. Der gründlich vorgewässerte Film wird zunächst in dem für alle Färbungen gleichen Vorbade ausgebleicht, das aus einer Auflösung von

1000 g Ferrizyankalium in
50 1 Wasser

besteht. Hierauf wird 5 Minuten lang gespült, bis die gelbliche Färbung der Gelatine (der Lichter) verschwunden ist, und in eines der nachstehenden Bäder eingegangen.

1. Sepia (Schwefeltonung).

500 g Schwefelnatrium mit
500 g Natriumsulfit (krist.) werden in
50 1 Wasser gelöst.

2. Rotbraun (Kupferbad).

2500 g Kupferchlorid mit
50 1 Wasser gelöst.

3. Tiefbraun (Uranbad).

1,5 kg Uranylnitrat,
0,75 kg Bromkalium,
50 1 Wasser.
Der Lösung 3 fügt man hinzu: 1,0 kg Oxalsäure.

4. Grasgrün.

1,0 kg Eisenchlorid,
0,5 kg Bromkalium,
0,5 kg Oxalsäure,
50 l Wasser.

5. Blaugrün (Eisenbad).

1,0 kg Ferrioxalat,
0,5 kg Bromkalium,
0,5 kg Oxalsäure,
50 1 Wasser.

6. Olivgrün

lässt sich erzielen durch Mischen des
Bades 4: Grasgrün mit
Bad 3: Tief braun,

und zwar im Verhältnis von 25-60 Prozent des Eisenbades mit entsprechend 75-40 Prozent des Uranbades. Je nach der Mischung entstehen grünere oder braunere Olivtöne.

Farbstofftonungen, Beizviragen

Eine andere Reihe von Tonungsverfahren beruht, wie bereits erwähnt, darauf, daß nach entsprechender Vorbehandlung der Film mit organischen Farbstoffen angefärbt wird. Die Vorbehandlung hat den Zweck, das schwarze Silberbild in ein gelblich weißes zu verwandeln, das die Eigenschaft hat, den Farbstoff an jenen Stellen festzuhalten, wo vorher Silber vorhanden war. An jenen Stellen, an denen sich kein Silber befindet, haften die dafür speziell ausgesuchten Farbstoffe nicht fest und werden durch eine Nachbehandlung mit Salzsäure restlos wieder entfernt.

Bleichbad.
Man löst die unten angegebenen Chemikalien in kaltem Wasser.

Färbebad.
Man löst den Farbstoff und die angegebenen Säurezusätze in 10 l Wasser (heiß), gießt die Lösung durch ein feines Haarsieb (oder durch einen Woll- oder Baumwollappen) in das Färbegefäß und fügt die fehlende Menge kalten Wassers hinzu.

Säurebad.
Man läßt die angegebene Menge konzentrierter Salzsäure in das Wasser einfließen und rührt um.

Tonung.
Das Tonen geschieht in der Weise, daß die entweder ganz trocknen oder ganz frisch angefeuchteten Films zunächst im Bleichbade vollständig ausgebleicht werden; als dann wird kurz abgespült. Darauf wird im Färbebad gefärbt, was in 2 bis 6 Minuten geschehen ist. Darauf wird der Film mit Wasser abgespült und danach die Anfärbung der Lichter im Säurebad entfernt. Zum Schluß wird nochmals gut abgespült und wie üblich getrocknet.

Es ist dringend darauf zu achten, daß für die Tonung nur ausgewässerte Films verwendet werden, da sonst durch den evtl. Gehalt an Fixiersalz das Bild im Bleichbad abgeschwächt wird.

Rezepte:

1. Blaugrün.
a) Bleichbad:

250 g Ferrizyankalium,
500 g Jodkalium,
100 l Wasser.

b) Färbebad:

600 g Blaugrün für Virage,
60 g Zitronensäure,
100 1 Wasser.

c) Säurebad:

3 l Salzsäure, konz.,
100 1 Wasser.

2. Grün.
a) Bleichbad:

Wie bei 1. : 250 g Ferrizyankalium,
500 g Jodkalium,
100 l Wasser.

b) Färbebad:

750 g Grün für Virage,
200 g Zitronensäure,
100 1 Wasser.

c) Säurebad:

Wie bei 1. :
3 l Salzsäure, konz.,
100 1 Wasser.

3. Gelbbraun.
a) Bleichbad:

Wie bei 1. :
250 g Ferrizyankalium,
500 g Jodkalium,
100 l Wasser.

b) Färbebad:

400 g Gelb für Virage,
600 ccm Eisessig,
100 l Wasser.

c) Säurebad:

Wie bei 1.:

Das Bild erscheint projiziert rein Sepia.

4. Rot.
a) Bleichbad:

Wie bei 1. :
250 g Ferrizyankalium,
500 g Jodkalium,
100 l Wasser.

b) Färbebad:

500 g Rot für Virage,
200 g Zitronensäure,
100 1 Wasser.

c) Säurebad:

Wie bei 1. :
3 l Salzsäure, konz.,
100 1 Wasser.

Das Bild erscheint projiziert satt rot.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil I on pp. 79–80 and Teil III on pp. 7–15.) (in German) [* year estimated]

“Tonen.
Die einfachsten Tonungen, wie z. B. blau, braun und rot, erzeugt man dadurch, daß das im Bild vorhandene metallische Silber in die Eisen- (blau), Uran- (braun) oder Kupfer- (rot) Verbindung der Ferrocyanwasserstoffsäure überführt wird. Diese Art des Viragierens läßt sich im wesentlichen nur für die drei genannten Farben und deren Mischungen anwenden. Eine weitere Reihe Farben läßt sich durch ein anderes Verfahren erzielen, das darin besteht, daß das schwarze Silber des Bildes zunächst in eine mehr oder weniger farblose Verbindung (z. B. Jodsilber) übergeführt wird. Diese Verbindung kann durch bestimmte Anilin-Farbstoffe in verschiedenen Tönen angefärbt werden, während die Gelatine die Farbe nicht aufnimmt. Natürlich ist dieses Verfahren nur mit ganz besonderen Farbstoffen möglich, für welche die genannte farblose Verbindung ein ausgesprochenes Haftvermögen besitzt, das heißt, daß diese farblose Verbindung als „Beize” für die Farbstoffe dient.

Die besten Erfolge ergeben jedoch jene ersten Prozesse, bei welchen das metallische Silber in eine an sich gefärbte Verbindung übergeführt wird.

Eingehende Vorschriften sind im III. Teil gegeben.

[…]

TONEN

Allgemeines über Tonen des Films ist bereits im I. Teil S. 79 gesagt worden.

Wir geben nachstehend einige nähere Vorschriften, die sich in der Praxis besonders gut bewährt haben.

1. Eisenbad (blau).

Man löse 375 g Ferrizyankalium
mit 0,5 g Kaliumbichromat

zusammen in 40 l Wasser auf und füge diese Lösung zu einer zweiten Lösung, die man herstellt aus:

425 g Eisenammoniakalaun,
500 g Oxalsäure,
40 1 Wasser.

Das Zusammengeben der Lösungen, die vorher filtriert sein müssen, soll nur bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur erfolgen und unter gutem Umrühren. Es bildet sich auf diese Weise eine klare, etwas gelblich gefärbte Lösung, die keinerlei Trübung enthalten soll, falls sauber und mit den richtigen Gewichtsmengen gearbeitet worden ist. Die Tonungsdauer ist je nach der gewünschten Farbnuance verschieden.

Besondere glasklare Töne erzielt man durch nachträgliche Fixage in einem verdünnten Fixierbad. Wir bemerken ausdrücklich, daß das Fixierbad erst nach sehr gutem Wässern des blau getonten Films angewandt werden darf, da sonst ein Abschwächen und Wegfressen der Details eintritt. Nach dem Fixieren ist wiederum gut zu wässern.

2. Uranbad (gelbbraun).

Man löse 500g Ferrizyankalium
in 10 l Wasser,
füge hinzu: 50 ccm einer 1 prozentigen Lösung von Kaliumbichromat
und setze das Ganze zu einer Lösung von:

550 g Uraniumnitrat,
5 00 g Oxalsäure,
40 l Wasser.

Genau wie bei dem Eisenbad müssen beide Lösungen getrennt filtriert und bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur unter gutem Umrühren miteinander gemischt werden. Es entsteht auch hier eine gelbliche Lösung, die keinerlei Niederschlag enthalten darf. Nach längerem Gebrauch des Bades muß die Oxalsäuremenge etwas aufgefrischt werden; man gehe dabei bis zu einer Gesamtmenge von 1000 g, füge also noch einmal, evtl. in Portionen, 500 g Oxalsäure in etwas Wasser gelöst hinzu; auf diese Weise wird das andernfalls mit der Zeit leicht eintretende Verschmutzen der Weißen vermieden.

3. Kupferbad (rotbraun).

Man löse: 500 g Kupfersulfat mit
2500 g Natriumzitrat (oder 2250 g Kaliumzitrat)
in zusammen 30 1 Wasser auf

und gebe hinzu die Lösung von:

400 g Ferrizyankalium in
20 1 Wasser,

nachdem man dieser Lösung 50 ccm Kaliumbichromatlösung, 1 prozentig, hinzugefügt hat. Auch hier muß beim Zusammengeben der filtrierten Lösungen gut gemischt und auf normale Temperatur geachtet werden.

Über die Anwendung der Bäder 1-3 ist noch folgendes zu sagen: Eine wässrige Lösung von Ferrizyankalium zusammen mit Fixiersalz wirkt bekanntlich als Abschwächer (Farmerscher Abschwächer). Enthält daher ein Film, und sei es auch nur in Spuren, Fixiersalz, so wird beim Eingehen in das Tonungsbad neben dem beabsichtigten Tonungsprozeß auch sofort ein Abschwächungsprozeß einsetzen. Es ergeben sich mithin zwei absolute Notwendigkeiten für jeden, der Tonungen mit gutem Erfolg anwenden und seine Tonungsbäder brauchbar erhalten will:

1. Man verwende für Tonungen – das gleiche gilt auch für Färbungen – nur allein für diesen Zweck reservierte Rahmen und benutze nicht etwa solche, die auch zur Entwicklung bzw. Fixierung des Films verwendet worden sind.

2. Der Positivfilm muß ganz besonders gut ausgewässert sein, wenn er getont werden soll. Um sicher zu gehen und die erforderliche Gleichmäßigkeit des Films auf jeden Fall zu garantieren, ist es aber zweckmäßig, den Film unmittelbar vor der Tonung noch einmal einige Minuten lang zu wässern; auf diese Weise wird man am besten Fehlschläge ausschließen und auch eine Zersetzung des Bades vermeiden, die bei den relativ teuren Chemikalien pekuniär ins Gewicht fallen würde.

Ferner sei noch darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß man zu tonende Positive etwas zarter in Deckung halten soll, da die Tonung, gleichzeitig etwas verstärkend wirkend, sonst zu dunkle Bilder gibt.

Neben diesen Hauptpunkten ist aber folgendes nicht außer acht zu lassen:

Es ist bekannt, wie wenig empfindlich unser Auge dafür ist, ob eine weiße Fläche, z. B. weißes Papier, aus reinem Weiß besteht oder ob diesem eine geringe Menge Schwarz beigemischt ist, so daß ein sehr helles Grau entsteht. Unser Auge beurteilt z. B. zwei Papiere, von denen das eine mit reinem Permanentweiß gestrichen ist, während das andere mit einem Gemisch von 90 Teilen Permanent weiß und 10 Teilen Schwarz belegt ist, als gleich weiß. Im Gegensatz hierzu findet aber das Auge die geringsten Zusätze von farbigen Substanzen. So wird z. B. eine Mischung von 90 Prozent weiß und 10 Prozent eines blauen Farbstoffes von unserem Auge sofort als lichtes Blau erkannt. Daraus folgt für die Zwecke der Virage:

Liegt ein Bild vor, dessen Himmel beispielsweise wolkenfrei ist, so wird mit bloßem Auge ein geringer allgemeiner Schleier, der über dem Himmel liegt, gar nicht empfunden werden, so lange er aus schwarzem Silber besteht. Sowie aber der Film getont wird, beispielsweise blau, wird ein störender Blauschleier über dem ganzen Bild erscheinen. Es folgt daraus, daß nur solche Films getont werden sollen, deren Lichter absolut klar sind. Überbelichtete oder bei der Entwicklung gequälte Films, bei denen sich ein allgemeiner Grau- oder Gelbschleier gebildet hat, sind keinesfalls geeignet zur Tonung.

Endlich sei noch darauf hingewiesen, daß der Film in den obigen Bädern erst ganz allmählich den endgültigen Farbton annimmt. Beispielsweise geht der Ton des Urantonbades von Schwarz über Biester nach dem eigentlichen Rötelton über. Man ist daher imstande, in jedem Bade, je nach der Deckung des Originals und nach der Dauer der Tonung, verschiedene Töne zu erzielen. Für ganz lichte Tönungen ist es zweckmäßig, die Bäder mit dem geichen Volumen Wasser zu verdünnen.

Haltbarkeit der Bäder

Die die Bäder bildenden Substanzlösungen sind mehr oder weniger lichtempfindlich, z. B. können die im Blaubad angewandten Chemikalien zur Herstellung des bekannten Blaupauspapiers dienen. Daher müssen die sämtlichen Bäder vor längerem Lichtzutritt (insbesondere Sonnenlicht) geschützt werden. Ebenso wie das Licht wirkt auch Staub zersetzend auf die betreffende Flüssigkeit unter Erzeugung eines stark gefärbten Niederschlages. Dieser wird sich als Schleier auf dem zu tonenden Film festsetzen und evtl. zu Verschmutzungen Anlaß geben. Man schützt daher die Bäder, solange sie nicht im Gebrauch sind, durch Auflegen eines sauberen Deckels aus Holz vor Staub und Belichtung.

Bei der Ausarbeitung der Bäderrezepte war es vor allem unser Bestreben, große Haltbarkeit derselben zu gewährleisten. Es ist uns dies auch in weitem Maße gelungen, und die nach den angegebenen Rezepten hergestellten Bäder sind haltbarer als die meisten in der Literatur angeführten.

Bei den jetzigen hohen Preisen der für die Tonung benötigten Chemikalien ist es unter Umständen wirtschaftlich, den Tonungsprozeß in zwei Phasen zu zerlegen, wobei man dann statt des einen relativ empfindlichen Bades zwei praktisch unbegrenzt haltbare Bäder anwendet. Dabei ist das erste Bad ein sogenanntes Bleichbad, das für alle gemeinsam angewendet wird. Der Film wird darauf gespült und dann in einem Tonungsbad, das nach der zu erzielenden Farbe verschieden ist, nachbehandelt. Es muß auf diese Weise ein wenig an Arbeit mehr geleistet werden; man vermeidet aber mit ziemlicher Sicherheit Fehlschläge, die durch die relativ leichte Zersetzlichkeit beim Einbadverfahren vorkommen können. Ein Vorteil des Einzelbades besteht jedoch darin, daß man hierbei die Umänderung des Farbtones von Schwarz zur gewünschten Farbe genau verfolgen und unterbrechen kann. So ist z. B. im Kupferbad der Ton zunächst schwarzbraun, geht dann zu einem rotbraunen und schließlich zu einem gelbbraunen Ton über. Bei dem Zweibadverfahren dagegen wird zunächst das schwarze Silber in eine grauweiße Substanz übergeführt. Diese muß nachher vollständig in ein farbiges Bild verwandelt werden. Unterbricht man die Tonung schon früher, so kann zwar der erreichte Effekt der Färbung recht befriedigend sein. Es muß aber gesagt werden, daß die dann nicht vollständig umgesetzte Silberverbindung nicht haltbar ist und am Lichte nachdunkelt. Die Haltbarkeit des Bildes ist erst dann eine vollkommene, wenn die grauweiße Zwischenverbindung vollständig in die farbige Verbindung umgesetzt ist. Es ist daher bei dem Einbadverfahren leichter, bestimmte Töne einzuhalten als bei dem Zweibadverfahren. Seiner größeren Wirtschaftlichkeit wegen mögen indes einige Rezepte angegeben sein. Der gründlich vorgewässerte Film wird zunächst in dem für alle Färbungen gleichen Vorbade ausgebleicht, das aus einer Auflösung von

1000 g Ferrizyankalium in
50 1 Wasser

besteht. Hierauf wird 5 Minuten lang gespült, bis die gelbliche Färbung der Gelatine (der Lichter) verschwunden ist, und in eines der nachstehenden Bäder eingegangen.

1. Sepia (Schwefeltonung).

500 g Schwefelnatrium mit
500 g Natriumsulfit (krist.) werden in
50 1 Wasser gelöst.

2. Rotbraun (Kupferbad).

2500 g Kupferchlorid mit
50 1 Wasser gelöst.

3. Tiefbraun (Uranbad).

1,5 kg Uranylnitrat,
0,75 kg Bromkalium,
50 1 Wasser.
Der Lösung 3 fügt man hinzu: 1,0 kg Oxalsäure.

4. Grasgrün.

1,0 kg Eisenchlorid,
0,5 kg Bromkalium,
0,5 kg Oxalsäure,
50 l Wasser.

5. Blaugrün (Eisenbad).

1,0 kg Ferrioxalat,
0,5 kg Bromkalium,
0,5 kg Oxalsäure,
50 1 Wasser.

6. Olivgrün

lässt sich erzielen durch Mischen des
Bades 4: Grasgrün mit
Bad 3: Tief braun,

und zwar im Verhältnis von 25-60 Prozent des Eisenbades mit entsprechend 75-40 Prozent des Uranbades. Je nach der Mischung entstehen grünere oder braunere Olivtöne.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil I p. 80; Teil III pp. 7-13. (in German) [* year estimated]

“1. Eisenbad (blau).

Man löse 375 g Ferrizyankalium
mit 0,5 g Kaliumbichromat

zusammen in 40 l Wasser auf und füge diese Lösung zu einer zweiten Lösung, die man herstellt aus:

425 g Eisenammoniakalaun,
500 g Oxalsäure,
40 1 Wasser.

Das Zusammengeben der Lösungen, die vorher filtriert sein müssen, soll nur bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur erfolgen und unter gutem Umrühren. Es bildet sich auf diese Weise eine klare, etwas gelblich gefärbte Lösung, die keinerlei Trübung enthalten soll, falls sauber und mit den richtigen Gewichtsmengen gearbeitet worden ist. Die Tonungsdauer ist je nach der gewünschten Farbnuance verschieden.

Besondere glasklare Töne erzielt man durch nachträgliche Fixage in einem verdünnten Fixierbad. Wir bemerken ausdrücklich, daß das Fixierbad erst nach sehr gutem Wässern des blau getonten Films angewandt werden darf, da sonst ein Abschwächen und Wegfressen der Details eintritt. Nach dem Fixieren ist wiederum gut zu wässern.

[…]

Über die Anwendung der Bäder 1-3 ist noch folgendes zu sagen: Eine wässrige Lösung von Ferrizyankalium zusammen mit Fixiersalz wirkt bekanntlich als Abschwächer (Farmerscher Abschwächer). Enthält daher ein Film, und sei es auch nur in Spuren, Fixiersalz, so wird beim Eingehen in das Tonungsbad neben dem beabsichtigten Tonungsprozeß auch sofort ein Abschwächungsprozeß einsetzen. Es ergeben sich mithin zwei absolute Notwendigkeiten für jeden, der Tonungen mit gutem Erfolg anwenden und seine Tonungsbäder brauchbar erhalten will:

1. Man verwende für Tonungen – das gleiche gilt auch für Färbungen – nur allein für diesen Zweck reservierte Rahmen und benutze nicht etwa solche, die auch zur Entwicklung bzw. Fixierung des Films verwendet worden sind.

2. Der Positivfilm muß ganz besonders gut ausgewässert sein, wenn er getont werden soll. Um sicher zu gehen und die erforderliche Gleichmäßigkeit des Films auf jeden Fall zu garantieren, ist es aber zweckmäßig, den Film unmittelbar vor der Tonung noch einmal einige Minuten lang zu wässern; auf diese Weise wird man am besten Fehlschläge ausschließen und auch eine Zersetzung des Bades vermeiden, die bei den relativ teuren Chemikalien pekuniär ins Gewicht fallen würde.

Ferner sei noch darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß man zu tonende Positive etwas zarter in Deckung halten soll, da die Tonung, gleichzeitig etwas verstärkend wirkend, sonst zu dunkle Bilder gibt.

Neben diesen Hauptpunkten ist aber folgendes nicht außer acht zu lassen:

Es ist bekannt, wie wenig empfindlich unser Auge dafür ist, ob eine weiße Fläche, z. B. weißes Papier, aus reinem Weiß besteht oder ob diesem eine geringe Menge Schwarz beigemischt ist, so daß ein sehr helles Grau entsteht. Unser Auge beurteilt z. B. zwei Papiere, von denen das eine mit reinem Permanentweiß gestrichen ist, während das andere mit einem Gemisch von 90 Teilen Permanent weiß und 10 Teilen Schwarz belegt ist, als gleich weiß. Im Gegensatz hierzu findet aber das Auge die geringsten Zusätze von farbigen Substanzen. So wird z. B. eine Mischung von 90 Prozent weiß und 10 Prozent eines blauen Farbstoffes von unserem Auge sofort als lichtes Blau erkannt. Daraus folgt für die Zwecke der Virage:

Liegt ein Bild vor, dessen Himmel beispielsweise wolkenfrei ist, so wird mit bloßem Auge ein geringer allgemeiner Schleier, der über dem Himmel liegt, gar nicht empfunden werden, so lange er aus schwarzem Silber besteht. Sowie aber der Film getont wird, beispielsweise blau, wird ein störender Blauschleier über dem ganzen Bild erscheinen. Es folgt daraus, daß nur solche Films getont werden sollen, deren Lichter absolut klar sind. Überbelichtete oder bei der Entwicklung gequälte Films, bei denen sich ein allgemeiner Grau- oder Gelbschleier gebildet hat, sind keinesfalls geeignet zur Tonung.

Endlich sei noch darauf hingewiesen, daß der Film in den obigen Bädern erst ganz allmählich den endgültigen Farbton annimmt. Beispielsweise geht der Ton des Urantonbades von Schwarz über Biester nach dem eigentlichen Rötelton über. Man ist daher imstande, in jedem Bade, je nach der Deckung des Originals und nach der Dauer der Tonung, verschiedene Töne zu erzielen. Für ganz lichte Tönungen ist es zweckmäßig, die Bäder mit dem geichen Volumen Wasser zu verdünnen.

Haltbarkeit der Bäder

Die die Bäder bildenden Substanzlösungen sind mehr oder weniger lichtempfindlich, z. B. können die im Blaubad angewandten Chemikalien zur Herstellung des bekannten Blaupauspapiers dienen. Daher müssen die sämtlichen Bäder vor längerem Lichtzutritt (insbesondere Sonnenlicht) geschützt werden. Ebenso wie das Licht wirkt auch Staub zersetzend auf die betreffende Flüssigkeit unter Erzeugung eines stark gefärbten Niederschlages. Dieser wird sich als Schleier auf dem zu tonenden Film festsetzen und evtl. zu Verschmutzungen Anlaß geben. Man schützt daher die Bäder, solange sie nicht im Gebrauch sind, durch Auflegen eines sauberen Deckels aus Holz vor Staub und Belichtung.

Bei der Ausarbeitung der Bäderrezepte war es vor allem unser Bestreben, große Haltbarkeit derselben zu gewährleisten. Es ist uns dies auch in weitem Maße gelungen, und die nach den angegebenen Rezepten hergestellten Bäder sind haltbarer als die meisten in der Literatur angeführten.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil III pp. 7-11. (in German) [* year estimated]

“2. Uranbad (gelbbraun).

Man löse 500g Ferrizyankalium
in 10 l Wasser,
füge hinzu: 50 ccm einer 1 prozentigen Lösung von Kaliumbichromat
und setze das Ganze zu einer Lösung von:

550 g Uraniumnitrat,
5 00 g Oxalsäure,
40 l Wasser.

Genau wie bei dem Eisenbad müssen beide Lösungen getrennt filtriert und bei gewöhnlicher Temperatur unter gutem Umrühren miteinander gemischt werden. Es entsteht auch hier eine gelbliche Lösung, die keinerlei Niederschlag enthalten darf. Nach längerem Gebrauch des Bades muß die Oxalsäuremenge etwas aufgefrischt werden; man gehe dabei bis zu einer Gesamtmenge von 1000 g, füge also noch einmal, evtl. in Portionen, 500 g Oxalsäure in etwas Wasser gelöst hinzu; auf diese Weise wird das andernfalls mit der Zeit leicht eintretende Verschmutzen der Weißen vermieden.

[…]

Über die Anwendung der Bäder 1-3 ist noch folgendes zu sagen: Eine wässrige Lösung von Ferrizyankalium zusammen mit Fixiersalz wirkt bekanntlich als Abschwächer (Farmerscher Abschwächer). Enthält daher ein Film, und sei es auch nur in Spuren, Fixiersalz, so wird beim Eingehen in das Tonungsbad neben dem beabsichtigten Tonungsprozeß auch sofort ein Abschwächungsprozeß einsetzen. Es ergeben sich mithin zwei absolute Notwendigkeiten für jeden, der Tonungen mit gutem Erfolg anwenden und seine Tonungsbäder brauchbar erhalten will:

1. Man verwende für Tonungen – das gleiche gilt auch für Färbungen – nur allein für diesen Zweck reservierte Rahmen und benutze nicht etwa solche, die auch zur Entwicklung bzw. Fixierung des Films verwendet worden sind.

2. Der Positivfilm muß ganz besonders gut ausgewässert sein, wenn er getont werden soll. Um sicher zu gehen und die erforderliche Gleichmäßigkeit des Films auf jeden Fall zu garantieren, ist es aber zweckmäßig, den Film unmittelbar vor der Tonung noch einmal einige Minuten lang zu wässern; auf diese Weise wird man am besten Fehlschläge ausschließen und auch eine Zersetzung des Bades vermeiden, die bei den relativ teuren Chemikalien pekuniär ins Gewicht fallen würde.

Ferner sei noch darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß man zu tonende Positive etwas zarter in Deckung halten soll, da die Tonung, gleichzeitig etwas verstärkend wirkend, sonst zu dunkle Bilder gibt.

Neben diesen Hauptpunkten ist aber folgendes nicht außer acht zu lassen:

Es ist bekannt, wie wenig empfindlich unser Auge dafür ist, ob eine weiße Fläche, z. B. weißes Papier, aus reinem Weiß besteht oder ob diesem eine geringe Menge Schwarz beigemischt ist, so daß ein sehr helles Grau entsteht. Unser Auge beurteilt z. B. zwei Papiere, von denen das eine mit reinem Permanentweiß gestrichen ist, während das andere mit einem Gemisch von 90 Teilen Permanent weiß und 10 Teilen Schwarz belegt ist, als gleich weiß. Im Gegensatz hierzu findet aber das Auge die geringsten Zusätze von farbigen Substanzen. So wird z. B. eine Mischung von 90 Prozent weiß und 10 Prozent eines blauen Farbstoffes von unserem Auge sofort als lichtes Blau erkannt. Daraus folgt für die Zwecke der Virage:

Liegt ein Bild vor, dessen Himmel beispielsweise wolkenfrei ist, so wird mit bloßem Auge ein geringer allgemeiner Schleier, der über dem Himmel liegt, gar nicht empfunden werden, so lange er aus schwarzem Silber besteht. Sowie aber der Film getont wird, beispielsweise blau, wird ein störender Blauschleier über dem ganzen Bild erscheinen. Es folgt daraus, daß nur solche Films getont werden sollen, deren Lichter absolut klar sind. Überbelichtete oder bei der Entwicklung gequälte Films, bei denen sich ein allgemeiner Grau- oder Gelbschleier gebildet hat, sind keinesfalls geeignet zur Tonung.

Endlich sei noch darauf hingewiesen, daß der Film in den obigen Bädern erst ganz allmählich den endgültigen Farbton annimmt. Beispielsweise geht der Ton des Urantonbades von Schwarz über Biester nach dem eigentlichen Rötelton über. Man ist daher imstande, in jedem Bade, je nach der Deckung des Originals und nach der Dauer der Tonung, verschiedene Töne zu erzielen. Für ganz lichte Tönungen ist es zweckmäßig, die Bäder mit dem geichen Volumen Wasser zu verdünnen.

Haltbarkeit der Bäder

Die die Bäder bildenden Substanzlösungen sind mehr oder weniger lichtempfindlich, z. B. können die im Blaubad angewandten Chemikalien zur Herstellung des bekannten Blaupauspapiers dienen. Daher müssen die sämtlichen Bäder vor längerem Lichtzutritt (insbesondere Sonnenlicht) geschützt werden. Ebenso wie das Licht wirkt auch Staub zersetzend auf die betreffende Flüssigkeit unter Erzeugung eines stark gefärbten Niederschlages. Dieser wird sich als Schleier auf dem zu tonenden Film festsetzen und evtl. zu Verschmutzungen Anlaß geben. Man schützt daher die Bäder, solange sie nicht im Gebrauch sind, durch Auflegen eines sauberen Deckels aus Holz vor Staub und Belichtung.

Bei der Ausarbeitung der Bäderrezepte war es vor allem unser Bestreben, große Haltbarkeit derselben zu gewährleisten. Es ist uns dies auch in weitem Maße gelungen, und die nach den angegebenen Rezepten hergestellten Bäder sind haltbarer als die meisten in der Literatur angeführten.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil III pp. 8-11. (in German) [* year estimated]

“3. Kupferbad (rotbraun).

Man löse: 500 g Kupfersulfat mit
2500 g Natriumzitrat (oder 2250 g Kaliumzitrat)
in zusammen 30 1 Wasser auf

und gebe hinzu die Lösung von:

400 g Ferrizyankalium in
20 1 Wasser,

nachdem man dieser Lösung 50 ccm Kaliumbichromatlösung, 1 prozentig, hinzugefügt hat. Auch hier muß beim Zusammengeben der filtrierten Lösungen gut gemischt und auf normale Temperatur geachtet werden.

Über die Anwendung der Bäder 1-3 ist noch folgendes zu sagen: Eine wässrige Lösung von Ferrizyankalium zusammen mit Fixiersalz wirkt bekanntlich als Abschwächer (Farmerscher Abschwächer). Enthält daher ein Film, und sei es auch nur in Spuren, Fixiersalz, so wird beim Eingehen in das Tonungsbad neben dem beabsichtigten Tonungsprozeß auch sofort ein Abschwächungsprozeß einsetzen. Es ergeben sich mithin zwei absolute Notwendigkeiten für jeden, der Tonungen mit gutem Erfolg anwenden und seine Tonungsbäder brauchbar erhalten will:

1. Man verwende für Tonungen – das gleiche gilt auch für Färbungen – nur allein für diesen Zweck reservierte Rahmen und benutze nicht etwa solche, die auch zur Entwicklung bzw. Fixierung des Films verwendet worden sind.

2. Der Positivfilm muß ganz besonders gut ausgewässert sein, wenn er getont werden soll. Um sicher zu gehen und die erforderliche Gleichmäßigkeit des Films auf jeden Fall zu garantieren, ist es aber zweckmäßig, den Film unmittelbar vor der Tonung noch einmal einige Minuten lang zu wässern; auf diese Weise wird man am besten Fehlschläge ausschließen und auch eine Zersetzung des Bades vermeiden, die bei den relativ teuren Chemikalien pekuniär ins Gewicht fallen würde.

Ferner sei noch darauf aufmerksam gemacht, daß man zu tonende Positive etwas zarter in Deckung halten soll, da die Tonung, gleichzeitig etwas verstärkend wirkend, sonst zu dunkle Bilder gibt.

Neben diesen Hauptpunkten ist aber folgendes nicht außer acht zu lassen:

Es ist bekannt, wie wenig empfindlich unser Auge dafür ist, ob eine weiße Fläche, z. B. weißes Papier, aus reinem Weiß besteht oder ob diesem eine geringe Menge Schwarz beigemischt ist, so daß ein sehr helles Grau entsteht. Unser Auge beurteilt z. B. zwei Papiere, von denen das eine mit reinem Permanentweiß gestrichen ist, während das andere mit einem Gemisch von 90 Teilen Permanent weiß und 10 Teilen Schwarz belegt ist, als gleich weiß. Im Gegensatz hierzu findet aber das Auge die geringsten Zusätze von farbigen Substanzen. So wird z. B. eine Mischung von 90 Prozent weiß und 10 Prozent eines blauen Farbstoffes von unserem Auge sofort als lichtes Blau erkannt. Daraus folgt für die Zwecke der Virage:

Liegt ein Bild vor, dessen Himmel beispielsweise wolkenfrei ist, so wird mit bloßem Auge ein geringer allgemeiner Schleier, der über dem Himmel liegt, gar nicht empfunden werden, so lange er aus schwarzem Silber besteht. Sowie aber der Film getont wird, beispielsweise blau, wird ein störender Blauschleier über dem ganzen Bild erscheinen. Es folgt daraus, daß nur solche Films getont werden sollen, deren Lichter absolut klar sind. Überbelichtete oder bei der Entwicklung gequälte Films, bei denen sich ein allgemeiner Grau- oder Gelbschleier gebildet hat, sind keinesfalls geeignet zur Tonung.

Endlich sei noch darauf hingewiesen, daß der Film in den obigen Bädern erst ganz allmählich den endgültigen Farbton annimmt. Beispielsweise geht der Ton des Urantonbades von Schwarz über Biester nach dem eigentlichen Rötelton über. Man ist daher imstande, in jedem Bade, je nach der Deckung des Originals und nach der Dauer der Tonung, verschiedene Töne zu erzielen. Für ganz lichte Tönungen ist es zweckmäßig, die Bäder mit dem geichen Volumen Wasser zu verdünnen.

Haltbarkeit der Bäder

Die die Bäder bildenden Substanzlösungen sind mehr oder weniger lichtempfindlich, z. B. können die im Blaubad angewandten Chemikalien zur Herstellung des bekannten Blaupauspapiers dienen. Daher müssen die sämtlichen Bäder vor längerem Lichtzutritt (insbesondere Sonnenlicht) geschützt werden. Ebenso wie das Licht wirkt auch Staub zersetzend auf die betreffende Flüssigkeit unter Erzeugung eines stark gefärbten Niederschlages. Dieser wird sich als Schleier auf dem zu tonenden Film festsetzen und evtl. zu Verschmutzungen Anlaß geben. Man schützt daher die Bäder, solange sie nicht im Gebrauch sind, durch Auflegen eines sauberen Deckels aus Holz vor Staub und Belichtung.

Bei der Ausarbeitung der Bäderrezepte war es vor allem unser Bestreben, große Haltbarkeit derselben zu gewährleisten. Es ist uns dies auch in weitem Maße gelungen, und die nach den angegebenen Rezepten hergestellten Bäder sind haltbarer als die meisten in der Literatur angeführten.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil III pp. 8-11. (in German) [* year estimated]

“Bei den jetzigen hohen Preisen der für die Tonung benötigten Chemikalien ist es unter Umständen wirtschaftlich, den Tonungsprozeß in zwei Phasen zu zerlegen, wobei man dann statt des einen relativ empfindlichen Bades zwei praktisch unbegrenzt haltbare Bäder anwendet. Dabei ist das erste Bad ein sogenanntes Bleichbad, das für alle gemeinsam angewendet wird. Der Film wird darauf gespült und dann in einem Tonungsbad, das nach der zu erzielenden Farbe verschieden ist, nachbehandelt. Es muß auf diese Weise ein wenig an Arbeit mehr geleistet werden; man vermeidet aber mit ziemlicher Sicherheit Fehlschläge, die durch die relativ leichte Zersetzlichkeit beim Einbadverfahren vorkommen können. Ein Vorteil des Einzelbades besteht jedoch darin, daß man hierbei die Umänderung des Farbtones von Schwarz zur gewünschten Farbe genau verfolgen und unterbrechen kann. So ist z. B. im Kupferbad der Ton zunächst schwarzbraun, geht dann zu einem rotbraunen und schließlich zu einem gelbbraunen Ton über. Bei dem Zweibadverfahren dagegen wird zunächst das schwarze Silber in eine grauweiße Substanz übergeführt. Diese muß nachher vollständig in ein farbiges Bild verwandelt werden. Unterbricht man die Tonung schon früher, so kann zwar der erreichte Effekt der Färbung recht befriedigend sein. Es muß aber gesagt werden, daß die dann nicht vollständig umgesetzte Silberverbindung nicht haltbar ist und am Lichte nachdunkelt. Die Haltbarkeit des Bildes ist erst dann eine vollkommene, wenn die grauweiße Zwischenverbindung vollständig in die farbige Verbindung umgesetzt ist. Es ist daher bei dem Einbadverfahren leichter, bestimmte Töne einzuhalten als bei dem Zweibadverfahren. Seiner größeren Wirtschaftlichkeit wegen mögen indes einige Rezepte angegeben sein. Der gründlich vorgewässerte Film wird zunächst in dem für alle Färbungen gleichen Vorbade ausgebleicht, das aus einer Auflösung von

1000 g Ferrizyankalium in
50 1 Wasser

besteht. Hierauf wird 5 Minuten lang gespült, bis die gelbliche Färbung der Gelatine (der Lichter) verschwunden ist, und in eines der nachstehenden Bäder eingegangen.

1. Sepia (Schwefeltonung).

500 g Schwefelnatrium mit
500 g Natriumsulfit (krist.) werden in
50 1 Wasser gelöst.”

(1925*): Agfa Kine-Handbuch. Berlin: Actien-Gesellschaft für Anilin-Fabrikation, Teil III pp. 11-12. (in German) [* year estimated]

“17.5 FILMS COLOURED BY TONING

Toning was perhaps less frequently used than tinting because it usually called for several baths for the (already developed) image to be coloured. However, some single solution toning processes did occur, especially Iron-tone Blue and the various red-brown tones.

Toning is the process of exchanging part or all of the original silver image for another coloured material. It had already been widely used for making coloured still paper prints but not all the paper techniques were suitable as the replacement material has to be at least partially translucent to project a coloured image. Totally opaque dyes would simply be seen as black on projection. However, the lantern slide industry had already tried out most techniques and undoubtedly the new motion picture industry learnt from this.

Toning colours the dark parts of the image leaving the clear parts unaltered since only the silver image, or part of it, is removed and replaced with another metal salt, a coloured dye or a coloured silver salt. It is therefore usually quite easy to distinguish a toned image from a tinted one provided the tone has not faded. Sepia toning, in which the silver image is replaced by reddish brown silver sulphide, was originally quite a fiery ginger colour by reflected light but this fades over the years to a dark brown that is sometimes mistaken for untoned silver.

The most common form of toning (even now sometimes used in still photography) consisted of transforming the silver (which is neutral and opaque) into inorganic coloured salts of other metals. This is sometimes called metallic toning. Using this procedure only a restricted number of colours could be achieved: red or red-orange (an image of copper or uranium ferrocyanide), and blue (an image of ferric ferrocyanide, also called Prussian Blue). Less commonly vanadium (greenish-brown) and chromium (brown) salts were also used. The Eastman Kodak manual on tinting and toning recommends vanadium for a greenish-brown, but this colour is rarely seen (or rarely recognized).

Generally, metallic toned films are rather unstable and tend to decay more quickly than the tinted films probably due to the fact that some metals accelerate (i.e. are catalysts for) the cellulose nitrate base decomposition process. Sometimes the decay of the toning means that the dark parts are affected most with a corresponding disappearance of the image or the production of a striking ‘solarization’ effect. All toned images fade in time and some are very susceptible to fading accelerated by the intense ultraviolet emission of projection equipment. It is therefore essential to look at the extreme edges of any frame to see if any less faded or altered toning or dye can be seen and never to assume that a tone is unaltered. Prussian Blue seems to fade patchily, sometimes vanishing entirely, sometimes darkening to muddy neutral colours.

Another procedure, called loosely mordanting or mordant toning, permitted the transformation of some or all of the silver salts or silver into an insoluble salt that was almost colourless and which was capable of absorbing certain basic dyes selectively. In this way it was possible to tone an image with a much wider range of colours. A considerable range of colours was possible and some appeared very similar to tinting in that the perforated edges and highlights were stained as well, but to a lesser extent. This makes it very difficult to be certain about some effects.

A great colour range was possible using colour development, a process later used to develop primary colours in true colour film.

In all toning processes the final image is a dye or coloured salt and some remaining silver image. Several manuals produced in the 1920s describe a technique for the removal of the silver image leaving just the coloured image behind. The procedure consisted of fixing the film in a conventional fix solution (of sodium thiosulphate). There seems no good reason why this should have worked, as silver is only sparingly soluble in fix solutions. In practice the bleaching effect is quite dramatic and may rely on some residual ferricyanide salts unwashed from the emulsion forming a powerful silver bleach or solvent known to photographers as Farmer’s Reducer. Prussian Blue, copper and uranium tones, and mordant dye tones were probably often intensified by this technique.

It is possible to carry out all these procedures today using modern black and white print stocks but it is by no means certain that the colours and contrasts generated are the same as those that were produced with the film stocks, developers and sources of chemicals originally.

Occasionally a toning technique was used for colouring an entire film. Good Earth in 1937 was toned an overall brown using mordant dye tone used in a ‘modern’ developing machine at MGM laboratories in Los Angeles. The film was 12 000 ft long, of 14 reels, and 500 prints were made and toned, a total of 6 000 000 ft, probably taking about 2000 hours just to tone!

The following methods can all be used today.

17.5.1 Metallic and inorganic toning procedures – sepia toning

Sepia toning is one of the oldest methods used for toning black and white paper prints and was widely used for toning professionally produced portraits at the time that the motion picture industry was developing at the turn of the century. Also lantern slides were frequently sepia toned, although whether this was to improve their stability to strong carbon arc light sources or to produce a warmer brown image is not clear. Silver sulphide, the image resulting from toning, was certainly more stable than a poorly washed conventional silver image.

The procedure uses two wet solution stages:

1. Bleaching: a solution of potassium ferricyanide (20g), and potassium bromide (5g) in 1 litre of water was used to bleach the silver image back to silver bromide. At 20°C this usually takes about 3 minutes. This is followed by a wash in running water at 20°C for about 3 minutes.

2. Sulphiding: a solution of 5g per litre of sodium sulphide was used to convert the silver bromide to silver sulphide. Silver sulphide is normally dark brown or black but, perhaps due to other reactions taking place or to impurities, the image is often a strong red-brown. The process is easily carried out using modern release stock but is unpleasant and unsafe unless great care is taken to prevent the formation of hydrogen sulphide gas, which is readily produced if the sulphide solution becomes acid. Attention to safety precautions is essential and the process should only be done in areas of good extraction. Hydrogen sulphide is toxic and its concentration in the air must be kept at levels lower than the current TLV. The process takes about 2 minutes and is usually followed by a water wash of about 5 minutes.

The procedure was originally carried out in large tanks with the film wound round wooden racks holding from 100 to 300 ft of film. It would be possible to carry out the procedure in a modern processor provided that the tanks were made of rigid PVC, or titanium, and no iron was present anywhere in the equipment. Prussian Blue staining occurs where ferricyanide bleaches are used in conjunction with iron parts and this was a common problem in the past. Tanks were made of ceramics to avoid the problem. However, since it requires about nine different processes to produce a similar result to most original films it is rarely practical to convert a processing machine to tint or tone, and instead, batch processing using rolls of film in short lengths in small tanks is more realistic.

Sepia or sulphide toning must be carried out as a two-stage process with washing between and after. Sometimes a ‘clearing’ stage to eliminate some of the hydrogen sulphide released was inserted halfway through the last wash. This was a dilute potassium permanganate solution.

Many of the other metallic toning processes could be carried out in two stages – a bleach as before followed by the toning solution containing the metal salt to replace the silver, or, more commonly, in a single solution consisting of potassium ferricyanide and the replacement salt in a suitable solution. The results are not quite the same in each case, either in terms of colour or chemical composition. The single solutions are not as stable or long-lasting as two separate solutions with a rinse or wash between them. Some of the single solutions probably could not be kept for more than a few hours. However, although the textbooks and manufacturers’ manuals list both, sometimes as alternatives, sometimes as recommendations, it is not really known which were used most. Probably most toning was done in batches using single solutions discarded after use, so that a long life was not required. Most of the manuals of the 1920s imply that single solution toning was almost universal.

17.5.2 Prussian Blue toning

Prussian Blue toning was very commonly used and was probably almost always carried out in a single solution. The silver image is converted to a mixture of silver ferrocyanide, which is colourless or white (but does have some density to light) and ferric ferrocyanide or Prussian Blue. Prussian Blue, when fresh, is a strong blue but seems to fade slowly in time. It also is susceptible to fading, sometimes entirely, with the effect of ultraviolet light from projector lamps.

Two separate solutions, one of 1-2g per litre of potassium ferricyanide with 2ml per litre of concentrated sulphuric acid, the other of 1-2g per litre of ferrous ammonium sulphate or citrate with 2ml per litre of sulphuric acid, were mixed in equal proportions immediately before use and the positive film placed in it. When the process had continued to the extent the operator wanted, the film was removed and washed, sometimes in a dilute hydrochloric acid to help remove the yellow stain also produced.

The whole process was critical in many ways. If the original print still retained some fixing salts the process would not work at all or only patchily. If stopped before completion then some silver image remained and the image was a dark ‘navy’ blue. If washing was not sufficient the base retained a yellow stain. It was also known that if washing was too long the strong blue colour could be washed out.

It is possible that the yellow base stain (which often fades to pink in time) was actually required as part of the effect or that the examples seen today of what we consider is a Prussian Blue tone on a pink tinted base is actually a Prussian Blue tone with insufficient washing fading in time from yellow to pink!

Prussian Blue, ferric ferrocyanide, is a blue-cyan in colour, and close to the subtractive primary cyan, and in the 1930s was used as primary colour for several two- and three-colour processes. During this period more stable solutions were used which lasted longer and did not stain the emulsion so much. A typical example consisted of ammonium persulphate, ferric alum and oxalic acid as well as potassium ferricyanide.

Oxalates were used in the 1920s Prussian Blue toning processes, presumably to increase stability.

17.5.3 Uranium nitrate toning (orange-red tone)

The orange-red tone resulting from replacing some of the silver image by uranium ferrocyanide was commonly used in the early years (and, like Prussian Blue, was improved to yield a primary dye for several experimental two-colour processes in the 1920s and became a common two-colour primary in the 1930s). The single solution most commonly used seems to have been uranyl nitrate with potassium ferricyanide (about 2-4g per litre each, acidified by hydrochloric acid) and were probably stored in separate solutions to be mixed just before use like the Prussian Blue. Later formulations contained oxalates and alums and kept better.

Modern materials seem to respond less well to this procedure and the colour is less saturated than old examples even after 50 or 60 years.

As will be seen below, uranium toning was also used as a starting point for some dye toning procedures.

17.5.4 Copper toning

A red tone, more a strong red brown, was produced by generating, in exactly the same way, copper ferrocyanide using copper sulphate and potassium ferricyanide. The old examples of this tone in manufacturers’ example sheets are now very faded and seem just a warm neutral. It is possible that the original effects of this tone were very unlike the results we see today. Modern materials tone well by this method but we have no way of knowing whether the effect is the same as in the early years of the century.

Copper toning was recommended in early manuals, but by about 1922 copper toning seems to be replaced by uranium toning. The resulting colours were much the same but copper toning seems to leave the emulsion much softer and more liable to damage. This is true of modern print stocks – copper toning creates a nice clear warm brown image but the emulsion is very soft and easily marked.

17.5.5 Dye toning procedures

Dye toning is a term used for a wide range of procedures in which the original silver image is replaced by a coloured dye image, or is supplemented by dyes in addition to the silver. A look at any early textbook will show that a very wide range of techniques could be used, some of which are listed below. All are possible today using modern black and white print stocks as the starting point but, as with the metallic or inorganic toning methods described above, it is not definitely possible to be sure that the tones, hues and contrasts are the same as were produced with the old print stocks.

All these techniques can be used today.”

(Read, Paul; Meyer, Mark-Paul (2000): Films Coloured by Toning. In: Restoration of Motion Picture Film. Oxford, pp. 185-188.)

“Tinting and toning (c. 1900-c. 30)

Applied colour process

Tinting and toning became the standard method of adding colour to black-and-white films in the silent era, to the extent that Paolo Cherchi Usai has suggested that as much as 85 per cent of the total production of silent films was either tinted, or toned, or both, based upon surviving nitrate copies.

Although they are routinely discussed together, tinting and toning were two different technical processes which could be applied in tandem or separately.

[…]

Toning was much more complicated. While tinting effectively coloured the lighter areas of the frame since the colour was more visible in the lighter areas toning was a chemical process which coloured the darker areas. Toning involved the alteration or replacement of the silver salts which made up the image in a frame of nitrate film into or with another, coloured, metallic compound. Toning, therefore, did not provide a ‘wash’ of colour like tinting. It only affected the parts of the image where the silver was at its densest. White images would, therefore, remain pure white during the toning process. The main method of toning was to use one solution to convert the silver that forms the image into colourless silver salts, a process known as bleaching, and then a second solution that replaced those silver salts with another coloured metal compound, such as iron, which would produce a blue-green colour. In the latter half of the 1910s another method was developed using mordanting. After bleaching, the silver salts acted as a mordant to which a dye could attach itself. Mordanting allowed for organic colours to be used, broadening the range of available colours previously limited by the available metallic compounds such as iron, copper and uranium.

Tinting and toning was widely adopted around 1907, having been used from approximately 1900, and remained the standard until the mid-1920s. The reasons for their decline have not been fully established. A common belief is that tinting and toning affected the density of the soundtrack when sound films arrived. This, however, is challenged by the development of Sonochrome film, which was adopted by the industry but not to the same extent as pre-tinted stock. One of the problems with Sonochrome was that sound films were edited in a different way. Silent film release prints were assembled from tinted and toned sections, and were therefore full of joins. Sound films, on the other hand, were assembled in the negative stage and printed in such a way that a 1,000ft reel had no joins, so with Sonochrome it was largely necessary to have each 1,000ft reel the same colour, rather than made up of different-coloured sections, a limitation which defeated the point of tinting and toning. Other theories suggest that the introduction of sound added an element of realism to film with which the expressionist tinting and toning clashed, focusing attention away from non-natural colour and spurring the development of natural colour. Whatever the reasons, by the early 1930s tinting and toning had largely disappeared.

Further reading

Coe, Brian, The History of Movie Photography (London: Ash & Grant, 1981), pp. 114, 116.

Read, Paul, ‘Unnatural Colour: An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Era Movies’, Film History vol. 21 no. 1, 2009, pp. 9-47.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, Silent Cinema: An Introduction (London: BFI, 2000), pp. 21-43.”

(Brown, Simon (2012): Technical Appendix. In: Sarah Street: Colour Films in Britain. The Negotiation of Innovation 1900-55. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 259-287, on pp. 286-287.)

(Read, Paul (2009): ‘Unnatural Colours’. An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Era Movies. In: Film History, 21.1, pp. 44-45.)

“A story in itself: toning

Toning is something else as, in comparison with the previously described methods, it implied a chemical transformation of silver salts present in the positive film emulsion. Therefore this is not the mere application of a dye on the exposed film, but a chromatic change at the emulsion level. Through special baths, silver is changed into a different coloured substance. The black areas, that is the one richer in silver, would than take on the colour of the new substance while the lighter ones, where the silver was burned by light, remained clear and transparent.

The number of colours which could be obtained by this process was less than the ones produced by tinting. The most common were brown (or sepia), blue, red, all in several gradations. The colour range could be extended by a two-step toning process, called also mordanting. The method consisted in changing the emulsion into a mordant, a substance ready to take any dyeing tint. By merely watching a film it is practically impossible to see the difference between a single- step toning or one with a mordant. Toning was more complex and costlier than tinting and was therefore less common. As previously said, toning was based on a principle inherent to the medium and therefore did not call for the overimposing of an external element. This has undoubtedly influenced aesthetic judgement, both as regards cinema and photography, which often led to consider this colouring system as better suited for the artistic, quality of a product. It should also be remarked that toning was also used in photograph printing and magic lantern slides.

Combination of several colouring methods

The several methods described here were also used together to colour the same scene. The combination of tinting and stencil colouring was quite common, while toning and stencilling was less frequent. In both instances stencil colouring was added at the end, after the film had been treated with the other systems. The most frequent combination of different methods was the one were toning and tinting were employed together. In this case the film was at first toned and then tinted, afterwards, unless pre-tinted films were used. In this case the toning was obviously carried out on an already-coloured film, thus avoiding the inconvenience of changing the hue of the toned colour during the tinting bath. A quite common combination was with blue toning and pink tinting, especially for scenes of dawn or sunset. There are also different combinations, as the ones which see blue toning together with yellow tinting, or yellow tinting with sepia toning.”

(Fossati, Giovanna (1998): When Cinema Was Coloured. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 121-132, on pp. 125-126.)

“Tinting and toning provide instead even colouring for the whole scene or shot and therefore they are to be considered monochromatic colouring systems.

[…]

Indications concerning the best colours to apply to a given scene are many. Bennett (1912) stated that “also, like tinting methods, [toning] must be employed intelligently if sensible results are aimed at which shall help instead of hinder the audience in following the motive of the picture presented. Thus a discerning film producer would not countenance the toning of a snow scene warm russet brown, any more than he would present the happy finale of a drama in such a tone as blue and green.” A precise correlation was then necessary between the employed colour and the content of the scene: it could be determined according to the colour “temperature”, so that a scene portraying icy slopes or snow, would require a cold colour, such as blue. A scene with a heat source, a raging fire for example, would instead require a warm tint, such as red. Besides, red is the colour of fire and blue the colour of ice. In the texts from the teens indication on how to use colour were not yet codified as it would happen in the manuals published a decade later.

Bibliography: texts until 1930

Colin N. Bennett, The Handbook of Kinematography, London, The Kinematograph Weekly, 1911; The Handbook of Kinematography, London 1913.”

(Fossati, Giovanna (1998): When Cinema Was Coloured. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 121-132, on pp. 127-128.)

“Toning in fact played a special role in the realm of applied colours, and in particular sepia toning was considered an acceptable alternative to black and white. This maybe is due to the fact that toning – as it acts upon silver salts in the emulsion – is part and parcel of film development and printing, and it is not a totally independent phase such as tinting, or hand and stencil colouring.”

(Fossati, Giovanna (1998): When Cinema Was Coloured. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 121-132, on p. 130.)

“Handbooks

Let us now take into consideration the contemporary literature which mostly dealt with colouring techniques. These are manuals dedicated to the practice of cinematography and articles published in several specialised journals. These texts are mostly technical and describe in detail the different colouring systems, by paying special attention to procedures. There are indications for tinting and toning baths, descriptions of machines used in the stencil system, etc, but they do not delve on critical analyses on the different film colouring forms, nor on explicit aesthetic considerations. These texts also rarely mention specific movies with relation to their colouring, while general indications and standards are frequent concerning the methods of colour application, the dyes more suitable for some scenes, and the reasons behind these choices of colours. It should also be recalled that only the direct examination of the films and the reconstruction of the applied dyes can help us understand a practice which disappeared in cinema several decades ago.

Handbooks do however represent a very important point of reference in order to reconstruct the aesthetic milieu of arbitrary colouring and offer an invaluable understanding of the taste of contemporary audiences and how film colouring tried to respond to it.

By reading these texts it is clear that arbitrary colouring was not considered an artistic approach; expectations in the field of photographic colour reproduction that in that period were experimented were a different matter, and handbook authors saw in the application of arbitrary colours only a provisional solution to the problem, although this technique was used for thirty years.

Authors discussed why and when a film should be coloured, which scene should be chosen, and what dyes to use for a given scene. These indications referred mostly to colouring which could be defined as monochromatic (toning and tinting) more than to polychromatic colouring (by hand or stencil). They entailed sufficiently precise and homogeneous choices which would become with the passing of time a precise standard for film colouring. For example, in an article published in 1929 Loyd Jones, an Eastman Kodak’s researcher, described pre-tinted films available in seventeen dyes, which were marketed by Kodak, thus offering us the opportunity to understand that colour application had already become conventional at the time when that practice was coming to its end. It should however be mentioned that the strict standards found in technical texts are not sufficient to explain the colouring which was applied to films. Even in practice there was a strong component of conventionality, especially in the mid-teens, but there was also a large component which entailed a non conventional usage. In other words we could say that films colouring spoke a language which could not be explained by the codification expressed on contemporary text books: a language which today rings differently than it did in the early century.

As previously mentioned, there was also that attitude, which could be defined as “purist”, where textbooks refer to the applied colour as something totally foreign to cinematic practice: colouring was accepted in order to better satisfy audiences while waiting for research to find ways to reproduce “natural” colours by photographic means.

Usually technical texts dealt separately with the different colouring techniques, subdividing them into monochromatic and polychromatic. Hand-painting and stencil colouring are polychromatic techniques because they usually entail the use of several dyes, from three to six. Tinting and toning provide instead even colouring for the whole scene or shot and therefore they are to be considered monochromatic colouring systems.

Polychromatic systems

The manuals from the teens and twenties referred to a context where hand-painting was already a rarity. Therefore, when discussing polychromatic systems they delved mostly on stencilling. It was usually placed in relation with photographic systems which were already being experimented in the teens. In Croy’s text written in 1918 it is said: “The effect of coloring by stencils, while often pleasing, is no rival in fidelity to the original of the more successful photographic processes.” A few years earlier another author when speaking about Pathé’s and Gaumont’s production coloured by stencils had written that in either cases, as also for all the commercial movies both hand and stencil coloured, “…there is no mechanical guarantee that the colours as projected are either identical or even near to those of the original. They may and probably will be pleasing” (Bennett, 1911). Similar comparisons between hand-painting and colour photographic reproduction seem completely unfeasable as in the former the colours were applied on film in an arbitrary fashion.

In 1912, when Gaumont started marketing some movies produced thanks to the system of “natural” reproduction of colours, Chronochrome (which we have already mentioned), stencil colouring was already quite popular. We could say that in that period Pathé’s coloured films offered the best results, as shown in several long features dating back to the mid teens, such as Maudite soit la guerre and Les rois de l’air. Gaumont used the Chronochrome for the same subjects on which in those years the other production companies applied colouring by stencils. It almost seems that by comparing the two systems on the same subjects they wanted to show the superiority of photographic colouring vis-à-vis the manual application. For example, Chronochrome was used for non-fictional movies about plants, where flowers were seen rotating in the middle of the frame over a black background. Naturally it should also be considered that Gaumont was the main competitor of Pathé which had always dominated the field of “colour” cinematography thanks to its advanced stencil system. Despite the introduction of Chronochrome, Pathé continued to be very successful thanks to its coloured long features, while Gaumont could afford only short experiments with its revolutionary system, and thus it continued to produce also films coloured by stencils.¹²

The dominating idea more extensively covered by cinematography manuals seems to be the search for a system which could faithfully reproduce original colours, thus completely eliminating arbitrary mechanical colouring. Coustet (1921), for example, after a detailed description of the mechanical colouring process au patron, as he called stencils, concluded by stating: “…rather interesting results are thus obtained, but they should not waylay us from our goal, that is automatic reproduction of colours thanks to purely photographic means.”

The comparison between photographic means for colour reproduction was never mentioned when monochromatic colouring methods, tinting and toning, were discussed; nor was “realism” ever mentioned when results of these methods were examined, while preferring to delve on aspects such as “effects” and “athmosphere”.

Monochromatic systems

Manuals discuss widely tinting and toning, describing both methods and their specifical technical features; nonetheless, authors often make aesthetic judgements or offer indications. The descriptions of these methods and advice on their best usage seem to widen and expand as we move closer to the time of their disappearance from the screens.

Indications concerning the best colours to apply to a given scene are many. Bennett (1912) stated that “also, like tinting methods, [toning] must be employed intelligently if sensible results are aimed at which shall help instead of hinder the audience in following the motive of the picture presented. Thus a discerning film producer would not countenance the toning of a snow scene warm russet brown, any more than he would present the happy finale of a drama in such a tone as blue and green.” A precise correlation was then necessary between the employed colour and the content of the scene: it could be determined according to the colour “temperature”, so that a scene portraying icy slopes or snow, would require a cold colour, such as blue. A scene with a heat source, a raging fire for example, would instead require a warm tint, such as red. Besides, red is the colour of fire and blue the colour of ice. In the texts from the teens indication on how to use colour were not yet codified as it would happen in the manuals published a decade later. In Mariani (1916) some advice on how to employ the most common dyes can be found: “Blue toning. It is used to produce night effects. […] Green toning is the best one to colour landscape with trees, gardens, woods. Blue tint, perfect to produce night effects. […] Red tint. It is perfect to simulate fires, battles, intense sunsets. […] Rose tint. It effectively reproduces landscapes, dawn, sunset, the complexion of characters with light effects. […] Green tint. It is extensively used for tree-covered landscape, meadows and so forth. […] Orange tint. It effectively produces indoor light effects and outdoor intense sunlight effects. It eliminates image flickering when there is a very light sky as a background.” Others, instead of listing dyes with indications about their best application, preferred giving direct, although slightly far-fetched, examples: “Thus a scene depicting nymphs dancing at a fountain takes on the brilliancy of outdoors by giving it a rose tint over a green tone without necessity of hand-painting or stencilling each frame in its natural colours” (Croy, 1918). From Diamant-Berger’s words it clearly appears that in 1919, the publication date of his book, a codification, based maybe solely on usage, already existed and it was quite precise: “Usage calls for tinting or toning landscapes in green, the sea and the night in blue. The effects on waves and clouds in the twilight are produced thanks to a rose toning and a blue tinting. Outdoors and indoors in the daylight are tinted yellow. Mauve and rose tinting create intermediate effects” (Diamant-Berger, 1919). In Coustet (1921) we find again a brief description of the most widely used tints and the circumstances they were employed: “The majority of positive films are treated with a dyeing solution giving them a red/orange tone. This is a very light tinting aiming at softening the harshness of tones during projection. This warm tint should be employed only for movies depicting full light situations. Underbrush is often coloured in green, but it should be used moderately. Twilight effects are produced by bright red or purple. As regards night scenes, they should usually undergo a blue tint bath. It should be recalled that night scenes are in reality shot during the day, outdoors or in lit up studios (either with sunlight or electric lamps).” Here there are at least two elements which should be further considered.

The first one refers to the fact that “the majority of positive films are treated with a dyeing solution giving them a …very light …red/orange tone.” Yellow or orange colouring is the most common in tinted films. It is found in indoor scenes lit up by artificial light and in outdoor scenes under sunlight. The impression is that this type of tint would represent a neuter colour, as a sort of diffused light not particularly noticeable: a colour becoming a non colour. In some instances in fact, after introducing the various settings with initially different colours, in the progression of the film they are all coloured with the same yellow dye. In other instances instead all the film is entirely tinted in yellow.

The second question raised by Coustet’s words refers to the contrast produced by black and white. He wrote that colour “aims at softening the harshness of tones during projection.” From statements such as this one, often found in manuals and articles discussing monochromatic colouring, we can presume that tints were used and recommended in order to liven up black and white monotony and downplay contrast harshness.

All seem convinced that tints and tones should be employed as substitute for a better solution not yet found, which already in the early teens was much desired. It seems that in the late twenties, when experiments made to reproduce colour by photographic means were numerous, although none had yet been widely adopted, all had already accepted the notion of monochromatic films. In 1927 Lutz wrote: “Photographically-made color films have now arrived which interpret some colors of nature in a wonderful and pleasing way. […] …although developed far enough to have public exhibitions, still are more or less in transmutation, and it is difficult to say whether they will combine as one form of expression…[…] It seems now that the ordinary silent, one-toned motion picture, with its explanatory titles, has become a distinct form of expression”.

Pre-tinted films: conventions become stricter

We have already mentioned Loyd Jones, a technician in Eastman Kodak’s research laboratories, dedicating a very long article to a series of pre-tinted films developed by Kodak in 1929: the reasons behind the choice of different tints seem to suggest that already each colour would now evoke very precise feelings and sensations, according to accepted conventions. In 1929 the author wrote, although quite belatedly as regards coloured film production, as applied colouring substantially decreased with the introduction of sound track. For just a few years coloured pictures would continue to circulate thanks to pre-tinted films, but then colouring would disappear completely for technical and aesthetic reasons.

In Loyd Jones’s article there is a rather interesting although superficial digression on what he defined as the “language of colours”. After an introduction on the importance of colours in the various cultures throughout the centuries, from Greece to Christianity, Jones made a distinction between two groups of possible associations produced by colours: “A rather careful analysis of the admittedly color language indicated that the great majority of existing connotations may be classified in two rather distinct groups which may be designated as (a) direct objective association and (b) indirect subjective association.” He believed that it would not be difficult to designate objective associations and took as an example the colour yellow to indicate sunlight which in reality is not yellow but “…is hueless, that is corresponding to gray or white. […] A white object, however, illuminated by sunlight under a clear blue sky appears yellow. […] This a motion picture scene printed in yellow base, such as tint No. 6 (Sunshine), should definitely suggest illumination whether it be an exterior flooded with light from the sun or an interior into which light is streaming through open doors or windows.” He continued with other examples: electric light is associated with a more saturated orangy yellow, while fire with reddish orange.

Things get more complicated for the association he defined as subjective: “For instance, there seems to be a character of warmth associated with all the colors in the yellow, orange, red, magenta category, while the remainder give a definite impression of cold or coolness. […] The association of color with certain temperamental phases of life, such as youth, maturity, old age, etc., can probably be traced to an extension of a more direct association with the seasons of the year.”

By employing these vague categories, subjective and objective associations, Jones described colouring processes developed by Kodak for its pre-tinted films. Thus tint No. 3, Afterglow, that is the colour of light after sunset, would be appropriate for outdoor scenes at dawn or sunset, and “it should excite mood reactions in general connected with luxury, wealth, security, and relatively strong affections. It is also related to the autumnal mood by obviously direct association with the autumn colors of nature. By indirect or subjective association it is symbolic of the same relative period in the life of an individual and its associated moods. It is indicative, therefore, of repose, ambitions attained, accomplishments, and similar psychological aspects of maturity.” Following the same approach, tint No. 2, Peachblow, a pale rose, would be suitable for women’s close-ups and warm pink, Rose Dorée, for scenes in “a luxuriously appointed boudoir”. Tint No. 10, Azure, an intense sky blue, “can be tranquillizing to the point of becoming depressing. […] It is suggestive of the sedate and the reserved, even approaching the austere and forbidding; under certain conditions slightly gloomy.”

Some of these descriptions seem quite foreign to our ways of thinking. If indications relative to “objective” colour associations seem slightly superficial, but nonetheless quite reasonable, the ones referring to “subjective” associations are sometimes involuntarily hilarious. The technical and scientific approach of the article confers them the status of absolute truth, but because these colour associations are subjective they are linked to cultural models which change in time and space. For us war is not any longer “red”, as in the times of the Great War when fire and blood were its most apparent symbols. Today war is better represented by cold colours, such as white and blue, the colours of “surgical” bombing over Baghdad. For Loyd Jones instead there were obvious associations to the point of marketing “tint No. 16, Inferno. Fiery red tinged with magenta. Since it is directly suggestive of fire, it is adapted to scenes of burning buildings, glowing furnaces, forest fires, etc. By subjective association indicative of riot, panic, anarchy, mobs, turmoil, strife, was, battle, and unrestrained passion.”

There are obviously many analogies between chromatic codifications found in motion pictures and the ones presented in manuals, although practice is likely to have influenced the theory. Cinema manuals were in effect published because those practices were widely used. As previously said, there were many differences between the use of monochromatic colouring as suggested by manuals and the ones effectively adopted. Loyd Jones’s strict codification did not have the time to influence production: the black and white era was soon to commence. But black and white, in theory, at first in photography and then in cinema, had already been the first-choice option for decades in the field of photographic reproduction. Let us now move to the previously mentioned “purist” attitude.

How colours were seen: purist attitude

Whoever in the past had strongly stressed that cinema has an artistic status, usually overlooked the topic of applied colours. Soon a notion of cinema took hold, which we could simply define as “purist”, which saw motion pictures as immaterial “work”, more than concrete and real objects which time could deteriorate. For photography at first, and later for cinema, this “purist” notion insisted on the autonomy that photographic reproduction means should maintain by rejecting any additional contribution by diverse fields. For this reason applied colours not produced by the medium itself (the photographic or cinematic equipment) were never really appreciated, and they also put photography and cinema in relation to other non artistic practices. An issue of “The Amateur Photographer” stated in 1903: “Photography is a translation into black and white, characterised by the fullest possible rendering of infinite varieties of tones and tone values; no other exercise of art work can equal photography in this.”¹³ This artistic photography was only black and white or toned. Toning in fact played a special role in the realm of applied colours, and in particular sepia toning was considered an acceptable alternative to black and white. This maybe is due to the fact that toning – as it acts upon silver salts in the emulsion – is part and parcel of film development and printing, and it is not a totally independent phase such as tinting, or hand and stencil colouring. Whoever produced commercial photographs, for postcards or lantern slides, etc., was not interested in following a precise artistic standard and therefore continued to colour them. This is also true for the great majority of cinematic images which, as we know, were coloured in great numbers at least for thirty years (from 1895 to the late twenties). This fact was however overlooked by critics and reviewers. It is also certainly true that some motion pictures were left in black and white or only partially coloured (often in the credits and titles) and sold at lower prices than completely coloured films; but we know also that projectionists often added colour directly by employing coloured filters (we saw the example of Griffith’s Broken Blossoms). It seems therefore that not only coloured motion pictures were offered to audiences of silent cinema, but that they could not do without them, so that when a projectionist had to work with a black and white film he did not hesitate to add colour to it, thus making of each projection a unique event. The notion I have described as “purist” continued to take hold throughout the years in several forms and theories till recent times. Colours, even the ones obtained by photographic means, have often been perceived as something separate from motion pictures. An example of this sensation can be found in Roland Barthes’s pages: “An anonymous daguerreotype from 1843 shows in an oval a man and a woman, subsequently coloured by the miniaturist of the photographic studio: I have always had the impression (it does not matter whether this is true or not) that in the same way in every photograph colour is just a sort of whitewash applied later on the original truth of Black and White. Colour for me is a sort of make-up (as on corpses).” ¹⁴ Historiography of cinema has usually ignored colour in the silent period and when taking this aspect into consideration it has always labelled it as a primitive feature of that cinema, as the “symptom of desire.”¹⁵ In the edition of Sadoul’s General History of Cinema published in 1947 we can read: “Méliès’s coloured films do not attract us for their inevitable colouring imperfections, but in spite of them.”¹⁶ It would be interesting to know on which Méliès’s films did Sadoul base his analysis. We do not know the level of conservation of those films and their colours in 1947 and most of all whether their colouring dated back to the film first screening or maybe was prepared (maybe too sloppily) for the Gala Pleyel organised in 1929 in Méliès’s honour. Jean Mitry showed a similar attitude concerning applied colours when he wrote: “The first colour films were then only simply coloured by stencils, a series of positive prints made from the negative so that they could be cut with the pantograph. It was only a naive and hesitant bricolage applied over black and white (Pathécolor).”¹⁷ In general colouring is discussed only briefly in texts on the history of cinema, where stencilling was considered as an extravagant oddity and tinting (often confused with toning) as the conventional means to convey feelings and create athmosphere: from there the most frequent examples are blue for the night, red for fire, rose for love. But the colour language cannot be constricted to mere conventions, but it is rather richer and more complex. Following conventions does not explain why there were so many types of blue, red or pink, so different one from the other; neither the use of many more colours and in particular the combination of more dyes in several motion pictures where diverse colouring techniques were used together (tinting and stencilling, tinting and toning, stencilling and toning), without mentioning the sudden changes of colour also responding to aesthetic choices going beyond strict codification.

Today

At the closing of this excursus on past techniques employed to respond to audiences’ taste, we should ask ourselves what is the meaning of all this. How do we consider today tinted and toned, stencil coloured and hand-painted motion pictures when we see them emerging again on the screen? We are no longer expectantly waiting for a “natural” reproduction of colours as the cinema technicians of the early century did, and we have already overcome the teleological approach which was the norm in cinema history about twenty years ago, by which past production was justified merely in the light of subsequent developments made in cinematic technique. For many year now we have been submerged by colour images and even our attitude towards black and white has changed; purist approaches have also changed as well, and they do not have the upper hand any longer in the way we think about cinema, and in general about reproduced images.

Coloured cinema, which today is brought again to our attention thanks to restoration and conservation work carried out by film archives, challenges us as theatre-goers. Finding a way to relate to these colours, which for years have been cancelled from our memory and recollection, is now up to us.

[…]

Notes

¹² In those years another important system for colour photographic reproduction was exploited in England by Charles Urban: the Kinemacolor. Differently from Gaumonts Chronochrome, Kinemacolor used only two dyes, green/blue and orange.

¹³ Evans, in “The Amateur Photographer”, 1903.

¹⁴ Roland Barthes, La chambre claire, Paris, Gallimard, Seuil, 1980.

¹⁵ “Symptom of Desire”, see Terry Ramsey, A Million and One Nights: a History of the Motion Picture through 1925, New York, Simon & Schuster, p.118.

¹⁶ Georges Sadoul, Histoire générale du cinéma, cit, p.98.

¹⁷ Jean Mitry, 1965, p.125.

Bibliography: texts until 1930

Colin N. Bennett, The Handbook of Kinematography, London, The Kinematograph Weekly, 1911; The Handbook of Kinematography, London 1913.

Ernest Coustet, Traité pratique de la cinématographie, Paris, Charles Mendel éditeur, 1913.

Ernest Coustet, Traité général de photographie en noir et en couleurs, Paris, Librairie Delagrave, 1929.

Homer Croy, How Motion Pictures are Made, New York, London, Harper & bros.

Henri Diamant-Berger, Le cinéma, Paris 1919.

Frederick H. Evans, Artistic Photography in Lantern Slides, in “The Amateur Photographer”, vol. 37, n. 959, feb. 1903, pp. 148-149.

Loyd A Jones (Kodak Research Laboratories, Rochester, N.Y.), Tinted Films For Sound Positives, in “Transactions of Society of Motion Picture Engineers”, vol. XIII, no. 37, 1929, pp. 198-218.

E.G. Lutz, The Motion-Picture Cameraman, New York, Charles Scribner’s sons (re-edited in New York, Arno Press, 1972).

Mariani, Vittorio, Guida pratica delta cinematografia, Milano, Hoepli 1916.”

(Fossati, Giovanna (1998): When Cinema Was Coloured. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 121-132, on pp. 126-131.)

“Nicola Mazzanti

The Colours of the Film d’Arte Italiana

The collection

For some years, the Cineteca di Bologna and the Cinémathèque Française have been running a project for the restoration and preservation of the Film d’Arte Italiana collection (from here on the FAI) conserved in the French archive. Along with the evident importance of the discovery and restoration of this material for the history of Italian cinema of the 1910s, there is an added reason for interest.

The collection, in fact, gives us the possibility to study up close an homogenous body of films, produced over a relatively brief period of time, and all certainly processed in the same laboratory. The study of the original surviving elements (mostly camera negatives on nitrate base), that are accompanied – in some if not all cases – by the original screenplays and/or Pathé’s launch summaries (FAI was a branch of Pathé) preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France – Departement des Arts du Spectacle, allows us to cast a ray of light on a world still substantially unknown to us: that of the daily practice of the laboratory and the processing of film in the 1910s, in what was undoubtedly the most important productive structure in the panorama of European cinema of those years.

The materials

We have been able to examine the original camera negatives of the major part of the films preserved in the FAI holding, while for some only dupe positives, or positive prints produced by the Cinémathèque Française in “modern” times, remain to us.

The original negatives have come down to us as they were preserved by Pathé and as was the practice of the time, that is, unedited; each shot – tableau as defined in the screenplays – was processed (that is, printed on positive and then coloured) separately from the others. In some cases – rather rare in the films of the earliest years of the 1910s, and more frequent with the passage of the years when one notes a more complex editing and therefore a greater number of shots – a reel of negative can contain more shots relative to the same tableau (in which, for example, a detail or a close-up is inserted) or also relative to different tableaux which are however set in the same place and hence shot in sequence (as occurs in La justice de l’abime/La giustizia dell’abisso, shots 13 and 18). Obviously, those shots in which for some reasons the colouring changes in the course of the action are separated (as for example in De I’amour au deshonneur/Dall’amore al disonore, shots 7 and 7bis).

Each reel of negative is preceded by an “identification leader”, a length of transparent film (on which the emulsion has evidently been scratched away) on which are written in India ink the following data:

title of the film (usually written in full);
number (or numbers) of the tableau, given as an
Arabic numeral followed, if necessary, by “bis”,
“ter” or “quater”;
length of the tableau;
colouring code(s).

To this identification leader is added a “protection leader” of variable length made up of a section of original negative belonging to another film (alternate takes, presumably). Normally, on the first frame of the tableau is incised the number, at a dimension that practically takes up the whole frame; this is followed by a cross, again scratched on the emulsion, that indicates the frame that corresponds to the splice with the positive. At the end of the tableau the cross is repeated and only the protection leader is added. In the case in which another shot, intertitle or an insert (“projection” for the FAI screenplays) has to be inserted within the tableau, the point of insertion is indicated by one or two crosses incised on the emulsion. If a reel which unites more tableaux is being dealt with, at the end of the first one there is only the cross, and the second is preceded by the usual cross and only the number scratched on the frame; the “identification leader” is not repeated.

With regard to films meant to be coloured by stencil, the identification leaders are identical, except for the fact that the stencil colouring is not indicated in any way, that is, it has no identification code of its own. A further characteristic that allows the sure identification of negatives destined for stencilling, is the fact that the film shows a sort of “footage number”, a progressive numbering; a patient hand has in fact written on the frameline a progressive number every 25 frames that starts with the number 1 on the frameline of the first usable frame (that follows, that is, the splicing cross). This numbering was evidently used to allow a continuous check of the perfect synchronisation between the stencilling masks and the positives to be coloured even in the case of accidental breaking of one or the other. That this numbering identifies a film destined for stencilling is further proved by the fact that the numbering appears on Pathé or FAI positive prints coloured by stencil, and also by the Pathé catalogues, that define as “coloured with Pathécolor” those films in which the negatives in our possession are “numbered”.

It is necessary to raise the fact that there are at least two exceptions to what has been said so far. In fact, the negatives of Marco Visconti and La conjuration de Fiesco/La Congiura di Fieschi do not show the numbering on the frameline, neither are there indications regarding the colours on the “identification leader”. Given that both films are datable to December 1911, that the genre (historical drama) is typically meant for stencilling, and that the literature of the time does not indicate if one is dealing with stencilled titles, one can make two hypotheses.

One can obviously hypothesise that the colouring is not indicated for some reason in the identification leaders; the most likely would be a change during the course of the work (if, that is, it was decided to print them only in black and white), less likely would be that the identification of the colours was given over to another system, above all because other preceding films (such as La mort civile/La morte civile) already showed the “usual” colour indications.

The second hypothesis, which seems the most probable to us, is that the films may have been effectively destined to be coloured by stencil, but that Pathé had introduced the system of numbering on the frameline only after a date later than December 1911; we know for sure that all the other negatives destined to be stencilled that show numbering in our possession are datable between 1912 and 1914; it remains to be checked if other Pathé or FAI films coloured by stencil earlier than 1911 show frameline numbering.

A further problem that remains to be gone into is to establish the existing relationship between the indications for tinting and toning codes and the numbering for stencilling. In some cases the colour codes are completely different from those normally used, which would make one think of a type of toning and tinting destined to work with the stencilling, a practice that can be verified on some prints of the time (not only in Pathé productions, even without mentioning the extraordinary case of Rapsodia satanica), vice versa, in at least one case – Drame a Florence/Dramma a Firenze (1912) – the indicated colours are those used for normal non-stencil print; something – as that could make one think – but only as a hypothesis – of a double version, that is, of the possibility of the distribution of a stencil-coloured version or a “plain” tinted and toned version; or, maybe more likely, of a change in the use of the negatives; the film was at first destined to be stencilled, then, later it was decided that it was not adapted to the process, or that it was the case to produce a “cheaper” version just tinted and toned.

The production process

As can be shown from the data collected from the analysis of the material that we have, the system for the identification of each single length of negative – and consequently of the positive printed from it – is such to allow an easy and immediate identification not only of the original film, but also of the processing that that particular part of the film had to undergo.

Nothing (title, colouring, length of raw stock necessary for printing) in fact is left to chance or to information from other sources (written notes, for example); neither, on the other hand, was it possible to imagine that it could have been otherwise, considering the size of the Pathé labs, the complexity of the processing, the quantity of film processed at one time and the number of prints produced.

Thanks to this system, the printer could proceed autonomously already knowing beforehand if the shot he was about to print had to be tinted and toned later and he could consequently check the exposure (regarding this point, the literature of the time is rich in indications as to photographic quality – density and contrast – that a scene had to have according to the colouring it had to undergo). It was equally important for the film developer, who at that time developed using a rack, “at sight” (i.e. the operator evaluated the development process watching the film as it gradually developed), who could correct printing errors in such a way as to obtain a positive that was always correct for density and contrast in relation to the colouring.

Obviously, by saying that the system allowed an unequivocal identification of each short reel of negative (then positive) through the various processing phases (printing, developing, colouring, positives cutting), we do not want to give to laboratory practices of the early 1910s a continuity, consistency and regularity that they obviously could never have had, but it is evident that the variations in the colours can only be attributed to the differences and unevenness of the process (inconsistency of colouring agents, imprecision in development or printing) and certainly not to the casualness of the procedure. In other words, it is always possible that a specific colour is not even between one film and another or between prints of the same film, or even between one shot and another on the same film, but it does not seem at all probable (save the fact of a major human error which would be easily detectable and correctable) that a scene meant to be tinted blue could become yellow or green.

Reconstruction and colour

During the job of reconstruction and restoration of the FAI collection (undertaken by the Cineteca di Bologna and the Cinémathèque Française at the Bologna laboratory of L’lmmagine Ritrovata) the problem of the identification of the colour code was posed for us. Without this, it was impossible to give back to the FAI films their original colours.

Excluding from the start the attempt to purchase coloured positives of the period, since no cases were given of positive or negative copies with the colour code of the films at our disposition, it only remained to try and propose a hypothesis of inductive and “investigative” identification.

An analysis of the elements at our disposal was, therefore, embarked upon, with the aim of producing a database of the codes placed in relation to the frames to which they referred and of researching the information concerning the practice of colouring of the period through the technical literature of the time.

An initial analysis of the films produced a list of colour codes that correspond, clearly to those applied, to the period 1910-1917 for/the FAI films in the Pathé Frères laboratories. Some of the codes that we list below appear very frequently while others are rare or even isolated, as we shall see later.

Colouring codes

Letters:
A, As[pécial],Ac
GNumbers:
2, 2t
4, 4 lég[er], 4s, 4s lég[er]
5, 5s, 5s fort, 5s lég[er], 5t lég[er], 5 e5
7
8, 8 léger, 8b
17

Combinations of numbers and letters:
Ac 2 lég[er]
A 2c, A 2, A 2spécial, A 2 lég[er], A 2t,
A 8, Ac 8, A 8 léger, Ac 8 t lég[er], Ac 8
v t lég[er]
Ac 4s t lég[er],
Ac 5s lég[er]
B 5s, B 5 s t lég[er], B 5s lég[er], B 5t,
B 4s t lég[er]
G8

Considering the basic colours (according to us identified by the upper case letters and the numbers), the variants of these (signalled by the lower case letters, such as s for special and by the note lég[er] and the different combinations, one reaches the surprising figure of forty (!) colours used, a fact that makes, on the one hand, the establishment of a hypothesis for the identification of the codes more complex, and on the other hand makes the effort even more important. One could certainly not leave untried the chance to take account of such a chromatic range, establishing coloured versions of those FAI films originally destined to be toned and tinted (it is obviously not possible to reconstruct the colours applied by stencilling), thus obtaining copies that witness – a rare case in the field of early film restoration – to the original indications and production choices, rather than a surviving print in which the colouring bears the uncertainty of the imprecision concerning the procedures used at the time and the decay of the colouring agents and tones.

Identification of the code

Analysing the list of codes placed in relation to the content of the scenes to which these refer, with the editing of these and the narrative logic, and in the light of experience acquired in recent years regarding the colouring used in silent cinema, the formulation of an hypothesis has been reached, based on some fixed points that seem immediately evident.

Above all, it is clear enough how the letters indicate the toning and the numbers the tinting, with relative combinations. The frequency with which some codes recur allows us to put them in relation with the more habitual colours used at the time. The A is thus certainly the sepia toning, while the 5 and 4, being the two most used tints, above all in interior scenes, surely indicate amber/orange and rose.

On the other hand, the narrative logic indicates without a shadow of a doubt that the 2 – alone or in combination with toning A or B – is the colour used for night scenes. Still using narrative logic, it was easy to deduce that the toning G corresponds to green (it is used in few cases and exclusively in exterior shots in woods or gardens, and is coupled only with tinting n. 8) while B refers to the toning blue. Equally one can say for the number 8, whose interaction with A-sepia and B-blue in addition to the content of the scenes where it is applied, lead one to deduce that it indicates yellow.

It only remains at this point to give a colour to number 7, something that proves to be practically impossible, since the code figures only once in the two tableaux of the cell in the finale of Les Carbonari/I carbonari; the adoption of a colour – violet – has been opted for, a colour that would not figure under other codes and that might be very different to the others used in the film, in such a way as to take account at least of the fact that for those two tableaux a colour different to all the others was foreseen, not only from I carbonari but also from other FAI films.

Another question that was not simple was the attribution of pink and amber that, as we have seen, are particularly frequent and above all both used liberally in interior scenes (with artificial light or daylight) and sometimes in daylight-exteriors.

An indirect clue is held in the negative for Le baiser de la gloire/Il bacio della gloria. The negative in our possession shows both identification leaders containing the usual indications described above, and leaders in which the indications have been carefully erased and substituted with wording in English; evidently, at a later period to the printing of the prints in the French laboratory, the negative had been sent to England for printing and to that end the original codes had been substituted with indications written out in full: dye rose, light green. Here, some interior scenes are indicated as 4s lég[er] and analogous scenes have the indication Rose. As the presence of the code and the English name are never given together, the proof cannot be definitive, above all when considering the fact that in the rest of the film the English colours are evidently simplified and do not correspond to the usual practice – or style, or logic, if you prefer – evident in the other FAI films. Consider for example that almost the whole film, including the long battle sequence in the desert between Italian bersaglieri and Libyan warriors, is tinted in light green, a choice that is not only curious, but also unheard of in FAI films, where certainly an 8-yellow or an orange would have been preferred.

Holding this “English” clue as poorly relating to the truth, a more careful analysis of the scenes indicated by the codes 4 and 5 was undertaken, with the aim of finding a new more conclusive clue. The tableau number 29 of the film La modèle/Flora la modella (1916) shows a man and a woman in front of the fireplace, with the colouring code 4s; at the point where the man lights the fire, the scene is interrupted and recommences with 29bis, with 5s fort colouring, to indicate the light from the flames; from that point on, the rest of the long scene takes place in the same setting – but far from the fire – is tinted 5s lég [er]. In short, the special wad fort version of tinting 5 is held ideal for representing the light produced by flames of a fire, and in the léger version is ideal for the diffuse light of a fire when if s not in shot. At this point it remains to identify what is the colour identified by 5. Turning to the literature of the time we have been able to find two interesting references. First of all the “famous” list of pre-coloured film produced by Kodak and also adapted to sound films, described in the article Tinted Films for Sound Positives (Lloyd Jones in. Vol. XIII, no. 37) to which reference is often made as it offers psychological interpretations for the use of different colours (Characterization of the Seventeen Tints). Here no. 5 Firelight is a soft yellow-orange, which is “suggestive also of illumination emanating from an open fire”, that is to say exactly as in our shot. The reference from Lloyd poses, however, according to us, two types of problem, the first is the date; the list of colours and the proposed associations refer to 1929, that is to a period in the history of the colouring of silent films that has little in common with 1916, both from the point of view of the aesthetics of colour and of laboratory practices. The other doubt is that it is very difficult that a soft yellow-orange can be considered the reinforced and intensified version (fort) of a base colour orange-amber.

We therefore turned to a text of 1911, amongst the first to deal with the colouring of positives published as Handbook of Kinematography in the English; here the author, Colin Bennett, also occupied with the task of suggesting the most appropriate colours for different narrative situations, refers to a “firelight effect” obtained with a solution of Eosin, a colouring agent tending towards rose.

In this second case, 1911 appeared to us a nearer period to the colours and procedures of the FAI, and the probability decidedly more likely that a rose (5) in its special and fort versions – hypothesising thus that it tends towards red – could be used to indicate the flames of a fire. Therefore, at the risk of error, and with a few precautions – also in the light of deductions from other similar scenes – we have decided to opt for 5 as rose and 4 as amber.

With the aim of completing the list of colours and their codes, there still remains the analysis of the problem of variants. It is useless to start by saying that it was impossible for us to securely identify any of the variants indicated by the codes, with the absolute lack of objective checks. We do not, in fact, have positive print references, we do not know the formulae or the colouring agents on the basis of which Pathé carried out colouring and toning (the only information one can call on is the manual Le film vierge Pathé, published only in 1926 and thus useless); even if we were to know the base formulae, we would not have, anyway, access to the “variant” formulae (in what they differ: concentration?, time?, in acidity?,…).

As one deduces from the list, the variants are numerous; some are easily identifiable léger, fort, others obscure (spécial), others completely incomprehensible (t léger is maybe très léger, but what is v t léger? Or 2t, 2c). Furthermore, an interesting fact is that the variants seem to appear in a given period in the history of the FAI films; La mort civile of 1910, for example, has only basic colours (8, 2, A, 4), while already the films of 1912 show a distinct variety.

It was, therefore, decided to take into consideration the existence of these variants of the base colours, creating different tonalities for tinting and toning in such a way as to obtain prints that might be able to reproduce, if not the original colours, at least the articulation of the original colours, a fact that appeared to us of notable importance in the study of colour in the silent cinema.

From the notes published here, we believe that it is clear that the entire job of reconstruction of the codes and thus the production of tinted and toned copies is both highly hypothetical and to be considered to all effects as a work in progress open to revision and correction when new data and research becomes available.

Conclusion

As already stated previously, the intention that convinced us to press ahead, even considering the uncertainty of the available data, has been that of providing to the audience, researchers and historians the chance to study how tinting and toning might have been used in the Film d’Arte Italiana, not based on prints more or less decayed, but from the indications of the process. While accepting the possibility that the colours may not be exactly those chosen at the time, or that there may have been an error in the interpretation of the code (always a possibility, given the scarceness of data), the fact remains that the colour prints of the FAI films can testify to at least two important elements. On the one hand it is possible to go back to the use of colours within each film (passages between different tinting, between tinting and toning, and between different toning), and trace the evolution in the use of colouring in different years of production; on the other hand it is possible to check when, within the same film, it was felt necessary to change the base colours, introducing variants that had no doubt have a desired value and meaning.

Finally, the restoration of the colours in the Film d’Arte Italiana films, and the data collected in this work, poses – we believe – completely new problems to film restorers. In most recent years, the increasing use of techniques enabling us to “restore” (i.e. to modify according to film restorer’s judgement, knowledge, and, also, personal taste and aesthetics) the colours of the silents, against decay or process mistakes occurred at the time – I mainly refer to the so-called Desmetcolor system and the re-born attention to re-creation of old techniques of colouring – is continuously posing new problems. To have the possibility of “restoring” a colour to its original characteristics of hue, and saturation, implicitly implies to know what the characteristics of that particular colour were at the time when the film was first produced. A chemical answer to this problem – analyses of colours survived on the prints, identification of the original dyes, etc – is still far to be reached successfully. Also, the attempt to rely on the technical literature of the time, is often frustrated: there are long periods in film technology history, for which we have little or incomplete information, and, more dramatically, what we can find on literature is always “how thing should have been done”, not “how things were really made”; i.e. theory is far away from laboratory practice, as everyone knows.

In this context, the FAI films add even more confusion. Let’s imagine that we come across a positive print of a FAI film where two adjacent shots are tinted yellow, and the two yellows are different. The narrative logic (our narrative logic) tells us that the yellows should be the same; the literature of the time describes how to produce one yellow, giving probably a precise formula, so we must assume that the difference in saturation or hue is due to a mistake in process, or to a different fading. What we know now from FAI, is that Pathé lab deliberately chose and used three different yellows, according to a colouring system, and an aesthetic that is hard to understand for us, mainly because we do not have enough data (i.e. enough films properly restored in colours, or enough non-film sources) to study and to understand.

Somehow, FAI films tells us a different story, made by subtle changings in colours, careful choices and careful handling of film materials in order to produce a final result that could be uneven and inconsistent in itself, but that was meant to be able to produce a precise balance among different colours and different variants of the same colour (within the same film or in several films), all of them chosen according to a system that we must penetrate in order to understand colours in the silent. Only by doing so, we could finally get to the point of making hypotheses about how to restore the colours and their function in the film. As in other field of restoration (painting, e.g.) we are at a point where we must acknowledge that is not the correspondence between each single colour with the original that is so crucial, as the relationships between the different colours and their different shades in the creation of the complete film.”

(Mazzanti, Nicola (1998): The Colours of the Film d’Arte Italiana. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 141-146.)

“Luciano Berriatúa

Regarding a Catalogue of the Tints Used on the Silent Screen

In the period of silent films, the immense majority of these were distributed as tinted copies. This is very well known today but until a few years ago all silent films were seen in black and white.

For various decades, the archives reproduced the nitrate copies conserved in colour in black and white. Many of these nitrate copies no longer exist. At least until the Sixties, they were continuing in, some archives to systematically destroy them after they had “preserved” them. It may be thought that they were reproduced in black and white because colour was much more expensive or even less stable. But how can it be justified that no record was kept of the original colours? Something that would have been so simple to note down on paper.

The explanation is simple. For many years it was fashionable to think that black and white was more “artistic” than colour. This absurd rejection of colour was unfortunate for the silent screen. While nitrate copies in colour were being kept on the archives shelves, cinema enthusiasts and historians knew nothing of their existence and were judging the films from black and white copies in which the night scenes, usually shot during the day and later tinted in blue, took place in full sunlight.

When I published my conviction in 1977 that Nosferatu had to have been tinted because it did not make sense that the vampire always acted during the day and Der Müde Tod and Scherben went from night to day from one shot to another because they did not have the tints, my ideas were not considered very orthodox. For some critics, tinting Nosferatu was a heresy. Everyone knew that “artistic” photography was in black and white. Colour was vulgar, black and white “intellectual”. This may seem very surprising to young people but it was as real as the present overlooking and even rejection of the original scores for accompaniment. It seems deplorable to me that in the majority of the archives they do not make a search for, conserve and promote these scores, many of which are being lost through pure negligence.

The problem is that we are now trying to restore the colour to some films that have been conserved in black and white with scarcely any indications of the original colours. Sometimes we feel the temptation to dream that in the future it will be possible to restore the original tints using the differences in the greys visible in the countertypes in black and white taken in the past from tinted nitrate copies which have disappeared today. We have to learn how tinting was performed at the time, to recover information on the original colours and the old laboratory techniques.

Fortunately this is a task in which the archives are taking an increasing interest.

Catalogues of pre-tinted positives

Various manuals and catalogues of pre-tinted positive materials were published in the Twenties, something which became general from 1921 onwards. There are Kodak, Agfa, Gevaert, Pathé catalogues…Various copies of these catalogues have been conserved throughout the world and are considered by archives and collectors to be museum pieces although the present practical use is obvious. The first thing that should be done is to reproduce them so that all archives and laboratories could have copies. When we suggest the restoration of a silent film, we often find only single copies in tinted nitrate positives whose colour has faded or been changed by exposure to light and damp or mechanical wear and tear. We need these catalogues to restore the original tones as they usually provide samples that are generally well preserved.

Owning a copy of these catalogues could be of great help. It is essential to reproduce them. But although this is very important, it is only the first step. We cannot stop there and this is the object of this article.

Many more tinted positives than those conserved in these few positives exist on the market only published by such important companies as Kodak or Agfa and these generally have a date that is too late such as that of Pathé (1926) and those of Agfa (1926-1927-1928). No catalogues exist with earlier dates from these manufacturers, nor any known from other well-known manufacturers of positives which were habitually used, not even Kodak of which a good number of American catalogues (between 1916 and 1927) have been conserved, but we do not know of any samples of tints used in stocks manufactured in Europe. And regarding some manufacturers of positives such as Dupont and Lignose, we do not even have any information on when they put tinted positives on the market although we do have nitrate copies reproduced in positives from these companies which show that they even tinted some of their stocks in mass.

I have been working for the past five years for the Fimoteca Española on the preparation of a general catalogue which is much larger than the ones provided in manuals published by manufacturers of emulsions.

It is our intention to attempt to obtain nitrate samples with which we can establish a catalogue of factory tinted positives from all the companies existing over the years in which they came on to the market. We have obtained and classified hundreds of samples from the Filmoteca Española collection which logically do not cover all the positives that appeared on the market. It is necessary to complete the work with collections from other European archives.

We have acquired many publications and manuals with samples, above all from Agfa which, in its later editions, include tints of colours for sound films that are much softer in order not to affect the soundtrack. The arrival of sound put an end to tinted positives and tints in general because the copies had to be reproduced uninterruptedly, as the sound was displaced, and without noisy joining and it was not practical to have the negatives arranged according to tints. In the case of Agfa or Pathé, the catalogues are very complete but were not published until 1926. Not many catalogues exist of companies that we know manufactured coloured materials such as Ferrania, Nobel or Eagle whose list of tinted positives was published in the press of the period. Advertisements by Nobel-Film (Toxo) for positives in colours: yellow, lemon, amber, orange, green, violet and cobalt blue appeared in the Spanish cinema press.

Film Ferrania sold eight colours: black, amber, green, blue, pink, violet, yellow and orange. And in 1926 the Eagle Film Company sold positives in black, pink, red, orange, violet, blue, green, yellow amber and light amber in Spain. This announcement for a novelty had already appeared in the magazine “Arte y Cinematografia” in 1920: “Tedious tinting has already passed into history by using our colour film. Gevaert. The coloured positive raw stock. Patented in the U.S., 14 different colours”.

But there are no manuals with samples of these colours in existence. These catalogues should be supplied with comparison of copies of the period. If we can find a sufficient number of copies made in 1926 on Eagle tinted positives, for example, we shall know what those nine colours that appear in the advertisement were like. To do this we need to work on the nitrate bases in the greatest number of archives possible. This is v slow and costly work which is complicated by the co-existence of materials tinted in the factory together with imbibitions done in the laboratory. We have to collect all the advertising possible and all the information that can give us clues to the possible changes in colour over the years. Because the main problem lies in these changes. Unlike artisan imbibitions where the tone is changed from day to day in the same laboratories, the tints on the manufacturers’ support tend to be fairly uniform in the same stock. But the tints are changed by the manufacturers from year to year. We can see, both in the catalogues of the period and in the copies that have been conserved, that an orange of Kodak in 1924 was not very like a Kodak orange of 1926. The greens and blues of Agfa or Gevaert changed radically from year to year.

We cannot commit the error of using a catalogue of Agfa colours from 1926 to establish what the Agfa colours were in a 1923 copy. And for the years for which we have no references from the manufacturer (from Agfa, for example, we only know of catalogues published from 1926 onwards and as there are no references to the year of manufacture in the marginal companies, we cannot be certain of the batch to which a particular nitrate positive belongs) we have to proceed with great caution in order not to confuse a laboratory tint with a factory tint.

In an Agfa manual published around 1928 we can read:

Preparation and colouring of the support.One of the sides of the support is washed with an adhesive solution, it is evaporated with warm air and the layer of sensitive emulsion is deposited on this side.

The celluloid is then coloured. At the present time (1927-1929) a good part of the total production of positive film is already prepared in the factory by lightly colouring the celluloid.

Already beforehand, in order to obtain special effects, for example, fires or marine landscapes, the gelatine of the film had already been tinted and made ready by a means of aqueous solutions of different classes of colourings.

Later on, it can also be seen that even in those matters in which no particular colour dominated such as portraits or street scenes, a light touch of violet or yellow “to temper the white” was also very pleasant.

Until shortly before the war (1914) this effect was only achieved by colouring the copies reproduced, whether on the side with the emulsion with aqueous solutions of colorants or on the celluloid side with alcohol solutions.

We can tell whether the celluloid is tinted or the film is soaked in water or alcohol by rubbing the photograms with cotton wool impregnated with alcohol or dipped in water. But the majority of the manufacturers did not mass tint and merely passed the support over a roller impregnated with alcohol coloured with aniline.

Whatever the case, this procedure only affects the support side while imbibition also affects the emulsion.

The catalogues that were published in the Twenties are only the top of the iceberg. And to reconstruct the entire iceberg is a huge puzzle that is taking us years of work. We have to acquire samples of nitrates from various archives and renew our efforts making a particular study in each country.

Then there is the problem of producing the catalogue. How can we imitate the old colours exactly? Our idea is to produce a Cd-Rom but this creates the additional problem of calibrating the monitors. The colours can be established for working with a computer using any drawing programme which establishes the various combinations possible in scales of 256 degrees from three television colours bars for adjusting the sets. In this way, we could define Agfa 1926 red as R255-G23-B78 or a Kodak 1924 orange as R255-G162-B60, for example. A couple of pages of paper with a simple list of numbers such as these could contain a vast catalogue of fully defined, operating colours.

Establishing these subtle variations in colour produced in each new batch of the same material could be of great use and, in the case of materials where no signs which can be dated exist, such as in Agfa or Gevaert, or which have codes that have still not been deciphered such as Nobel, they could even be used for dating the positives.

Laboratory experience

Another more complex programme appears with the enormous field of imbibitions. We have to compile the formulae and collect the manuals of the period in order to associate the different solutions available in each period with the samples that we are extracting from numerous silent films. A catalogue of these samples at least enables us to appreciate the changes in the tints in fashion, the variety of these tints and their intensity from country to country and from year to year. And also from laboratory to laboratory. In this case the variety of tones and colours is infinitely multiplied. Each laboratory could make changes and modifications to the solutions and apply different techniques. They could combine various tints or use imbibitions, by submerging positives which had been previously tinted in the factory in a bath of water with a different tint or by combining toning liquids with tints. We have even found samples that show a series of successive tinting in order to achieve darker colours through transparency. A first bath in red with alcohol followed by a second bath of blue with water achieved an efficient night effect for a Spanish film in 1919.

A detailed study of the tints in Spain showed us the customs of the laboratories and the criteria that they usually followed in their tinting. This is very important for another kind of problem which tends to arise in restoration from a nitrate negative. The nitrate negatives in the Twenties were always in black and white but tended to have indications of the colours with which the positives could be tinted. These indications could appear at the beginning of the roll or in a small tail between the scenes. Normally only the colour was given such as “blue”, “amber”, “green”…

At times, these indications can be missing but a montage of the negatives, generally filed by grouping all the shots of the same colour in order to facilitate the process of reproducing the positives, gives us sufficient idea to be able to deduce the original colours “a grosso modo”. But once we know that the shots have to be tinted in blue or green, how do we choose the particular colour if no positives have been conserved from the period? In the first place, as we normally know the year that the film was produced, we can specify the tints on the market that year and we can deduce the companies that were distributing their products in the locality where the film was produced. If it is an American film from the mid-Twenties we can reproduce a copy with Kodak tints without many feelings of guilt or in Agfa if the film is German.

But how do we decide on the tints for a Spanish film? We have to use another type of research to resolve this problem. We have to study the examples of silent nitrate films that have been conserved and collect information on the producer and the laboratories where the film was developed and the positives printed.

We discover that the various Spanish laboratories had very different practices and habits. It would be marvellous if the old laboratories continued to exist and if they conserved all their documentation and billing for the period of the silent film and even lists of the positive materials used for each film or the stock of material acquired each year.

We do not possess this information but a study of the films conserved leads to similar results. The different laboratories tended to advertise in the press by publishing lists of the most important films that they had processed that year. We search for the nitrate copies existing of these films and compare them in an attempt to reach some conclusions on the work of each laboratory.

We see that the Madrid Film laboratories worked mainly with Kodak material for years although they combined tinted Kodak materials with Agfa and Gevaert in the same film in 1927. We have films processed in the Cyma laboratories that were reproduced exclusively using Agfa materials. The CAF laboratories combined their artisan imbibitions with tinted positives from the Ferrania factory, Agfa, Gevaert and Kodak in 1925. The Ardavin laboratories are particularly interesting: they used the remains of all stock they had in a single film, La Malcasada, in 1926. There are shots in black and white reproduced on Eastman, Gevaert and Pathé positives and Agfa tinted positives (6 colours: yellow, light amber, amber, pink, blue, green), Kodak (7 colours in American materials from 1925 and 1926 and English materials from 1926: dark blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange, amber and brown), Gevaert (5 colours: green, orange, amber, light amber and violet) and Eagle (4 colours: green, pink, orange and amber). In other films we discovered that these laboratories did not respect the colour indications on the negative and they frequently used baths or tinted positives that they happened to have at the time without any dramatic criterion. This procedure was even followed with their own productions. In the negative of El Bandido de la Sierra, by Fernandez Ardavin, the colour indications written on the negative are only approximate. In a nocturnal scene they write “blue or violet”. And the colour indications for La Bejarana, by the same director, were not respected in the positives that have been conserved.

We were also able to discover that new copies were produced with changes in colour from year to year and perhaps even from month to month. But at times these changes can only be seen: two copies conserved of El Dos de Mayo are reproduced in different colours. The same shot appears in a bluish green in one copy and in a light blue in another. But if we look closely, we can see that one is reproduced on Kodak material and the other on Agfa and, by consulting the catalogues of tinted positives from these companies in the same year, we discovered that the bluish green and the light blue were the only blue available from the two companies. In both cases, the laboratory had faithfully followed the indications written on the negative and had printed the shot in the positive blue. The change was in the brand used for the positive. These same differences could occur when tinting in a laboratory by imbibition when using colorants and formulae from different manufacturers.

This problem had a curious consequence in Nosferatu by Murnau. There is a long sequence of parallel actions in the only tinted nitrate copy that still exists and is conserved in Paris. In a room in the castle, the vampire turns toward Ellen who reaches out her arms to him although she is many kilometres away from there, in her bedroom at home. The action happens at night. The colour changes alternatively from blue to bluish green in the shots with the vampire to the shots with Ellen. We can see that these shots were reproduced on different types of Agfa positives and the joining in the positive show us that, the shots of Ellen and those of the vampire were stored separately in the negatives.

Why? In order to tint some blue and others in a light greeny-blue? There is no sense in this because the difference between the blue and the greenish blue is scarcely visible and is merely the result of a simple change in the blue bath. The hypothesis exists that negatives of these shots had a very different density and had to be reproduced with different lights. But this does not seem very probable either, in view of the very similar range of greys and seeing the location of the joins in the rest of the film.

The most probable and at the time most worrying hypothesis, because of unknown quantities involved, appears to be that these scenes were separated in the negative because they had to be tinted with different colours. One of the sets is bathed in moonlight and would be tinted in blue and the other in orange because of being lit with artificial light.

This would show that the Paris copy did not respect the original colour indications on the negative or that we have a cheaply produced copy and that other copies of Nosferatu existed with more complex tints, perhaps double tinting or toning. According to the last hypothesis, one of the scenes would perhaps have only been tinted in blue while the other could combine a blue tint with a toning of another colour which would have forced it to be stored apart and would explain why when reproducing one copy with a single tint both shots were reproducing in blue. In any case, a finding such as this produces many questions and creates many headaches. This example shows that establishing a criterion on the correct tints becomes considerably more complicated with costly productions whose copies were reproduced with combined tints, tints and tonings in two colours. More economical copies of these same films were also frequently reproduced without toning. And this is to say nothing of reproductions of copies in other countries, for export, using double negatives. Do the tinted nitrate copies or fragments of copies that we possess in Spain from films such as Nibelungen, Mabuse (which it was supposed had always had positives in black and white) or Orphans of the Storm by Griffith show the original tints? From which negative have they been reproduced and where? Establishing the tints of silent films is a task as complex as it is exciting. The existence of catalogues and manuals with chemical formulae for the tints can be a very useful instrument for getting to know this complicated period of the cinema more precisely.”

(Berriatúa, Luciano (1998): Regarding a Catalogue of the Tints Used on the Silent Screen. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 135-139.)

“Recording and Reproducing the Original Tints and Tones of QuoVadis

A Technical Case Study

Part 1 – Measuring the Colours

Soho Images tinting and toning service operates by an initial investigation into the original dyes used followed by a series of tests to establish which process to use for the restored print. Various methods of numerical evaluation were tried first by Nederlands Filmmuseum (NFM) and by Soho Images as a means of recording the colour as found on the film, as a common technique for sharing data, as a method of identification, and as a control technique during the restoration. The method used to exchange data is illustrated by the tinting and toning of a print of Quo Vadis (1912), in spring 1997.

Methods

Colours are usually characterized by three components:

Hue – the qualitative characteristic, i.e. hues of green, blue, orange, grey, etc., principally related to the peak absorption wavelength.
Saturation – characteristic dependant on degree of other wavelengths present in a colour, i.e. the amount of white light present.
Brightness – the overall total amount of light transmitted.

There are many methods of measuring colour, including:

Matching against coloured standard patches, e.g. Munsell or a paint chart.

Spectroscopy analyses colours by providing measurements across the wavelength range, or solely by the peak absorption wavelengths, but does not indicate the visual appearence.

Comparators, such as the Lovibond, measure the sample against a range of colours by mixing primaries to find a visual match.

CIE method plots colour as a position on a colour space, easy to measure with modern equipment but difficult to equate with a visual appearance.

Colour densitometry measures colours in terms of the relative proportions of three stimuli (R,G&B) to create a colour. The stimuli can be correlated to the human eye (e.g. Status V or A) or to a photographic film sensitivity (e.g. Status M). The trilinear display of the densities indicates colour by position. Nederlands Filmmuseum

The NFM has been investigating methods of measuring the colour of the original film. In the past, records of tint or tone colours by the archives were often very imprecise, and if the film was later destroyed or decayed beyond recall, the effect was not identifiable. A simple statement blue could mean a Cine Blue tint or a Iron Blue tone, and tints and tones were sometimes confused in the past. Double effects were often not noticed and restoration from this information is not easy.

It was felt that a numerical value for the colour would significantly improve recording and enable subsequent restoration, and if the data was reliable and precise might allow identification of at least some of the original dyes.

The NFM were advised to try one of the new breed of computer operated devices used principally in the graphics and printing industry, and installed a Colortron, a simple hand-held spectrophotometer, comprising a small CD array, from USA interfaced to an Apple Mac and software designed to calculate a whole range of colour measurements from “ink-weight” to the standard CIE tristimulus values. It can operate off any light source, normally an illuminated panel. The concept was attractive in that the CIE values generated could be plotted on the CIE diagram which indicates their colour within the visible range.

CIE plotted information is not very easy to interpret and many viewers find it difficult to associate a position on the colour space plot with a visual appearance.

The NFM Colortron could also display its results alternatively as Status A (see below) values which enables the trilinear display to be used. This is a more “user-friendly” display in which the visual colour is displayed and users soon learn to associate a position with a visual appearance. It is therefore very good for exchanging data.

However it was found that the Status A values generated by the Colortron were incorrect, and did not match the standard Status A calibration system used as an international standard by Eastman Kodak, and this problem is still being investigated.

All the following data is therefore in the Status A format generated from Soho Images equipment.

Soho Images

Soho Images did not have Colortron equipment, but already used colour densitometry for process and printer control, measured on several different densitometers. The density measurement standard known as “Status A” comprises three filters (red, green and blue) selected to correspond, in conjunction with the densitometer photocel, to produce values that indicate the visual appearance of the coloured transparent film sample.

The Colortron is not a particularly expensive unit but a modern Macbeth Densitometer for Status A is about £4,000.

When R, G, and B densities are plotted on a trilinear graph paper (not a technique normally used in photographic control) and this displays colour in a manner that is very similar to the way the human eye perceives. The brightness of the colour is cancelled out and only the colour and saturation is displayed, a measure of the character of the dye.

Measuring the colour of film

Tints

With tinted film readings were initially taken in the perforation area but it was found that this area was often damaged or more faded than the rest of the film, and gave inaccurate readings of the overall tint However, since a tint is an overall colouring, anywhere on the image would give readings that would plot in the same position on a trilinear display, and cancel out the brightness.

Tones

Toned film has clear perforation areas, although not always by any means. Status A readings taken within the picture area vary in position on the trilinear display, since the image tone is proportional to the density of the original silver image. Choosing different areas of the print to measure produces a series of trilinear display positions that clearly indicate the hue as falling on one of the axes, but plots at different points radiating out from the centre. Any measurement will clearly define the hue.

Display

In Soho Images the trilinear display of density is used in two ways. The Status A readings and the trilinear display define the colour effect as it is today, and this provides a valuable record. The measurements help to identify a dye or “recipe”, and once identified to display both the identification and the restoration. This method was used by Soho Images to demonstrate the closeness of match between original dye and reproduction to the Nederlands Filmmuseum.

Control

The trilinear display and or the RGB readings is also used as a control technique. A few frames of a standard print on black and white film (Soho Images uses the Kodak LAD print of a girls head and grey steps) are cut onto the head of each roll of film prior to colouring. Taken off after colouring the print acts as a visual and a densitometric control for each colouring procedure. In the case of a feature film there may be 70-80 separate rolls of film to be coloured. Poor agreement with the aim agreed with the archive allows corrections to be made (it is a curious feature of tinting and some toning techniques that if the effect is too light it can be retinted, if to dark it can be washed out!).

Part 2 – Identifying the Colour Effect

As confidence increases it can be used as a measure of the tint and tone as it is today and as a match for restoration and finally as an identification of a dye. The number of dyes and formulae available to Soho Images are far less than the total of all the dyes and “recipes” known to have been used. Some dyes are no longer available, but this is less than 20% of all those known to have been used. The majority of formulae no longer easily carried out today are the metallic toning procedures using uranium and vanadium. However this leaves a considerable number of common procedures which can be reproduced, and so far we have yet to be certain that any tone we have seen before 1930 is definitely uranium or vanadium (uranium ferrocyanide was widely used on two-colour films in the 1930’s).

Identification of a dye or colourant can be by one or more of the following, in decreasing order of precision:

1. Destructive testing of the dye to establish the chemical structure.
2. Characterization of the spectral absorption of the dye.
3. Identifying the visual colour match with a known existing dye.
4. Inspired guesswork (experience) from a knowledge of the most likely technique used at the time.

Destructive testing

This is beyond the financial capacity of the organizations involved for organic dyes as used for tinting and mordant dye toning, but quite practical for metallic tone colours.

Conventional inorganic qualitative analysis “by group” is all that is needed to identify Iron, Uranium, Copper, and Vanadium and inferring the presence of their ferrocyanides. This form of analysis can be done in small test tubes if enough sample film is used, or in micro equipment if only small pieces are used. About 1cm square of film is needed as a minimum. The film is soaked in water to soften the gelatin, then the emulsion is removed with 3N NaOH solution, just enough to cover, taking about 2hours. Heating is not usually required.

The resulting solution or dispersion, after removing the film base, is then filtered or decanted and the solution treated (very carefully) with an equal volume of 3N nitric acid. The resulting acid solution is then subjected to the usual Group analyses (see references). In the case of iron tone blue the metal identifies as Iron alone. Many other colour tones key out as iron (from the ferrocyanide ion used as the bleach), and one other metal.

Spectral absorbtions

We have some spectral absorption data on dye stuffs from as early as 1909, and the procedure for measuring these is usually a spectrophotometer, which is sometimes available in a film processing laboratory because it is used for process solution component analysis. Most spectrophotometers for qualitative analysis are very accurate, however are not easy to use for qualitative work where a plot of the density to different wavelengths is used. Peak wavelength absorption is a useful and reasonably easy to measure. The dyes in a film sample should be extracted from the film otherwise base density, image density and mordants may all add to the measured values.

Visual matching

Visual matching by comparing the colour of the original effect with a modern process using an original formula is very imprecise by eye. The old tints often become cloudy, diffuse or slightly opaque with age (“laking”) and some, iron tone blue and perhaps other metallic tones, darken and desaturate with age. Only numerical values of density allows colour to be plotted on a trilinear display and ignores the overall density Status A seems a reasonable method of making these comparisons.

Experience

Once seen and identified, many of these effects are recognizable again. The various blue iron tones vary with the formula and whether the film was “fixed” out. Inevitably a degree of “I’ve seen that before” enables us to make a test to prove that an effect was produced in a particular way. The mordant green of the last scene of Quo Vadis was recognized as Malachite Green before the test procedure proved it.

Part 3 – Restoration of Quo Vadis

Introduction

Quo Vadis (1912) was reconstructed as a Lumière funded programme, a joint venture between the Cineteca Italiana, Milan, the Nederlands Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, and the National Film and Television Archive, London. Once reconstruction was complete Haghefilm in Amsterdam made an optical duplicate internegative on Panchromatic Duplicate negative film directly from the original prints which were tinted and toned throughout. The film was in a very poor condition, badly fragmented and brittle, so parts were already badly duplicated. The resulting duplicate negative was as good as could be expected from the state of the original film.

Some of the resulting duplicate negative material was several generations further from the original material than other sections and was considerably less satisfactory, appearing “dupy”. This term summarizes the overall visual appearance of low resolution, grainy high contrast images lacking in fine detail that characterizes multigeneration results.

An initial print was made by the Desmet method of double pass printing and later the NFM made the decision to ask Soho Images to evaluate some fragments of the original tinted and toned material to see if reasonable information could be obtained sufficient to tint and tone a print using original formulae.

The NFM sent Soho Images a fragment of each of the colour effects they recognized as different, together with the duplicate negative to prepare test prints and test effects.

The following final report from Soho summarized the progress from that point.

First Sight

We received a complete negative of the feature plus a short compilation roll consisting of a scene of each colour required. We also received a set of samples of the original tints and tones on Nitrate stock. We were asked to produce a copy of the test roll, reproducing the tint and tone colours of the samples.

The set of sample frames showed eleven colour/colour combinations: 9 tints, 1 tone and 1 tint + tone.

Choice of correct tint

We produced a set of tinted and toned samples as follows:

Blue/Green tint: we have not found a single dye which gives a good match for this tint. Tests have shown that a mixture of Napthol Green and Patent Blue give an acceptable colour match. Both dyes are listed by Kodak in the early 1920’s under the terms “Cine Green” and “Cine Blue Green”. This effect concerned us as it was not easily recognizable and seemed not to be a simple tint.

Green tint: although the original is faded we found that Napthol Green gave a reasonable colour match.

Yellow tint: a good match produced by Quinoline Yellow or Cine Yellow (Kodak 1920’s).Yellow/Orange tint: a mixture of Quinoline Yellow and Crocein Scarlet (“Cine Scarlet”, Kodak 1920’s) produced a match for this tint.

Light Orange tint: a different mix of Quinoline Yellow and Crocein Scarlet matched this tint.

Dark Orange tint: a more concentrated solution of the Light Orange dye mix gave this tint (2.2.6).

Red tint: a dye mixture of Quinoline Yellow and Amaranth (“Cine Red”, Kodak 1920’s) produced a reasonable match for this tint.

Salmon tint: a weak mixture of Quinoline Yellow and Amaranth gave a good match for this tint.

Salmon Tint/Blue Tone: a stronger solution of the previous Salmon dye (2.2.9) was required to produce a similar density tint on this standard Iron Blue tone (Kodak, 1920’s).

Blue Tone: the Eastman Kodak chemistry of the early 1920’s has produced a bright blue tone. Because a predictable chemical reaction is used for this tone we can assume that the original material has faded from a much brighter colour.

Samples were sent to the filmmuseum for evaluation

They replied favourably but asked for some minor changes.

The Green and Light Green tints should be combined and made slightly more Blue/Green. This was achieved by using a mixture of Napthol Green and Patent Blue.

The Red tint needed to be more red. This was achieved by using a single dye solution of Crocein Scarlet.

The Yellow/Orange tint needed to be slightly more yellow to distinguish it more from the two other orange tints. Minor changes in the ratio of Quinoline Yellow and Crocein Scarlet produced a more acceptable tint.

Blue/Green effect
Just prior to colouring the test roll we, at Soho Images, had further discussions regarding the Blue/Green tint and decided that the overall appearance of the picture area resembled Blue/Green dye toning tests we had recently carried out (Reid 1916 & Agfa 1926?). These tests were shown to the NFM who, in turn, asked us to proceed as we thought correct. We therefore changed the Blue/Green tint to a Blue/Green dye tone using Malachite Green. We achieved a good visible match with the original sample by not completely clearing the highlights.

Part 4 – Processing the Test Roll

There was less than 100ft of each tint so we needed to process one spool for each colour.

We had some initial density problems in transferring the process from the testing stage to the production stage but these were quickly resolved and a test roll produced. When we projected the test roll it was apparent that the Salmon tint on the Iron Blue tone did not have sufficient density although we had matched the original sample (Fig.1). We re-tinted the scene to a higher density and found it more acceptable. The completed test roll with eleven colour effects was returned to the Filmmuseum for their appraisal

Part 5 – Results of the Test Roll

The Filmmuseum accepted our test roll with one change, i.e. that the Light Orange tint (2.1.5) did not show when projected with an Xenon light source so they would prefer a darker Orange tint, similar to the Dark Orange (2.1.6.) for those scenes.

Part 6 – Processing the Feature

We proceeded with colouring the whole feature, it required over 70 spools of film to complete the tinting and toning using our traditional procedures. The completed print was despatched from Soho Images at the end of March 1997.

References

As for the previous paper on tinting and toning (especially Hunt R.W.G., Reproduction of Colour), plus the following:

C. E. K Mees, An Atlas of Absorption Spectra, Wratten and Wain wright, 1909.

R. Ryan, Colour Sensitometry, SMITE, USA, 1974.”

(Mabberley, Bob; Read, Paul; Snoek, Sonja (1998): Recording and Reproducing the Original Tints and Tones of Quo Vadis. A Technical Case Study. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al.: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, pp. 151-155.)

“AVANT-PROPOS

Dans tous les pays se multiplient les salles obscures, où des pinceaux lumineux créent des tableaux mouvants, et partout le public afflue vers le nouveau spectacle avec un empressement sans exemple, un engouement déconcertant et qui, loin de se lasser depuis ses débuts, n’a fait que grandir, à mesure que l’art naissant perfectionnait son esthétique et sa technique.

Que reste-t-il à découvrir, désormais, pour ajouter encore à l’impression de vérité que nous voulons de plus en plus parfaite? C’est pour répondre à ces questions que nous avons entrepris de raconter dans la “Bibliothèque des Merveilles” l’histoire du cinéma, d’en décrire les procédés et l’outillage, d’expliquer sa valeur, documentaire ou artistique, l’intérêt et la variété des représentations auxquelles il se prête ; enfin, les progrès déjà acquis ou en voie d’accomplissement pour donner à l’image animée ce qui lui manquait d’abord : la couleur, le relief, la parole, – en un mot, la vie intégrale dans toutes ses manifestations.”

(Coustet, Ernest (1921): Le cinéma. Paris: Librairie Hachette, on p. 6.) (in French)

“CHAPITRE VIII
LES COULEURS AU CINEMA

ATTRAIT DE LA COULEUR. L’auteur de Moderns painters, John Ruskin, se demande ce qu’il adviendrait du monde, si toutes les fleurs étaient grises, toutes les feuilles noires, et le ciel brun. Evidemment, l’œil s’y accoutumerait, puisqu’il n’est choqué ni par les statues toutes blanches, ni par les dessins à la plume, ni par les photographies monochromes ; néanmoins, s’il est possible de se passer du coloris, celui-ci ajoute, à la beauté des formes et au pittoresque des effets, un attrait qu’il ne faut pas négliger dans un spectacle où tout doit concourir à l’agrément de la vue : La couleur est la joie des yeux, le charme des prunelles”, a dit Edmond About, et la supériorité manifeste des projections polychromes sur les images en grisaille justifie amplement l’importance des recherches qui se sont multipliées, au cours des dernières années, pour donner au cinéma un surcroît d’intérêt.

Même à défaut du coloris réel, une tonalité de temps en temps variée, une dominante appropriée à la nature du sujet valent mieux qu’une suite uniforme d’images noires : de là l’utilité des teintures et des virages. Mais là ne doit pas se limiter l’objet d’une représentation qui doit surtout donner l’illusion de la réalité vivante et n’a pas les mêmes raisons que le dessin ou la sculpture pour faire abstraction du coloris.

TEINTURES ET VIRAGES. La plupart des films positifs sont passés dans une solution colorante, qui leur domine une tonalité rouge orangé. C’est une teinture très légère, qui a pour but d’éviter l’effet de crudité des tons blafards produits par la projection. Cette teinte chaude doit être cependant réservée aux films représentant des effets de pleine lumière. Les sous-bois sont souvent teints en vert, mais c’est là une couleur dont il convient d’être très sobre. Les effets de crépuscule sont rendus par des teintes rouge vif ou pourpres. Quant aux scènes nocturnes, elles sont généralement passées dans un bain de teinture bleue.

La teinture s’étend évidemment sur toute la surface de l’image, la gélatine absorbant uniformément la solution colorante. Si l’on veut seulement modifier le ton des ombres et des demi-teintes, il faut virer les photographies, en transformant l’argent qui les constitue au moyen de réactifs tels que les ferricyanures de fer, qui donnent des images bleues, ceux de cuivre, qui donnent des images rouges, ceux d’urane, qui produisent des tons bruns, sépia, etc. Ces méthodes sont peu usitées. On peut d’ailleurs modifier la tonalité des positifs en faisant varier la durée de leur impression à la lumière et la rapidité du développement : on obtient ainsi une gamme assez étendue, entre les noirs froids ou bleutés et les noirs chauds.

Enfin, on combine souvent un effet de teinture avec un effet de virage (ou de tonalité directement obtenue au développement), en choisissant des tons qui s’harmonisent.

La teinture du film peut être remplacée par l’interposition d’un verre de couleur. On change ainsi à volonté l’aspect de la projection, mais cette combinaison astreint l’opérateur à une manœuvre supplémentaire qui le distrait de la surveillance de la lampe. Du reste, teintures ou verres colorés ne donnent à chaque image qu’une nuance uniforme sur toute sa surface, et le spectacle rappelle celui qui est offert à ces touristes candides admis à contempler la Jungfrau à travers des carreaux rouges, jaunes ou bleus.”

(Coustet, Ernest (1921): Le cinéma. Paris: Librairie Hachette, on pp. 160-162.) (in French)

“The silent era witnessed innumerable attempts, applying widely varying levels of technical sophistication, to show films in colours. Such attempts fall into two major categories: ‘natural’ or photographic methods depending on the mechanical combination of two or three differently coloured but otherwise identical monochrome images on the celluloid or screen (in systems such as Kinemacolor, Dufaycolor and Kodacolor, to mention some betterknown examples), and applied colour methods, in which a black-and-white print was treated in some way with coloured dyes after photographic processing. The applied colour systems comprise hand-painting, stencilling, toning and tinting. The Workshop focused mainly on these techniques, partly because they are far better represented than early photographic colour in the archive of the Nederlands Filmmuseum, but perhaps more importantly – a virtue of this necessity – because they jointly present the full range of early colouring from black-and-white and the varieties of whole-image monochrome to complex local and multiple colours. Hand-painted and stencilled images, owhich are particularly resistant to casual or stereotypical interpretations of early coloured film, have too often been overlooked or marginalized in early film history. To disregard stencil colouring is, moreover, virtually to disregard an entire genre – the feerique – and a significant part of the output of such studios as Pathé and Gaumont.

The variety in colours found on early films is also, finally, a result of their instability. The Nederlands Filmmuseum has a certain reputation for its preservations of silent coloured films. But no preservation process is ‘perfect’ (whatever exactly that might mean to different people) and we wanted, among other things, to demonstrate to participants of the Workshop (and eventually, to readers of this book) that any process of preserving coloured film on acetate safety stock tense to depart in some measure from the applied colours on the original nitrate prints. We also wished to emphasize that there is more than one way to preserve coloured film and that each method has specific advantages and limitations as a way of reproducing applied colours. The choice of methods partly determines, for example the extent to what, an archivist or technician can choose between reproducing colours as they now appear on the nitrate or as they are thought to have appeared when the nitrate print was in circulation. This consideration itself reflects the fact that applied colours have, from the time of their initial application to the black-and-white positive print, been subject to unrelenting changes occasioned first by the wear and tear of projection in the silent era and then by ageing and decay in the vaults of film archives.”

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 6-7.)

“Stencil colouring involves a two-step process. First, the stencil must be made from a positive print where the area to be coloured in each frame is cut out; each colour requires a separate stencil – usually no more than six were used. The prints used as stencils must exactly match the black-and-white projection prints to be coloured, with excised areas in the stencil corresponding exactly to the appropriate shapes in the eventual projection print. After each stencil is cut, the photographic emulsion is washed from its surface to provide a clean and inert celluloid template. The cutting was initially performed manually, but between 1907 and 1910 the process was mechanized by using a pantograph. A technician traced out the area to be excised on a magnified projection of each frame, and the pantograph relayed this tracing movement to a needle which cut out the corresponding area in a positive print with a sort of sewing-machine action.

The second step in the process was to colour each projection print with the sequence of different stencils prepared in this way, one stencil for each colour. Initially this also was done manually, with a brush, but the process was subsequently mechanized, using an apparatus in which the stencil, aligned with the black-and-white reel that would eventually become a projection print, passed under a velvet loop or pad constantly fed with dye. Individual stencils were of course used to colour several projection prints; after each run through the colouring apparatus, the stencils were washed before being re-used. We only have a reasonably complete documentation of how the work changed over the years in the case of Pathé, and it is not always easy to differentiate between stencilling and hand-colouring on a nitrate: it is quite difficult to determine whether, say, DANCE OF THE FAIRIES was hand-coloured or manually stencilled. But THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FANS IN THE WORLD was clearly stencilled mechanically. Here, the colours are extremely precise but sometimes ‘out of shape’ because the extensive movements made it more difficult to follow the shapes here than in less ‘dynamic’ fashion films.

Stencilled films are preserved, like hand-coloured films, by being copied onto a colour internegative from which a positive colour print is made. It is not always possible to reproduce all the colours on the nitrate since some colours, especially ‘warmer’ magentas, pinks and so on, are sometimes too faint to register on the colour internegative without distorting the overall spectrum. This is simply a problem with current Kodak colour internegative stock.

Tinting in its simplest and most common form is pretty much like dying clothes. A strip of film is immersed in a solution of aniline dye. Although the film emerges uniformly dyed, only the white areas in each frame – the transparent areas of the processed gelatine emulsion from which all the silver has been removed – transmit the colour of the dye. The blacks remain black, transmitting no light before or after absorbing the dye, while the intermediate greys are tinted in various degrees. Tinting therefore reduces contrast, and a black-and-white positive that is to be tinted should be printed with higher contrast than a positive intended for black-and-white projection.

Toning is a sort of converse process, or range of processes, in which the print to be coloured is bathed in a chemical solution that either converts the black silver in the emulsion directly in a differently coloured material or into a material which fixes coloured dye when the treated print is subsequently immersed in a dye solution. The density of the new colour depends on the amount of silver or darkness in any particular area of the original black-and-white image.

Tinted or toned nitrates are preserved, like hand-coloured or stencilled films, by transferring the image to a colour internegative then taking a positive print. By constantly referring to the original nitrate, one tries to obtain a spectrum as close as possible to the tinting or toning on the nitrate, though, as I have already noted, the nature of modern positive and internegative colour stock makes an exact reproduction almost impossible. It is very difficult, for example, to reproduce the difference between tinting and toning on safety stock, since the colours produced by nitrate tinting in the whites tend to be lost in the NFM process of transfer to safety stock. Thus an NFM acetate reproduction of a tinted nitrate has the same ‘white’ whites as a toned nitrate. Another problem is that the ‘black-and-white’ of colour stock isn’t really black and white, since the black always has a blue or brown ‘tone’.

Tinting and toning were sometimes combined in one strip of film – tinting was also sometimes combined with stencilling. Thus, in WINDMILLS THAT CHEER AND WEEP, a sunset scene has been toned blue then tinted pink. The darker areas are variably toned and the lighter areas tinted, giving a blue landscape under a pink sky. The preservation of this shot posed the problem we encounter preserving the pinks in stencilled films: it’s sometimes impossible to transfer very light pink tinting to acetate stock without unacceptably distorting the colour in toned areas.

Toward the end of the twenties – the beginning of the sound era – colouring positive prints became less common. Tinting and toning were said to interfere with the optical soundtrack laid down on the initial black-and-white positive print, but manufacturers introduced new dyes to reduce this effect, along with pre-tinted positive stock. The problem is in fact completely removed in our preservation process by transferring the soundtrack of tinted talkies onto black-and-white negative stock, while the images are copied onto colour internegative stock. So maybe today we have better sound than the original audiences.”

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 12-14.)

“Mark-Paul Meyer: Archivists are constantly confronted with the problem of whether they should preserve a film just as they find it – in this case, whether to restore the colours. Of course, more knowledge of the techniques of the teens and twenties would be a great help in restoring these films. The general approach of archives has been, and still is, to restore the print as found in the vaults. The questions for the scholars are: should we restore the colours; should we do research on the faded dyes; and when a film or a shot was blue but has become black-and-white, should we give it a new blue tinting? These are the questions archivists have to deal with all the time. And I would like to know what scholars think: should we preserve these films just as we find them, or should we try to get as close to the original as possible?

Tom Gunning: One of the issues here, the difference between film and painting, turns precisely on the idea of a unique original – physically unique – which is there in painting, but probably not in film. For Walter Benjamin, the difference was that the traditional arts had the aura of such unique originals, but the mechanically reproduced arts didn’t, and he felt in fact that this was a revolutionary aspect of art in the modern age. What is interesting now, after another fifty, sixty years of film, is that we approach it as preservationists. We begin to feel there’s something rather unique about certain prints, which ought to be preserved. But we’re still stuck in a land of paradox, because what are we preserving? We have a different mindset from say twenty or even forty years ago, when a film was supposed to have a kind of unique, aesthetic essence. Now we have the idea that a film has many variants, that it is important to look at different prints, and that a number of things, which were considered just simple additions, are now increasingly considered important. Musical accompaniment, for instance, has become more and more important. Part of the paradox is that maybe it’s an impossible quest for historians to try to get back, not so much to the original object, as to the original experience. It’s very interesting when people see colour, they very often ask ‘How did the audience experience it?’ Which, of course, we don’t know. There’s a sense of wanting to completely recreate a film. It’s a fine ambition, fuelling so much research and knowledge, but it’s somewhat paradoxical, because what we’re trying to recreate is something that can never be completely recreated. To respond to Mark-Paul Meyer’s question, my feeling as a scholar, bracketing money issues, is that ideally I would like both his alternatives: for the print to be preserved with all the marks of time and history on it as a unique object, and at the same time for there to be another print that we would try in some sense to restore. Preservation and restoration are both important, though preservation is probably primary.

Sabine Lenk: Mark-Paul Meyer’s question is very difficult, because as a historian working in an archive, I’d like to get as close as possible to the original. You could use the manuals produced by Kodak, Gevaert, Agfa, Pathé, which often give samples of colours, in order to get as close as possible to the original colours. But what is ‘the original’ if, as so often, you have several prints? Watching these films today, it was sometimes a relief to see parts in black-and-white, because these colours all the time can get very tiresome. The problem is that colours, especially tinting, leave a very hazy image, and I find myself wanting sharper contrasts. Sometimes, seeing a very sharp black-and-white picture is like relaxing my eyes.

Daan Hertogs: One important thing that Giovanna Fossati mentioned was the consciousness that when the original colours were applied, they were not meant to last. In other words, from the very beginning colours were condemned to a process of decay. So we should ask ourselves how the technical knowledge of the teens and twenties can be used for researching these films.

Peter Delpeut: Sabine Lenk also mentioned something important, which is taste. Can our personal appreciation of colour – what we like or don’t like – be introduced into the discussion? I’d like to ask Mark-Paul Meyer, for example, whether he’s ever tempted in a preservation just to bring in a colour he likes, and to say: why bother about authenticity, it makes a beautiful print?

Mark-Paul Meyer: Sometimes we do something like that. Often you know, or you have a quite clear idea, about the colour a scene should be, but sometimes you have to guess and invent. In DAMNED BE WAR, for instance, we decided not to colour a black-and-white sequence. First, because the context of the sequence was stencilled and we could not of course apply the stencilled colours frame by frame; secondly, just before the sequence there was a black-and-white photograph, and we thought it wouldn’t be too visually disturbing to leave the black-and-white. But a later sequence in the film, the throwing of the bombs from the airplane, comes from the same black-and-white print, and we tinted it blue, because the immediately preceding and succeeding shots were blue. We also added colour in various other places, because you appreciate the film better when you’re not being disturbed by black-and-white fragments.”

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 18-19.)

“William Uricchio: Seeing the colour systems next to one another, what’s striking is the breadth of colour systems, the breadth of colour effects, the range of uses to which colour is put over an extended period. Having a very impressionistic feeling for this, I wondered about a couple of things. I’m curious about the range of colour effects we’ve seen – a range of technical systems and visual effects that cover a relatively long period during which, within many national cinemas, there’s a standardisation of certain dramatic forms, certain camera techniques, yet so many variations in colouring. Giovanna Fossati, have you found patterns in this, patterns differentiating genres, patterns differentiating particular producers – Pathé versus Vitagraph, say – patterns across time, say 1912 versus 1922?

Giovanna Fossati: From what I’ve seen in the archive here, I’d say that with stencilling there are patterns within production companies. There’s a difference between Gaumont stencilling and Pathé stencilling. But I haven’t really noticed any characteristic patterns in tinting and toning.

Daan Hertogs: As for patterns over time, with fiction films, I wondered whether narrativity becomes so strong in the twenties that the range of colour effects common in the teens just cannot be used anymore. I discovered in a manual that in the twenties a lot of films were printed on pre-coloured stock. Only about twelve colours were available, although that doesn’t prevent you from using blue for a love scene, but somehow the limited number of colours shows that conventions were stricter than in the teens.

Peter Delpeut: Watching these coloured silent nitrate prints over four or five years in the archive, my very disturbing experience was that I could find no recipe, no hidden theory, no codes that applied to all the films I saw. This was very disturbing because we’re always looking for logic, for codes, but I simply couldn’t find any. Every film is a new experience and any code you find in one film is broken in the next. This is what we found in the archive and this is why colour poses such a big problem. Because when you’re working through all these films it would be so nice to have recipes and codes to fall back on when you have to make decisions.

[…]

Nicola Mazzanti: In the archives and in the labs, where we decide about the colours, as Peter Delpeut once said, ‘we are editing film history’. This is absolutely true, and I always keep this in mind as I work on preserving films. We are actually editing film history, we are doing a job which will influence the future. And this is very tempting and dangerous ground when you’re working with colour. Colour in the silents, but also in the sound era, is completely unstable ground. Colour is ‘unstable’ from the very beginning, because the aesthetics on which colour in the silents is based, is a complicated mix of factors reflecting production, distribution, audience appeal, and sometimes even some colour theory that must have been somewhere in a director’s head, for him to leave precise colour plans for a film. We have several examples of very precise colour plans, not just mentioning green, say, but ‘green number five’, or colouring the intertitles to match the preceding or succeeding scene. Colours were sometimes changed for distribution in other countries – some Italian and French films were given a different set of colours for exhibition in England. So there must have been someone whose job it was to choose the right colours for England. For distribution in a peripheral country or market, you’d have a different set of colours; toning and stencilling would be replaced by simple tinting. Actually, tinting a film is still, like toning, a hell of a job. At the end of the day you’re completely yellow, or blue, or green; it’s expensive, and the aniline dyes are poisonous. So you need a very good reason to colour a silent film, you didn’t just do it because you liked the colours. Colours are literally unstable, too. In the NFM print of The Lonedane Operator the blue is stronger at the left and right margins simply because the light of the projector has faded the colour in the centre of the nitrate print. And in a tinted film the colour at the beginning of a 300-metre reel is usually different from the colour at the end. There was just no way of getting the colour even right through the film. I’m not talking about fading here, but simply noting that after you’ve tinted 5,000 feet of film in one dye bath, and edited a reel, then a shot from an early phase of the colouring process may end up beside a shot from the end of the process, and they will be a different colour.

Then there are the problems of restoration associated with Peter Delpeut’s remark that we can never find the code, or rather, that there is no code, or there are hundreds of different codes or patterns for melodrama, for documentary, and so on. Some production companies definitely did follow patterns – Film d’Arte Italiana stencilled more or less systematically, as did Pathé, for some genres, but more work has to be done on this.

We have to preserve what we have now, and very often we don’t know exactly what this is, just how faded a certain colour is, say. If we see from the margins that the blue in The Lonedane Operator was a certain shade, then we have to restore that blue to the faded centre of the image too. If there’s evidence that one particular shot was in black-and-white, then we have to print it in black-and-white. If we can reproduce tinting and toning differently, then we have to do that. In STRAIGHT SHOOTING¹ for instance, there’s just one toning, but if you lose it you lose the film. It’s in the shot where Harry Carey changes his mind, crying at the graveside, and turns into a good guy. This is emphasized by the toning, it’s the only toned shot in the whole film. Make it tinted, or make the rest toned, and he’ll remain a bad guy right through the film.

Notes

¹ STRAIGHT SHOOTING, United States (Universal) 1917, Dir. John Ford.”

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 23-25.)

“Paul Read: We’re all constantly investigating how to reproduce the sort of results produced by these old techniques. We’re still some way from that goal – there’s simply no mechanical way of taking a piece of film and exactly reproducing the colour. We can get very close, often at great expense, but we cannot make a facsimile copy. A better line of research is probably to try and reconstruct the old techniques, and literally reproduce the colour in that sense. But that’s not going to be easy and it will take quite some time. We’re working with modern materials, which have been developed for quite different purposes. The materials used in the film industry today are not designed for restoring archival film but for something completely different, and we have to twist and turn them to adapt them to this archival job. It’s going to take some time to get back to the old technology, but that is our fundamental aim.

There are basically four different ways to reproduce any coloured film. First, you can re-film it on colour negative material, and then make a new colour print. This colour-internegative technique, or direct photographic reproduction, is the standard method in most archives and is the method currently used by the Nederlands Filmmuseum. The problem with this approach is that you’re simply copying the present state of the colours, after various degrees of fading. You don’t get any sense of the saturation that might have been there originally.

A second approach is to try and reproduce the original saturation. One technique uses colour film as the print stock. If you expose the nitrate to a black-and-white negative, you can either print a black-and-white image or a monochrome image of any colour you like by using filters in the printer – this is effectively a form of toning. You can also directly expose the nitrate film to colour reversal stock, without using a negative at all, and get whatever colours are possible with the three dyes in the printstock, but this is of course limited by the nature of the dyes available in the final print stock. This approach is relatively inexpensive and can be extremely flexible. The problem here is that somebody has to tell the technicians what colour they want.

The third method is to transfer the nitrate image onto digital tape and then manipulate the signal. You can do that either in a framestore, taking as long as you like, which is very expensive, or you can do it in real time, as you transfer the image onto the tape, which severely limits your range of intervention. In either case, with the tape in the form you want, you still have the problem that somebody has to tell the technicians how the colours should be printed. They then take it back out onto a piece of colour negative and make a print, so that you’re back on film again.

The fourth method is to go back to the original technology and make a duplicate black-and-white negative from your material. You can then make a print which you can tint or tone using the same technology that was used to colour the original material, but the chance of being able to do that properly is very remote, because you’re using modern materials. Yet this is something we should all attempt, if only to better understand the archival material and the old techniques.

Mark-Paul Meyer: This imitation or simulation of the old techniques is used in the Prague archive. They’ve succeeded in tinting and even toning films the oldfashioned way, using black-and-white stock which is immersed in a dye or chemical bath. I recently saw an example of their work, and it comes very close to what you see on nitrate, though there were problems with that particular print. It’s very difficult to get the same density of colour over a whole sequence. They’ve developed a way of tinting a film without making splices by dipping the entire film, but then the changes of colour are sometimes a little inaccurate. This technique is also very difficult and messy, but Noël Desmet from the archive in Brussels has developed a simple alternative method for tinting and toning, which he will now outline, and which has how been adopted by various other laboratories.

Noël Desmet: This technique was developed at the request of Jacques Ledoux, the former head of my archive. He asked me to find a way to preserve colours, preserve the image, that wasn’t too expensive, since then as now there were very limited funds available. This meant I couldn’t use expensive colour internegative stock, and had to rely on black-and-white negative material, but I’d already been thinking about the way newspapers used colour-separation, and wondering whether one could apply this to film. Ledoux was very strict about getting as close as possible to the original, and wasn’t easily satisfied.

We first make a black-and-white internegative on panchromatic stock that is sensitive to all the colours on the nitrate. This black-and-white negative is then collated with the original on a viewing table in order to get the right colours in the right places. I reconstruct the colours of the original at the viewing table by using three strips – magenta, cyan and yellow. This takes quite a lot of adjustment, and you need the right contrast and density on the negative to get a good match. With relatively low contrast you can manipulate the process more easily.

Normally, you run print stock through a printer and expose it with white light. Of course, you can also expose it with light that has a certain colour temperature, for which you’ve worked out the gradations. In essence you can choose any colour. So, if you want a toned image, you expose the positive stock through the negative with the desired coloured light, but if you want a tinted image, you directly flash the positive print. If you want a combination of both, you expose right through the negative to get your toned image, then flash the whole positive image for your tint. This involves further separating the nitrate colour into tinted and toned components, which isn’t easy, but comes with experience.

The actual colouring decisions are not my responsibility, but are made by an archivist or historian. These decisions are very difficult. I could show you dozens of different types of, say, blue toning with a black-and-white internegative. How do you base your decision on the nitrate? First you have to decide how much the colour has faded, then the degree of toning in the original, as the duration of the chemical bath used to affect the character of the result greatly. And the same sort of considerations apply of course to tinting.

Unfortunately, technicians get only one chance to get all this right, because it’s too expensive to make correction prints. We’re not always completely happy with the result, and you should perhaps bear this in mind as you watch these films, because I’m sure that for certain films it would be possible to make better prints.

Mark-Paul Meyer: Thank you. Mario Musumeci from the archive in Rome will now outline the methods used there.

Mario Musumeci: As an example of our work, I’ll take THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII¹ We found three different copies; two were only tinted and toned, but the copy we found in London had stencil in some scenes. For the tinting, we made a duplicate black-and-white negative from the original positive print, then made a new positive print on black-and-white stock, which we tried to colour by immersion in an aniline bath. The technicians used the old techniques and did some preliminary experiments colouring fragments of the film in an ordinary washing machine on a very long cycle. It takes some time to work out the right composition and concentration of the dye, and the right setting for the ‘wash’.

For the stencilled sequences of the film we used colour negative stock, but a camera negative rather than an internegative. This is now standard practice at Rome: our laboratory found that camera negative gives softer contrast and a better reproduction of the colours. We’ve also experimented with Ektachrome to reproduce stencilled sequences. It generally gives a very good result, but there’s the problem that, since you’re copying directly onto positive material, you don’t get a negative.

In general, we try whenever possible to use black-and-white rather than colour negative stock for preservation since colour negative fades; another problem with the Kodak internegative stock is that it’s very difficult to reproduce the typical stencil colours.

Mark-Paul Meyer: I’ll now ask Nicola Mazzanti from Bologna to say something about his experience in the archive, where he formerly worked, and their laboratory, where he now works.

Nicola Mazzanti: My experience may help link the work of laboratories and archives, duplication and restoration. Laboratories supply films, documents, for scholars and historians to look at and theorize about. I’d also like to try and link this discussion to what you’ve actually been seeing on the screen, and the question of why we’re so desperate to get as close as possible to the original colour.

I’m acting as a sort of ‘intermediary’, working in a sort of ‘intermediate’ laboratory, somewhere between a commercial laboratory and an archive. The laboratory was set up by the archive, which needed somewhere they could get good preservation work done. It was set up by people like myself who had worked for many years in an archive, and then suddenly found themselves on the other side of the fence. Our aim with coloured silent material was to find a preservation technique that was cheap and could be applied systematically on a large scale to produce results as close as possible to the original material. The key thing is to find a method that doesn’t restrict the range of colour choices in the future, That’s why we have opted for the Desmet method, because when you produce an internegative your interpretation of archival material and the resulting choices will probably determine the appearance of the film in the future, unless some other researcher goes back to the nitrate again in the next twenty or thirty years.

Let me give you some idea of the sort of interpretations and choices we regularly make. You may have the original camera negative of an Italian silent film, with colours indicated on the edges – say, giallo, yellow, for scene number ten. Suppose there’s no positive nitrate print, then you must yourself choose what particular yellow to use. Or you may have a coloured positive print on which the colour indications written on the original negative have been printed onto the positive. And this information may then contradict the colours you actually see on the positive. Or take the specific case of Murnau’s NOSFERATU.² We had materials from a number of different sources. Most of this material was in black-and-white, but we also had an incomplete coloured print. There must have been a colour change in one scene where the wind blows out the light – the scene would have to become blue. We only had this scene in black-and-white, but we could see where the colour should change, because you could detect on this print where there had been splices in an earlier coloured positive, joining two pieces of nitrate, yellow and blue.

NOTES

¹ GLI ULTIMI GIORNI DI POMPEI / LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, Italy 1926, Dir. Carmine Gaiione, Amieto Paiermi

² NOSFERATU, Germany (Prana-Film) 1921″

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 71-76.)

“Giovanna Fossati: The simulation of colours on a projection print is not an automatic and neutral process. It is not automatic because there is more than one method available; it is not neutral because the choice of the method affects the result that will appear on the projection print. In other words, choosing a method is the final step in an interpretative process. During the Workshop three different methods were discussed in some detail: the colour internegative method, the Desmet method, and the method of imitating the original tinting and toning techniques. The second and the third methods can only be used for tinted and toned films, while the colour internegative method can reproduce stencilled and hand coloured films as well.

A solarized film is a good example of how the choice of methods affects the result. Solarization is a term used for the chromatic disintegrations that show up on a nitrate film, irrespective of whether an entire sequence is affected or just a limited number of frames. A blue tinting that has turned yellow would for instance be called solarization. Now, the colour internegative method is the only method in which solarizations are inevitably copied from the nitrate to the acetate print. To put it more simply, the colour internegative method is like taking a photograph of the nitrate, with all its damage and decay. The, Desmet method and the ‘imitative’ method, on the other hand, do not necessarily have to copy solarizations. To use the same metaphor, these methods are like taking a black-and-white photograph of the nitrate, then adding colour to the image.

We are dealing here with (at least) two different conceptions of a preservation of a coloured film. One aims at the simulation of colours as they were at the moment of preservation. This conception is exemplified by the colour internegative method. The other aims at the simulation of the colours as they appeared on the nitrate print before being affected by projection and the passage of time (fading, solarization and other forms of decay). This conception is exemplified by the Desmet method and the ‘imitative’ method. While the Desmet method uses an acetate print’s colour emulsion, the ‘imitative’ method in particular reveals a strong desire to recreate exactly what was, or might have been, once there, even to the point of imitating the systems that coloured the prints.

But things, as usual, are more complicated than this. The colour internegative method does not simulate the colours exactly as they now appear on the nitrate print today.¹ And the other two methods cannot actually recreate what was there, because it is not possible to determine accurately how the colours appeared, say, eighty years ago. Thus each method suits a certain conception of preservation only potentially. Aid as each coloured nitrate poses different problems, my feeling is, rather, that there is no final solution, no particular method that solves all these problems. Each nitrate print or group of prints may inspire different approaches, in both analysis and preservation. When, for instance, the colours function on a narrative level, it may be necessary to undo such traces of time as solarizations or fadings in order to make the narration intelligible. In the NFM print of THE LONEDALE OPERATOR,² a blue tinting has faded in most of the frames of the shot in which the heroine switches off the lights in the room to make the bandits think she is holding a gun in her hand. Without the blue her trick fails – for her adversaries as well as for the audience: instead of a gun she’s holding a harmless object – a small monkey wrench – in what is perceived as a fully lit room. To restore narrative comprehension it is necessary here to restore the blue tinting. A different approach is followed with the print of CAPTAIN F.E. KLEINSCHMIDT’S ARCTIC HUNT,³ a great number of travelogue shots have turned into a strikingly antinaturalistic, not to say hellish, red. Instead of trying to recreate the colours as they might have been, retaining these solarizations may well add to the beauty of further projections of the film and would not in itself interfere with the intelligibility of the images. It is important then to remain flexible in the preservation of coloured prints.

Something else has to be kept in mind too, which is that preservation methods are constantly being improved, adapted and occasionally even superseded. Digital preservation is already a possibility, but it is still too expensive to be adopted on a large scale. But as soon as this happens, it will necessitate a lot of rethinking in the area of colour preservation. The method is much more flexible than any other method in use today, allowing digital simulation of a much larger range of colours (although the film will suffer a certain loss of colour quality in performance, through the process of transfer to acetate). With the freedom this offers it is evident that one should have a very clear idea of the result one wants to achieve. For that reason it is very important to explicitly state the interpretation that led to the preservation of a certain print in a certain way.

On the other hand, from the researchers’ point of view, it is important to be aware of what film restoration can actually achieve. I am not implying that film researchers should have detailed knowledge of the technologies involved in film preservation, as long as they are aware of the range of choices, of how preservation methods affect the film in performance, of what film archives and film laboratories do, and, finally, of the materials used, since even contemporary colour film stock ‘already embodies a certain ideology of colour, of certain balances and limits’ as Tom Gunning pointed out during the Workshop.⁴ It is important to have a clear image of all these factors, because that is the only way to discuss a film performed by the projection print in a critical way.

NOTES

¹ See Session 1 [chapter 1] for some of the limitations of the colour internegative method.

² Session 1 [chapter 1]: DE DOEDIGE DOCHTER VAN DEN STATIONSCHEF / THE LONEDALE OPERATOR, United States (Biograph) 1911 Dir. D.W. Griffith.

³ Session 5 [chapter 5] IN HET NOORDPOOLGEBIED / CAPTAIN F.E. KLEINSCHMIDT’S ARCTIC HUNT, United States 1924, Dir. Frank E. Kleinschmidt.

⁴ Session 4 [chapter 4], p. 57.”

(Hertogs, Daan; De Klerk, Nico (1996): Disorderly Order. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam: Stichding Nederlands Filmmuseum, on pp. 87-88.)

“1. LES PROCÉDÉS ARBITRAIRES

[…]

Pour déguiser l’austère apparence de l’image noire et blanche, mais aussi à des fins expressives, on utilisait des artifices moins coûteux. Le teintage consistait à tremper le film dans une teinture ou à utiliser un support teinté dans la masse. Avec ce procédé, les parties claires de l’image (et même les manchettes du film) prenaient la couleur. Dans le virage, un traitement chimique assurait la transformation de l’argent réduit en un corps coloré (ou apte à prendre la couleur dans le cas du mordançage). Dans ces techniques, seule l’image argentique était affectée par la couleur, les transparences restant épargnées. La combinaison du teintage et du virage permettait d’obtenir d’impressionnants effets bichromes.”

(Pinel, Vincent (1992): La forêt des techniques. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 17-24, on pp. 18-19.) (in French)

“Interestingly, the purpose of the earliest use of colour in film, through processes such as hand colouring, tinting, and toning, was less to enhance the film’s realism than to serve as an aesthetic or symbolic device for strengthening the narrative.”

(Everett, Wendy (2007): Mapping Colour. An Introduction to the Theories and Practices of Colour. In: Wendy Everett (ed.): Questions of Colour in Cinema. From Paintbrush to Pixel. Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 7–38, on p. 18.)

“Other methods of colouring early silent films included tinting, toning, and mordanting (a variation of toning), processes which involved adding colour by immersing an entire film or sections of a film in a solution of coloured dyes, applying a coloured glaze to the base, or using pre-tinted stock. These different processes, which could be used in various combinations to increase their creative impact, were abandoned temporarily in the late 1920s when they were found to interfere with sound-track reproduction. In any case, by then the studios had largely lost interest in colour, believing that sound itself was enough of a novelty to attract the public. Of course, the search for colour did not die out, and the development of new tinted stock late in 1929 rekindled some interest.

The aesthetic impact of the processes listed above is the creation a uniform colour that would highlight the symbolic or dramatic content of the narrative (red for fire or passion, blue for darkness or mystery), and had little to do with realism. If anything, colour was valued because of its artificiality.”

(Everett, Wendy (2007): Mapping Colour. An Introduction to the Theories and Practices of Colour. In: Wendy Everett (ed.): Questions of Colour in Cinema. From Paintbrush to Pixel. Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 7–38, on pp. 18–19.)

“As the cinema developed into a mass-production industry, techniques were developed to tint and tone movies by mechanical means. In 1905, Charles Pathé invented the Pathécolor stencil process so that the application of colour in films could be mechanized. The introduction of the Handschiegl process in the United States in 1916 made it possible to machine-tint such big-budget productions as Cecil B. DeMille’s Joan, the Woman in 1917 and King Vidor’s The Big Parade in 1925.³ By the early 1920s, it has been estimated that between 80 and 90 per cent of American films used tinting and toning in at least some scenes (Cook, 252-53). While tinting produced a uniform colour throughout a particular scene, toning – which affected only the black-silver part of the image – coloured only half-tones and shadows. The problem was that the colours produced by both processes were deeply artificial and, with the arrival of synchronized sound in and after 1927, it was swiftly discovered that the dyes used for tinting and toning interfered with the soundtrack. While this was only a technical problem, which could perhaps have been overcome; talking pictures inspired a new and different aesthetic regime that seems to have discouraged the use of colour tints. In any case, developments in colour cinematography would soon make tinting and toning seem antiquated and out-of-date (Cook, 253).

NOTES

³ Cook, History of Narrative Film, pp. 252-53. The extent to which D.W. Griffith’s controversial masterpiece The Birth of a Nation (1915) was coloured is far from clear. Lillian Gish recalled that some scenes were tinted “to achieve dramatic results and to create mood.” Karl Brown, assistant cameraman on the picture, recalled in an interview (1975) that “no sequences were in black and white, that everything carried some sort of tint to offset the visible electric blue of the projector’s arc.” Lillian Gish with Ann Pinchot, The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me, London: W H. Allen, 1969, p. 146; John Cuniberti, “The Birth of a Nation“: A Formal Shot-by-Shot Analysis Together with Microfiche.Woodbridge, Conn.: Research Publications, 1979, p. 19, n. 31.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cook, David, A History of Narrative Film, New-York: WW. Norton, 3^rd ed. 1996.”

(Stokes, Melvyn (2009): Colour in American Cinema. From The Great Train Robbery to Bonnie and Clyde. In: Raphaëlle Costa de Beauregard (ed.): Cinéma et couleur. Paris: M. Houdiard, pp. 184–192, on p. 185.)

“Die viragierten Filme

Da sich das Verfahren der Schablonenkolorierung nicht für die industrielle Fertigung eignete, wurde es schon sehr bald durch den viragierten Film ersetzt, der in den zwanziger Jahren eine weite Verbreitung fand.

Die Virage erfolgte nach der Entwicklung. Der Film wurde zunächst als herkömmlicher Schwarzweißfilm gedreht, und erst die Kopien wurden in der Gelatine abwechselnd monochrom eingefärbt. Andere Verfahren – Beizfärbung und Tonung – bei denen das schwarze Silber des Bildes nach der Entwicklung chemisch in farbige Silbersalze verwandelt wurde, führten zum gleichen Ergebnis: Das Positiv präsentierte sich jeweils als eine einfarbige Abfolge von Aufnahmen, auf die eine andersfarbige Sequenz folgte.

Man erhielt Nachtszenen, indem man am hellen Tag gedrehte Aufnahmen nachträglich blau färbte. So gewann Farbe Signalwirkung. Wurde in einer Wohnung Licht gemacht, wurde Blau durch Gelb oder Sepia ersetzt. Diese Konventionen gehörten zur Filmsprache, und der Zuschauer nahm sie zumeist unbewußt wahr.

Darüber hinaus unterstrich die Färbung den dramatischen Inhalt. Ein besonders eindrucksvolles Beispiel hierfür liefert The Wanderer von Raoul Walsh, wo Jehovas Fluch in feurigen Buchstaben am roten Himmel von Babylon erscheint. Rosa stand für friedliches Glück, Gelb war die Farbe der Hoffnung, Lila die der Angst; dieser feststehende Gebrauch der Farbe ließ den Film zu einer universell verständlichen Sprache werden.

Obwohl die Wahl der Farben somit zu einem großen Teil Routine war, bestimmten einige Regisseure, wie beispielsweise Marcel L’Herbier, die Beizfärbung oder Tonung selbst, da sie der Farbgebung eine wesentliche Bedeutung im künstlerischen Schaffensprozeß zumaßen.

Heute haben wir all dies aus den Augen verloren, da die meisten Stummfilmkopien schwarzweiß gezogen wurden.”

(Borde, Raymond (1988): Die Filmarchive und der Farbfilm. Eine Einführung. In: Gert Koshofer: Color. Die Farben des Films. Berlin: Wissenschaftsverl. Volker Spiess, pp. 7–10, on p. 8.) (in German)

“The high pressure under which some film manufacturers have to work to keep up their regular releases prevents them from giving to their product many artistic touches that would otherwise be done if there was an open market and the competition was on the lines of quality instead of quantity. Occasionally a reel is seen that is appropriately toned or tinted or both, and it is a relief to the eye and frequently brings applause to a picture that would have been passed in silence if in cold black and white. We have heard manufacturers remark when this subject was mentioned that the people were already getting enough for their money. Rather a narrow-minded attitude, is it not?

Toning, of course, is a considerable added expense, as the photograph has to be developed in black and white, carefully washed and then treated with other chemicals which alter the color of the silver deposit; also the work has to be done by skilled labor. Tinting alone is both simple and inexpensive. Where both are used together and in colors appropriate to the subject the result is almost as satisfying as hand coloring or natural color photography. We have in mind some Great Northern subjects that were double toned and tinted, and the impression conveyed was that we were looking at the actual scene. The same can be said of some of the Gaumont scenic films and an occasional Eclair.

Pathe [Pathé], of course, leads the world in artificial coloring, and some of their mechanically colored films d’art rival the hues of Kinemacolor, although, judging from the records of the patent office, we expect soon to see stencil colored films from an American manufacturer. But pigment coloring is of course vastly more expensive than toning and the latter suffices in most cases. Tinting is sometimes used as a cloak for poor photography but the photograph must be perfect if it is to be toned.

Of the American manufacturers, Selig, Edison and Vitagraph occasionally send out toned pictures, in some of which the various scenes were different toned, appropriate to the subject. Lubin has also, lately, sent out some very finely toned and tinted subjects which have greatly helped to establish a new standard of quality for the Lubin product. Thanhouser, Nestor and others have shown that they have the knowledge and the facilities for this work and no doubt they have had pleasing comments from their customers when they, if seldom, departed from the black and white.

We were prompted to draw attention at this time to the advisability of varying the tones of the photograph by reading a letter which was received by the Rex Company from an exhibitor who said that he would always demand Rex films if they were as beautifully toned as the one he had just run. Without in the least detracting from the literary or histrionic quality of the Rex product, we have no doubt that the great and sudden popularity that this film has already achieved is largely due to the careful toning and tinting which, of itself alone, was enough to stamp this new product as the work of an old master hand.

So it is evident that the exhibitor and the public like a change from the black and white and will ask for the brand of film that gives them the colors; therefore the manufacturer who hides behind the excuse that “the people are already getting enough for their money” may wake up some day and find his patronage gone. As we have said before, toning is not a great expense, and if it is done right it does not lessen the brilliancy of the picture, but in the tinting process, in which the dye is applied to the whole surface of the film, it is advisable, nay compulsory, to dilute it to such an extent that there is just the mere suggestion of color.”

(Anonymous (1911): Toning and Tinting as an Adjunct to the Picture. In: Moving Picture World, 8, 18.3.1911, p. 574.)

“David Hulfish’s article, “Colored Films of To-day,” published in the first issue of The Nickelodeon (January 1909), provides a good point of reentry.⁵³ According to Hulfish, there were “three classes of colored picture films” available in the United States at that time: tinted and/or chemically toned, hand-colored, and machine-colored. Machine-colored films were the only one to “exhibit all the colors of nature,” and Hulfish attributed them solely to Pathé. Moreover, the company continued to ship its stencil-color titles from Paris (where the process was fully mechanized thanks to the patents of a M. Méry),⁵⁴ rather than produce them at its new printing factory in New Jersey, as if to emphasize their “special status.”⁵⁵ The process of tinting and toning, by contrast, Hulfish described as “inexpensive” and “extensively used,” which implies that the “aniline dye tinting” Views and Films Index first mentioned in 1906 may have been common to all manufacturers, and not just Pathé. Now, it may well be that American companies were using tinting and toning, perhaps even extensively, by 1908, but Paolo Cherchi Usai has found only limited traces of that in archive prints – if some survive with tinting, scarcely any do with toning.⁵⁶ Moreover, there is scant evidence that any kind of color process was widely used by American companies, at least in the trade press or mass magazines.⁵⁷

⁵³ D. S. Hulfish, “Colored Films of To-day,” The Nickelodeon (January 1909), p. 15.

⁵⁴ Marette, “Les procédés de coloriage mécanique des films,” pp. 4-7.

⁵⁵ See, for instance, “Pathé-Frères,” New York Dramatic Mirror (14 November 1908), p. 12.

⁵⁶ P. Cherchi Usai, “The Color of Nitrate,” Image 34. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 1991), p. 38, n 12.

⁵⁷ One of the few references appears in Patterson’s Saturday Evening Post article, but it is appended to his description of Pathé’s stencil-color process – “The Nickelodeons,” p. 21.”

(Abel, Richard (1996): Pathé’s “Heavenly Billboards”. In: Monica Dall’Asta, Guglielmo Pescatore and Leonardo Quaresima (eds.): Il colore nel cinema muto. Bologna: Clueb, pp. 56–76, on p. 61.)

“Die Verwendung von Tonung und Virage im dokumentarischen bzw. nichtfiktionalen Film der 1910er und 1920er Jahre ist noch wenig erforscht. Die meisten Untersuchungen, wie die grundlegende Studie “Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm” (1988) von Elfriede Ledig und Gerhard Ullmann, konzentrieren sich auf den Spielfilm.¹ Insgesamt liegen zur Virage – der “dominanten Färbungsart der 10er und 20er Jahre”² – und ihrer Ästhetik, kaum Studien vor. Selbst Gert Koshofer behandelt in seinem Standardwerk Color. Die Farben des Films (1988) Tonung und Virage nur sehr knapp, obschon es diese Verfahren länger gab und sie in den ersten Jahrzehnten der Filmgeschichte weiter verbreitet waren als viele andere, die nur selten über das Experimentierstadium hinausgekommen sind.³

In seinem 1994 erschienenen Essay “Colourful Metaphors: The Attraction of Colour in Early Silent Cinema” führt Tom Gunning das Konzept der “farbigen Metaphern” ein.⁴ Zwar bezieht auch er sich vor allem auf fiktionale Filme; seine Überlegungen lassen sich aber auf den nichtfiktionalen Film übertragen. Gunning differenziert zwischen der indexikalischen Farbe, die sich auf die in der sichtbaren Welt real existierenden Farben bezieht, und der in der Stummfilmzeit vorherrschenden, nicht-indexikalischen, rein sinnlich eingesetzten Farbe. Farbe im frühen Film erfülle drei Funktionen: realistische Wiedergabe der Umwelt, Ergänzung der Schwarzweiß-Filme und zusätzliche sinnliche Attraktion. Letzteres ist für Gunning ein Merkmal der Fantasiebilder à la Méliès und der Feerien von Pathé, aber auch von Filmen mit exotischen oder spektakulären Sujets. Willkürlich und anti-realistisch, weil intensiver als in der Wirklichkeit eingesetzt, wurde Farbe als eigenständige Kraft wahrgenommen. “In most cases, colour in silent film did possess realistic motivation, even if it lacked truly realistic effects. […]”⁵

1995 beschäftigt sich ein international besetzter Workshop in Amsterdam ausschließlich mit den Farben im Stummfilm. Obschon die Teilnehmer sich nur selten auf den nicht-fiktionalen Film beziehen, liefern die Diskussionen wertvolle Anregungen und Hinweise. Analog zu Gunning verweisen auch Dann Hertogs und Nico de Klerk auf den Unterschied zwischen der referenziellen und symbolischen Bedeutungsebene der Farben.⁶

¹ Elfriede Ledig, unter Mitarbeit von Gerhard Ulimann: Rot wie Feuer; Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. In: Elfriede Ledig (Hg,): Der Stummfilm. Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion. München 1988, S. 89-116, hier S. 89. – Sophie Bodet konzentriert sich in Le film colorié: techniques et esthétiques. Paris 2000 (Thèse de doctorat, Université de Paris VIII) auf die Analyse der hand- und schablonenkolorierten Filme. Für eine Analyse der Debatten über Farbe im Film von 1909 bis 1935, die sich aber nur selten auf Tonung und Virage und noch seltener auf nichtfiktionale Filme beziehen, siehe Erick Frisvold Hansen: Early Discourses on Colour and Cinema. Stockholm 2006. Online: http://su.diva-portal.org/srnash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:189727.

² Ledig, Ullmann: Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn, S. 89.

³ Gert Koshofer: Color. Die Farben des Films. Berlin 1988, S. 18-20.

⁴ Tom Gunning: Colorful Metaphors: The Attraction of Color in Early Silent Cinema. In: Fotogenia. Storie e teorie del cinema. Bologna, Nr. 1, 1994 (online: http://www.muspe.unibo.it/period/fotogen/numOI/numeroId.htm). Zitiert nach dem Reprint in: Living Pictures. The Journal of the Popular and Projected Image before 1914, Nr. 2, 2003 (= Special Issue: Colour, hg. von Luke McKernan), S. 4-l3.

⁵ Ebenda, S. 11.

⁶ Daan Hertogs, Nico de Klerk (Hg.): „Disorderly Orders”. Colours in Silent Film. The 1995 Amsterdam Workshop. Amsterdam 1996, S. 5.”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on pp. 3–4.) (in German)

“Die Tonung […] – auch Tönung oder chemische Färbung genannt – bedeutet, “daß das schwarze Silberbild durch chemische Umsetzungen verschiedenster Art in ein farbiges Silberbild verwandelt wird, während die Lichter, d.h. die silberfreien Gelatineteile, farblos bleiben.”⁹ Die Färbung bzw. Kolorierung, häufig auch Virage genannt […], besteht darin, “daß das schwarze Silberbild unverändert schwarz bleibt, während die Gelatine gefärbt wird, also im wesentlichen die Lichter farbig erscheinen. Tonung: farbiges Bild auf ungefärbtem Grunde. Färbung: schwarzes Bild auf farbigem Grunde.”¹⁰ Auch eine Kombination der beiden Verfahren in einer “Doppelvirage”¹¹ ist möglich: “Tont man den Film z.B. blau, wobei die Lichter weiß bleiben, und färbt ihn dann gelb, so werden die Lichter gelb, während die vorher blaue Farbe in Grün übergeht. Eine Behandlung in blauem Tonbad mit darauf folgender Rotfärbung gibt ein violettes Bild mit roten Lichtern; eine solche Zusammenstellung ist eventl. zur Darstellung von Nachteffekten gut zu brauchen.”¹² Im deutschen Film bis nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg sind, Ledig und Ullmann zufolge, hauptsächlich drei Tonungsfarben bekannt: “Braun (sepia bis rotbraun), blau (Varianten: Delfter Blau, Berliner Blau), grün (Vanadiumgrün, Malachitgrün).”¹³

Leider lässt sich bei umkopierten Filmen meistens nicht mehr feststellen, ob die Farbe auf Tonung oder Virage zurückgeht. “The nature of modern positive and internegative colour stock makes an exact reproduction almost impossible. It is very difficult, for example, to reproduce the difference between tinting and toning on safety stock.”¹⁴ Die Anzeigen in der Filmfachpresse sprechen überwiegend von Virage,¹⁵ meinen aber mal das eine, mal das andere Verfahren.

Die Herausbildung von Viragen und Tonungen war eng an die Entwicklung der Lichtquelle der Filmprojektion gebunden: “Viele Landgemeinden [hatten] noch keine Starkstromleitung, und die Wanderkinos bedienten sich in einigen Fällen sogar der Petroleumlampe! Für solche Zwecke konnte nur ein ganz heller, also ungefärbter Filmstreifen eingesetzt werden. Wo aber schon das strahlende Kalklicht vorhanden war, begann das Gebiet des gefärbten Films, ja, gerade beim Kalklicht, denn infolge seiner weißen Helligkeit überstrahlte es die ungefärbten Bilder. Der Filmstreifen erhielt also eine sanfte Färbung, die recht einfach herzustellen war, indem die Kopien einfach in eine leichte Anilinlösung getaucht wurden. Es blieb dann immer eine Sache des Geschmacks, daß der Farbton auch zu dem Bilde passte.”¹⁶

In den USA waren Schätzungen zufolge Ende der 1910er Jahre zwischen 80 und 90% der Filme ganz oder teilweise gefärbt.¹⁷ Koshofer gibt an, dass die monochromen Einfärbungstechniken auch in den 1920er Jahren “weit verbreitet” und “ausschließlich schwarzweiße Filme sehr selten” waren.¹⁸ Filmkritiker erwähnten die Farben in den 1920er Jahren aber meist nur im Zusammenhang mit neuen technischen Farbverfahren.¹⁹

“Filmkopien werden in der Regel gefärbt.” Das bekräftigt auch 1925 Rudolf Thun. “Dies erfolgt teils, um besondere Effekte hervorzurufen, teils, damit der Film etwas wärmer wirkt. […] Es empfiehlt sich, jedes Bild, das nicht aus irgendwelchen Gründen eine andere Färbung erhalten muß, Orange einzufärben. Diese Färbung wird vom Zuschauer nicht als eine solche empfunden, das Bild erhält jedoch hierdurch eine gewisse Wärme. Außerdem tritt das durch den Gebrauch bedingte ‘Verregnen’ bei gefärbten Filmen nicht so stark hervor, wie bei ungefärbten Filmen.”²⁰ Thun vermerkt außerdem, dass “bei gefärbten Filmen das Flimmern nicht so stark auftritt wie bei farblosen”, was er auf die geringe Helligkeit der gefärbten Filme zurückführt.²¹ Auch das um 1925 von Agfa herausgegebene Kine-Handbuch gibt an, dass bei Aufnahmen, in denen keine bestimmte Farbe dominiert, “zur ‘Milderung der Weißen’ ein Farbstich in Violette oder Gelbliche sehr angenehm wirken kann.”²²

Weiterhin könne das Einfärben die Eintönigkeit von Schwarzweiß-Bildern bei der Vorführung beleben.²³ Bereits 1908 weist Franz Paul Liesegang in seinem Handbuch der praktischen Kinematographie darauf hin, dass sich ein Film durch Tonungen “in manchen Fällen […] bedeutend wirkungsvoller machen [lässt]. Seestücke z.B. werden häufig sehr gehoben durch eine Blautonung.”²⁴

⁹ Agfa Kine-Handbuch. 1. Allgemeiner Teil. o.O. [Wolfen], undatiert [ca. 1925], S. 79 f. – “Die chemische Virage verunglückte manchmal und ergab streifige oder seltsam farbige Bilder, auf denen die einzelnen Gegenstände wie umrandet erschienen.” (Hans Prinzler: Film; ehe wir ihn sehen. Leipzig 1938, S. 72). Vgl. Ledig, Ulimann: Rot wie Feuer; Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn, S. 94, Anm. 20.

¹⁰ Agfa Kine-Handbuch. 1. AIIgemeiner Teil, S. 79f.

¹¹ Vgl. Ledig, Ullmann: Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn, S. 93.

¹² F. Paul Liesegang: Handbuch der praktischen Kinematographie. Leipzig 1908, S. 291.

¹³ Ledig, Ullmann: Rot wie Feuer Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn, S. 94.

¹⁴ Giovanni Fossati in Hertogs, de Klerk (Hg.): “Disorderly Orders”. Colours in Silent Film, S. 13.

¹⁵ Vgl. Ledig, Ullmann: Rot wie Feuer; Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn, S. 92.

¹⁶ Prinzler: Film ehe wir ihn sehen, S. 72.

¹⁷ Paolo Cherchi Usai: The Color of Nitrate. Some Factual Observations on Tinting and Toning Manuals for Silent Films. In: Richard Abel (Hg.): Silent Film. New Brunswick, New Jersey 1996, S. 21-30, hier S. 22. Diese Handbücher enthalten überwiegend technische Angaben zur Ansetzung der Farbbäder und -mischungen und kaum ästhetische Überlegungen zum Farbeinsatz. Auf http://www.brianpritchard.com/ sind zwei Handbücher von Kodak aus den Jahren 1922 und 1927 dokumentiert.

¹⁸ Koshofer: Color, S. 18. Erhard Finger schreibt: “Bis etwa 1925 waren 80-90% der produzierten Kinofilme getont oder eingefärbt.” Ders.: 100 Jahre Kino und die Filmfabrik Wolfen. Wolfen 1996, S. 34. Hans Bourquin vermutet: “Der Besucher des Kinos hat gewiß selten oder kaum bunte, farbige Szenen auf der Schaufläche gesehen, selbst wenn er ein häufiger Gast in den Räumen des rollendes Bandes war.” Ders.: Bunte Welt im Kino. In: Welt und Wissen, Berlin, 1927, 3. Jahresband 1927, S. 267-269, hier S. 267.

¹⁹ Enno Patalas, in: Hertogs, de Klerk (Hg.): “Disorderly Orders”. Colours in Silent Film, S. 21.

²⁰ Rudolf Thun: Der Film in der Technik. Berlin 1925, S. 28.

²¹ Ebenda, S. 14. Hierzu bereits 1908 Liesegang: Handbuch der praktischen Kinematographie, S. 291.

²² Agfa Kine-Handbuch, 1. Allgemeiner Teil. o.O. [Wolfen], undatiert [ca. 1925], S. 43.

²³ Ebenda, S. 79.

²⁴ Liesegang: Handbuch der praktischen Kinematographie, S, 289.”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on pp. 5–7.) (in German)

“Sequenzierung. Wechselnde Tonungen und Viragen dienen dazu, Einstellungen deutlich erkennbar zu Sequenzen zu bündeln; so wird dem Zuschauer auch ohne Zwischentitel signalisiert, dass ein neuer Aspekt des Themas vorgestellt wird.”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on p. 10.) (in German)

“Industriebilder

F r [Für] technische Zwecke, so Rudolf Thun 1925, bietet der farbige Film “nur geringe Vorteile”, da die Farbe in der Technik nur von untergeordneter Bedeutung sei. Wo diese wichtig sei, fehle meistens die Bewegung, so dass man hier besser auf farbige Lichtbilder zurückgreife. “Aus diesen Gründen hat sich bisher für den farbigen technischen Film nur ein geringes Bedürfnis gezeigt.”⁴² Es ist anzunehmen, dass sich die Entscheidung, ob ein Industriefilm einzufärben sei, nach seinem Anwendungsgebiet – Werbung, Unterrichtsmittel oder Geschichtsmaterial – sowie seinem Einsatzfeld – interne Vorführungen oder öffentliche Präsentation – gerichtet hat. Thun zufolge dienten allerdings die meisten Werbe- und Lehrfilme mehreren Zwecken gleichzeitig.⁴³ […]

Die ersten Texte zum Industriefilm gehen aber nicht auf Tonung und Virage ein, obschon diese das Erscheinungsbild der Filme, und damit des dargestellten Unternehmens, wesentlich mitprägen.

⁴² Thun: Der Film in der Technik, S. 254. Zeichentrickfilme bildeten Thun zufolge eine Ausnahme.

⁴³ Ebenda, S. 227.”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on pp. 15–20.) (in German)

“Auch die nicht-fiktionalen Filme erhalten durch Tonung und Virage einen höheren Attraktionswert. Programme, die nur aus Farbfilmen bestanden, werden die Ausnahme gewesen sein, da die Farbe dabei ihren Charakter als etwas Besonderes verloren hätte. Reine Farbprogramme widersprechen zudem dem Grundsatz der Abwechslung zur Vermeidung von Langeweile, den die frühen Kinoprogramme in der Regel befolgen.⁹⁶

Viragen und Tonungen werden meistens als Extras angeboten, die auch extra bezahlt werden müssen. So verlangt Gaumont 1910 für die Naturaufnahme SALZBURG UND UMGEBUNG (127 m) 18,20 Mark extra für Virage, für den kürzeren Film FRÜHLINGSBOTEN (95 m) über Blumen und Blüten des Frühlings muss der Kinobesitzer 24,70 Mark inklusive Koloration und Virage bezahlen.⁹⁷ Er wird es sich also gut überlegen, ob er den schwarzweißen Film oder die teure Farbfassung kauft. Die Entscheidung für Schwarzweiß oder Farbe wird er an kaufmännischen Grundsätzen festmachen. Wenn in seinem unmittelbaren Einzugsgebiet ein weiterer Kinematograph spielt, wird er versuchen, durch buntere und daher attraktivere Filme mehr Zuschauer anzulocken. Eine Funktion der Farbe im frühen Kino dürfte also gewesen sein, Kinobesitzern einen Konkurrenzvorteil zu verschaffen.

⁹⁶ Darauf weist auch Sabine Lenk hin. “Disorderly Orders”. Colours in Silent, S. 19.

⁹⁷ Gaumont: Programm E 52 [1910], S. 22f (Deutsche Kinemathek, Schriftgutarchiv).”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on p. 43.) (in German)

“Bereits 1913 bietet Agfa 26 Rezepturen zur Erzielung verschiedener Farbnuancen an.¹⁰¹ Diese Vielfalt an Tonungs- und Virage-Möglichkeiten findet sich jedoch in den dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre nicht wieder. Es dominieren Orange und Sepia sowie Grün und Blau in verschiedenen Abstufungen und Dichte. Die unterschiedlich starke Ausprägung der Farbe wird darauf zurückzuführen sein, dass jedes Kopierwerk mit eigenen Rezepturen arbeitet. Zudem wird die Farbintensität im Laufe der Jahre abgenommen haben. Zu berücksichtigen sind schließlich nationale Traditionen, sowohl was den “Farbgeschmack” angeht als auch die handwerklichen Traditionen in den Kopierwerken, die zusammen einen “Stil” aus Virage-Praxis und Sehgewohnheiten begründen, der normbildend wirkt. So gibt es wohl auch für den dokumentarischen Film ein “stillschweigendes Übereinkommen zwischen Filmherstellern und Publikum über eine gewisse Färb- und Viragesprache.”¹⁰²

Anette Deeken kommt 2005 mit Blick auf den frühen Reisefilm zu dem Schluss: “Grundsätzlich wird man der ausgesuchten Farbästhetik nicht gerecht, wollte man sie an den Maßstäben eines naturalistischen Erscheinungsbildes messen.”¹⁰³ Die vorliegende Untersuchung konnte zeigen, dass Viragen und Tonungen in nichtfiktionalen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre weitgehend kodierten Mustern folgen, auch wenn heute nicht mehr alle farbdramaturgischen Entscheidungen nachvollziehbar sind. Sequenzierung, Pointierung und dekorative Abwechslung in Sinne von “colour events”¹⁰⁴ sind zentrale Merkmale der Farbdramaturgie. Auch dort, wo sich die Farbgebung am Spektakulären und Metaphorischen orientiert, wird zumeist versucht, die Farben gleichzeitig auch indexikalisch bzw. referenziell einzusetzen, also etwa Naturszenen grün, Feuer rot und Wasser grün oder blau zu färben. Dass Farbe auch den Bereich der Künstlichkeit und Fantasie markiert, spielt für den nichtfiktionalen Film nur eine untergeordnete Rolle, denn dieser ist durch seine privilegierte Beziehung zur Realität stärker an diese angebunden als fiktionale Werke.

¹⁰¹ Färbungen auf Kinematographen-Films Agfa (1913), zit. n. Finger: 100 Jahre Kino und die Filmfabrik Wolfen, S. 34.

¹⁰² O’Leary (1955 in Film-Technikum), zit. nach Koshofer: Color. Die Farben des Films, S. 18.

¹⁰³ Deeken: Geschichte und Ästhetik des Reisefilms, S. 308.

¹⁰⁴ Jacques Aumont, in Hertogs, de Klerk (Hg.): “Disorderly Orders”. Colours in Silent Film, S. 52.”

(Goergen, Jeanpaul (2010): Bunte Bilder aus dem Farbenbottich. Tonung und Virage in dokumentarischen Filmen der 1910er und 1920er Jahre. In: Filmblatt, pp. 3–52, on pp. 44–45.) (in German)

“Some producers, such as the more financially hard-nosed Fox Film Corporation, chose to add color to their releases through elaborate tinting and toning, or combinations of the two. The Temple of Venus (1923), for example, utilized extensive coloring schemes throughout, mixing pink, green, yellow, lavender, and amber tinting with sepia-toning and double-toning in multiple combinations⁹.

NOTES

⁹ The Temple of Venus cutting continuity, 1923, Copyright deposit, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.”

(Layton, James; Pierce, David (2015): The Dawn of Technicolor. Rochester: George Eastman House, on pp. 111–112.)

“Per i colori del muto, il problema si pone in termini ancora più complessi. Colorazione manuale e a pochoir, tintura e viraggio – come è noto – danno vita a modalità cromatiche che si è soliti definire con il termine colore applicato, in quanto le tinte vengono deposte solo ed esclusivamente sui fotogrammi di un positivo nitrato in bianco e nero. Di conseguenza, la colorazione diventa un’operazione legata a ciascuna singola copia e non già – come gli sviluppi del colore cinematografico ci hanno abituato a pensare oggi – al singolo film. Se dalla fine degli anni venti sarebbe stato possibile individuare una linea di demarcazione netta tra film in bianco e nero e film a colori, con i colori applicati questa operazione non è possibile, dal momento che la distinzione si opera di copia in copia. Sul piano tecnologico, il fatto che il colore non venisse registrato una volta per tutte sul negativo implicava che il lavoro di colorazione dovesse essere ripetuto un numero di volte pari al numero di copie colorate che si volevano ottenere.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on p. 20.) (in Italian)

“Collocata in un regime percettivo incerto tra bianco e nero e colore, tra riproduzione fotografica e chimica pigmentaria, l’immagine monocromatica presenta uno statuto costituzionalmente debole, incerto e ambivalente⁴. Del bianco e nero, essa mantiene la basilare tessitura dei rapporti chiaroscurali, convertendola al contempo in scala monocromatica. Nell’immagine tinta, i neri restano tali mentre i grigi e le trasparenze si colorano della tinta impiegata (blu, giallo, rosso, ecc.) proporzionalmente al loro grado di chiarezza. La forma che ne deriva può essere definita come un nero e colore (nero e blu, nero e giallo, nero e rosso). L’immagine virata è frutto del processo complementare: i neri e i grigi sono convertiti chimicamente in pigmento in proporzione della rispettiva chiarezza, mentre le trasparenze restano tali: la forma ottenuta può definirsi come bianco e colore (bianco e blu, bianco e giallo, bianco e rosso)⁵. Stando l’uno della parte del chiaro e l’altro dalla parte dello scuro, i due processi risultano a tutti gli effetti complementari, oltre che pienamente compatibili sul piano tecnologico. Per questo, essi possono essere impiegati in combinazione, restituendo un’immagine bicromatica in cui la scala dei chiari viene convertita in un colore (tintura) e quella degli scuri in un altro (viraggio)⁶. La forma così ottenuta, che potrebbe definirsi con la formula colore e colore, risulta spesso praticata in modalità che traslano sul piano cromatico la contrapposizione chiaroscurale del bianco e nero, attraverso l’impiego di due tinte poste tra loro in un rapporto di prossimità o di contrasto.

⁴ Cfr. Aumont 1995b, pp. 42–44.

⁵ Riprendo le espressioni bianco e colore e nero e colore da Dubois 1995, pp. 75–76. Espressioni analoghe risuonano curiosamente in un articolo del tempo: “il Cinema, allo stato attuale, è, semplicemente, una xilografia: serie di chiari e scuri: bianco o nero; non più; o pure verde e nero; o giallo e nero” (Ungaro 1917, p. 2).

⁶ Dal punto di vista tecnologico va rilevata una differenza: mentre il viraggio converte effettivamente i sali d’argento del supporto in pigmento colorato, la tintura comporta la stesa di una soluzione colorata sul supporto. Per la stessa ragione, il viraggio era limitato a una gamma più ristretta, mentre la tintura poteva produrre una gamma potenzialmente illimitata di colori.

Bibliografia

Aumont, Jacques, a cura di (1995a), La couleur en cinéma, Mazzotta-Cinémathèque française, Milano-Paris.

Aumont, Jacques (1995b), Des couleurs à la couleur, in Id., a cura di, 1995a, pp. 30–49.

Dubois, Philippe (1995), Hybridations et métissages. Les mélanges du noir-et-blanc et de la couleur, in Aumont, a cura di, 1995a, pp. 74–92.

Ungaro, Pasquale (1917), La festa dei colori, in “Mondial film“, I, n. 5, 20 agosto 1917, pp. 2–3.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on pp. 52–53.) (in Italian)

Cabiria (ITA 1914, Giovanni Pastrone)

“Un primo esempio può essere colto nell’uso di particolari colorazioni o combinazioni bicromatiche, tramite le quali era possibile superare la convenzionalità delle associazioni più codificate, creando degli effetti di discontinuità⁴⁹. In certe vedute di Cabiria, l’effetto di luce si trasfigura in effetto di visione cromatica. Un caso interessante è offerto dall’uso delle tinture rosate per rendere il riverbero luminoso provocato da superfici riflettenti di grande estensione, come il mare o una distesa di neve. La scelta cade spesso sul rosa in corrispondenza di inquadrature in campo lungo a carattere paesaggistico: il piano di presentazione di Maciste con il mare sullo sfondo, la veduta delle truppe di Annibale sulle alpi innevate, un’inquadratura di Fulvio Axilla appoggiato sul parapetto della nave, una di Archimede che prepara la difesa sulle mura di Siracusa.

Ancora più pregiata, oltre che costosa, risultava essere la combinazione contrastiva di una tintura e di un viraggio, frequentemente adottata come effetto speciale nelle copie più lussuose dei film. In Cabiria, essa è sfruttata in alcuni passaggi, soprattutto per rendere l’effetto di riflessi e riverberi luminosi in lontananza: uno dei più interessanti è rappresentato dall’alba sul mare dopo la battaglia di Siracusa, con Fulvio Axilla che nuota aggrappato a una tavola, resa sullo schermo con un’immagine virata in blu e tinta in rosa.

⁴⁹ Sul tema della discontinuità cromatica in rapporto alla tintura e al viraggio, cfr. le ottime analisi di Kuyper 1995 e Mazzanti 2009.

Bibliografia

Kuyper, Eric de (1995), La couleur du muet, in Aumont, Jacques a cura di (1995a), La couleur en cinéma, Mazzotta-Cinémathèque française, Milano-Paris, pp. 139–146.

Mazzanti, Nicola (2009), Colours, Audiences, and (Discontinuity in the ‘Cinema of the Second Period’, in Tomadjoglou, Kim, a cura di (2009a), Early Colour Part 1, in “Film History”, XXI, n. 1, 2009, pp. 67–93.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on p. 71.) (in Italian)

Il fuoco (ITA 1915, Giovanni Pastrone)

“In alcuni diva film⁵² le sedimentazioni culturali di un immaginario emozionale del colore si lasciano cogliere con efficacia. La forma monocroma poteva prestarsi bene a promuovere una sorta di sintonizzazione emozionale dello spettatore sul personaggio. Sotto questo profilo si può considerare Il fuoco (Pastrone, 1915), storia di una passione distruttiva tra una poetessa e un pittore che si consuma in tre tempi (La favilla, La vampa e La cenere). Nella prima sequenza del film, a far scoccare la favilla è l’incontro tra Lei, poetessa (Pina Menichelli), e Lui, pittore (Febo Mari), sotto “un tramonto di fuoco”, che motiva il passaggio dalla tintura arancio della precedente ambientazione diurna al rosso acceso dell’effetto atmosferico. L’indomani, il successivo incontro tra i due protagonisti torna a essere segnato dalla presenza materiale del fuoco e da quella metaforizzata del rosso. La sequenza è introdotta da un intertitolo (“Ma sulla speranza già scendono le tenebre”) e dall’inquadratura di un chiaro di luna (tintura blu): calata la notte, in una sala della sua casa il pittore è in attesa della donna (blu); accende una lampada da tavolo (passaggio al giallo-arancio) in modo da poter rileggere la lettera lasciatagli dalla poetessa (giallo-arancio); all’esterno, la donna cerca di richiamare l’attenzione dell’uomo picchiettando sul vetro di una finestra (blu); attirato dal rumore, l’uomo abbandona la stanza (giallo-arancio) ed esce, andando in cerca della donna (blu), che nel frattempo è entrata in casa (giallo-arancio); frustrato dall’insuccesso, l’uomo si avvicina di nuovo alla porta di casa (blu) e, dopo averla varcata, è sorpreso dalla presenza della donna (giallo-arancio). Ha poi inizio l’incontro tra i due, che prosegue sotto la luce della lampada, finché la poetessa non decide di frantumarla sul tavolo, provocando con la lettera una piccola combustione (“Vedi! Come la passione la sua fiamma si leva fino al cielo e abbaglia… ma dura un attimo. Scegli!”). Il gesto è accompagnato dal passaggio, nella medesima inquadratura, dal giallo-arancio al rosso, che torna così ad accrescere la temperatura emozionale della scena⁵³.

⁵² Sul diva film, cfr. Jandelli 2006.

⁵³ Per approfondimenti, cfr. Canosa 1996a, pp. 337–339.

Bibliografia

Canosa, Michele (1996a), Bruciami… bruciami l’anima!, in Quaresima, Leonardo a cura di (1996), Il cinema e le altre arti, Marsilio, Venezia, pp. 335–342.

Jandelli, Cristina (2006), Le dive italiane del cinema muto, L’Epos, Palermo.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on pp. 72–73.) (in Italian)

Tigre reale (ITA 1916, Giovanni Pastrone)

“Una procedura del tutto analoga informa Tigre reale (1916), diretto anch’esso da Pastrone per la Itala⁵⁴.

[…]

Il parallelismo tra la combustione fittizia della danza, quella materiale dell’edificio teatrale e quella spirituale della protagonista è palesata dal ricorso al montaggio alternato e alle tinture nella gamma dell’arancio-rosso. La sequenza costituisce un esempio di integrazione di uno spazio performativo all’interno di uno spazio diegetico: un numero di attrazione tipico del cinema delle origini, la danza del fuoco, viene infatti inglobato all’interno della narrazione, innestandovi il motivo del fuoco, l’arancio-rosso e i riverberi psicologici ad esso collegati.

Inizialmente, la tintura simula la dimensione luministica di un fuoco solo evocato come effetto visivo all’interno della danza: le inquadrature a quest’ultima dedicata ripropongono il dispositivo tipico della veduta di attrazione (ripresa frontale su sfondo nero), ma sono alternate con quelle del sottopalco con il proiettore che dal basso inonda di luce il corpo delle ballerine. Nel frattempo, nella camera d’albergo, con una tintura sui toni del giallo-arancio motivata dalla presenza di una lampada a muro, è in corso l’appuntamento della contessa, che sembra volgere al tragico quando la donna si accascia sul letto in preda a spasmi e convulsioni. A questo punto, dal sottopalco divampa l’incendio che invade il teatro, gettando nel panico gli spettatori; la tintura arancio-rossa che accompagna questo passaggio non allude più al fuoco fittizio dello spettacolo di danza, ma a quello reale che sta invadendo la platea. I bagliori e i riflessi delle fiamme si estendono rapidamente verso l’albergo, dove intanto il cortocircuito ha provocato un blackout elettrico; anche in questo ambiente ora i personaggi appaiono immersi nell’arancio-rosso, che diviene il correlato cromatico dello stato di eccitazione della contessa. Nella sequenza successiva, che conclude il film, la transizione psicologica si prolunga nella forma dell’effetto atmosferico, con un altro “tramonto di fuoco” sul mare che fa da sfondo alla barchetta a vela su cui una rinvigorita contessa sembra aver ritrovato la felicità con l’amato Giorgio.

⁵⁴ Sulle varianti cromatiche del film, cfr. Mazzanti 2009, p. 70.

Bibliografia

Mazzanti, Nicola (2009), Colours, Audiences, and (Discontinuity in the ‘Cinema of the Second Period’, in Tomadjoglou, Kim, a cura di (2009a), Early Colour Part 1, in “Film History”, XXI, n. 1, 2009, pp. 67–93.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on pp. 73–74.) (in Italian)

“Kolorierung und Virage

Da sich mit ihnen keine Naturfarben wiedergeben lassen, bilden die Techniken der Kolorierungen und Virage streng genommen eine eigene Kategorie. Im Grunde ein Ersatz und eine Behelfslösung, erreichten kolorierte und viragierte Filme jedoch bis in die 20er Jahre hinein eine so große Verbreitung, dass sie sich stärker im kollektiven Gedächtnis verankert haben als die zeitgleiche echte Farbkinematographie.

Einzelbild für Einzelbild manuell kolorierte Buntfilme wurden bereits in den Filmkatalogen der späten 1890er Jahre als besondere Attraktionen gehandelt. Zunächst in Paris, dann in London entstanden Ateliers, in denen die Handkolorierung als Kunst- und Präzisionshandwerk verfeinert wurde. Später wurde dieser mühsame Nachbearbeitungsprozess durch halbautomatische Schablonenverfahren erleichtert (Pathécolor ab 1905, Handschiegl-Verfahren ab 1916). Zwar verlor die Kolorierung in den 20er Jahren allgemein an Bedeutung, doch bedienten sich British International Pictures sogar noch bei der Herstellung der ersten beiden britischen Farb-Ton-Spielfilme The Romance of Seville (1929, Norman Walker) und Harmony Heaven (1930, Thomas Bentley) des Pathécolor-Schablonenprozesses.⁴¹

Die Virage-Technik, die ebenfalls bereits kurz nach 1895 ausgeübt wurde, bestand in der monochromen Einfärbung schwarz-weißen Filmmaterials. Je nach Schauplatz und Aufnahmegegenstand wurde eine passende Grundfarbe gewählt, um die Stimmung der Sequenz zu verstärken: z.B. Blau für nächtliche Szenerien, Gelb für Interieurs, Dunkelrot und Violett für Kaminbeleuchtung oder Kerzenschein, grelles Rot für Feuersbrünste und dramaturgische Höhepunkte. Die im Vergleich zur Kolorierung preiswertere Virage gewann in den 1910er Jahren eine solche Beliebtheit, dass die Mehrheit aller Filme auf viragiertem Material verbreitet wurde.

Anmerkungen

⁴¹ Dank an Luke McKernan, Rochester/Kent, für diesen Hinweis.”

(Alt, Dirk (2011): “Der Farbfilm marschiert!” Frühe Farbfilmverfahren und NS-Propaganda 1933-1945. München: Belleville, on pp. 36–37.) (in German)

“2. Tonung: Der einfachste und schon lange benutzte Vorgang besteht darin, das nach der Entwicklung entstehende Silber zu tonen, d.h. es in gefärbte Verbindungen überzuführen. Besonders leicht und sicher ist die Überführung des Silbers in ein Uransalz von rotbrauner Farbe oder in Berlinerblau. Beide Farben entsprechen annähernd den Anforderungen eines Zweifarbenverfahrens und werden daher mit Vorteil bei einem doppelseitig begossenen Film (Agfa-Dipofilm) verwendet. Auf die eine Seite wird das z. B. mit Hilfe eines Bipacks aufgenommene Rotorangenegativ vom Rückfilm, auf die andere das Blaugrünnegativ vom Frontfilm kopiert, und die entwickelten Silberbilder im 1. Falle in ein Berlinerblaubild, im 2. in ein Uranbild übergeführt. Nach einem derartigen Verfahren konnte die amerikanische Multicolor-Gesellschaft und in Deutschland die Ufa verschiedene Filme herstellen, die einen überraschenden Reichtum der verschiedensten Farbabstufungen erkennen ließen.”

(Eggert, John; Heymer, Gerd (1937): Der Stand der Farbenphotographie. In: Veröffentlichungen des wissenschaftlichen Zentral-Laboratoriums der photographischen Abteilung Agfa, pp. 7–28, on p. 21.) (in German)

“The existing methods, to date, of applying color to film were not only time-consuming and laborious, they were expensive. A faster, more practical system had to be found to make color available. The answers were found in “tinting” (a process that had already seen limited use as early as 1907 in Edison’s tinted short subject The Teddy Bears) and “toning.”

The tinting process involved the dyeing of the black-and-white film so that the entire image would be colored by any one of eleven standard dye colors. Toning employed a chemical treatment to black-and-white film to give it a brown-and-white (sepia) look, or other single-hued tone.

During the 1920s, more than one hundred and fifty feature films were released in either tinted or toned color. While the two processes achieved roughly the same effect as placing a piece of colored cellophane over a black-and-white television screen, they did create a mood, particularly in sequences within films. For example, the fire segments in Dante’s Inferno (1924) were appropriately red, the water scenes in The River Pirate (1928) projected in blue, and The Play Girl (1928) had scenes in lavender. The treatment proved so successful that the practice continued, in selected instances, for many years, particularly in sepia-tinted western films. Among the more notable latterday achievements using these techniques were the sepia tones of Twentieth Century-Fox’s The Rains Came (1939), United Artists’ Of Mice and Men (1940), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Ziegfeld Girl (1941, ) and Tortilla Flat (1942), the green-tinted storm sequences in David O. Selznicks Portrait of Jennie (1948), and the multiple tints in RKO’s Mighty Joe Young (1949).”

(Basten, Fred E. (1980): Glorious Technicolor. The Movies’ Magic Rainbow. South Brunswick: Barnes, on pp. 14–15.)

“When the BFI National Archive restored another Hitchcock film, The Lodger (1927), in 1984, it was done using tinting and toning to replicate the original technique that had iron blue and amber tint for exterior scenes to produce an eerie, smog-like effect for the London night scenes.⁸³

NOTES

⁸³ Paul Read, ‘Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaptation for the Restoration of Archive Film’, in All the Colours of the World: Colours in Early Mass Media, 1900-30 (Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, 1998), p. 161.”

(Street, Sarah (2012): Colour Films in Britain. The Negotiation of Innovation 1900-55. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, on p. 20.)

Rapsodia satanica (ITA 1917, Nino Oxilia)

“Negli esperimenti che furono tentati, la relazione sinestetica tra musica e colore si offriva in forma immediata alla percezione dello spettatore. In presenza di modalità narrative, invece, la stessa relazione poteva essere mediata dall’universo emotivo e psicologico dei personaggi. Questa seconda modalità sarebbe stata più spesso messa in atto all’interno dell’istituzione cinematografica, per supportare diverse ipotesi di riqualificazione estetica del colore e della musica. Tra i non molti casi degli anni dieci in cui l’effetto fu intenzionalmente perseguito, uno dei più significativi è rappresentato da Rapsodia satanica (Oxilia, 1917).

[…]

La presenza del colore – attestata da una copia ritrovata a restaurata negli anni novanta – rivela invece quello che rappresenta forse un unicum nella storia del cinema muto, vale a dire la compresenza sistematica all’interno dei fotogrammi di tinture o viraggi e di aree colorate a pochoir⁵⁹. La forma policroma viene così a sovrapporsi a quella monocroma, producendo un’originale combinazione dell’una e dell’altra. Questa particolare scelta accresce notevolmente la plasticità e il pittoricismo delle immagini, che diventano così leggibili come una sorta di correlato visivo della musica, in termini di armonia, melodia e contrappunto. Sul piano della sintassi cromatica, tintura e viraggio tendono a definire il tono generale dell’immagine, all’interno del quale le singole macchie del pochoir determinano i potenziali accordi armonici, prodotti sia per minime variazioni che per accentuati contrasti.

Nel prologo del film, quando Mephisto fa irruzione nel salotto di Alba (Lyda Borelli) uscendo da un quadro, le campiture verdi e rosso porpora del pochoir, corrispondenti rispettivamente ai velluti delle poltrone e al mantello di Mephisto, definiscono gli accenti visivi dell’immagine, evidenziati dalla relazione di complementarità. Sul piano della sintassi narrativa, l’articolazione dei diversi accenti contribuisce a definire degli effetti di melodia e di contrappunto della scansione drammatica. Il contrasto dei complementari verde e rosso, ad esempio, torna, talora con variazioni di nuance, per tutta la prima parte nei drappeggi indossati da Alba e negli eleganti interni liberty, ripetendosi nella passeggiata finale del bosco tramite gli alberi, il vestito della donna e il mantello di Mephisto⁶⁰.

Di natura per così dire contrappuntistica risultano invece alcuni effetti giocati sulla rottura della continuità cromatica. Nella sequenza conclusiva della prima parte, Alba trattiene Tristano all’interno della villa mentre all’esterno, scoccata la mezzanotte, Sergio tiene fede al proposito di uccidersi: la donna è inizialmente coperta da un mantello verde che lascia intravedere il sottostante corpetto rosso dell’abito; facendo cadere il mantello, Alba scopre in vita una sontuosa cintura gioiello, colorata della stessa tinta del vestito, e una gonna verde. Nel momento in cui Alba attrae a sé Tristano facendosi baciare, proprio mentre dall’esterno i due odono lo sparo con cui Sergio si toglie la vita, la stessa cintura è colorata con un vistoso giallo dorato. Subito dopo, quando i due escono dalla casa, la tinta non è più presente. Nel corso della sequenza, lo stesso giallo dorato è utilizzato in due piani ravvicinati di un lussuoso orologio da tavola che ricorda l’approssimarsi della mezzanotte; curiosamente, questo oggetto appare giallo nelle inquadrature che lo ritagliano dallo spazio circostante, mentre in tutte le altre torna a essere un semplice elemento scenografico e, in quanto tale, a ricevere la tinta generale dell’ambiente. Questa intermittenza del giallo mostra come lo spettatore non sia invitato a intendere il colore come descrittore ambientale della scena, né come suo correlato simbolico, quanto piuttosto come accentuazione contrappuntistica dei momenti drammatici.

Un esempio altrettanto interessante ricorre nella seconda parte del film, quando Alba, in procinto di velarsi “sacerdotessa dell’amore e della morte”, si avvicina alla finestra per osservare la silhouette di Tristano a cavallo. Nella prima inquadratura, raffigurante la donna, la luce radente al tramonto che penetra dalla finestra è resa con un effetto violentemente discontinuo: nella parte destra, i vetri della finestra lasciano trasparire una colorazione gialla, mentre a sinistra il corpo di Alba si trova investito da una tinta blu chiara, arricchita da una campitura rosa sul corpetto. Segue un’inquadratura che si configura come una soggettiva intensificata della donna: la sagoma nera di Tristano a cavallo si staglia in forte controluce sullo sfondo del cielo rischiarato dal sole al tramonto, reso attraverso una tintura blu chiara del tutto simile alla precedente. Si torna infine alla prima inquadratura e ai suoi colori, finché Alba solleva un velo ed esce di campo.

L’organizzazione cromatica risulta palesemente incongrua. La luce al tramonto, resa attraverso una tintura blu, sembra diventare gialla attraversando i vetri della finestra, salvo poi tornare al colore iniziale cadendo sul volto della donna. La discontinuità è poi ulteriormente accresciuta dall’illuminazione chiaroscurale che accompagna tutte le inquadrature, prolungandosi anche nelle successive, dedicate alla danza dei veli e costruite attorno alla stessa gamma. Risulta chiaro come l’intera sequenza acquisti senso come momento di pura liberazione della luce e del colore, di originale fusione tra sensazione visiva e musicale.

Il lavoro promosso da Rapsodia satanica rivela in maniera molto forte le possibilità di un utilizzo musicale del colore all’interno del discorso narrativo, anticipando almeno in una certa misura certi approdi successivi di autori sedotti dalle possibilità contrappuntistiche del colore.

⁵⁹ Sul restauro, cfr. Mazzanti 1996.

⁶⁰ In questa ultima passeggiata nel bosco, un violento baluginare di tinte ormai sfatte, che non aderiscono più ai contorni, potrebbe segnalare un intenzionale effetto contrappuntistico tra il colore e la figura, teso a segnalare il simbolico disfacimento del mondo illusorio di Alba. Questa ipotesi è sostenuta in Kuyper (1996, pp. 58–59): “Esaminandolo con la loupe sulla copia nitrato, si può constatare che questo verde ‘gocciola’ per davvero, che la tecnica non è affatto la stessa che viene utilizzata in altre parti del film (tranne che nella scena del lago, che ne diviene dunque anticipatrice); essa è volontariamente ‘espressionista’”.

Bibliografia

Kuyper, Eric de (1996), “Rapsodia satanica” o il fremito de! Colore, in “Cinegrafie“. VIII, n. 9, 1996, pp. 53–60.

Mazzanti, Nicola (1996), A nuova vita. Note sul restauro di “Rapsodia satanica“, in “Cinegrafie“, Vili, n. 9, 1996, pp. 61–63.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on pp. 76–79.) (in Italian)

“Zweifellos gehören die Außenaufnahmen zu den schwierigsten Aufgaben des Zweifarbenfilms. Mit überwiegenden Viragen und willkürlichen Tönungen wird nur selten ein guter Effekt erzielt. Nur durch sorgfältigstes Studium der Möglichkeiten und entsprechende Auswahl des Aufnahmegegenstandes lassen sich künstlerisch befriedigende Aufnahmen erzielen, die den kulturellen Wert des Films tatsächlich steigern.”

(Conrad-Alberti, Victor (1933): Die technischen und künstlerischen Voraussetzungen für die Herstellung farbiger Kulturfilme. In: Film-Kurier, 112, 13.5.1933.) (in German)

“Nous savons tous que dans le passé, d’énormes quantités de films sur support nitrate en couleur ont tout simplement été transférés sur un support safety, non-flamme, noir et blanc, sans tenir compte du fait que parmi ceux-ci, certains étaient peints à la main, au pinceau, au pochoir, teintés ou virés. Les raisons de ce choix étaient sans doute d’ordre économique mais mettaient en évidence un manque de coordination entre archives à l’échelle internationale, ce qui n’est plus le cas à présent.

En effet, les derniers témoignages de ces premiers procédés qui ont traversé un siècle de cinéma sont aujourd’hui restaurés dans leur splendeur d’origine et des appels de collaboration sont lancés entre les archives dans la plupart des cas. Mais qu’en est-il de la conservation à long terme des éléments restaurés? Il n’existe, en fait pour le moment, que deux solutions à ce vrai problème:

Conservation d’une matrice couleur à basse température dans des locaux spécialement conçus à cet effet, ce qui représente un investissement coûteux et complexe à gérer pour la plupart des archives.
Conservation d’éléments intermédiaires noir et blanc, appelés “séparations” dans le jargon technique, et qui sont en fait les reproductions séparées sur trois films noir et blanc des trois couleurs fondamentales réunies dans un film couleur, bleu, rouge et vert. L’avantage de cette solution est que le film noir et blanc est plus stable que le film couleur et peut se conserver à des températures plus élevées. En cas de besoin, ces trois séparations peuvent être recombinées pour obtenir un nouvel élément de tirage couleur.

Dans l’un et l’autre cas, les coûts de conservation s’ajoutent aux coûts de la restauration. Aux Archives du film (CNC), nous avons calculé que le coût au mètre de la conservation et de restauration d’un film couleur est de trois à douze fois plus élevé que pour un film noir et blanc.

Dans ce contexte et compte-tenu des responsabilités budgétaires de plus en plus importantes allouées à ce travail, il ne peut y avoir de décisions prises sans une analyse complète des options et des problèmes à résoudre. La restauration des films en couleur doit être liée à tous les aspects de notre travail.

La politique de programmation des films: restaurer pour qui? dans quel but? dans quel contexte juridique? Ce dernier point est particulièrement important dans le cas des films technicolor populaires des années quarante et cinquante par exemple, ou des films récents, où il existe des ayants droit qui désirent exercer leur propre contrôle sur ces œuvres. D’autre part, les éléments d’origine essentiels aux travaux de sauvegarde sont souvent entreposés chez les ayants droit ou sous leur contrôle dans un laboratoire.

La politique de recherche historique et esthétique des films: quelles étaient les intentions des auteurs et des techniciens quant à l’utilisation de la couleur? Est-il possible de les contacter lors des travaux? Quels témoignages existe-t-il des premières projections? Y a-t-il, hors des archives, des éléments complémentaires à trouver, chez les ayants droit, dans d’autres archives? Les filières envisagées correspondent-elles aux intentions des auteurs et à l’authenticité de l’œuvre?

La politique des restaurations et de conservation: quelles filières concevoir pour répondre à ces deux besoins? Quels budgets a-t-on prévus? Comment répondent-ils aux deux précédentes politiques? Est-on sûr du laboratoire choisi pour les travaux envisagés?”

(Aubert, Michelle (1992): Pour une déontologie de la restauration des films en couleur. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 25–28, on pp. 26–27.) (in French)

“Noël Desmet and Paul Read

The Desmetcolor Method for Restoring Tinted and Toned Films

Early coloured film

Restoration of coloured monochrome films was, until the 1960’s, carried out almost exclusively by conventional black and white duplication and the colours were simply recorded in writing. Little attempt was made to reproduce the original colours for archival storage or for display. During the 1960s, and up to today, a colour internegative made on the current Eastman Colour Internegative Film was and still is, the most frequent means of copying the coloured images. The earliest attempts were usually poor and of too high a contrast but today a closer visual match to the archive original can be achieved. Some laboratories use camera negative films for some purposes, especially for stencilled prints, for the more faithful rendition of pastel colours, especially reds and pinks. The resulting colour print represents the colours left in the film today after whatever fading has occurred, and for many years archivists have had reservations about recording these images in their faded state, rather than seeking to reproduce the pristine image.

In many cases the original print is too high in contrast to be printed onto Colour Internegative without some reduction of contrast by “flashing”. The technique used has become a standard for the reduction of contrast.

The limitations of Colour Internegative are therefore as follows:

– Fixed contrast, and only alterable by flashing, within certain limits
– The image recorded is a record of the present faded condition, rather than a restoration of the pristine print
– Subtractive dyes are restricted in the saturations achievable, some of the old tint and tone dyes are outside the range.
– Colour Internegative is a costly film stock
– Colour films have less archival permanence than a black and white record.

[…]

Duplication of tinted and toned films

Other coloured films are less discrete in their colour and either the entire frame is suffused with one colour [tinting], or the image is coloured a single colour [toning], or a combination of the two techniques was used. In these cases a wider range of techniques for restoration exists.

Copying the original onto Eastman Colour Internegative, and the resulting colour negative is printed onto a modern colour print stock.

Digital film-tape-film transfer, so far largely untried

Using the original tinting or toning technique on modern print stock, as described in the other paper in this issue.

Printing a black and white duplicate negative onto colour print stock

The single pass method is still widely used, but this paper describes the double pass method, which is capable of a wide range of effects.

SINGLE PASS PRINTING

Any black and white duplicate negative can be printed onto a conventional modern colour print film to achieve an image of almost any colour [achieved by varying the grading with filters or light valve settings] from a neutral black or grey, to any saturated primary. This does make it possible to achieve quite good matches with many of the tone colours that were available.

However by this “single pass” method it is not possible to copy satisfactorily tinted films or double toned or tinted and toned films. If the image is printed somewhat dark an effect not unlike tinting can be acheived but the image loses much of it’s aethetic value. The overexposure has the effect of producing hazy monochromes and the results obtained from this method are simply not of high enough contrast and the high densities are not black but simply a denser colour. Occasionally good results are obtained but the effect is best with blues and day-for-night shots, and other colours are very difficult to achieve.

Ther is no doubt that in certain circumstances where a film is entirely toned in a variety of strong colours especially if the colours were produced by colour development or by mordanting this simple and inexpensive method is very effective.

The negative can be graded visually using a colour analyser [Debrie, Filmlab Colour Master, or Hazeltine] without difficulty.

DOUBLE PASS OR DESMETCOLOR

This system devized by Noël Desmet of the Royal Belgian Film Archive has been used since the 1970’s to try to restore some of the strong colours and dramatic effects of early tinted and toned prints, without the cost of using a colour intermediate film. It is not intended to precisely match the colours of a particular print but provide an extensive pallette from which to choose colours in the same films were duplicated to make a normal black and white duplicate negative and notes kept of the original colour before the decaying nitrate print was destroyed. Noël Desmet’s method enables these colours to be put back as tints or tones or as a combination using the archive duplicate negatives as a starting point. Although the colours were not intended to specifically yield a match with the originals, if enough trial and error time is spent quite close matches are possible. The overall dramatic effect is probably very close to that of the original. A number of laboratories use this method today.

Working independantly Dominic Case [SMPTE, 1987] in Australia has used a similar system but making the monochrome duplicate negative on Eastman Colour Internegative. The choice of material was probably influenced by the idea that a masked negative material would make a more stable starting point than a black and white negative and make grading and analysing reasonably straightforward. Comparisons of the two methods suggest that the results are very similar but the use of a black and white negative material results in finer grain on the final print, and the Desmetcolor is considerably lower in cost.

The Desmetcolor process

Noël Desmet commenced his work to find an alternative procedure to using a modern colour negative partly to reduce the cost of colour internegative and also to restore early coloured films that had faded. Colour negatives could only copy the existing faded result.

The procedure is as follows:

Making a duplicate negative

Starting with an original tinted, toned or combination nitrate print a black and white negative is produced on a panchromatic emulsion such as Eastman Fine Grain Duplicating Panchromatic Negative Film 5234 set up to achieve a contrast [gamma] of about 0.50. This gamma seems to be a good starting point but a higher contrast is preferred for some eventual colours.

Selecting the colours for tone or tint

A series of colour tests are made by printing a piece of film base of the material used for the negative onto a colour print film [such as Eastman Colour Print] at various printer light settings on a rotary contact additive lamp house printer [such as a Bell and Howell Model C]. A good method of establishing a starting point for the range of colours is to put the test film base onto a video colour analyser and vary the exposure settings to see the effect of a flashing exposure.

It will be found that many of the best effects are achieved by setting one printer light valve to zero [ie using the zero close facility] and varying the other two relative to each other. Strong colours can be obtained and they are quite repeatable.

The colours selected can be selected for two different purposes – to create a coloured image simulating a toned image, and to create an overall tint that simulates the tint colours.

Printing the duplicate negative

TONED PRINTS ONLY

On the same rotary printer the duplicate negative is printed onto the colour print film at a setting of the light valves needed to produce the tone colour required. Generally little or no scene to scene grading is required if the original was a graded print and the duplicate negative procedure was well set up and was exposed at a single light estting [ie was a one-light duplicate]. Some trial and error may be needed to acheive this or the negative can be scanned in a video analyser. If scene to scene grading is required then the ratio of the R, G and B setting must remain the same throughout the sequence. Even so grading by this technique is not advised as the colour does change slightly from scene to scene. On processing the image will be a monochrome of the colour selected with the unexposed areas remaining white.

[…]

TINTED AND TONED COMBINATIONS

Starting from the black and white duplicate negative a colour image is printed in one pass through the printer onto colour print film, followed by a second pass of the print film alone to produce the tint colour background.

The effects of this combination efect are not entirely predictable but certainly do give subtle results very similar to the early combination prints.

Both the Desmet and the Case methods are capable of refinement for production purposes to produce multiple prints or to introduce conventional intertitles by operating the two passes as an A and B roll printing system. Nor is it difficult to produce in just the two passes needed, different language versions, or different intertitle versions. The duplicate negative constitutes the A roll and is exposed to generate the neutral or coloured [toned] image. Black spacing is cut in where any titles are to be printed from the B roll. Another roll of clear film [with intertitles cut in if necessary] would constitute the B roll and be used to create the background tints, with the interfiles inserted at the A roll black spacing positions.

If different language intertitle versions are needed a new B roll can be prepared.

With a modern printer using FCC or punchtape the A roll could be exposed in one direction and the B roll in the reverse direction, avoiding any rewinding of stock in the dark, with its associated risks.

[…]

Conclusion

The benefits of this procedure are in both cost and the easily achieved control of contrast. The pricing of the service by a laboratory is similar to that of a fully graded colour print from a colour negative with an “A and B” surcharge.

As more investigation is carried out into the original dyes it seems that it may be possible to estimate the degree of fading that has occurred. This method provides the only mechanism for reproducing controlled colours.

Desmetcolor has drawbacks, not least because colour film is still used for the print. However the resulting image may be no less stable than the original dyes.

One aspect being investigated now is the Desmetcolor ability to produce the strong saturated colours of some of the dyes used in the early years of the cinema, but which have faded over the years. Already Noël Desmet reports success in reproducing the colour of vivid “fixed” Iron Blue as produced by Soho Images, using the original Eastman procedure of 1922.

However Soho Images reports that some saturated red and green dyes used for tinting and toning may not be accurately reproducible. This is not surprising – cyan magenta and yellow subtractive primaries are limited in the range of colours possible […].

Inevitably, due to these limitations of cyan, magenta and yellow as primaries not all hues and saturations are going to be possible, but certainly more of the saturated colours are possible by Desmetcolor than by any other colour print film technique.

Note

Dominic Case, Producing Tints and Tones in Monochrome Films Using Modern Color Techniques, “SMPTE Journal“, Vol 96, No. 2, Feb. 1987.”

(Desmet, Noël; Read, Paul (1998): The Desmetcolor Method for Restoring Tinted and Toned Films. In: Luciano Berriatúa, Manlio Brusatin, Noël Desmet, Enrico Fornaroli, Giovanna Fossati, Bertrand Lavedrine, Bob Mabberley, Nicola Mazzanti, Ruggero Pierantoni, Paul Read and Sonja Snoek: Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Edizione Diabasis, pp. 147–150.)

“Historiquement, ce qui distingue fondamentalement un virage d’un teintage, c’est la coloration des parties noires de l’image. Le virage a été utilisé très tôt dans le cinéma muet afin de colorer les copies positives nitrate. Ce procédé trouve ses origines dans la photographie au XIX^e siècle. On considère que la technique du virage fut utilisée pour la première fois par John Herschel en 1840 lorsqu’il produit la première photographie “cyanotype”, sur laquelle un ton bleu prussien remplace les ombres. Les sels d’halogénure d’argent font d’abord l’objet d’un blanchiment, processus durant lequel ils sont convertis en ferrocyanure d’argent. Un deuxième bain est ensuite nécessaire afin de remplacer ces sels blanchis par d’autres types de minerais. En général, on utilise le ferrocyanure de cuivre pour le sépia, autrement désigné ferrocyanure de potassium. Le ferrocyanure ferrique permet d’obtenir un bleu, autrement appelé bleu prussien. L’uranium permet de recréer le rouge et est utilisé pour la première fois en qualité de couleur par J.C. Burnett en 1859⁹. Le vanadium quant à lui, est employé pour sa capacité à reproduire un jaune vert¹⁰, la teinte a été découverte par Rodolfo Namias en 1901¹¹. Selon Joshua Yumibe, l’une des premières références au virage des films apparaît en 1899 dans une publication de Henry V. Hepwood intitulée Living Pictures¹², mais le premier film viré reste difficile à dater ou à identifier. Il va sans dire que ces procédures chimiques étaient hautement dangereuses et toxiques pour les ouvriers de laboratoire qui les manipulaient.

Le développement et le tirage des bandes pour les films virés

Jusqu’à présent, en l’absence de données concrètes sur la question, il a été difficile de comprendre la réelle incidence du tirage et du développement sur les films destinés à être virés. Dès le début des cahiers en 1906, Dubois confirme que l’application des coloris nécessite des tons contrastés: “Pour cela on emploiera la lumière juste suffisante et le procédé de développement lent”¹³. Le service du développement des positifs à Joinville a encore peu d’expérience, mais Dubois considère que même si, globalement, tout se passe bien, il y a encore beaucoup de difficultés à obtenir des rendus homogènes. Il cite notamment des négatifs des Tour du monde n° 4 et 11 envoyés par Vincennes et qui n’ont pu être sauvés, car trop ou pas assez “posés”. Un problème de manque de lumière a été constaté sur Steeple Chase (non identifié), Odyssée d’un paysan à la ville¹⁴ (Histoire d’un paysan, Charles Lucien Lépine, 1905) ou Pantalon (non identifié) et qui ont nécessité un temps de développement plus long, jusqu’à 15 minutes¹⁵. Certains passages anecdotiques sur l’homogénéisation du développement sont à noter: “J’ai fait interdire aux développeurs de modifier la composition de leur bain, ils ajoutaient à leur guise révélateur et eau de sorte que les bacs contenaient des bains ayant des compositions différentes (…) À l’avenir, le chef du développement seul aura autorité pour faire les modifications nécessaires”¹⁶. Concernant le tirage, les méthodes de 1906 impliquent encore un étalonnage à l’œil à même la tireuse, où la lumière se règle en centimètres (rapport de distance entre l’ampoule et la pellicule) et non pas en volts (ce que regrettent alors les chercheurs de Pathé). Afin de réduire les effets de brume sur les films et de gagner en netteté après le tirage, on ajoute dans les bains du bromure de potassium qui est un retardateur de développement couramment utilisé en photographie fixe.

Le lavage des bandes virées

Dès 1906, la question du lavage des éléments virés pose problème. On constate en effet que les films virés en bleu sont “couverts d’un léger précipit锹⁷, une forme de cristallisation. Cette situation oblige les ouvrières à essuyer les pellicules à la main, avec du coton, une fois que le positif est séché, ce qui occasionne “une main-d’œuvre exagérée”¹⁸. Dès lors, Dubois étudie la possibilité d’étudier un nettoyage mécanique de la bande. En 1908, une machine à essuyer les films coloriés est inventée afin d’éviter 1’étape du nettoyage manuel¹⁹. Cette machine contient des tampons imbibés d’alcool. Elle semble aussi servir pour le nettoyage des films à pochoirs [Fig. 3].

En outre, les dépôts d’hydrosulfite qui tachent les pellicules après le développement et forcent les ouvrières à nettoyer les copies au coton, entraînent un ajout de deux bains supplémentaires, composés d’acide azotique (ou acide nitrique). Une description précisant la procédure est dès lors notifiée: “1. Lavage à l’eau pendant 10 minutes; 2. Trempage de l’acide azotique 5 à 8 minutes; 3. Lavage à l’eau pendant 20 minutes; 4. Virage, 5. Lavage de 10 minutes, 6. Nouveau passage à l’acide azotique, 7. Lavage d’une demi-heure. Les résultats sont probants et abolissent le nettoyage a la main de l’hydrosulfite”²⁰.

⁹ Joseph Friedman, History of Color Photography, Boston, The American Publishing Company, 1945, pp. 304–309.

¹⁰ Paul Read, “Unnatural Colours: An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Movies Era”, Film History, n° 21, 2009, pp. 13–30, pp. 14–15.

¹¹ Rodolfo Namias, Eders’s Jahrbuch der photographie und reproduktions technik, 1901, p. 171, cité dans Joseph Friedman, op. cit., p. 307.

¹² Joshua Yumibe, Moving Color, Early film, Mass culture, Modernism, New Brunswick (New Jersey), Rutgers University Press, 2012, p. 100.

¹³ Reytinas, “Tirage et développement des films projetés en couleurs”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, livre de fabrication noº 1, association CECIL et Fondation Pathé, pp. 1–2.

¹⁴ Identifié sous le titre Histoire d’un paysan à Paris, n° 1282 dans Henri Bousquet, Catalogue Pathé des années 1896 à 1914, ressource numérique, http://filmographie.fondation-jeromeseydoux-pathe.com [date de la dernière consultation: novembre 2013].

¹⁵ Dubois, “Développement”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, 23 juin 1906, p. 8.

¹⁶ Ibid., p. 9.

¹⁷ Dubois, “Virage”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, 16 juin 1906, p. 6.

¹⁸ Ibid., p. 6.

¹⁹ Anonyme, “la Machine à essuyer les films coloriés”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, 1908, pp. 430–431.

²⁰ Dubois, “Virage”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, 23 Juin l906, pp. 10–11.”

(Ruivo, Céline (2013): Le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision. À propos d’une source pour l’histoire des recherches sur la couleur chez Pathé Frères entre 1906 et 1908. In: 1895. Revue d’Histoire du Cinéma, 71, pp. 47–60, on pp. 51–53.) (in French)

“Pour avoir une vision précise et aboutie des virages Pathé, il faut se référer au livre le Film vierge Pathé, manuel de tirage et de développement publié en 1926, dans lequel la compagnie propose un catalogue des différents types de virage. Cet ouvrage publié par Pathé, comprend de vrais photogrammes nitrate 35 mm dans ses dernières pages, qui permettent de retrouver des références précises pour les virages classiques bleu (n° 1), sépia (n° 5), rouge (n° 3). On y aperçoit un virage désigné “brun” qui se trouve en n° 2 (différent du sépia), ainsi qu’un virage n° 4 sans nom, qui ressemble à du vert. Or, le virage brun semble être propre à la firme Pathé.

Les mordants font leur apparition bien plus tard chez Pathé. Découverts par Roberto Namias en 1909²¹, ils consistent également en un blanchiment des sels d’argent dans une solution de ferrocyanure de potassium mais, à l’opposé du virage, on ne remplace pas les sels d’argent blanchis, le mordant étant un composant chimique qui permet à tout type colorant de s’accrocher aux sels blanchis²².

Les auteurs de ce livre rendent compte de façon régulière que les virages prennent du temps, demandent une manipulation complexe, et sont coûteux en raison des différents minerais nécessaires. Certaines cuves pour les bains de virage sont en plomb à l’ouverture du laboratoire, or, elles sont remplacées en 1906 par des cuves en bois qui ne modifient pas la consistance des bains, notamment ceux au vanadium. Ces bacs sont vernis au bitume, et permettent d’accroître la longévité des bains. La qualité de l’eau pure pour le lavage des positifs virés est importante pour la tonalité, et les châssis sur lesquels sont enroulés les films sont lavés soigneusement après le bain afin d’éviter toute contamination sur les prochains positifs à virer.

Le virage sépia

Les chercheurs souhaitent renforcer la densité de la couleur sépia dès 1906. Le positif est alors passé dans un bain de ferricyanure et de bromure de potassium, après avoir été blanchi par formation de bromure d’argent: “Si après le lavage, on passe dans un bain de sulfure alcalin, on obtient une image brun sépia sensiblement renforcée”²³. Toutefois, à plusieurs reprises leurs tests se dirigent vers ce qu’ils nomment l’urane, un oxyde d’uranium qui peut recréer le virage sépia mais qui ronge, selon eux, les demi-teintes. Autrement dit, l’urane fonctionne moins bien pour les moyennes lumières ou les gris de l’image, mais donne une coloration plus saturée. Le virage à l’urane pose des problèmes de voile puisqu’il ne cesse d’agir même durant le séchage de la pellicule après le bain de virage. Il est hautement réactif à la lumière.

Pourtant, le 31 octobre 1907, on évoque encore la mauvaise qualité des virages sépia. Un mélange d’auramine (une teinte jaune) et de fuchsine (teinte magenta) est alors testé. Enfin, le 14 juillet 1908, un rapport en provenance de Bound Brook semble donner une formule définitive du sépia: ferricyanure de potassium (800 GR), bromure de potassium (300 GR), acide muriatique (200 GR), eau (120 litres). Il est noté par ailleurs que la gamme des tons varie en augmentant ou en diminuant la proportion d’acide muriatique (autrement nommé acide chlorhydrique)²⁴.

Le virage brun

Le virage brun est abordé en 1906 dans le rapport d’un employé nommé Jaupitre qui décrit le procédé en ces termes: “On transforme d’abord l’argent en un dérivé halogéné, chlorure, bromure, ou iodure, que l’on transforme ensuite en sulfure en le trempant dans une solution de sulfure de sodium”²⁵. Concernant la transformation du dérivé halogéné, il semble que le bichromate de potassium (que nous évoquerons plus loin) ait été l’élément décisif pour la teinte brune-marron. Le bichromate de potassium se présente en cristaux orangés, inaltérables à l’air, solubles dans l’eau (8%), insolubles dans l’alcool, même dilué.

Le virage vert

Les chercheurs notent à plusieurs reprises la grande instabilité des bains au vanadium, qui semblent avoir une longévité réduite par rapport aux autres bains. Cette information a son importance dans la mesure où le virage vert est particulièrement rare sur les films Pathé conservés par les archives. Il se peut que sa production ait alors été freinée par la difficulté de conservation des bains ou par un coût plus élevé de fabrication. Pour le virage au vanadium, les châssis (sur lesquels les positifs sont enroulés) sont plongés dans des bains d’iode afin de renforcer le virage²⁶. Il semble que l’équipe du laboratoire cherche des alternatives au vanadium dès juillet 1906, notamment en remplaçant ce dernier par du cobalt, un élément utilisé depuis l’Antiquité pour colorer le verre en bleu intense. La nouvelle recette alors proposée est celle-ci: “eau (1000 GR), ferricyanure de potassium (60 GR), acétate de plomb (40 GR); on laisse le film dans le premier bain jusqu’à ce qu’il ait suffisamment blanchi; on lave longtemps à l’eau, on plonge ensuite dans une solution composée d’eau (100 gr.), de chlorure de cobalt (100 gr.) et d’acide chlorhydrique (30 gr.)”²⁷. Cette formule sans vanadium ne semble pas avoir été retenue, car le vert ne se voyait pas correctement à la projection. Le vanadium restera donc le composant nécessaire au virage vert.

Le virage bleu

Pathé modifie la formule du virage bleu le 29 octobre 1907 pour, semble-t-il, des raisons économiques: “Nous avons songé à modifier la formule en remplaçant l’oxalate ferrique par du perchlorure de fer, qui est à proportion égale, beaucoup moins coûteux”²⁸. L’oxalate ferrique est en effet utilisé depuis le XIX^e siècle pour le procédé photographique dit “calotype”, qui permet de modifier les tons du noir et blanc vers du marron châtain ou du violet selon le révélateur utilisé. La nouvelle formule semble satisfaisante, elle donne même “un beau bleu et des images plus transparentes”. Sa composition est la suivante: perchlorure de fer (200 GR), oxalate neutre de potasse (150 GR), acide citrique (300 GR), ferricyanure de potassium (300 GR) et eau (120 litres). Le procédé est en effet jusqu’à trois fois plus économique: “Chaque cuve revient à 5 francs et 30 centimes au lieu de 18 francs et 20 centimes, et pouvant faire 60 châssis”²⁹.

²¹ Rodolfo Namias, “The Conversion of Silver Images Into Those of Lead and Other Metals and the Use of the Compounds as Mordants for Obtaining Prints in Different Colours”, The British Journal of Photography, 3 septembre 1909, pp. 68–69. Ressource numérique en ligne: https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1217/, Barbara Flueckiger [date de la dernière consultation: 9 novembre 2013].

²² Paul Read, “Unnatural Colours: An Introduction to Colouring Techniques in Silent Movies Era”, Film History, vol. 21, 2009, pp. 9–46, pp. 14–15.

²³ Dubois, “Virage et renforcement”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, livre de fabrication noº 1, association CECIL et Fondation Pathé, 1907, p. 173.

²⁴ Roussel, “Formule de virage sépia”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1908, p. 500.

²⁵ Jaupitre, “Essais de virage en brun de la pellicule positive”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1906, p. 22.

²⁶ Clément Lair, “Virages métallisés, virage vert”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1907, p. 300.

²⁷ Jaupitre, “Virage en vert”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1906, p. 53.

²⁸ Zelger, “Nouveau bain de virage bleu”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1907, p. 315.

²⁹ Ibid.”

(Ruivo, Céline (2013): Le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision. À propos d’une source pour l’histoire des recherches sur la couleur chez Pathé Frères entre 1906 et 1908. In: 1895. Revue d’Histoire du Cinéma, 71, pp. 47–60, on pp. 54–56.) (in French)

“Les combinés teintage et virage

Le 28 juillet 1906, il semble que l’équipe réalise son premier combiné teintage et virage réussi sur le titre la Vie au Japon, les rapides de la rivière Ozu³⁰. Ainsi le virage sépia est associé à un teintage bleu. Dubois reconnaît qu’il est cependant difficile pour le combiné d’atteindre une régularité parfaite³¹.

³⁰ La Vie au Japon, les rapides de la rivière Ozu, film réalisé par André Legrand, production Pathé, 1906, n° 1493 (voir catalogue Bousquet).

³¹ Dubois, “Virage”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, livre de fabrication noº 1, association CECIL et Fondation Pathé, 1906, p. 52.”

(Ruivo, Céline (2013): Le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision. À propos d’une source pour l’histoire des recherches sur la couleur chez Pathé Frères entre 1906 et 1908. In: 1895. Revue d’Histoire du Cinéma, 71, pp. 47–60, on p. 56.) (in French)

“Le virage en toutes couleurs

Un extrait assez expérimental des cahiers aborde la question d’un “virage en toutes couleurs”, usant d’une pellicule bichrome. Clément Lair décrit un positif à deux émulsions. Celles-ci seraient appliquées sur les deux côtés du positif. Lair précise qu’il ne s’agit pas de sa propre invention puisqu’il reprend “un vieux procédé dit au charbon”³².

Le procédé au charbon implique la réactivité du chrome à la lumière. Le chimiste français Louis Nicolas Vauquelin remarque en 1798 que lorsque le chrome est mélangé à du nitrate d’argent, il génère une couleur rouge-violet une fois exposé à la lumière³³. C’est réellement Alphonse Poitevin qui découvre en 1855 le procédé au charbon. Il couche sur une feuille de papier un mélange de gélatine et de pigment issu de poudre de charbon, ainsi que du bichromate de potassium. Après séchage de l’émulsion, Poitevin expose à la lumière solaire cette feuille en contact avec un négatif, l’image étant ensuite révélée dans un bain d’eau chaude. Indépendamment, Thomas Pouncy redécouvre le procédé, sans connaître, dit-on, les recherches de Poitevin. Plus tard, en 1864, de réelles avancées dans la photographie au charbon furent présentées par Joseph Swan à la société photographique d’Edimbourg:

Dans ce type de tirage, le charbon ou toute autre forme de pigment coloré, est fixé par faction de la lumière passant à travers un négatif. La lumière se reflète donc par contact sur une surface composée de gélatine de pigment de charbon (ou autre pigment coloré). Cette surface est rendue sensible à la lumière grâce au bichromate de potassium ou au bichromate d’ammoniaque ou tout autre composant chimique ayant cette propriété photographique. Certaines portions de cette gélatine n’ont pas été exposées à la lumière de par l’opacité ou la semi-opacité des portions du négatif à certains endroits précis. Ce sont ces parties non exposées qui demeurent solubles sur l’émulsion de la reproduction et sont lavées dans l’eau chaude, tandis que les autres parties qui demeurent solides reproduisent le contenu, soit les formes de la photographie³⁴.

Une variante, avec de la gomme arabique en lieu et place de la gélatine, donnera plus tard le procédé de photographie à la gomme bichromatée. La photographie au charbon implique de multiples supports récepteurs par des techniques de transfert diverses: le papier, les plaques à lanternes magiques, le bois, la pierre, ou le métal. Des retouches au pinceau avec des encres de couleurs mélangées à de la gélatine chromée peuvent-être effectuées à même l’émulsion. La photographie au charbon a conservé son nom même si la poudre de charbon n’est plus nécessairement utilisée comme pigment pour le colorant. Dès la fin du XIX^e siècle, on combine le procédé au charbon au virage photographique. Des variantes comme l’ozotypie, la collotypie dans lesquelles l’émulsion absorbe des encres de couleur, virent le jour. Ives, Von Hüble ainsi que les frères Lumière ont proposé des photographies à trois couleurs, en reprenant les principes du procédé au charbon qu’ils ont modifiés. Des procédés trichromes à trois négatifs investissent la photographie et réutilisent du papier comprenant trois pigments – cyan, magenta et jaune – jusqu’à la moitié du XX^e siècle³⁵.

Pour en revenir aux recherches de Clément Lair à Joinville, celui-ci expose un concept de virages combinés, en usant de la gélatine bichromatée. Il souhaite effectuer un positif à double émulsion, avec d’un côté une émulsion au bromure d’argent, et de l’autre une feuille de gélatine pigmentée, comme dans le procédé au charbon: “Lorsqu’on voudra faire un virage combiné on prendra une bande sur laquelle on aura coulé deux gélatines de pigments différents”³⁶. La sensibilisation au bichromate s’effectue après le tirage. Lair qui souhaite breveter ce procédé (qui donnera des résultats constants) demande alors à l’usine Pathé située en Angleterre de créer cette émulsion qui économiserait selon lui l’utilisation de minerais coûteux pour les virages. Lair est relativement précurseur en la matière en 1908³⁷ [Fig. 4].

³² Clément Lair, “Nouveau procédé pour virage en toutes couleurs”, le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision, livre de fabrication noº 1, association CECIL et Fondation Pathé, 1908, pp. 383–385.

³³ Edward J. Wall, Carbon Printing, Londres, Hazel Watson & Viney, 1904, pp. 5–104, p. 5.

³⁴ Ibid., p. 17.

³⁵ Les photographies ayant une émulsion pigmentée sont d’ailleurs très stables en matière de conservation.

³⁶ Clément Lair, “Nouveau procédé pour virage en toutes couleurs”, le Livre de fabrication…, op. cit., 1908, pp. 383–385.

³⁷ Ibid.”

(Ruivo, Céline (2013): Le Livre de fabrication de la compagnie générale des phonographes cinématographes et appareils de précision. À propos d’une source pour l’histoire des recherches sur la couleur chez Pathé Frères entre 1906 et 1908. In: 1895. Revue d’Histoire du Cinéma, 71, pp. 47–60, on pp. 56–58.) (in French)

“Venons-en donc au problème de la teinture. Actuellement expérimentée avec des bons résultats par quelques archives, cette technique ne me paraît pas présenter de graves difficultés. Il ne s’agit pas d’une technique perdue, puisqu’elle a été utilisée industriellement jusqu’aux années cinquante et trouve aujourd’hui encore quelques applications. Nous connaissons toutes les anilines nécessaires pour teinter les films et nous pouvons les utiliser à loisir. Il est donc possible de se passer de ce support teinté qui n’est plus en fabrication et rien n’empêche de teinter le film en agissant sur la gélatine. Il faut toutefois faire attention au fait que la pellicule acétate présente une émulsion tout à fait différente de celle du nitrate, plus raide, moins imperméable et plus pauvre (ce qui est très important aussi pour le virage) en argent métallique. Cette émulsion donc, réagit naturellement d’une manière différente aux anilines. Mais c’est justement pour cela qu’il ne s’agit que d’expérimenter, de faire beaucoup d’essais, d’échantillons, jusqu’à ce que l’on trouve la bonne solution. La Cinémathèque de Prague, par exemple, est en train de restaurer des films italiens faisant partie de la série I sette peccati capitali, et a trouvé des solutions magnifiques, grâce à la compétence et à la patience de Mme Urgoshikova et de M. Opela.

La question du virage par contre est plus complexe, même si elle relève de problèmes du même ordre. Il s’agit là d’une technique encore une fois pas tout à fait perdue (on l’utilise encore pour la photo, pourtant bien différente de la pellicule, bien entendu). Si l’on prend en considération les trois genres de virage les plus employés parce que leur utilisation est encore la plus facile, c’est-à-dire la méthode dite par mordançage (dans ses deux formes, l’une qui utilise l’argent métallique comme réducteur, l’autre qui transforme l’argent métallique en un sel colore) et celle par sulfuration, nous pouvons constater que nous sommes parfaitement en mesure de les reproduire encore aujourd’hui à des prix convenables.

Il faut évidemment considérer toutes les variantes que présente la pellicule safety par rapport à celle inflammable, ce que j’ai souligné tout à l’heure à propos de la teinture. En outre, il faut faire attention: l’opération du virage étant en réalité plus complexe que celle de la teinture, il en résulte la nécessité d’une expérimentation plus attentive et organisée, ce qui signifie une charge plus lourde du point de vue du temps employé et des coûts, même si le résultat ne peut que nous satisfaire complètement. Car, en combinant la teinture et le virage, comme cela s’est vérifié pour la coloration d’une grande partie des pellicules qui nous sont parvenues, on obtient une couleur de film très proche de celle des films originaux. Voilà qui va rendre encore plus poignante la nostalgie de la couleur perdue, même si notre sentiment philologique peut s’apaiser dans la conscience que tout notre possible a été fait pour nous rapprocher du texte original.”

(Boarini, Vittorio (1992): La couleur dans le cinéma muet. Des techniques anciennes pour une restauration moderne. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 33–36, on pp. 34–36.) (in French)

“Hand coloured and stencilled prints have generally been preserved on colour internegative, but much of the tinted and toned material has not been preserved in colour. Most early coloured film is preserved in archives as black and white duplicate negatives and prints with just a written record of the colours. The image has good archival permanence but there is no visual record of the colours, either as faded by time, or as originally seen. Most archives carry out some colour reproductions for display purposes but all are prints on modern colour print stocks. The Nederlands Filmmusem has copied large amounts of coloured film using Eastman Colour Internegative Film, and the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgiques has used the Desmetcolor method for many years. Noël Desmet’s method is now used by several European laboratories including Soho Images.

The Lodger (1927) was restored by tinting and toning by Harold Brown at the National Film and Television Archive in 1984, and this was also the first film Soho Images restored by this technique. The original print had the clear blue images easily recognizable as Iron Blue. These seem to have darkened but were still more “transparent” than any Iron Blue we could produce until we used the “fixing” technique. Showing The Lodger has produced some startled reactions from normally staid archivists. The tradition of copying the colours of tinted and toned films as they are today, in their tired and faded state, may not have prepared us for the original unfaded dyes.

The methods that could be, or are being used, for colour restoration are:

Colour internegative

An Eastman Colour Internegative can be produced from the original coloured prints, using flashing to reduce the contrast if necessary. This film was originally designed for making internegatives from the 16mm low contrast reversal camera original film, Ektachrome Commercial. Some laboratories use a camera negative film for this purpose, as they are particularly successful in reproducing some rose pinks and pastel oranges.

The principal problem with this method even if the film stock was perfectly designed for this purpose is that the resulting print is a copy of the faded colours left on the original nitrate material.

Direct colour printing

Various printing techniques use the black and white duplicate negative printed onto colour film print stock. Desmetcolor (Noël Desmet, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique) is capable of excellent results and reproduces the visual effect of both tinting and toning over an enormous colour range. This method is capable of simulating complex tint and tone combinations, and the only limitation is probably the range of colour saturations available with subtractive primaries (see chapter in this same book). (Some laboratories simply print the black and white duplicate negative directly onto colour print stock and grade to a coloured image. This is a satisfactory simulation only of certain mordant dye tones, especially where the silver image has been “fixed” out).

The principal problem with this technique is that of deciding whether to copy the colour of the probably faded old print, or to create the colour of the original unfaded dye.

Digital restoration

Scanning of the image, either an original coloured print or a monochrome duplicate negative, to digital electronic signals and their manipulation to give a visual image that resembles an early tinted and/or toned result, followed by the transfer of the signal back to 35mm colour negative film in a film recorder. A colour print is then made from the negative. This has been tested but not used by an archive.

Tinting and toning a modern black and white print

If the dyes and chemistry are the same as originally used in the first three decades of this century the results should be closer to the original than any other method.

Original Coloured Image – Panchromatic B/W Negative – B/W Print

or Any Duplicate Negative – B/W Print

The final B/W print is then tinted or toned using original chemistry.

There has been some discussion, especially internally in Soho Images, as to whether a print for tinting and toning should be a special density or contrast for the tinting and toning procedure it will receive. Some literature especially for metallic toning does uggest thinner prints than normal but, in general, we have found that a good B/W print makes a good tinted or toned result.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157‒167, on pp. 160–161.)

“Starting points for restoration

– Tinted and toned original prints

– existing duplicate negatives made from tinted and toned original prints

– existing duplicate negatives made from black and white original prints,

– black and white prints already in existence.

We have not carried out any tinting and toning of existing prints as in 4.4 above. In this case a copy negative and print must be made or about two to four frames must be lost at each colour change. It may be possible in the future to cut out sections and rejoin them without loss if the print is on Estar.

Duplicate negative and print production

If an existing print on Estar (see below) is not available there is a choice as which route a laboratory should take to reach the positive cutting procedure.

A duplicate negative made from an original is made overlength at the colour changes by “pulling back” the nitrate original print in the printer to achieve a few frames extra. The advantage of this method is that the duplicate negative produced is in one length and can be printed on a production rotary contact printer in one pass. The disadvantage is the risk of damage to the original during the “pulling back”.

A duplicate negative is made in one pass and then printed with “pull backs” during the print production process. This makes the initial duplicate negative printing easier, especially if it is wet gate. It slows down the final printing.

A duplicate made in one pass can be used to make two reprints. This enables each colour section to be cut from alternating prints to achieve the overrun. This method is probably good for fast cut colour changes, and for occasions when time is short (and the client will pay for the extra print).

Processing

Tests were first carried out in dishes or beakers with short film lengths, moving on to a crude aerial film processor for 30m (the Doran Processor), a 1.7m 35mm spiral reel, culminating in production in a 30m spiral reel originally used for aerial reconnaissance film.

By the time we began to make reel length restorations we had made hundreds of test examples using a wide range of dyes and techniques and already discovered that there was considerably more to both tinting and toning than just following a 1925 recipe. Detailed records kept with the examples form a reference collection to refer back to to select, identify or research into the images produced.

Tinting is relatively straightforward, the depth of tone only dependant on solution concentrations, acid concentration, tint time, washing time, temperatures and agitation! Toning is a little more problematic.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157‒167, on p. 163.)

“Final assembly

After colouring the positive print is cut together using a tape or cement splice, or in the case of Estar based film, a welded butt join is possible which just fits in the inter-frame line at each colour change. Every print has to be produced in this way. The procedure has all the disadvantages that any film of that period had – it has numerous joins and the risk of a break, if the film is not on Estar base, is higher.

So called “eight perf” tape covers two frame completely, one on each side of the join and we have found that even the most experienced viewers are unaware of the tape.

The process is more labour intensive than almost any other laboratory technique.

Using duplicate negatives for other restoration

If a repeat restoration is never to be needed the over-run and pull-back frames can be removed to yield a normal duplicate negative (to print a black and white or a Desmetcolor print). Alternatively a normal black and white or Desmetcolor print can be made from the duplicate negative by direct printing, and the extra frames cut out of the resulting print.

If the print is on Estar base and welded butt joins used there will be no increased risk of film breaks.

Future plans

Every process can be improved and we look forward to the following research and development.

Increasing the dye range

Continuing searches for more references, dyes and formulae have lead to a considerable increase in the range of dyes available to us. The discovery of an English version of two editions the Agfa manual in the hands of a private English collector gave us new formulae especally for metallic tones, and the Agfa copper tone is a very successful procedure. On the other hand some of the Agfa blue and green metallic tones have not been successful at all.

“Sepias” and warm browns

The search for more workable “warm brown” or sepia tone images still continues, although these are common in the literature, they are not common in the films themselves, and we have not researched this group of effects as much as we would like. This area is confused by the range of colour of the developed silver image alone during the early years of this century, and by the colour of film base. The developing agents used today for black and white processing are usually a mixture of Hydroquinone and Metol (variously also called Elon and Genol) or less commonly Hydroquinone and Phenidone. Both, in conjunction with the modern silver bromide emulsions, produce a good neutral grey image.

Old silver print images vary but most are “browner” than the images of today and while some of this may be due to time or some retained oxidised developer products, probably most is due to the different formulations of developer. Many more developing agents were in use but the earliest manufacturer’s formulae for print film usually consisted of Hydroquinone alone, and our tests on modern film stocks show that these formulae produce “warm brown-black” images similar to many old prints. (The warmer projection arc light would have added to the overall warm appearence).

Pastel tints

We have also identified a wide range of apparent base colours or emulsion tints that are almost subliminal on a lightbox and virtually unseen on projection. These too may add to the overall “warmer” image colour. We were introduced to this by Noël Desmet of the Royale Cinémathèque de Belgique. There is no doubt of their existence, and the colours range from yellow to pink and sometimes green.

A few explainations for these faint tints are:

– that the original tint dyes have faded so much that the effect on projection has been lost

– that they represent the last film processed in a progressively weak batch process and are therefore laboratory errors

– that the base nitrate material has discoloured in time (this seems to be accepted by some technicians)

– that the effect was intentionally almost subliminal (it is known that general colour fatigue can accentuate a colour change effect at a scene change).

None of the original papers of the period mention these pale tints.

Process control

We have established a process monitoring system. No such system ever existed in the past, as far as we know, but as modern laboratory technicians we felt vulnerable without knowing how variable our results are. We now use a standard LAD print on black and white film stock, measure the density of the LAD step to Status A and plot the values as a trilinear display. Also without measurement we were unable to extend our investigation to the following.

Identifying faded dyes

Our moves to develop a technique to identify of the original dye and process have been moderately successful, to the extend that we can measure the original archive film and try to match it to a tested recipe or dye. With tints this works reasonably well to the extent that we can state if a dye matches the original. The major problem exists with metallic tones which are the most unstable of dyes, and for this a table is needed defining the fading characteristics.

So far all we can say with confidence is:

Non-destructive testing is insufficient to identify many of these tones, although it does become possible to recognize certain effects. Simple destructive testing is mostly impractical or inconclusive although quite easy because of the relatively large amounts of film needed to be certain (about 2-5 frames of 35mm for conventional inorganic “group analysis”) and because some mordant tone processes in which the main dye was an organic “basic” dye, used uranium or copper ferocyanides as the mordant!

Fade testing

We would like to have investigated the effects of fading by time, temperature or projection lamps on the dyes and metal salts directly, but this has not been possible. Very little literature is available on the fading of the dyes we are interested in – there is a lot of literature on the fading of modern printing ink or felt tip pen dyes.

The logical investigation that is still available to us is to reproduce the original recipes that are found in the sample books and compare them with the old samples.

This was how the simple table was devised for metallic tones above, but there is a great deal more information waiting to be discovered from this procedure. Using modern film may alter the colour produced but not much since old uncoloured nitrate film seems to produce the same effect as modern film, at least for Orange G, Iron Blue tone and Croceine. We did find that Agfa film processed at Haghefilm in the Nederlands produced a lower density of colour than Kodak film processed at Soho Images but increasing the dye concentration resolved that.

Better aims for Desmetcolor

A major result of this investigation is that we are also more confident with the Desmetcolor system since we now have a much better concept of the colour of the original dye. Already the dazzling vision of recently prepared Iron Blue has stimulated tests by Noël Desmet of the Cinémathèque Royale in Brussells to show that the colour can be reproduced on modern colour film. The Desmetcolor process will always be less costly than restoration by the original tinting and toning, and will clearly be used for much routine work.

However we are now almost certain that some of the red dyes (eg Croceine and Amaranth and maybe greens such as Malachite) are outside the saturation achievable by mixing cyan, magenta and yellow in a subtractive colour print film.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157‒167, on pp. 164–166.)

“LA BEAUTÉ DU DIABLE

Quelques notes éparses et provisoires sur la couleur dans le cinéma du second temps¹

Eric de Kuyper

Il faut se méfier de la signification littérale que l’on attribue traditionnellement au virage. Il est vrai que dans les films où le virage est le plus intensivement pratiqué (les années dix), une scène de forêt est souvent verte, un incendie presque toujours rouge, un extérieur ocre ou orange, un intérieur sépia ou marron, et une nuit bleue. C’est loin d’être toujours le cas et je me base ici sur notre collection de la Nederlands Filmmuseum qui a la chance de posséder plusieurs centaines de films uniques de cette époque, tous – à une exception près – dans des copies teintées (positives, bien entendu) et avec intertitres d’époque.

Si ce vocabulaire chromatique était aussi simpliste, cela correspondrait bien à l’image standard que nous nous faisons encore toujours de ce cinéma “naïf”. En fait l’usage chromatique est, d’un côté, beaucoup plus arbitraire parfois (comme si l’on s’était dit: “ici il faudrait un peu de couleur!”), d’un autre côté beaucoup plus subtil. Et même: toutes les nuits ne sont pas toujours bleues! Dans un film, La Traîtresse (Die Verraeterin), le personnage de Mata-Hari que joue Asta Nielsen, délivre son amant de la prison. La scène se passe de nuit, et, en effet, le virage est bleu. Mais lorsque les deux amants s’échappent de la prison, se trouvent dans la cour intérieure, et enfin courent à travers les champs, nous avons un jaune resplendissant, bien que la scène d’extérieur soit supposée se passer en continuité de la scène d’intérieur que nous venons de voir: donc toujours de nuit. Ici, il est évident que la couleur joue dans un tout autre registre que la simple (et simpliste) indication du jour, de l’heure… La couleur fait plus que dénoter, elle exprime un au-delà.

A nos yeux, cette dimension expressive est encore facile à appréhender et reste du domaine du “symbolique” un peu simpliste. Il y a cependant d’autres usages, et ils sont sans doute plus fréquents que l’on ne croit, où la couleur semble “moduler” ou bien “ponctuer” le flot narratif.

Très souvent un changement de couleur, semble, en effet, faire office d’accentuation. Un changement de lieu, par exemple n’est pas interrompu par un intertitre quelconque – “pendant ce temps-là, le mari et la petite fille s’inquiètent du sort de la mère” – , mais indiqué seulement par un brusque changement de couleur. (Je pense ici à une scène du film de Max Mack Zweimal Gelebt, où la transition brutale entre l’hôpital dans lequel se meurt la mère et le domicile du mari, fait l’économie d’un intertitre, mais est néanmoins très claire et même très prégnante au niveau dramatique par le changement brusque de la couleur.)

Dans une même scène de L’Atlantide de Feyder – en fait, dans le même plan – , une modulation de la teinte a des effets nettement psychologiques. Il en ressort, et c’est l’expérience que j’ai pour ma part maintes fois faite lors de mon travail dans nos archives, que le même film (la même version) vu en noir et blanc précédemment semblait beaucoup plus opaque au niveau narratif que cette même version du même film, mais cette fois en couleur. C’est que jouent une poétique et une esthétique de la couleur. […]

Certains films semblent prendre une toute autre dimension de par l’addition de la couleur. On se dit: “Ce n’est pas vrai, ce n’est pas possible, ce n’est qu’une légère touche décorative qui s’ajoute ici. Ce n’est pas possible que ce vernis puisse tellement changer mon appréciation d’un film.” Et pourtant, c’est souvent le cas. C’est ce que j’ai par exemple expérimenté d’une façon assez spectaculaire en voyant L’Atlantide de Feyder, en couleur. Car non seulement l’aspect superficiellement esthétique change, la narrativisation semble être mieux structurée, mais encore, s’y ajoute comme une autre “rythmique”, un autre “souffle” qui s’instaure. Comme si – et là j’avance une hypothèse qui vaudrait me semble-t-il la peine d’être étudiée en profondeur – la couleur jouait en quelque sorte (mais d’une autre manière, et c’est là la difficulté) le rôle du montage. Une articulation et une modulation très proche de la musique (qui on le sait accompagnait tous ces films), ayant des affinités avec ce qui se fera ultérieurement au moyen du montage, mais aussi avec des divergences très nettes de ce montage cinématographique que nous connaissons.

Pour moi il est devenu évident qu’une évaluation esthétique des films de cette époque ne peut plus se faire sur une copie de film en noir et blanc. Et que, par conséquent, il y a à réécrire mais surtout à redécouvrir le cinéma de cette grande époque méconnue.

¹ A défaut d’une autre dénomination, j’appellerai le cinéma des années dix, le cinéma des “seconds temps”, par analogie avec les débuts du cinéma que nous n’appelons plus primitifs, mais des “premiers temps”. Cependant le saut entre le premier temps et la grande période du muet – les années vingt –, saut que l’on considère trop souvent comme une “transition”, me semble dès lors aussi erroné.”

(De Kuyper, Eric (1992): La beauté du diable. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 29–31.) (in French)

L’Atlantide/Queen of Atlantis (FRA/BEL 1921, Jacques Feyder)

“Dans une même scène de L’Atlantide de Feyder – en fait, dans le même plan – , une modulation de la teinte a des effets nettement psychologiques. Il en ressort, et c’est l’expérience que j’ai pour ma part maintes fois faite lors de mon travail dans nos archives, que le même film (la même version) vu en noir et blanc précédemment semblait beaucoup plus opaque au niveau narratif que cette même version du même film, mais cette fois en couleur. C’est que jouent une poétique et une esthétique de la couleur. […]

C’est ce que j’ai par exemple expérimenté d’une façon assez spectaculaire en voyant L’Atlantide de Feyder, en couleur. Car non seulement l’aspect superficiellement esthétique change, la narrativisation semble être mieux structurée, mais encore, s’y ajoute comme une autre “rythmique”, un autre “souffle” qui s’instaure. Comme si – et là j’avance une hypothèse qui vaudrait me semble-t-il la peine d’être étudiée en profondeur – la couleur jouait en quelque sorte (mais d’une autre manière, et c’est là la difficulté) le rôle du montage. Une articulation et une modulation très proche de la musique (qui on le sait accompagnait tous ces films), ayant des affinités avec ce qui se fera ultérieurement au moyen du montage, mais aussi avec des divergences très nettes de ce montage cinématographique que nous connaissons.”

(De Kuyper, Eric (1992): La beauté du diable. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 29–31, on pp. 30–31.) (in French)

Die Verräterin (GER 1911, Urban Gad)

“Si ce vocabulaire chromatique était aussi simpliste, cela correspondrait bien à l’image standard que nous nous faisons encore toujours de ce cinéma “naïf”. En fait l’usage chromatique est, d’un côté, beaucoup plus arbitraire parfois (comme si l’on s’était dit: “ici il faudrait un peu de couleur!”), d’un autre côté beaucoup plus subtil. Et même: toutes les nuits ne sont pas toujours bleues! Dans un film, La Traîtresse (Die Verraeterin), le personnage de Mata-Hari que joue Asta Nielsen, délivre son amant de la prison. La scène se passe de nuit, et, en effet, le virage est bleu. Mais lorsque les deux amants s’échappent de la prison, se trouvent dans la cour intérieure, et enfin courent à travers les champs, nous avons un jaune resplendissant, bien que la scène d’extérieur soit supposée se passer en continuité de la scène d’intérieur que nous venons de voir: donc toujours de nuit. Ici, il est évident que la couleur joue dans un tout autre registre que la simple (et simpliste) indication du jour, de l’heure… La couleur fait plus que dénoter, elle exprime un au-delà.”

(De Kuyper, Eric (1992): La beauté du diable. In: Michel Ciment (ed.): Ciné mémoire. Colloque international d’information (7-9 octobre 1991). Paris: Femis, pp. 29–31, on p. 30.) (in French)

“Giovanna Fossati is head curator of EYE Film Institute Netherlands (2009–) and lecturer on the MA Presentation and Preservation of the Moving Image at the University of Amsterdam. She holds a PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Utrecht. Previous posts include curator of the Netherlands Filmmuseum (2004–9).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fossati, Giovanna, ‘Multiple Originals: The (Digital) Restoration and Exhibition of Early Films’, in André Gaudreault, Nicolas Dulac and Santiago Hidalgo (eds), A Companion to Early Cinema (Maiden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012), pp. 550–67.

Fossati, Giovanna, From Grain to Pixel: The Archival Life of Film in Transition (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, [2009] 2011).

Fossati, Giovanna, ‘On the Role of AMIA in Reshaping the Field of the Moving Image’, Moving Image vol. 11 no. 1, 2011, pp. 155–8.

Fossati, Giovanna, ‘YouTube as a Mirror Maze’, in Pelle Snickars and Patrick Vonderau (eds), The YouTube Reader (Stockholm: National Library of Sweden, 2009) pp. 458–64.

Fossati, Giovanna, ‘When Cinema Was Coloured’, in Luciano Berriatua (ed.), All the Colours of the World: Colours in Early Mass Media 1900-1930 (Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, 1998) pp. 121–32.

Fossati, Giovanna, ‘Coloured Images Today: How to Live with Simulated Colours (and Be Happy)’, in Nico de Klerk and Daan Hertogs (eds), Disorderly Order: Colours in Silent Film (Amsterdam: Nederlands Filmmuseum, 1996), pp. 83–9.

Fossati, Giovanna, Marente Bloemheuvel and Jaap Guldemond (eds), Found Footage: Cinema Exposed (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2012).

Fossati, Giovanna and Nanna Verhoeff, ‘Beyond Distribution: Some Thoughts on the Future of Archival Films’, in Frank Kessler and Nanna Verhoeff (eds), Networks of Entertainment: Early Film Distribution 1895-1915 (Eastleigh: John Libbey Publishing, 2007), pp. 331–9.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

DATE OF INTERVIEW: 15 SEPTEMBER 2010

INTERVIEWER: LIZ WATKINS

LIZ WATKINS: So how did you first become interested in film restoration?

GIOVANNA FOSSATI: Of course, now I have my own little story! I don’t know if it’s true any more but it’s the film I play in my head when I think about how I ended up here. Well, you know, in Bologna they’ve been organising for many years the festival Il Cinema Ritrovato and as a student, I was attending screenings, including those by the Nederlands Filmmuseum, which at the time were presented by Peter Delpeut. He was the deputy director at the Filmmuseum and I was very much impressed by the way he talked about archival film and by his creative approach to it. The work at the Filmmuseum at the time was very much about revisiting the collection, preserving and restoring on the one hand, but also creating new films, and colour was a focus in their work. Peter is also a film director and he made found-footage films such as Lyrical Nitrate (1990) and Forbidden Quest (1993). The latter film was presented at II Cinema Ritrovato in 1994, when I was still a student in Bologna.

LW: Lyrical Nitrate of course seems to raise particular questions about the archive and the film image in decay.

GF: Yes, all the material was coming from the archive. Peter Delpeut spent a lot of time in the archive looking at nitrate films. These films inspired his work, both as a film archivist and as a filmmaker. Lyrical Nitrate really inspired me at the time, as well as the work that the Filmmuseum was doing with Bits & Pieces [1990–].¹ I don’t know if you are familiar with that.

LW: Like film fragments?

GF: It’s unidentified film fragments. The whole idea predates Peter Delpeut and was introduced by his predecessor as deputy director, Eric de Kuyper, who started Bits & Pieces, a project to collect unidentified nitrate film fragments, without a title.² Traditional film history is mainly made of film titles and at the time, there was no place for such undefined fragments. This was a time way before the ‘orphan film’ concept.³ Bits & Pieces offers a practical solution for all the bits and pieces of nitrate films that we find interesting and beautiful, but we cannot restore as a complete film because we only have two minutes, for example, of a beautiful red-tinted fire or a waterfall, and we really don’t know where this footage belongs.

For creating these reels of bits and pieces, there were a few rules, a Dogma manifesto for the film archivists if you will: one reel, twenty minutes of bits and pieces edited together, no longer than a few minutes each. Starting with Bits & Pieces number one, we are now at over 500. These reels are restored and projected as such. Now that the Bits & Pieces reels have been digitised, we can also re-edit the fragments showing them in a different order.

LW: I understand the importance of asking questions and his stance on film, but the links between digital [digitisation] and access are important. Sometimes public access seems to reach only the tip of the iceberg, because the archives themselves haven’t had the time or resources to catalogue the full extent of their holdings.

GF: It’s true.

LW: Do you find that some of the shorter films, such as experimental works and those testing technical innovations remain unseen in the archive? I mean those films that were considered less economically significant, but contributed to the development of a new technology? For example, tests for a new colour process?⁴

GF: I don’t know if we have any example of that in the Bits & Pieces. We do have some colour tests in the collection. For example, we have the film The Coronation Procession of George VI (1937) made with a colour system called Francita (Opticolor), which I think is pretty much similar to a three-colour additive system like the Gaumont Chronochrome.⁵ We tested for the restoration of the Francita system and ended up with a restoration with similar problems as they had at the time that the film was originally made: colours that did not perfectly overlap and heavy flickering.

LW: Is it the characteristic of that system you’re restoring? Or is image content the focus?

GF: It’s an interesting aspect to consider because, if you are respecting the film as an original artefact, then you do want to preserve the original ‘problems’ of the colour system. They are inherent characteristics of that film and are also some of the reasons why a system like the Francita was never a commercial success – because it had problems! So, from the perspective of ‘film as original’, the ‘problems’ are also part of what you want to preserve. Only why focus only on that aspect if, especially with digital technology, we are now in the position of solving those inherent technical problems and see the film without the headache-making flickering of colours? I think that ideally one wants to preserve the film as it was shown because that is inherent to the history of that film.⁶ On the other hand, if I can put myself in a position to appreciate also other aspects by looking at it without getting a headache – why not create a second version without the flickering?

LW: Yes, there is that question as to whether you’re preserving a record of the process and the technology or facilitating access to more viable image content. There are so many variables. Some archives are working with the caveat of an impossibility of recreating the moment in which the film was first experienced at the cinema. Whilst others are concerned with an estimation of how a particular colour process deteriorates. Both of which are concepts troubled by a hypothesis around an inaccessible source – a screening or prior condition – that can only be estimated and not directly accessed.

GF: That’s true. I really think that archivists tend to think that we all work with a shared code of ethics. I find this a very tricky idea, because, first of all, ethics change. I actually don’t think we all share a single code of ethics at all. That’s not because we disagree that film archives are responsible for preserving our film heritage but because the way we preserve it depends on our framework of reference, and, in the end, on our own perspective and vision of what film is. For instance, at the Nederlands Filmmuseum in the past twenty years, and at EYE now, the focus has always been on showing films. So, if we go back to the seminal argument between Henri Langlois and Ernest Lindgren in the 1950s, the dispute over showing versus preserving, the question that arises is: is archival film the object kept in a can in the archive’s vault or is it the film shown to an audience in a theatre?⁷ It is a complex matter also on a practical level because preserving sometimes has different or competing interests than presenting. Also from an economical standpoint, the choice can be tricky: if you spend more money for preserving, you might end up with less for presenting.

For some archives it’s very different because their only task is to preserve. For us and many institutes like us, it is a kind of compromise. It is less about the film object and more about the presentation set-up, including projection technology and live music. So it has always been much more than only the object of the film as it is kept in the can. Throughout the years we have experimented a lot with showing archival footage to a contemporary audience.

One question I address in my work and that has been central in the discussion with many of my fellow film archivists in the past fifteen years is whether digital brings with it an ontological schism, whether digital is film, or something different? And what is film then?⁸ It’s a very interesting discussion that, again, leads to polarisation: on the one hand, film as the material artefact, the photographic film; on the other hand, film as a much broader concept that includes digital film. My take is that film has never been a definite concept. It is a transitional idea and, if you look at the film as purely a photographic process on celluloid, then you are looking at just an aspect of it and at a tiny bit of film history.

LW: So a question of whether the film material is actually integral to its textual operations? And what remains to be seen through digital access as offering a kind of hybrid image?

GF: Yes, it’s really the idea of pure film and colour. If you look at archival practice until the 1980s, early colour films were duplicated and preserved in black and white. If you look at how we know some of the most popular silent films – think of Chaplin, think of German Expressionism – we used to know them as black-and-white films. Now, when we see Nosferatu (1922) in a restored tinted version we might be surprised by the colours because this film has been known for a long stretch of time, and we’re talking about decades, as black and white.⁹ The auteur approach to film has also influenced the fact that archives have neglected early colour techniques for many years. Early colour techniques were something considered as added post-production, and therefore outside of the control of the filmmaker, rather a later interpretation that the filmmaker wouldn’t have wanted. In fact, we don’t know for sure as some filmmakers wanted control of the colours as well. In fact, auteur cinema is a later concept that did not give form to early (and part of silent) cinema.

LW: What kind of documentation would the EYE Film Institute Netherlands keep of film restorations? If you create a new film object that’s a hybrid of different processes, do you document the work that produced it?

GF: This is open to interpretation at this point because we have this big project, Images for the Future, where we have six restorers working full time on approximately twenty restorations a month. It is a seven-year project, 2007 to 2014, probably the biggest project ever on preservation/restoration, digitisation and access of the film heritage and television heritage.¹⁰ Partners in the project are EYE, the National Archive and the Institute for Sound and Vision. It is not going to be the restoration or digitisation of our entire collection because we have approximately 37,000 titles in the collection but, by the end of this project, we’ll have 5,000 hours of film preserved, restored, digitised and available online. So it’s huge.

Paolo Cherchi Usai mentioned Images for the Future as an example of how film archival practice is going more and more toward digitisation for access during his speech at the Orphan Symposium 2010. I think that he actually did not realise that preservation is an essential aspect of this project. One great thing about Images for the Future is that we won a dispute with the funding entities that you cannot digitise if you have not properly preserved the film. So, every single thing that is digitised is also preserved. In most cases, we are also making film projection copies, because digital projection is not yet widespread enough to ensure that these films can be shown everywhere. So Images for the Future is really unique because it serves at the same time the purposes of preservation, restoration and access.¹¹

LW: A question that occurs here is whether you adopt a standardised process if you’re preserving and restoring twenty films a month, or whether you adapt it to the condition and characteristics of each film?

GF: That’s the huge difference between the work that we are doing as opposed to archives where the image content is considered more important than the visual qualities of the image. We’re always looking at the film and deciding based on the material available how to proceed with the restoration. For example, with the experimental films in the collection we have a completely different approach than with more commercial feature films. With experimental films, we do our best to work very closely with the filmmaker, trying to understand how the films were made. We have so many experiments in colour, and the colour technique is not always easy to identify and fully comprehend. Sometimes the filmmaker tried something out in his or her kitchen and we don’t know how they did it. We need to talk to them and try to understand and, if possible, recreate what they did as closely as possible.

LW: Do you consult the laboratories that processed the initial releases?

GF: Well, yes. In the Netherlands it’s easy, or difficult, depending on how you look at it, because now there is only one film laboratory – that’s Cineco, and Haghefilm is the preservation department of Cineco. All other labs are gone so we cannot go back to the original lab, but most people who used to work in different labs in the Netherlands ended up working for this one lab.

LW: Okay, there are implications, but it could also mean that a pool of different approaches is drawn together in one lab? Haghefilm are analysing the chemical composition of film to discern elements that can give an indication of the faded colours of tinting and toning – is that an exceptional practice?

GF: I think that is something Haghefilm does now because of Uli Rüdel working there, who has a very different background from many other laboratory technicians.¹² He holds a PhD in Chemistry and has a more scientific approach to the work than other technicians, who focus more on the everyday processes, rather than researching the chemistry of the original process. In practice we need both, we need to understand the colour as it was, but we also need to recreate something that is presentable today.

LW: I wonder whether the visual characteristics of different film materials can be considered to be part of the film text? It seems sometimes that restoration projects are maybe caught in the dilemma of producing something new, yet which retains some fading or scratches so that it still looks old for the audience of an archival film.

GF: This is very interesting and very tricky at the same time, because audiences are changing. The restorations that we did five years ago are now really under-restored. It’s a mixture of what we [the archive] would accept and what the audiences would accept. If I look at a silent film I can accept the signs of time on it. I look through them and I see the film. But if I’m looking at Casablanca (1942) or a studio film as a spectator, I get really disturbed by a badly scratched vintage print. There are different expectations – there is something in my film education and approach to film that will make me much less tolerant for imperfections when I’m looking at Hollywood film.

LW: I guess that in those situations the film was expected to have a shorter life as an ephemeral medium and commodity, but then other films got caught up in the idea of documentation which seems to lie in the image content, but that’s just one aspect of history and film. There’s technology too.

GF: But there is a process of selection everywhere. In ten years from now the policy will have changed, but there are always films that we are not restoring today which might become very interesting in ten years from now, so let us hope that in ten years they will still be there!

LW: Yes. And thank you!

NOTES

¹ Bits & Pieces is a project that was initiated by Eric de Kuyper in 1990. The project is ongoing and in 2012 Bits & Pieces 610–33 was edited by Mark-Paul Meyer, who is a senior curator at EYE, Amsterdam.

² Mark-Paul Meyer, ‘From the Archive and Other Contexts’, in Marente Bloemheuvel, Giovanna Fossati and Jaap Guldemond (eds), Found Footage: Cinema Exposed (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press), pp. 145–52; Peter Delpeut, ‘An Unexpected Reception: Lyrical Nitrate between Film History and Art’, in Bloemheuvel et al., pp. 217–24.

³ Paolo Cherchi Usai, ‘Are All (Analog) Films “Orphans”? A Predigital Appraisal’, Moving Image vol. 9 no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–18.

⁴ For example, a film such as the external filming using Gasparcolor in Colour on the Thames (1935).

⁵ Adrian Cornwell-Clyne, ‘Additive Processes’, Colour Cinematography (London: Chapman and Hall, 1951), pp. 280–1.

⁶ Snowden Becker, ‘See and Save, Balancing Access and Preservation for Ephemeral Moving Images’, Spectator vol. 21 no.1, 2007, pp. 21–8, refers to FIAF’s advocacy of to preserve is to show, linking these two dimensions of film archiving together.

⁷ Henri Langlois (1914–77) was co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française and FIAF; Ernest Lindgren (1910–73) was head curator of the BFI National Film Library (1935–73). See Ruth Beale, ‘Lindgren and Langlois: The Archive Paradox’, in The Cubitt Artists’ Event Series Public Knowledge, www.ruthbeale.net/images/Lindgren_Langlois.pdf, accessed April 2012. This includes reprints of correspondence between Ernest Lindgren and Henri Langlois.

⁸ Tom Gunning, ‘Moving away from the Index: Cinema and the Impression of Reality’, Differences vol. 18 no. 1, 2006, pp. 30–52; Mary Ann Doane, ‘The Indexical and the Concept of Medium Specificity’, Differences vol. 18 no.1, 2006, pp. 128–52.

⁹ Penelope Houston, ‘Definitive Versions’, in Keepers of the Frame: The Film Archives (London: BFI, 1994), pp. 126–41.

¹⁰ Images for the Future, http://imagesforthefuture.com/en/, accessed March 2012. This is a seven-year project to increase access to Dutch audiovisual heritage. The project began in 2007 and is funded by FES (Fund for the Reinforcement of Economic Structure). It includes three Dutch archives (EYE in Amsterdam, Sound and Vision in Hilversum, the National Archive in The Hague) and Knowledgeland.

¹¹ In 2011, the Dutch government cut about 30 per cent of the Images for the Future budget. As a consequence EYE had to close down the project activities two years ahead of schedule with only 70 per cent of targets realised and the premature loss of valuable project collaborators.

¹² Since this interview Rüdel has taken up a post as conservation technology manager at the BFI NFTVA (2012 – current at the time of publication).”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Interview. Giovanna Fossati. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): British Colour Cinema. Practices and Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 228–235, on pp. 229–235.)

“Für den Rekonstrukteur von Nosferatu (Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Deutschland 1922), Enno Patalas, ergaben sich dabei aber handfeste praktische Probleme: Keine neue Farbfassung kann Authentizität beanspruchen – aber die schwarzweißen schließlich auch nicht. Rechtfertigen mag die willkürliche Entscheidung für eine, zumal zurückhaltende Einfärbung die zeitgenössische Praxis, einzelne Kopien eines Films verschieden zu färben. Es gab keinen verbindlichen Code (Patalas 1984, 312).

Vorstellungen von jenem vagen Code, nach dem illusionistische Farbgebung vorgenommen werden konnte, vermittelt Patalas an anderer Stelle:

Klar: Nosferatu muß ein Farbfilm gewesen sein […]. Erstens waren es wohl fast alle deutschen Filme zu der Zeit, zweitens braucht der Nosferatu die Farbe, wenigstens das Blau für Nacht. […] Nachtbilder, die auch im Dunkeln aufgenommen wurden, mit künstlichen Lichtquellen im Bild […], waren sicher gelb gefärbt. Die Tagesbilder stelle ich mir sepia angetont vor, die Seestücke blau, die Naturbilder grün. Dämmerungsbilder wurden damals gern rosa gefärbt, habe ich gelesen, ich glaube in Urban Gads Buch (ebd.).

In der nun fertigen Endfassung der rekonstruierten Farbkopie von Murnaus Nosferatu erschöpft sich Patalas’ Dramaturgie-Entscheidung letztlich in der Wahl von Blau für Nachtszenen und Rot für Szenen in von offenem Feuer erhellten Innenräumen; der Rest des Films ist in Schwarz-Weiß belassen. Gerade in diesem Film kommt natürlich vor allen den Nachtszenen eine besondere Bedeutung zu (nämlich die, daß der Vampir nur bei Nacht existieren kann und die Konfrontation mit Sonnenlicht ihm den Tod bringt), so daß es wirklich wichtig war, sie eindeutig von Szenen im Tageslicht abzusondern – zumal sie natürlich auch im Tageslicht gedreht sind. Jede über dieses wichtige inhaltliche Detail hinausgehende Viragierung hätte letztlich nur Verschönerungscharakter gehabt und vermutlich die Philologen erschüttert, da man keine Farbwahl hätte mit Bestimmtheit als authentisch verteidigen können.

Die illusionistische Farbgebung war auf einem Niveau konventionalisiert, das dem Techniker im Kopierwerk doch ziemlich freie Hand beim Einfärben der Szenen ließ. Solch monumentale Eckpfeiler des Reglements wie Blau = “Nacht” und Rot = “Feuer” gab es nur extrem wenige, vor allem, wenn man sich vergegenwärtigt, wie gewaltig die zur Verfügung stehende Farbpalette war. In diesem Zusammenhang überaus aufschlußreich ist die von Elfriede Ledig und Gerhard Ullmann zusammengestellte große Tabelle mit den einsatzfähigen Farben und ihren “denotativen” und “konnotativen” Bedeutungen, wie es die Autoren in Anlehnung an Umberto Eco nennen (bei uns fallen die “Konnotationen” unter Punkt 5: Symbolische Farbgebung, nach der Peirce entlehnten Terminologie; vgl. Ledig/Ullmann 1988, 108–109).

In Anbetracht der einander oftmals widersprechenden Quellen, der relativen Willkür, die beim Einfärben der Kopien in den Kopierwerken stattfand, kann es kaum sinnvoll sein, tabellarische Auflistungen der ungefähren Codes der illusionistischen Farbgebung beweisen oder widerlegen zu wollen. Auffassungen, beispielsweise Seestücke seien Blau viragiert (oder getont) gewesen, stehen solche gegenüber, die meinen, dieselben seien Grün viragiert (oder getont) gewesen. Ledig setzt in ihrer Tabelle Seestücke unter Blaugrün (ebd.). Primär kann man sich wohl darauf einigen, daß
unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Realitätsnähe eingefärbt wurde; somit sind Szenen mit blauem Wasser oder grünem Wasser (was es in der Alltagserfahrung ja auch gibt) kein Widerspruch, liegen doch beide auf derselben Seite des Spektrums und des allgemeinen Realitätsempfindens. Immerhin darf dabei nicht vergessen werden, wo die Viragierung von Filmstücken vorgenommen wurde und von wem: Von Technikern im Kopierwerk, die gewiß Richtlinien von Seiten der Regisseure hatten, aber vermutlich nie einen hundertprozentig ausgearbeiteten Virageplan (jedenfalls gibt es diesbezüglich keinerlei Hinweise, in Drehbüchern sind geplante Viragierungen fast grundsätzlich nicht vermerkt).

Literaturverzeichnis

Ledig, Elfriede & Ulimann, Gerhard (1988) Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm. In: Ledig, Elfriede (Hrsg.): Der Stummfilm. Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion. München: Schaudig, Bauer, Ledig, 89–116. (Diskurs Film. 2.).

Patalas, Enno (1984) Unterwegs zu Nosferatu. Brief an Lotte H. Eisner. In: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin / Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (Hgg.): Dokumentation zu den 34. Internationalen Filmfestspielen 1984. Berlin, 308–313.”

(Traber, Bodo (1995): Dramaturgische Funktionen monochromer Farbgebung im Stummfilm. In: Karl-Dietmar Möller-Nass Möller-Nass, Hasko Schneider and Hans J. Wulff (eds.): 1. Film- und Fernsehwissenschaftliches Kolloquium. Münster: MAkS, pp. 30–36, on pp. 33–34.) (in German)

The Son of the Sheik (USA 1926, George Fitzmaurice)

“2.2 Die zeitbezogene Farbgebung (indexikalisch)

Die zeitbezogene Farbgebung entspricht genau jener dramaturgischen Kennzeichnung, die bei Körkarlen nicht angewendet wurde, zumindest nicht in erster Linie: Sie dient zur Markierung verschiedener Zeitebenen in Sequenzen mit – womöglich auch verschachtelten – Rückblenden. Zweck ist natürlich auch hier die Kontrastierung zeitlich unterschiedlicher Szenen. Eine feste farbliche Indikation einer Zeitebene fand meist nicht statt; sollte es also im Verlauf des Films zu einer weiteren Rückblende auf dieselbe Zeitebene, eventuell sogar auf dasselbe Ereignis kommen, so muß diese keineswegs wiederum in derselben Farbe präsentiert werden wie beim ersten Mal. Im Endeffekt bedeutet dies, daß die zeitbezogene Farbgebung zwar die gleiche indexikalische Struktur wie die ortsbezogene aufweist, sich jedoch nicht an ein Reglement – auch kein selbstgestecktes – halten muß. Der Wiedererkennungseffekt, der für die ortsbezogene Farbgebung von so großer Wichtigkeit war, hat für die zeitbezogene nur geringe Bedeutung. Für sie ausschlaggebend ist allein der Kontrast von den umgebenden Zeitebenen, der sich zuweilen im Nebeneffekt doch noch einstellt:

[…]

Nachweisbar ist eine echte zeitbezogene Farbgebung beispielsweise bei The Son of the Sheik (George Fitzmaurice, USA 1926):

ROT getont:

In ihrem Zelt sitzt Yasmin, die Tänzerin – Heldin des Films. Eben wurde die Figur eingeführt, die Rückblende beginnt mit einem erläuternden Zwischentitel:

“A few days ago – in the market-place of Touggourt blossomed Yasmin’s first romance”

– womit die nachfolgende Rückblende zeitlich (A few days ago) und räumlich (In the market-place of Touggourt) genau festgelegt und als nicht identisch mit der vorherrschenden Szene (Zelt, Abend) markiert ist.

Es folgt eine Großaufnahme von Yasmins verzückt ins Leere starrendem Gesicht, visueller Index für die Tatsache, daß sie sich an etwas erinnert. In einer Überblendung nimmt Ahmeds Gesicht Formen an, bis allein sein Gesicht das Bild ausfüllt. Farbwechsel in derselben Einstellung:

SEPIA angetont (das klassische “Beinahe-Schwarz-Weiß”, wie es für Tageslichtszenen üblich war):

Noch immer Großaufnahme von Ahmed, dann Schnitt auf eine Halbtotale des Marktplatzes von Touggourt, wo Yasmin tanzt, von Ahmed beobachtet.

Es folgt nun die Szene ihrer ersten Begegnung, das schon im einführenden Zwischentitel erwähnte “Aufblühen der ersten Romanze”, endend mit der Vereinbarung einer Verabredung und einer comic-relief-Einlage, als Ahmed vergnügt zusieht, wie zwei Gauner sein Pferd stehlen wollen, aber wiederholt abgeworfen werden.

In der letzten Einstellung der Rückblende – wiederum einer Halbtotalen – reitet Ahmed unter einem Torbogen hindurch davon. Mit dem darauffolgenden Schnitt erfolgt der neue Farbwechsel:

ROT getont:

Großaufnahme der noch immer verzückt ins Nichts starrenden Yasmin. Sie zuckt kurz zusammen, sieht dann beschämt zu Boden und streicht sich das Haar glatt. Der abrupte Rückfall in manuelle Geschäftigkeit zeigt an, daß sie geistig wieder im “Hier & Jetzt” ist.

[…]

2.4 Die illusionistische Farbgebung (ikonisch)

Die einzige Art der Farbgebung mit ikonischer Struktur erweist sich bei der Untersuchung ihrer Kodifizierungen als äußerst kompliziert. Der wesentliche Unterschied zu den drei vorgestellten Arten mit indexikalischer Struktur liegt darin begründet, daß für die illusionistische Farbgebung nicht die Kontrastierung mit anderen im Szenenkontext stehenden Farben ausschlaggebend ist, sondern der vorliegende Farbeinsatz einen ganz bestimmten Farbton fordert.

Die Definition ist noch relativ einfach: Die illusionistische Farbgebung diente zur Darstellung realistischer Lichtverhältnisse am Schauplatz oder von Naturfarben des Schauplatzes (Wald, Wüste, Wasser). Sie unterlag einem einigermaßen festen allgemein konventionalisierten Reglement.

Für Helmut Regel in seinem Aufsatz über die Caligari-Rekonstruktion war dies anscheinend der ursprünglichste und am einfachsten verständliche Sinn von Viragierung:

Die Viragierung diente als ein Gestaltungsmittel, mit dem sich die Stimmungswerte von Schwarz-Weiß-Szenen verstärken ließen; Feuerstellen und Brände erschienen also folgerichtig in Rottönen, Nachtszenen in Blau oder Blaugrün, Schlafzimmer und Boudoir der Dame in Rosé (Regel 1985, 8).

Für den Rekonstrukteur von Nosferatu (Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Deutschland 1922), Enno Patalas, ergaben sich dabei aber handfeste praktische Probleme: Keine neue Farbfassung kann Authentizität beanspruchen – aber die schwarzweißen schließlich auch nicht. Rechtfertigen mag die willkürliche Entscheidung für eine, zumal zurückhaltende Einfärbung die zeitgenössische Praxis, einzelne Kopien eines Films verschieden zu färben. Es gab keinen verbindlichen Code (Patalas 1984, 312).

[…]

Die illusionistische Farbgebung war auf einem Niveau konventionalisiert, das dem Techniker im Kopierwerk doch ziemlich freie Hand beim Einfärben der Szenen ließ. Solch monumentale Eckpfeiler des Reglements wie Blau = “Nacht” und Rot = “Feuer” gab es nur extrem wenige, vor allem, wenn man sich vergegenwärtigt, wie gewaltig die zur Verfügung stehende Farbpalette war. In diesem Zusammenhang überaus aufschlußreich ist die von Elfriede Ledig und Gerhard Ullmann zusammengestellte große Tabelle mit den einsatzfähigen Farben und ihren “denotativen” und “konnotativen” Bedeutungen, wie es die Autoren in Anlehnung an Umberto Eco nennen (bei uns fallen die “Konnotationen” unter Punkt 5: Symbolische Farbgebung, nach der Peirce entlehnten Terminologie; vgl. Ledig/Ullmann 1988, 108–109).

In Anbetracht der einander oftmals widersprechenden Quellen, der relativen Willkür, die beim Einfärben der Kopien in den Kopierwerken stattfand, kann es kaum sinnvoll sein, tabellarische Auflistungen der ungefähren Codes der illusionistischen Farbgebung beweisen oder widerlegen zu wollen. Auffassungen, beispielsweise Seestücke seien Blau viragiert (oder getont) gewesen, stehen solche gegenüber, die meinen, dieselben seien Grün viragiert (oder getont) gewesen. Ledig setzt in ihrer Tabelle Seestücke unter Blaugrün (ebd.). Primär kann man sich wohl darauf einigen, daß unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Realitätsnähe eingefärbt wurde; somit sind Szenen mit blauem Wasser oder grünem Wasser (was es in der Alltagserfahrung ja auch gibt) kein Widerspruch, liegen doch beide auf derselben Seite des Spektrums und des allgemeinen Realitätsempfindens. Immerhin darf dabei nicht vergessen werden, wo die Viragierung von Filmstücken vorgenommen wurde und von wem: Von Technikern im Kopierwerk, die gewiß Richtlinien von Seiten der Regisseure hatten, aber vermutlich nie einen hundertprozentig ausgearbeiteten Virageplan (jedenfalls gibt es diesbezüglich keinerlei Hinweise, in Drehbüchern sind geplante Viragierungen fast grundsätzlich nicht vermerkt).

Eine interessante Variation im Rahmen illusionistischer Farbgebung ist auch die Nachahmung von Beleuchtungsänderungen innerhalb derselben Szene mit Hilfe der Viragierung. Ein schönes Beispiel hierfür findet sich wiederum in The Son of the Sheik: In der letzten Kampfszene im “Café Maure”, als Ahmed die Tänzerin Yasmin aus den Händen der Banditen befreit und es dabei, nachdem auch noch sein Vater mit seinen Mannen zur Unterstützung herbeieilt, zu einem handfesten Kampfgetümmel kommt:

GRÜN (die schummrige Atmosphäre des Cafés):

Amerikanische: Ahmed – auf einer Galerie stehend – läuft zur hinter ihm befindlichen Wand und reißt eine Petroleumlampe aus ihrer Halterung, kommt damit zum vorderen Geländer zurück. Schnitt. Totale: Von der Galerie, die sich jetzt links oben befindet, wirft Ahmed die Lampe in den Bildmittelgrund. Als sie zerschellt, bricht Feuer aus.

Farbwechsel in derselben Einstellung.

ROT:

Die Banditen weichen den Feuerstellen des ausgelaufenen Petroleums aus. / Halbtotale: Die Banditen greifen Ahmed, der noch immer oben auf der Galerie steht, an.

Tatsächlich ist dieses Beispiel noch in anderer Hinsicht interessant, da sich als Begründung für den Farbumschlag noch eine zusätzliche Dimension ergibt, neben derjenigen, dem Zuschauer die Illusion realistischer Beleuchtungswiedergabe vermitteln zu wollen: Ebenso wie es auch später im Monumentalfilm noch gang und gäbe war, wildes Kampfgetümmel vor brennender Kulisse zu inszenieren, um auch dort zuweilen zu nahezu monochromen Kampfbildern zu kommen, hat auch hier im viragierten Film das (durch das Feuer erklärte) Rot zusätzlich die Aufgabe, die innere Dramatik der Szene zu symbolisieren und für den Zuschauer auch emotional erfaßbar zu machen.

2.5 Die symbolische Farbgebung

Die letzte und abstrakteste Ebene möglicher Zeichenstrukturen monochromer Farbgebung ist nach wie vor die am schwierigsten interpretierbare, auch weil nur selten zweifelsfrei nachweisbar. Die symbolische Farbgebung diente zur Verstärkung und Hervorhebung bildimpliziter Stimmungen oder zur Verdeutlichung vorherrschender Emotionen seitens der Figuren. Tendenziell bestand auch die Möglichkeit ihres Einsatzes zur Kommentierung derselben. Auch sie unterlag einem festen allgemein konventionalisierten Reglement, doch muß unterstellt werden, daß auch hier die Codes nie so weit entwickelt worden sind, daß man heute einer ganz bestimmten Farbe eine bestimmte symbolische Bedeutung zuweisen könnte. Das Klischee von den Rosarot eingefärbten Liebesszenen hält sich in manchen Historikerkreisen immer noch; wie manch andere kitschige Entgleisung hat es das im Stummfilm mit Sicherheit auch gegeben, doch eine allgemeine Regel Rosarot = “Liebe” daraus ableiten zu wollen, wäre in höchstem Maße fatal und ärgerlich. Ledig setzt in ihrer erwähnten Bedeutungstabelle “Rosa (hellrot)” mit den Konnotationen “Schönheit, Eleganz, Romantik, Liebe, Freude” gleich (Ledig/Ulimann 1988, 108).

Wie problematisch es bereits ist, diese “Konnotationen” in Übereinstimmung mit der tatsächlichen Verwendung mancher Farben unter dem Gesichtspunkt symbolischer Farbgebung zu bringen, zeigt etwa Ledigs Beispiel Rot: “Panik, Leidenschaft, Wahnsinn, Genialität” (ebd.) setzt sie hier als Konnotationen. So korrekt dies auch ist, sowenig kann hiermit die Verwendung der Farbe Rot – wie im Fall der vorliegenden Szene von The Son of the Sheik – als Mittel der Spannungsdramaturgie mit seinerseits den – sozusagen auf der nächsttieferen Ebene – wieder zugehörigen Konnotationen “Dramatik, Action, Thrill” erfaßt werden. Fast drängt sich der Verdacht auf, die Philologen vermuteten hinter den Bedeutungen symbolischer Farbgebung gleich solche von metaphorischer Dimension.

[…]

Wie dargelegt, hat das Rot in der besprochenen Szene von The Son of the Sheik zwei Funktionen:

(1) Als illusionistische Farbgebung die Anwesenheit von Feuer zu zeigen und die dabei vorherrschende Beleuchtung nachzuahmen.

(2) Als symbolische Farbgebung die implizite Dramatik der auf dem Bild ablaufenden Handlung zu verdeutlichen.

Literaturverzeichnis

Ledig, Elfriede & Ulimann, Gerhard (1988) Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm. In: Ledig, Elfriede (Hrsg.): Der Stummfilm. Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion. München: Schaudig, Bauer, Ledig, 89–116. (Diskurs Film. 2.).

Patalas, Enno (1984) Unterwegs zu Nosferatu. Brief an Lotte H. Eisner. In: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin / Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek (Hgg.): Dokumentation zu den 34. Internationalen Filmfestspielen 1984. Berlin, 308–313.

Regel, Helmut (1985) Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari in Farbe – Zur Rekonstruktion durch das Bundesarchiv. In: Fischer, Robert (Hrsg.): Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Stuttgart: Fischer, Kress, Wiedleroither, 8–13. (FOCUS-Filmtexte).”

(Traber, Bodo (1995): Dramaturgische Funktionen monochromer Farbgebung im Stummfilm. In: Karl-Dietmar Möller-Nass Möller-Nass, Hasko Schneider and Hans J. Wulff (eds.): 1. Film- und Fernsehwissenschaftliches Kolloquium. Münster: MAkS, pp. 30–36, on p. 32–35.) (in German)

Napoléon (FRA 1926, Abel Gance)

“2.5 Die symbolische Farbgebung

Die letzte und abstrakteste Ebene möglicher Zeichenstrukturen monochromer Farbgebung ist nach wie vor die am schwierigsten interpretierbare, auch weil nur selten zweifelsfrei nachweisbar. Die symbolische Farbgebung diente zur Verstärkung und Hervorhebung bildimpliziter Stimmungen oder zur Verdeutlichung vorherrschender Emotionen seitens der Figuren. Tendenziell bestand auch die Möglichkeit ihres Einsatzes zur Kommentierung derselben. Auch sie unterlag einem festen allgemein konventionalisierten Reglement, doch muß unterstellt werden, daß auch hier die Codes nie so weit entwickelt worden sind, daß man heute einer ganz bestimmten Farbe eine bestimmte symbolische Bedeutung zuweisen könnte. Das Klischee von den Rosarot eingefärbten Liebesszenen hält sich in manchen Historikerkreisen immer noch; wie manch andere kitschige Entgleisung hat es das im Stummfilm mit Sicherheit auch gegeben, doch eine allgemeine Regel Rosarot = “Liebe” daraus ableiten zu wollen, wäre in höchstem Maße fatal und ärgerlich. Ledig setzt in ihrer erwähnten Bedeutungstabelle “Rosa (hellrot)” mit den Konnotationen “Schönheit, Eleganz, Romantik, Liebe, Freude” gleich (Ledig/Ulimann 1988, 108).

[…]

Trotz aller Kritik: Die symbolische Farbgebung im engeren Sinne gab es selbstverständlich auch, will man nur als berühmtestes Beispiel Gances Napoléon (Abel Gance, Frankreich 1926) heranziehen, wo in den letzten Metern Film die drei Leinwände der Polyvision jede in einer anderen Farbe viragiert sind: Die linke Blau, die mittlere verbleibt Weiß, die rechte ist Rot, so daß das Bild eine gigantische Trikolore darstellt, die gegenüber den auf dem Bild ablaufenden Kampfhandlungen Patriotismus symbolisiert – mit allen Konnotationen.

Literaturverzeichnis

Ledig, Elfriede & Ulimann, Gerhard (1988) Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm. In: Ledig, Elfriede (Hrsg.): Der Stummfilm. Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion. München: Schaudig, Bauer, Ledig, 89–116. (Diskurs Film. 2.).”

(Traber, Bodo (1995): Dramaturgische Funktionen monochromer Farbgebung im Stummfilm. In: Karl-Dietmar Möller-Nass Möller-Nass, Hasko Schneider and Hans J. Wulff (eds.): 1. Film- und Fernsehwissenschaftliches Kolloquium. Münster: MAkS, pp. 30–36, on p. 35.) (in German)

“Dr Paolo Cherchi Usai is senior curator of the Motion Picture Department at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, and director of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, which he established in 1996. He is also curator emeritus of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) since 2010 and resident curator of the Telluride Film Festival. Cherchi Usai was the founder of the Haghefilm Foundation, which he directed until 2011, and is a founding member (1982) of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. He previously worked as director of the NFSA (2004–8) and as a curator at George Eastman House (1994–2004).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘The Demise of Digital (Print #1)’, Film Quarterly vol. 56 no. 3, 2006, p. 3.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘An Epiphany of Nitrate’, in Roger Smither and Catherine A. Surowiec (eds), This Film Is Dangerous: A Celebration of Nitrate Film (Brussels: FIAF, 2002) pp. 128–31.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘The Legend of the Earth Vault’, in Smither and Surowiec, This Film
Is Dangerous, pp. 541–4.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, The Death of Cinema: History, Cultural Memory and the Digital Dark Age (London: BFI, 2001).

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, Silent Cinema: An Introduction (London: BFI, 2000).

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘Film Preservation and Film Scholarship’, Film History vol. 7 no. 3, 1995, pp. 243–4.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘The Color of Nitrate’, Image Magazine vol 34 nos. 1-2, 1991, pp. 29–38.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, ‘Archive of Babel’, Sight and Sound vol 59 Winter 1989/1990, pp. 48–50.

Williams, Linda, ‘Passio-Review’, Film History vol. 60 no. 3, 2007, pp. 16–18.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

DATE OF INTERVIEW: 13 SEPTEMBER 2010

INTERVIEWER: LIZ WATKINS

LIZ WATKINS: There are instances in which technical records, such as those detailing the adjustments made in colour grading, have been kept by the person undertaking the restoration and that have been a point of reference for subsequent restorations of the same film.

PAOLO CHERCHI USAI: There is objective information that can be kept, but then there is also the subjective expertise that resides with the person. When a preservation element is created, the archive will then take good care of it. This opens another can of worms about the correct fashion of repeating a preservation of a given film a number of times; sometimes you lose track of how many times it has been done, but you redo a preservation because you always think you can do better. This is happening with titles like Visconti’s The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963) and Metropolis (1927).¹

LW: And The Red Shoes?

PCU: Yes, but the case of The Red Shoes is again different in the sense that there are, to my knowledge, two main sources for this film.² I do not recall if and how the two sources were combined in the versions of the film that were available earlier; if they were not, then it is a good idea to do it.

LW: For restoration projects, some archives work towards the viewing experience of the initial screening of the film; so a point which is subject to interpretation. This resonates with questions surrounding the perception of colour and fading. How would you estimate what colour a film might have been when there are multiple film elements that the restoration could utilise?

PCU: Most viewers don’t have the elements necessary to judge. When a viewer is told that the colour of The Red Shoes looks better than it did in the last preservation and they have no way to evaluate this, then as consumers they take it at face value.

LW: Thinking about different prints of the ‘same’ film, would it be okay if I asked you about Passio (2007)?³ You’ve described it as a film version of The Death of Cinema.⁴ There are seven prints, each of which is hand-coloured to a different design and the negative, as a source element, has been removed or destroyed.⁵ Do you consider this practice a way of foregrounding the dilemmas film archives are faced with?

PCU: It was my way of highlighting certain issues, of presenting a case where you have a film, making seven copies, the negative has been destroyed and even if the negative had not been destroyed no other print will be hand-coloured in the same way. The prints can be duplicated, but if they are, this will probably not be coloured by hand and the experience of these films and of these duplicates will differ. So as each film and its potential duplicate are different, then each viewing experience will be different; each film will mean something slightly different, depending on which print you view.

LW: I read that you had put them in different archives: if each film is unique, do they immediately get held for preservation and take on the status of master print? Archival practice around master prints would make them inaccessible.⁶ Have the films been screened since? Do you keep track of them?

PCU: The prints can and should indeed be screened! Some archives have received a print of the film; one of them was acquired by Martin Scorsese for his personal collection. As a matter of contractual agreement, the prints are not to be reproduced or duplicated in digital or analogue form.

LW: Right, but that they can’t be duplicated made me wonder about the status that conferred on them?

PCU: What the archives want to do with the prints is their decision.

LW: You’ve set them a dilemma!

PCU: The prints are all different and under archival rules they would be considered masters. But they are and they are not. They are master copies because they are unique, and they are not masters because the prints are meant to be screened. That is part of the experiment in a way.

LW: So, it’s about the effects of deterioration and what is desirable in a print after ‘to preserve, to show’?⁷

PCU: It all boils down to the question, ‘Do you want the moving image to bear the traces of history?’ If you say ‘yes’, then you have to accept the consequences, which means accepting the fact that the film will begin showing the effects of time. If you say ‘no’, then you will be aiming at a perfect image, which is fine, but you will be denying the image the right to have a history. I call it the right to have a history, because I do not see why we should give this right to other forms of human expressions and not to the moving image. I have a feeling that my problem with what we call restoration is that it seems a way to deny the materiality of the work. The challenge of preserving film as the object of an event called ‘projection’ is not much different from preserving the object where the digital image is stored. I am not satisfied by the answer ‘just migrate’ [film to another medium]: that’s no solution. It is only a way of postponing the problem. It is still duplication and the issue is that it is presumed to give you an identical copy, but the question of materiality has not disappeared. Nothing is new. My book The Death of Cinema came out in 2001, but there was a book called The Death of Film that came out around 1927. There is a book here in my library that is also around 1927 called The Crisis of the Film, now film is in a crisis?⁸ Film has always been in a state of ‘crisis’ since it was born.

NOTES

¹ A Brilliant Evening: Restoration of Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard‘, Film Foundation, 2010, http://www.film-foundation.Org/common/11004/aboutNewsStory.cfm?QID= 7593&ClientID=11004&TopicID=0&sid=1&ssid=3, accessed May 2012. Refers to different restorations of The Leopard undertaken in Italy, then by Criterion and then by the Film Foundation (US). Metropolis was restored by Giorgio Moroder in 1984. Sections of Metropolis on 16mm film stock were identified at the Buenos Aires Museo Cine in 2008, leading to a further restoration released in 2010.

² Robert Gitt, The Red Shoes – Preservation Booklet (Film Foundation, 2009), p. 7, http://www.film-foundation.org/common/news/articles/detail.cfm?Classification=news&QID=6654&ClientID=11004&BrowseFlag=1&Keyword=&StartRow=1&TopicID= 0&Subsection=&ThisPage=0, accessed April 2012. The Eastmancolor print produced by Paul de Burgh at the Rank Film Labs for the BFI restoration in the 1980s was a point of reference for this restoration. It also referred to three-strip Technicolor transfer prints, nitrate and acetate protection master copies and the original Technicolor negatives.

³ Linda Williams, ‘Passio – Review’, Film Quarterly vol. 60 no. 3, 2007, pp. 16–18.

⁴ Paolo Cherchi Usai, The Death of Cinema (London: BFI, 2001).

⁵ Ruby, violet, indigo, magenta, vermillion, gold.

⁶ Ernest Lindgren, ‘The Work of the National Film Library’, read to the British Kinematograph Society, 1 November 1944; Paul Read, ‘Film Archive Is on the Threshold of Digital Era: Technical Issues from the EU FIRST Project’, Journal of Film Preservation, December 2004, pp. 32–45.

⁷ Snowden Becker, ‘See and Save, Balancing Access and Preservation for Ephemeral Moving Images’, Spectator vol. 21 no. 1, 2007, pp. 21–8 refers to FIAF’s advocacy of ‘to preserve, to show’.

⁸ John Gould, The Crisis of the Film, 2nd edn (Seattle: University of Washington Book Store, 1929).”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Interview. Paolo Cherchi Usai. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): British Colour Cinema. Practices and Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 208–218, on pp. 215–218.)

The Phantom of the Opera (USA 1925, Rupert Julian)

“2. Die dramaturgischen Funktionen

2.1 Die ortsbezogene Farbgebung (indexikalisch)

Eine der elementarsten Aufgaben der Viragierung ist die Indikation der Handlungsorte. Helmut Regel versteht diese Art der Färbung in seinem Aufsatz über “Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari in Farbe” als “dramaturgische Verständnishüfe”; er schreibt:

Das Springen der Handlung zwischen verschiedenen Schauplätzen, zum Beispiel zwischen einem Arbeitszimmer des Hausherrn in Sepia und einem Salon des Hausfreundes in Gelborange, war wegen der unterschiedlichen Viragierung leichter nachvollziehbar (Regel 1985, 8).

Als Ortsindikator diente die Farbe zur Markierung bestimmter Schauplätze in Sequenzen mit häufigem Wechsel zwischen gleichbleibenden Szenerien. Der primäre Zweck war also die Kontrastierung der Schauplätze durch Farbe; zugleich wurde die jeweilige Örtlichkeit mit der einmal definierten Ortsfarbe wiedererkennbar gemacht.

Unbedingte Voraussetzung für diese Art dramaturgischer Farbgebung war jedoch, daß sie beibehalten werden mußte; zumindest solange, wie es im Kontext der Sequenz wichtig war, daß der Wiedererkennungseffekt beim Wechsel auf einen bereits eingeführten Schauplatz garantiert blieb.

In The Phantom of the Opera (Rupert Julian & Edward Sedgewick, USA 1925) beispielsweise dient Violett als Standardfarbe für die Innenräume des Opernhauses (für die Bühne und die Kulissen, den Zuschauersaal und das Foyer) und wird damit zur meist verwendeten Farbe der ersten Filmhälfte. In ortsbezogenen Kontrast gesetzt ist sie hier mit Gelb, in welches die Szenen im Büro der Direktion der Oper, in und vor der Garderobe der Sängerin Christine Daaé sowie zwei kurze Einschöbe, die im Haus ihres Geliebten Raoul bzw. im Büro des Polizeipräfekten spielen, getaucht sind.

Weiterhin manifestiert sich ein ortsbezogener Kontrast zu Blau, der Standardfarbe für “Nacht”, mit der in diesem Film – in dem es so gut wie keine Szenen gibt, die bei Tag spielen – das “Außen” versinnbildlicht und in Gegensatz zum “Innen” (Violett, Gelb) im Opernhaus oder – in der zweiten Filmhälfte – (Grün) in den Katakomben gesetzt wird.

Am Beginn der zweiten Hälfte, wo zum erstenmal seit den Credits wieder Blau erscheint, ist dies eindeutig zu sehen:

BLAU: Auf dem Dach der Oper, Nacht.

(Raoul und Christine, die sich in Sicherheit gebracht zu haben glauben, besprechen Fluchtpläne, werden aber vom Phantom belauscht.)

VIOLETT: Foyer, Gänge in der Oper.

(Raoul und Christine tauchen in der tanzenden Menge unter, nachdem ihnen der Polizist Ledoux einen ungefährlichen Weg gezeigt hat. Das Phantom rauscht als Roter Tod kostümiert einen Gang entlang und läßt einen der Anwesenden erschrocken in Ohnmacht sinken.)

Die offensichtliche farbige Ortsbestimmung korrespondiert in beiden Szenen mit einer eröffnenden Totalen, einerseits auf das Dach der Oper, von dem aus man den Blick über Paris erahnen kann, andererseits auf das große Foyer, in dem sich zahllose Tanzende bewegen; ein alter Kunstgriff der Montage, um dem Zuschauer eine Orientierung innerhalb bzw. überhaupt eine Identifizierung des Schauplatzes zu ermöglichen. In diesem Fall also geht die gängige Assoziation (und nichtsdestotrotz weiterhin immanente Bedeutung) der Farbe Blau als “Nacht” über in die Bedeutung “Außen”. Tatsächlich gibt es in The Phantom of the Opera nur eine Tageslichtszene im Freien; nämlich als am Tag nach der “Kronleuchterkatastrophe” auf der Straße die Zeitung verkauft wird, die darüber berichtet. Interessanterweise ist diese kurze Szene in Gelb gehalten, das bisher nur “neutralen” Innenräumen vorbehalten war. Inwieweit in diesem Zusammenhang der Farbe Blau der zeitliche Gegensatz in Form des “Tag – Nacht” zugunsten des räumlichen Verhältnisses von “Innen – Außen” zurückgetreten ist, verdeutlicht noch einmal, wie wichtig zuweilen die Ortsbestimmung ist, daß sie gegenüber der Zeitebenenbestimmung beispielsweise (s. Punkt 2,2) Vorrang hat.

[…]

2.3 Die personenbezogene Farbgebung (indexikalisch)

Die letzte noch verbleibende Möglichkeit der Farbgebung mit indexikalischer Struktur, die Zuordnung einer bestimmten Farbe zu einer bestimmten Filmfigur im Sinne eines Leitmotivs, ist ein relativ selten nachzuweisender Fall. Als Musterbeispiel hierfür kann jedoch wiederum The Phantom of the Opera gelten, in welchem sich diese Vorgehensweise sehr auffällig manifestiert.

In der ersten Hälfte des Films, die sich – wie bereits erwähnt – im Hinblick auf die Strategien des Farbeinsatzes völlig von der zweiten Hälfte unterscheidet, ist Grün die Leitfarbe des Phantoms. (In der zweiten wird Grün zur ortsbezogenen Farbe der Katakomben, dann auch eingesetzt, wenn das Phantom selbst nicht im Bild erscheint; ebenso sind dann – am Ende des Films – die Nachtszenen auf der Straße trotz der Anwesenheit des Phantoms in Blau.)

Während der ersten beiden Akte des Films besteht die Viragierung fast auschließlich aus Violett und Gelb, einzige Ausnahme ist das Blau der Credits und der allerersten Szene. Nach beinahe zwanzig Minuten Film kommt es zum ersten Auftritt des Phantoms und zur erstmaligen Verwendung der Farbe Grün:

Als erstes Grün erscheint ein erläuternder Zwischentitel:

“From hidden places beyond the walls a melodious voice, like the voice of an angel, spoke to her.”

Die nachfolgende Einstellung zeigt den Schemen des Phantoms als Schatten an einer Wand, ebenfalls in Grün.

Im nachfolgenden Dialog sind die Zwischentitel unterschiedlich viragiert, um dem Zuschauer die Zuordnung der entsprechenden Dialogpassage zur jeweils sprechenden Figur zu erleichtern. Die Dialogsätze des Phantoms in Grün (was das Phantom – verborgen hinter einer Wand – zu Christine sagt) stehen in Kontrast zur Antwort Christines (in Gelb), die in ihrer Garderobe auf die Stimme aus der Wand lauscht.

Auffällig hierbei ist, daß die klassische Zeichenstruktur der Dialogzuweisung im Stummfilm trotz der farblichen Unterschiedlichkeit der Zwischentitel dennoch beibehalten ist; folglich ist die Szene nicht bereits auf eine beabsichtigte farbliche Unterscheidung hin montiert worden.

Die Dialogzuweisung im Stummfilm funktionierte allgemein nach drei Kriterien:

1. Der Zwischentitel wurde durch Anführungszeichen (“”) als Dialog ausgewiesen – im Gegensatz zu erläuternden Inserts.

2. Der Dialog-Zwischentitel wurde zwischen zwei gleiche Einstellungen der den Mund bewegenden Figur montiert.

3. Zumindest der erste Zwischentitel ist adressiert. (“‘Christine,…(Text)’”). Hierdurch ist der Adressat des Dialogsatzes identifiziert und dem Zuschauer als nicht identisch mit dem Sprecher ausgewiesen.

Dem denkbaren Einwand, es könne sich hier ebensogut um eine ortsbezogene Farbgebung handeln, da sich die beiden Figuren Christine und Phantom an verschiedenen Orten aufhalten (eben diesseits und jenseits der Wand), läßt sich entgegenhalten, daß die Systematik von Grün als Leitfarbe des Phantoms in der ersten Filmhälfte konsequent durchgehalten ist: In der Szene beispielsweise, als das Phantom den großen Kronleuchter im Zuschauersaal absägt, wird die ortsbezogene Farbgebung zugunsten der personenbezogenen aufgegeben. Schauplätze, die nach der ortsbezogen definierten Farbe Violett sein müßten (bei der Flucht des Phantoms über die Lichtböden etwa) sind mit einem Male ebenfalls Grün.

Literaturverzeichnis

Regel, Helmut (1985) Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari in Farbe – Zur Rekonstruktion durch das Bundesarchiv. In: Fischer, Robert (Hrsg.): Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Stuttgart: Fischer, Kress, Wiedleroither, 8–13. (FOCUS-Filmtexte).”

(Traber, Bodo (1995): Dramaturgische Funktionen monochromer Farbgebung im Stummfilm. In: Karl-Dietmar Möller-Nass Möller-Nass, Hasko Schneider and Hans J. Wulff (eds.): 1. Film- und Fernsehwissenschaftliches Kolloquium. Münster: MAkS, pp. 30–36, on pp. 31–33.) (in German)

“Image silver is neutral in colour and all its salts are white or more or less neutral to transmitted light. However the silver of the image can be replaced by other metal salts. If these salts are coloured, insoluble and relatively transparent (generally in the form of a colloid) the neutral image can be replaced by a coloured one.

Toning processes using metal ferrocyanides were known to photographers well before motion pictures. The Iron Tone Blue or Iron Blue process was known as Cyanotype to photograhers and used on paper from the 1860’s. Several techniques used on paper are unsatisfactory on film as the resulting dye is not transparent and is seen as black when projected (although it may be highly coloured by reflected light; e.g. sulphide, selenium and gold toning).

The following metal salts were widely mentioned for metallic toning cine film:

Sepia, as seen on old paper prints, is silver sulphide, and is red-brown by reflected light. This colour was desirable on cinema film but silver sulphide is almost completely opaque and therefore projects as a neutral or blue black image. The most usually mentioned sepia colour was achieved by creating a mixture of ferric and uranium ferrocyanides, and an olive green was produced by mixing vanadium and uranium ferrocyanides.

The process usually comprised a single toning bath of potassium ferricyanide (the silver bleach) and a metal salt. “Fixing” if it was done was a separate solution, probably a conventional black and white fix bath, sodium thiosulphate (see below).

The chemistry of these reactions was not well known until the 1930’s, well after toning ceased to be important in this respect. Many of the early toning procedures were more akin to cookery than chemistry! (In the 1920’s and 1930’s a lot of research and development went into Prussian blue and Uranium ferrocyanide toning in order to produce “perfect” two-colour primaries that were complimentary, for use in the various duplitized positive two-colour films such as Cinecolor, Trucolor, Dascolour etc).

By the mid 1920’s it is possible that the only widely used metallic tone was Iron Blue (Prussian Blue). Uranium was expensive and toxic, copper recipes often damaged the film emulsion, vanadium was only available as a messy concentrated impure “syrup”, and all were a little unpredictable. Several papers, as early as Reid 1917 indicate that mordant dye toning could do everything metallic toning could do but better. However Iron Blue certainly continued, probably as it produced such an unique amazing blue colour. Apparently there were no strong blue mordant dyes at that time.

Several papers and recipe books indicate that the residual salts in the image, usually white silver ferricyanide and/or metallic silver could be removed by “fixing” or “clearing”, using an acid sodium thiosuphate solution (a fixing bath). The chemical process here is a little uncertain, but the result is a bright clear translucent image of high saturation. This image is recognizeable from the pristine unprojected sample books from Gevaert and Pathe. (Prussian Blue fades in the projector – sometimes almost the entire image vanishes except at the frame corners – and it also ages by darkening and becoming desaturated, more neutral).

References

Charles I. Reid, Development and Toning of Motion Picture Films, Sci Amer Suppl. 2150, Mar. 1917.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157–167, on pp. 157–158.)

“Tone dyes are the image, and when these fade the image may be destroyed too, where there is no retained silver. This is particularly true of the metallic tones, especially the various green and blue iron tones, which darken and desaturate. Any negative made from a faded tone will show a loss of detail and may become almost “posterized”, giving the effect of a reduction in tonal range to just a few flat tones. The resulting negative will carry only the detail left in the print.

Decay

Some tone effects “decay” in a manner that creates a locally reversed (sometimes erroneously called solarized) image, in which the high densities lose more density than low densities. Commonly associated with this is a irridescence on the image surface, which seems to be a redistribution of the remaining metallic silver.

It has been considered that these reversal effects could have been intentional. In our experiments we found that several formulae for producing green metallic tones were prone to this effect, but that it was almost impossible to control. We are of the opinion that the effect was never intended, may have been retained from sense of serendipity, and some may well date from the original print production, although we cannot be sure.

We do not know a method of preparing a conventional image from a partially reversed print such as this other than by digital restoration.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157–167, on pp. 161–162.)

“Copper Red toning

We realised during the very first tests using the Eastman formulae that the copper toning process did considerable damage to the film emulsion layer resulting in a blistered surface probably caused by excessive softening. Special hardening solutions using Tannin were in some literature. Some literature replaces copper toning by a form of Uranium toning which produced a similar image colour, and eventually by mordant dye toning. We believe that early nitrate films suffered the same problems our Kodak 5302 and that this was why other toning methods replaced it. We decided not to continue with a copper tone as a routine, but later when we tried the Agfa formulae the results were better and the emulsion less damaged.

Uranium Red-Brown toning

Uranyl nitrate like all Uranium salts is now very difficult to obtain. It is costly at £10 per gram, available from a few specialised sources, and subject to quite onerous Health and Safety legislation even though as an “unsealed radioactive source” it’s radioactivity is insignificant. It is also extremely toxic. In the 1920’s uranium was not only a common toner but was also the basis of a very common mordant used as the starting point for a wide range of dye toned colours. One early paper (Reid, 1917) suggests that mordant dye toning could and should replace both copper and uranium because of toxicity and emulsion damage. We decided not to use Uranyl nitrate either, as all the mordant dye procedures could be carried out using potassium ferricyanide which yielded silver ferricyanide as the mordant image.

“Sulphide” or Sepia toning

Sepia was a common toner for paper prints until the 1950’s and the image on paper varies from pale to dark red-brown. It was produced by bleaching the silver image to an insoluble halide salt and “redeveloping” in sodium sulphide solution to silver sulphide which is red-brown but dense and opaque. When the process is carried out on a normal motion picture print the visual result is a “cold” greenish black. If a very thin print was used a “warm” tone not unlike copper toning was produced. We found that this was extremely difficult to repeat and a low density print did not become as brown as the literature suggested. This may be due to differences in the modern print stock. Sodium sulphide is an unpleasant and potentially dangerous chemical to use and needs good extraction and atmosphere testing. Mordant dye toning procedures seem to be the best alternatives today, and some original “recipes” use a mixture of Iron-tone blue and Uranium ferrocyanide to produce a sepia, suggesting that the problems we experienced were present then.

The toning process

The earliest photographic toning processes used many process stages: wetting, bleaching, rinse, toner, wash, sometimes clearing bath and then a final wash. We chose to try first the shortest later processes. Even these can be quite lengthy – the so-called “one-step iron-tone blue process” of Eastman (1928) was still wetting, bleach-tone, rinse, fix, wash.

Mordant dye toning was almost always two solution – a mordant-bleach, rinse and dye bath.

References

Charles I. Reid, Development and Toning of Motion Picture Films, Sci Amer Suppl. 2150, Mar. 1917.”

(Read, Paul (1998): Tinting and Toning Techniques and their Adaption for the Restoration of Archive Film. In: Luciano Berriatúa et al. (eds.): Tutti i colori del mondo. Il colore nei mass media tra 1900 e 1930. = All the colours of the world. Reggio Emilia: Diabasis, pp. 157–167, on pp. 163–164.)

“João S. de Oliveira is director of PresTech Film Laboratories Limited, London, which was founded in 2004. De Oliveira was formerly technical manager at the British Film Institute’s John Paul Getty Conservation Centre and worked at Cinemateca Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil, Cinemateca Portuguesa, Portugal, and as professor in the Postgraduate Department of Museology FESP, São Paulo, Brazil. He was also chairman of the Technical Commission of FIAF.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

de Oliveira, João S., ‘Black-and-White in Colour’, in Roger Smither and Catherine A. Surowiec (eds), This Film Is Dangerous, A Celebration of Nitrate Film (Brussels: FIAF, 2002), pp. 117–22.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

DATE OF INTERVIEW: 12 OCTOBER 2010

INTERVIEWER: LIZ WATKINS

LIZ WATKINS: The work of film laboratories such as Technicolor or Deluxe predominantly involves the repetition of one type of process, whereas it seems that, as a specialist film lab, PresTech adapts machines and tailors each procedure to deal with very specific and often historical colour processes that have their own visual characteristics.

JOÃO S. DE OLIVEIRA: Yes. Today’s bulk printing in commercial laboratories is designed to produce an acceptable-quality print based on similar materials very quickly. So they normally have a duplication cycle that goes from the original negative to render an internegative that is already colour balanced. This internegative is adequate for bulk printing at a very high speed and so there is very little light adjustment during printing. At PresTech we get 1920s or 1910s original camera negatives, or sometimes even a nineteenth-century original camera negative. This means that we adjust all our settings to accommodate what is a unique and rare artefact. We produce tests to determine the best way, the settings and levels, to print that film and produce the results we want. It’s very time-consuming, laborious work and has to be performed with all the control possible because you are handling a unique, fragile object. It’s very expensive.

LW: In an interview with Gabriel Paletz he evokes the idea of an ‘archaeology of technology’ that seems to go some way to describe your approach to restoration: identifying and adapting machines to be able to restore specific colour processes.¹

JSdO: For this archaeological approach, I think, Harold Brown for me was the best example. I think I mentioned to Gabriel that this archaeological approach is a necessity because you have to have to identify the date of production for all the materials that you are handling to be able to understand the processes and then to retrieve as much of the technical information as possible.

I am very keen on getting these archival machines. I think they are part of the way you handle the film and so part of the way that you ‘look’ at it, but they don’t ‘look’ in a way that enables you to detect the information in the film. If you view all the black-and-white nitrate films that we handle, they all have a certain degree of fading because of the composition of nitrate. You form a black-and-white image on nitrate film stock from the silver deposit, but because of the nitrate gases that are available, then very quickly, the first thing that happens to the film is that you tend to lose information where the silver deposits are most finely dispersed in the highlights. So if it’s a negative, you lose detail in the shadows, whereas if it’s a print, then visible details are lost from the highlights. But these elements – this changed stuff – is still in the film and there is a certain band of electromagnetic radiation that will interact with it even though it appears transparent. So if you have the right sensor, the right way of ‘looking’ at the film then you can locate, map, and reinstate the invisible details in a digital image. So I think this is a major possibility of digital technology. I have also started to consider the possibilities of this approach for chromogenic fading: whether it is possible that you don’t have a displacement of the dye, but just a chemical transformation of the dye that means it does not interact with light any more. That could be why it appears transparent, even though the information is there and in position. These dyes are very complex organic chemicals and deterioration can happen through many different pathways and the image, as product, will be according to the parts. So to get this done with colour, well, I think that it would be possible, but it is very difficult at the moment. With black-and-white film, however, it’s not very difficult. It would be a first stage to see what is invisible in a film and then to reinstate the original.

LW: So there’s a change in the chemical composition, but the chemicals haven’t actually disappeared or moved?

JSdO: Exactly, the information is still there, although less so if the film has been washed.

LW: Otherwise, there’s a latent image and although you can’t see it, there are other ways that it can be detected and made visible?

JSdO: Exactly, because the film, in a way, has a fingerprint in the electro-magnetic spectrum. So if you have the right frequency, you can detect it. I can remember some projects such as The Lodger (1926) that, if it were to be restored now, the work involved and the image produced would be different. Well, The Lodger has this problem. You have a vintage print that is the only survivor – or at least there are one and a half prints, if I’m not mistaken – and that print has problems of highlight fading. So we’ve lost the detail in the highlighted faces of people and the viewer has come to think of that characteristic as normal for a silent film. It is not normal. We worked on Die Nibelungen (1924) with negatives and with prints and, because a negative is the reverse of light and shadow, you can see the details in the highlights. However, when you look on the print at the corresponding reverse image then you know more about the missing details.²

LW: So the kind of aesthetic that we associate with silent films may actually be a characteristic of an image that has deteriorated?

JSdO: Absolutely.

LW: Can you tell me a little more about your restoration of The Lodger?

JSdO: I restored The Lodger at the BFI using tinting and toning.

LW: By using the actual dyes?

JSdO: With the actual dyes and toning with the salts, so producing the complexes and compounds that the original process produced. It was quite an adventure.

LW: I can imagine!

JSdO: Initially, we did not get a very good-quality result. The Lodger was chosen because it’s an important film and we had the print that Harold Brown made using tinting and toning in the 1970s.³ So without knowing it, we were both doing similar things. But it was not easy to do. This print was unique and was at the end of its viable life, so it was natural to choose this title and very important to do the tests. The tests were not very successful so we then did our own test in the archive. Well, there were lots of health-and-safety enquiries by the union, but in the end we did the film. We did a few films, including Napoléon (1927) which is five and a half hours’ long. We made two prints. So we proved the system and it works very well, but there were some health-and-safety issues and the BFI decided that we shouldn’t continue doing it. When I started here at PresTech, I immediately reinstated the process. Everything is absolutely health-and-safety sound now. It’s not an easy process if you have too many different colours.

We also investigated an application process that, instead of dipping the film in solution like with the original procedure, involved applying the solution in a similar way to that used for coating the film base with photographic emulsion. So the colour would be applied with a wheel or a spray so you don’t need to have the splices. It’s very simple, but it has to be enclosed because you don’t want to have fumes from the dye in the air. So we make a judgment based on the number of colours. In the case of Die Nibelungen, this is actually a section of the film [a strip of coloured film is placed on the table].

LW: It looks like an amber colour, but the variations under that colour name can be endless.

JSdO: This is what you look for in the print. You have maybe seven, eight different prints in the lab and, if you compare them, then no two are the same. They all have a similar colour, but they are not exactly the same. This restoration was very interesting because they had quite a democratic approach to curatorship. A group from many different institutions met regularly to debate specific tasks. The decision about colour was very mathematical because they decided upon an average of the colours. So we plotted the colour space of the different film elements and determined the centre. Then I introduced a complication that I had also done with Napoléon – that is a fantastic reconstruction by Kevin Brownlow, a brillant man. When the colour materials were found, it threw new light on the film. I then knew that the film had colours, but in the restorations produced up to 1999, there was no colour in the film because all the source materials we had previously hadn’t been coloured because they were a second, third or fourth generation away from the film.⁴ There are things that are really shocking in terms of quality and decomposition, but it was the only source available so we had to work with it. So we requested the prints and we organised a series of tests.

Obviously the starting point for everybody is to work toward a colour exactly like the print. The problem is that the light source had changed from carbon-arc to xenon and the lenses are all panchromatic because nowadays 99 per cent of the films screened are in colour. There are other secondary issues, but most important was to look for certain tones of tinting but you could hardly see anything on the screen. We had to calculate and emulate the colours that you would have screened from a carbon-arc lamp at the time: there’s a big difference between that and the colours that you see with today’s projector lamps.

LW: So the colour screened of a film is going to differ according to the projector lamp?

JSdO: Absolutely right. The logic behind it is that film is experienced on the screen, right? And the technology and conditions of screening change. So you then go into a very complex ethical and philosophical discussion because you probably don’t have two screenings that will be similar. There’s just a range that is more or less the average of these different projectors, light sources and cinema sizes.

LW: The distance between the projector and the screen would also make a difference to the intensity of colour required on the film strip for certain hues to appear on the screen?

JSdO: Exactly, that’s the theatre size, so I spent a long time reading the JSMPE.⁵ You don’t need to have the opacity very high to have a black on the screen, so in a large theatre, all of your renderings change. You have to have a much lighter print than normal. Imagine that you have a translucent material in front of the projector. The print has to be lighter for a long distance between the projector and the screen and the theatre has to be very dark. This is the other thing people don’t realise, that there is no black – you can’t project black – black is no light. So the blackest bit you have on the film is the white of the screen. It’s the difference between the lightest areas and the darkest areas that produces the image. This is a big problem: when you have a large theatre and an orchestra, then where do you have enough darkness for the integrity of the screened image to be maintained?

For every prestigious restoration, you have a big theatre because normally people like to have 1,000 people watching and you put a sixty-person orchestra with light to read music that then reflects on the screen. This is the terror of the restorer because you know, we spend a huge amount of time with this film. For the previous big restoration we did they had the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and so sixty musicians were playing. It was screened at the Deutsche Oper, which is not a film theatre, so they had to improvise a place to put a projector and there was a massive amount of light reflecting. Normally, the conductor has to be spot-lit because he has to see well.

Obviously, when you do the print for the premiere, you have to warn the client that you have to take this into consideration. So it’s not a print that would look right if you then project it in a theatre just with a pianist with just one little light, which will be the circumstances for 99.9 per cent of the screenings of the same film. So this is the thing for us, the reference or the aim would be to produce on the screen a similar experience that the original process produced at the time the film was made, right? If it were Dufaycolor or Gasparcolor, then you are not going to screen the original elements, but a new print or new digital cinema product, derived from the original. To calibrate your system then, you have to have at least one good-condition print, or, you have to find a way to produce that information.

LW: It’s quite an undertaking.

JSdO: It’s quite a challenge. So would this be always possible? With Gasparcolor the amount of good-physical-quality surviving materials is limited. Everything is too shrunk.

LW: It’s the film support rather than the dyes that have deteriorated?

JSdO: Exactly. If you look to Dufaycolor, then contrary to Gasparcolor, it was always produced on safety film, which means that it’s not at as much risk from fire. It was made on an early safety film that normally decomposes in a much more speedy way than cellulose nitrate. So you have the decomposition of Dufaycolor preventing you from screening it. I think we were reasonably lucky because we found some examples, some surplus film stock and we could extract some basic information from it. This is another part of the work that is an interesting area to investigate, that is, the possibility of recreating some control samples or new materials to calibrate and set your processes to.

LW: New reference materials that are similar to the original materials rather than simulating the screened image?⁶

JSdO: It sounds crazy, exactly but it’s something that then you could project, checking its limits to see how much the machine really can cope with.

LW: That question of materials reminds me of The Lodger. Did you say that you worked with Harold Brown when he was at the NFTVA?

JSdO: Well, I knew Harold Brown, I met him in 1984. He was sixty-five, because he was retiring. So I suspect that was the mid-to-late 1970s when he did this, certainly before 1984. Because of the damage and physical state of it, probably it’s more likely to be early 1970s, I would say. I think the restoration that we made of The Lodger was in 2000.

LW: That film is part of the BFI National Archive’s restoration programme again now, isn’t it?

JSdO: Well, now with digital technology, work is coming back to the treasures that people tend to revisit and this is why it’s so crucial to preserve the originals, it’s because technology evolves. You aim to give the next generation of colleagues the chance to do better what you did in your time.

LW: Do you make a preservation copy of the source materials as you find them and then you begin work on a restored print?

JSdO: The interventions that are normally carried out to stabilise the film have to be very carefully balanced, chosen and researched so that you could use the ones that you know are reversible. If possible, you don’t cause a permanent change to the source material. If you have to modify something, it’s better to modify the film equipment that you are using to suit the film, than to modify the film to suit the machines.

This, I think, is crucial: to make sure that they will last. The Lodger was done totally photochemically and the intertitles were very poor quality. They were damaged but they were the only fragments that we have of some of these.

[…]

LW: Are there examples of anomalies as we might think of them today that were actually part of the production of the film? How would you discern between anomalies that occurred in the initial production of the film and those that accumulate through deterioration?

JSdO: I’m going to a less complicated scenario. What you’re saying is very valid and very important. I’m saying that you have to look to the film without any speculation and your task is to reproduce this colour film exactly as it is with this available film stock. So, let’s say you have a print and the contemporary film stock is expecting to register an image from a new camera negative or a new reversal colour print, which has a certain magenta dye and a certain distribution across the colour spectrum. In this case, the film stock is contemporary to the negative and so it is designed to be in that range so together they produce a perfect or a reasonable duplication. But what happens with obsolete film stock, for example, English processes such as Dufaycolor that are different, is that the chromogenic film stocks are not designed for these obsolete films. So the chromatic range of Dufaycolor might be completely invisible to the chromogenic film.

[…] There’s another film, another example from when we did the restoration of Alice in Wonderland (1903). Here and now we are going to do a toned version of that film and it’s quite exciting. There are two colours that are not difficult to produce, but to approach it exactly as the original is difficult. So it takes time. Now we find that we have a bit of space, so we are going to do it now.

LW: You’ll do the actual toning?

JSdO: Yes, the toning of the film is blue and red/sepia. The blue toning is normally Prussian blue and that’s easy to do. It’s actually, well, let’s say its older name is potassium cyanide and it does have the word cyanide and potassium in the archive.

LW: It’s poisonous?

JSdO: There are regulations. The sepia, well, the red is sepia, which is a more challenging colour to achieve. Toning is very particular and it’s difficult to try to study the difference directly by the size of the silver filaments and the silver particles or grains. This is something that film restoration doesn’t like to acknowledge has changed a lot from 1903 to today. There is a side to colour that is dependent on what materials you use. Metallic silver obviously absorbs all the light, so you will replace that so that little else than blue, so only a bit of red, a bit of green are absorbed and you will produce the colour that you see. But there is another component of the screened colour that is given by the size and distribution of the silver grains, by the way that they are organised on the film.

LW: Like a cloud formation?

JSdO: It has very fine separation and that it’s a three-dimensional system is the very thing, but imagine hundreds of thousands of molecules: they are distributed and light scatters in between them. That there is a certain cast to a certain emulsion matters. So in 1903, fine-grain emulsion was not available. After 1947 you only had fine-grain emulsion. So you have to sort of navigate around that. You have to remember that these were industrial processes and not done manually, so you had a machine doing it and controlling it. Sometimes that control is in the lab allowing us to find a way to do something that the machines are not designed for.

LW: So you’re looking to modify the machines to do something they weren’t designed for? There are lots of manuals just telling you how a colour process should work, but in restoration you need to adapt to accommodate the differences between the film stock and the photographic emulsion to produce a viable image?

JSdO: Yes, it’s like music where silence is so important. You’re right I think that we don’t so much want the things that work as also the things that don’t. That’s the side that personally interests me. It is to find or learn or do something new in this situation and get new things to think about and to resolve. There is so much to be done in this field. I’m convinced that many silent films are showing something that is not quite right for the presentation of black-and-white film.

LW: It’s interesting because in a way that’s exactly what is invoked in the marketing of digital viewing as something that allows us to see more. It’s happening again with HD, but actually there’s so much information in a photochemical film: from the history of that individual print to the changes in physical composition and re-editing over a series of releases. Even when information, as you say, isn’t immediately visible, there’s still some latent image, there’s some residual information that invites analysis.

JSdO: Yes.

LW: So film materials seem to contain a lot of information that a digital facsimile doesn’t necessarily allow you to uncover.

JSdO: Yes, I think it’s another interesting point, that we believe that all of the photochemical film elements are the same. If I make a print of the film, then the information is limited in comparison to what I can get if I analysed the original negative. So it’s the problem of the copy; the copy is never a real clone. The digital has the concept of cloning, because they always think digital to digital, it’s a number so here some matrix registers one-one or one-five, I have a value, zero or one and it’s mathematics and it’s absolutely right. In copying photochemical film, you imagine you are producing a clone, but if it’s a digital copy then you get the compromise of compression. It’s a question of what can you lose? What is not considered important? Whereas for restoration and the lab everything is important. If I ask you to decide what information you are going to throw away, well, it might be irrelevant now, but two days later it might be totally relevant and fundamental to somebody else that has a different methodology or that requires a different selection of information. That’s why I think the preservation of the original is vital. Everybody knows and everybody says that; that is not new. Everybody agrees today that we have to preserve the original materials and that’s for sure.

LW: Okay, maybe that’s why I initially questioned the reason that archives would restore the same film again and again, like with Red Shoes or The Lodger, but in a way it allows you to see how restoration…

JSdO: Evolves, yes.

LW: If they’re such popular films, it also raises the profile of the archive and of restoration work. It’s been strange sometimes when I’ve heard of another restoration of the same film when it seems there’s so much other work to be done.

JSdO: I totally agree with you.

LW: So you’re preserving it for the next generation, not forever.

JSdO: Yes and these issues are important everywhere but, regarding the economic scale in some cultures, although the very same work needs to be done, they need to use the money to eat and to do other things. In the 1970s and 1980s the transfer of nitrate to safety film was a subject all over the world because you had the concept that the nitrate could ignite and burn all your collection so it would be more responsible to preserve the films by transferring them from nitrate to safety film rather than keeping it.⁷ For lots of people, that we had instructions to burn the films was an abomination, so we would work very, very slowly. Then we had a vault in which to put the films that we had made duplicates of. Lots and lots of films that were ‘preserved’ were burned. Of course, in a transfer an enormous loss of information happens. If you have very, very good contemporary equipment you can do it, but sometimes it was not possible to do that. You have to remember that the idea is to expose the film to the biggest number of people possible, but it is also important that the original artefact survives.

There is a difference that I think you know between the viewer of the films and the viewer of the archive and that lies in the concept of the film as a single object. I think it’s necessary to review these things because the conceptual definition of an element in a collection can change due to its perceived cultural importance. More and more, the archive is going with all this effort toward sub-zero storage and so in the direction of very low deterioration. In many ways, this is perfect, but I feel a bit concerned that then we will not be able to see what we want to see. The administration of collections can postpone work that has to be done because of the excuse that no more damage will be caused while the film is in cold storage. But I prefer a generation to have access. The right of public access to a national collection is a social right I think. It is a public collection and access is important because the author of the work planned it to be viewed, that is, the flow of feeling, of the stuff that can come from a painting, from music, from films. But it is going very well. I now have experience of thirty-five years’ work in film archives and preservation and we have come a really long way.

NOTES

¹ Gabriel Paletz, ‘The Finesse of the Film Lab: A Report from a Week at Haghefilm’, The Moving Image vol. 6 no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–32; Paolo Cherchi Usai, Ulrich Rüdel and Daniela Currò, ‘The Haghefilm Foundation, Amsterdam: A Learning Laboratory’, Journal of Film Preservation no. 82, 2010, pp. 87–93.

² Anke Wilkening, ‘Fritz Lang’s Die Nibelungen: A Restoration and Preservation Project by F. W. Murnau Stiftung, Wiesbaden’, Journal of Film Preservation nos 79–80, 2009, pp. 86–98. See ‘Restoration – Die Nibelungen‘, PresTech Film Laboratories, www.prestech.biz/restoration.html, accessed March 2012. The restoration was undertaken by PresTech for the F. W. Murnau Stiftung. The source material consisted of prints and some of the camera negatives. The restoration project took four years. The F. W. Murnau Stiftung’s editing list informed the reconstruction of the film. The archival gala screening was held at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in April 2010. A hybrid process was used to restore the film: contact printing as in the production of the 1920s print; liquid gate printing to reduce the visibility of scratches; digital technology to stabilise intertitles from the effects of deterioration and shrinkage.

³ Harold Brown, ‘Trying to Save Frames’, in Roger Smither and Catherine A. Surowiec (eds), This Film Is Dangerous: A Celebration of Nitrate Film (Brussels: FIAF, 2002), pp. 98–102. Previous restorations include Harold Brown’s 1984 work on The Lodger and that undertaken by de Oliveira. Brown’s work is noted in Paul Read, ‘Tinting and Toning Techniques and Their Adaptation for the Restoration of Archive Film’, in Luciano Berriatua (ed.), All the Colours of the World: Colours in Early Mass Media 1900–1930 (Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, 1998), pp. 157–67. The Lodger was also restored and preservation masters produced by the BFI National Film Archive in 2011–12. See the interview with Kieron Webb.

⁴ Kevin Brownlow, Napoléon: Abel Gance’s Classic Film (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1983), details the previous restoration under this title.

⁵ JSMPE: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers.

⁶ Robert M. Fanstone, ‘Experiences with Dufaycolor Film’, British Journal of Photography, 7 June 1935, pp. 358–9. Dufaycolor is characterised by a réseau.

⁷ David Francis, ‘Preserving the Past’, BFI News, September 1975, p. 3.”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Interview. João S. De Oliveira, Hon. FBKS. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): British Colour Cinema. Practices and Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 171–185, on pp. 175–185.)

“On the absence and presence of colour in film

Inge Degenhardt, University of Frankfurt

It is well known that the history of film goes hand in hand with the dream of film pioneers that one day they would be able to reproduce the world around us in true colour or to enhance fantastic effects by the use of colour. The variety of experiments and processes to achieve this is, as we now know, immense.¹ Yet we have long since lost or rather neglected the knowledge of the conventions for tinting and toning used during the era of the silent movies. Our perception has been distorted by the stills copied in black and white for purposes of conservation. Only recently has film archaeology developed an interest in the restoration of colour and, consequently, only in the past ten years or so have scholars begun to discover “the joys of colour,” i.e. they have started to show an interest in a phenomenon that had hardly played a part in the research on silent film hitherto. The general notion of “black-and-white films” has thus transpired to be a heterogeneous concept, lacking differentiation. What we construed as the supposed stylistic characteristics of German art films, and what we think about their highly contrastive black-and-white effects have been profoundly shaken and need to be thoroughly revised.² At the latest since the screening of the sensational tinted reconstructions undertaken by different archives vying with one another to achieve the best result, it has become increasingly questionable whether the hackneyed notion of the contrast between light and dark in the early German art film is in fact the result of a particular lighting concept or style of directing action in front of the camera (determined by costumes, set, make-up, etc.).³ Instead, it would appear that this feature may actually be based on the changes that occurred in the copying of the film as a product of art, which was in danger of being destroyed by the passage of time. This question also raises doubts about the frequently cited close connection between the German Expressionist film and film noir.⁴

Today, however, there is a broad consensus that most feature films were shown in the cinemas as tinted copies at least until the mid-twenties. Various tinted versions have been found, confronting film archives with the same questions as those having to be decided by philologists. Often we do not know which the authentic version is, so that its reconstruction is a speculative process. Apparently, directors only rarely influenced or themselves supervised the tinting or editing of the material shot. Only big-name directors like Murnau and Lang seem to have been exceptions in this respect.⁵ The different tints used for any film were determined by the interaction of the industry and the market, i.e. by the visual habits of the viewers rather than by artistic considerations. This also explains why contemporary film reviews hardly ever addressed the tinting and toning of a particular film.

In this context, an early exemplary case strikes the eye. Its aesthetic concept initiates a discussion on the problem of colour by consciously and consistently dispensing with colour: From Morn Till Midnight. The film version of Georg Kaiser’s play of the same title, produced by the theatre director Karl Heinz Martin (1920), was not a box-office success at the time despite the advertising campaign launched by the distributors in the press. The film seemed so harsh, alien and unconventional that even the metropolitan Berlin audiences, usually immune to shock, balked at it; and it was hardly screened at all out in the so-called “cinematic provinces.” Only at a later date some attempt was made to take the experiment seriously despite its failure in its time. Until today, this film, which belongs to the quintessential canon of Expressionist films, has remained an outsider, which, because of its difference, runs counter to the generalizing ascription of specific qualities to particular film styles, or rather to the opinions on the allegedly characteristic attributes of Expressionist films. This film still stands out from among those termed Expressionist in the more narrow sense of the word. It is markedly different from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, as contemporary film critics already noted.

There are isolated references to screenings: thus Martin’s film was shown at the Munich Regina Cinema in mid-1922.⁶ Later the same year the film was screened at the Hong-za Cinema in Tokyo and was reviewed with great enthusiasm in a Japanese film magazine.⁷ All the release prints known today date back to the same origin, the copy in Tokyo. In view of the uncertain records and the lack of anything that can be called an authorized original print, and in view of the fact that even the production process is not sufficiently documented, to draw analytical conclusions may seem somewhat presumptuous. But we can nevertheless assume that the film – which was not to be viewed in the official cinema programmes in Germany in the twenties but was quickly sold abroad – has not undergone great changes and variations like other films which were extensively exploited commercially. Since the Japanese material has recently been supplemented by inserted title links based on the censor’s card, it may serve as a basis for a discussion on questions of aesthetics. Nonetheless, it seems very important to draw on contemporary sources.

Among contemporaries who knew the film we already encounter remarkable agreement on what constituted the film’s striking feature, namely the harsh contrast between light and dark, which also catches the eye today. It may seem puzzling today that the first press notices announced From Morn Till Midnight sensationally as the first black-and-white film, or that the Berlin weekly Sports im Bild wrote about a film which uses only the primal colours of black and white.⁸ An analysis of trade journals and specialized cinema press of the day shows that this black-and-white phenomenon is mentioned time and time again.

[…]

The black-and-white concept used in From Morn Till Midnight is based on consistent aesthetic and dramatic considerations. The film takes up the dramatic model of Kaiser’s two-part play: The story of the unimportant employee of a provincial bank who dips into the till, leaves the small town and his family behind him in order to hunt down the pleasures of the capital, a chase that ends in suicide. In the spirit of Expressionism, this trite, common-place story, however, is intended to serve as a parable on human existence which the viewer can then reflect upon.

For this purpose, the film develops an iconographic and stylistic pattern that highlights the meaning behind the images. Between the extremes of black and white what we are shown is not only the social dualism of province and city, of the plodding life of a petit bourgeois versus the hedonistic life of the metropolitan man, or flight versus pursuit, or crime versus punishment, rather what is staged is the abstract collision of good and evil, the battle between internal and external worlds, finally between life and death. In accordance with its immaterial and intellectual contents, the film consciously dispenses with the use of colour, although the play by Georg Kaiser on which the film is based, had already played with colour ideas in its stage instructions. The instructions prescribe use of the following: a sun that casts blue shadows, blue snow, a red flag, yellow-and-red-checked harlequin masks, a yellow curtain etc. In his theatre work, the director Karl Heinz Martin also emphasized the aesthetic quality of colour. The same applies to the set designer Robert Neppach, who created quite a sensation with the loud colours of the set he created for the spectacular staging of Toller’s drama Die Wandlung in 1920. But some time later, when he was working for the cinema, he published an article on “The Problem of Colour in Film.” In this short essay, he defended the principle of using chromatic values when taking a non-colour film, that is to say of staging colour in front of the camera in order to obtain a great variety of grey hues.¹³

In From Morn Till Midnight, however, Neppach knuckles fully under to the director’s concept, since the extreme black-and-white effect of the film is based to a large extent on the set design. Contrasts of light and dark are not caused by a sophisticated lighting concept but, above all, by the sets, costumes and make-up. The sets Neppach designed were most impressive. The individual parts were predominantly black, their edges alluded to by rough brush-strokes; doors and windows were framed in white, the floor marked by white guiding lines. What is significant is the reversal of the actual intensity of brightness and of the lighting balance: areas that are light in nature, like the sky, light walls etc. appear black, while the dark lines of the mortar between the bricks, of the window and doorframes, corners, edges and ledges are all highlighted by bright lines. What looks careless and infantile in the representation turns out to be carefully calculated to support the concept behind the staging: A world of papermâché, which at no point pretends to be reality, a symbol for the fact that the world cannot be represented in a picture, or for a world of images which needs to be penetrated if we are to reach its essence. […]

The collision of two worlds, the conflict between province and city, the world of the poor and the world of the rich, between inner and outside worlds, between life and death is not softened here by means of tinting and toning. Black and white are autonomous elements in the presentation of the polarities of existence. Most elaborate of all is the sequence on a country road: a kind of crossroads which serves as the turning point in the cashier’s transition from the province to the city. The interplay of life and death is expressed in the light and dark areas. At the same time, the cashier understands that death is part of his life: the skeletal tree in the foreground and the shaky figure of the fugitive fuse in the swirling snowflakes. Thus the film destroys the natural form without completely canceling it out. When in 1928 the Japanese director Kinugasa made with his film Jujiro a kind of remake of Martin’s film the difference is remarkable.

[…]

Since Lotte Eisner’s studies, the expressive contrast between light and dark is one of the so-called defining criteria of Expressionist film. These criteria refer, however, to the lighting concept and the shadow effects used. As we have seen, From Morn Till Midnight established the black-and-white effect by different means. On the one hand, it is highly probable that the film intentionally dispensed with the conventional colouring, tinting or toning. On the other, the black-and-white effect had already been pre-formed by rigorous and consistent staging in front of the camera. Martin insisted on his artistic credo, on the right of the artist to treat objects with the violence thought necessary to achieve the desired effect.¹⁸ For this reason, he had everything that comes in front of the camera specially prepared, caused everything to be changed to give it new interpretative intensity. In doing so, he relied on the codes of the other arts, theatre above all, but also painting. […]

While the contemporary debate hinged more or less on the naturalistic demands made of the reproductive photographic medium and regarded colour as a means to achieve a greater realism and a closer approximation to nature, Martin violated the codes of representation and perception which had meanwhile evolved in the cinema. In deviating from traditional taste, he demonstrated that he was prepared to take risks, even at the price of a failure. To a certain extent From Morn Till Midnight may also be read as early evidence of the medium’s reflections on itself. The limitations of the medium caused by habits of the day and by the materials available are not hidden, but shown in a way that practically amounts to exhibitionism. The inclination to use flat images and two dimensional representation as well as the restriction to black and white both show that the film team intentionally took up the “deficiency” and used what was regarded as inferior as a stylistically formative source.

[…]

The irritations caused by From Morn Till Midnight give an idea of the conventions of the time, when audiences were obviously used to the intense hues of films coloured by hand, tinted or toned. Martin, however, departed intentionally from the contemporary use of colour. He saw the immaterial, the intellectual to reside in black and white. In his concept, the lack of colour had a function, it was to guide the viewer to certain aspects of the subject matter and its interpretation, to alienate the familiar by an anti-illusionist treatment and to set free intellectual stimuli. In this context it seems to be interesting that Frieda Grafe emphasized that Murnau also notes in his script for Schloss Vogelöd (1921) that the dream sequences are to be shown in black and white.²¹

Slowly, the taste of the audience was changing. Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse the Gambler seems to be already completely designed in black and white.²² Elfriede Ledig points out that, probably beginning with From Morn Till Midnight, there is an increase in black-and-white films. She also states that after 1925 a certain number of black-and-white film succeeded in gaining recognition side by side with the tinted or rather naturally coloured sequences and that this move away from tinting correlates with aesthetic and technical notions of the day.²³ Eisenstein’s red flag in Battleship Potemkin (1925) could already be regarded as exceptional. When in 1928 plans were made to use some tinted sequences in the film Mysteries of the East (directed by Alexander Wolkoff), this was so unusual that a special meeting of the UFA-board was convened.²⁴ If, then, in his review of the film a critic felt compelled to defend these colour sequences against the charge of their being kitsch,²⁵ this is a clear illustration of the radical change that had occurred in the understanding of colour in the twenties.

The development of colour systems ready for industrial production advances the emergence of colour film. In the following decades in film history, the cinema learned to use colour in a great variety of ways. Agfacolor and Technicolor not only contributed to the perfecting of the colour systems, but also increased the experience of all concerned with the principles of directing and staging colour. Divorced from the characteristics of colour in nature, the cinematographic sensibility for colour developed as a specific aesthetic means of expression. This corresponded to the development of colour perception and aesthetic evaluation, which, particularly in this century, was greatly stimulated by a number of authors (such as Kandinsky, Matisse, Itten) with their theoretically based investigations. A discourse on the artistic cinematic possibilities of colour design did also emerge among cinematic artists (for example, Dreyer, Eisenstein, Renoir, Truffaut, Agnès Varda, etc.), though in European film making colour designing never attained as high a professional standard as it did in Hollywood. Using colour is actually transpiring to be a process in which fixed codes and established criteria are becoming less and less acceptable. Even today, when colour has long become the norm in film and on TV, sensational discoveries can still be made. Next to the archaically alienated, deliberate avoidance of colour (for example in Fassbinders’s Effi Briest), there is a wide range of extensive ways of exploiting the valences of colour for the cinema (Godard, Kurosawa, Glauber Rocha…), not to forget the meanwhile established method of intensifying dramatic tension by changing colours or by switching from black-and-white to colour (Wim Wenders’ The Sky over Berlin, Spielberg’s Schindler’s list, Lars van Trier’s Europe, Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, Kira Muratowa’s The Asthenic Syndrome etc.). What is particularly noticeable, moreover, is that at a time when garish acrylic colours pervade everyday life and when the use of colour in film can be calculated with computer-controlled precision, a kind of déjà vu may be experienced that recalls the beginnings of cinematography. At this point, I would like to refer briefly to two examples in which colour is a constituent factor of practical artistic expression in widely differing ways.

In 1989, the audience of the Munich Film Festival was rightly impressed by Franta, the film debut of Mathias Allary, which based on a story by the little-known Jewish author-in-exile Ernst Weiss, a friend of Kafka and Stefan Zweig.²⁶ Weiss tells the story of the sufferings of a young soldier in the First World War. The brutality and the violence of war destroy the body and the soul of the “gentle young man” before he actually begins to live properly: He loses his gentleness and starts himself to resemble the war: cold and insensitive. After being wounded (he is castrated by shrapnel) he loses his ability to love, and, above all, to communicate with his wife, but desires and longings oppress the man who is no longer a man.²⁷ He commits murder and is subsequently murdered himself. The intention of Allary was not to tell a historical story from the time of the First World War but to generate from the narrative a parable spanning all time: “the film tries to be archetypal. It is a parable for all wars and all Frantas whether they are in Belfast, Beirut, Peking or anywhere else.”²⁸

The transformation of this narrative into a film presented a tremendous challenge. The language of the literary text is concise but extremely vivid. Deeply affected by the singular style and the highly expressive language Allary described his problems: “The story… uses a laconic but highly expressive language to portrait the dimensions of fate. It was necessary to find an unusual form of expression in order to convey such powerful language.” In the staging which had to partly dispense with the cover of dialogue, Allary relied on the power of coloured pictures. The film uses intense colours – like those of Expressionist painters (in conjunction with an unusual deployment of sound) – as a cinematic equivalent to the linguistic violence, and to express the emotional content, the psychological deformation and isolation of a human being who has physically but not emotionally survived the war. […]

In developing the dramaturgy of colour for the film, a trio of artists – director, set designer and scriptwriter – proceeds with almost academic meticulousness. Studies on the psychological effect of colours are drawn on, just as are the theoretical reflections of the generation of artists at the beginning of this century. The three primary colours (red, yellow, blue), supplemented by hues in-between and secondary colours (green, orange, violet), are assigned symbolic qualities such as matter, spirit, love or life, renunciation, sensuousness. In other words, colour is a quantity determined by cultural history but, at the same time, it oscillates in the context of the action. In Franta, however, the colour values do not remain unambiguous and fixed, they are varied and intensified, reinforced or alienated by means of light. Clothes and walls change colour in accordance with Franta‘s changes of mood. This shows that the viewer cannot depend on the familiar, or that the colour association with warmth and coldness, strangeness and nearness only results from the context of the action. What is to be shown needs to be manipulated.

Although the film does not always succeed in avoiding an almost over-laboured arts-and-crafts effect, it was duly received at home and abroad as a reminder of the heyday of the German cinema in the twenties. A Berlin newspaper cheered: “For years, nobody in our cinema world has gone so far without loosing control of his medium. Franta is the German cinema we have lost: determined, unimpressed by fashions, enraged and in spite of all carefully calculated in the mode of expression.”²⁹

The Canadian Guy Maddin impressed and surprised his cinéphile fans in a very different manner.³⁰ Already his former films introduced him as an extraordinary and extremely original new talent. With his earlier films, Archangel (1990) above all, Maddin already proved his fascination for European art films.³¹ The style and design of his highly individual black-and-white images recalls the Expressionist silent film. With Careful (1991), he once again payed homage to the early years of cinematography. The film recalls the early talkies of about 1928, with title links bridging scenes and a deliberately scratchy soundtrack. This time, however, there is a special emphasis on the subtle staging of colour. Maddin, who admires the German alpine film, German Romanticism and Flemish painting, sets his story in the fictitious and claustrophobic world of the alpine village Tolzbad in the 19th century. Its inhabitants are permanently threatened by avalanches, which can be triggered by the slightest sound. They learn to be careful and suppress all impulses. In addition, the seemingly idyllic place turns out to be an absurd underground world of which the director says himself: “The characters live in a stylized operatic world – the misty crags of an alpine environment constructed completely within a studio – and lead operatic lives, grand Germanic passions, bosom-quivering repression, homicidal self-torment and incestuous longing.”

Maddin, whose films stands for an auteur cinema, is responsible for the direction, script, camera, cutting and editing, sound, production and design. In his representation of the abysmal, claustrophobic and traumatic unconscious he draws on the entire range of techniques and colour values current in early film history. Alongside desaturated colour and faded passages, there are tinted and toned sequences, which look like, say, hand-coloured or tinted pictures. By means of ingenious chemical tricks and optical devices, he succeeds in creating an extravagant colour design on which producer Klymkiw remarks: “Colour like you’ve never seen before. We’re moving ahead a bit into film history, re-creating something called two-step Technicolor – which means that in any one scene there are no more than two colours. There are even scenes in which the art direction is entirely black-and-white, but which we shot in colour.” A lot of special effects, filters, fog and plenty of Vaseline on the lenses contribute to the film’s look. Maddin specifically says that he wanted to make a dreamy, gentle movie that entrances the audience with atmosphere and ideas. He conjures up a hypnotic world. The kinetic montage of the colours has a wide variety of meanings in Maddin’s work: impressive soft and subdued pastel lines, which reveal great familiarity with the Old Masters, colour harmonies of the sentimental film with a regional background and full of melodrama, filtered in-between nuances. These all give the images a touch of magic and are often deceptive and ephemeral. They grant only fleeting glimpses into the abyss human existence, blur the lines or veil the scandalous only slightly. In his melodramatic pastiche, Maddin uses colour with surreal sensibility, he plays with the connotations of history, with middle-class notions of order, with romance, kitsch and decadence.

Just as From Morn Till Midnight, both modern films cited above stand out for their extremely artistic nature. They, too, have made the hermetic world of the studio the basis for an artificial experiment and the intensive heightening of effects by means of stylization. In a way similar to Martin’s, who once spoke of “art as the imperative of freedom” and claimed that the artist has a right to violate the requisite objects as he or she saw fit, Mathias Allary and Guy Maddin emphasize the artists’ liberty to turn their backs on closed, mimetic images of reality, aspiring to a deformation of conventional mimetic depiction and heralding, with their specific way of using colour, their opposition to contemporary conventional ways of seeing. In an age when the tinting of the frames proved it possible to allay the technical limitations of the medium and to give the viewers assistance in interpreting what they were seeing, Martin deliberately opted for black and white. This form of expression corresponds to an interpretation of the story as rejecting a world in which change and rejuvenation had proved to be a fallacy. By forgoing colour, Martin generates a substantial component for rendering the familiar alien and stimulating thought among the viewers.

After over 70 years, Guy Maddin uses the opposite ploy: his silent-movie-style repeats the past, above all by resorting to the means of early cinematography in order to evoke memories of early epochs of history and create a critical distance to the present. He achieves this in particular by using monochrome tinted frames or frames that seem to be hand-coloured. He describes his intentions, to make a dreamy gentle movie that intoxicates the audience with atmosphere and ideas. He conjures up a hypnotic world and confesses: “I am weary of the garish, the loud, the violent and the gratuitous in the contemporary art house film. I believe the viewer can best dream in a quiet setting, so I have set my story in the very heart of quiet itself.” Colours here are not intended to serve as show, but by virtue of their alien and optically distantiating valences are linked to a specific interior perception and become artistic means that have a hypnotic and magic effect As if we are viewing things through a veil we glance into the abyss of human existence, at dreams and repressed instincts, forbidden feelings and repressed emotions become visible. Colour effects trigger countless memories, in which context the psychological, the cultural and the rationally accessible can hardly be distinguished from one another any longer. Contents and colour are juxtaposed so that the film is instilled with a unique form of tension.

By contrast, Mathias Allary uses colour as a highly explosive, expressive medium, following the lesson of Dreyer who never himself produced a colour movie, but stressed that artistic intuition and courage are necessary in order to work with contrasting film colours that intensify the dramatic and psychological tension in a film. The crucial artistic device of Allary determines the character of the film. The large paintings recall the tempestuous colour of the “Brücke” painters and their attempts to expand the possibilities of human expression, but they also convey fear, pain and danger in the same way as these threats are expressed in the apocalyptic visions in the pictures of Ludwig Meidner. At a second level, they reflect the obsessions, fears and sexual fantasies of the protagonist. In this manner, a visual illustration is found for the process of the disintegration of reality, the alienation from accepted social perception, the estrangement from familiar notions. The problem of translating feelings and thoughts into strong colours is solved by means of a high degree of artificiality and variability of the symbolic meanings. The presence of Antonioni (Deserto rosso) as a model is to be felt clearly in the extreme stylization of nature on which this film is based. Allary enhance the intensity of colours by means of carefully computed effects such as those described by modern psychologists in a highly refined way.³² Colour intervenes emphatically in the action, articulates the inner revolt, the turmoil of the senses and the intensity of the emotions. Colour leads into the pre-conceptual area of excitement and stimulation that is free of mental and linguistic cliches.

Both Allary and Maddin have created highly individual intellectual films that pay respect to early cinema. In both cases, colour expresses the emotional content of the story, yet in different ways and each in a visual style that is unique and thrilling. Just like From Morn Till Midnight, cinema today displays aesthetic energies, which, in contrast to mainstream cinema, try to avoid film becoming limited to trivial entertainment, to the uninspiring simulation of reality and identifying effects. These are energies, in fact, which render the controversy about whether colour creates illusions or promotes the depiction of reality obsolete. Colour as the vehicle for dramaturgical and aesthetic experiments is thus always to be understood as the expression of a subversive rebellion against the off-the-products of the film industry.

¹ G. Koshofer, Die Farben des Films. (Berlin, 1988), points out that since 1900 over 50 totally different colouring processes have been developed.

² See E. Ledig (in cooperation with G. Ullmann), “Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm,” in E. Ledig, ed., Der Stummfilm. Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion, (Munich, 1988), pp. 89–116; R. Borde, “Die Filmarchive und der Farbfilm,” in G. Koshofer, Die Farben des Films, pp. 7–10; H., “Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari,” in “Farbe. Zur Rekonstruktion durch das Bundesarchiv,” Film, no. 3 (March – April 1984), pp. 16–8; see the report on the Desmet Collection in Rot für Gefahr, Feuer und Liebe, (Red for Danger, Fire and Love. Early German Silent Films), ed. Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek and Goethe Institut (Berlin, 1995).

³ See the latest experiments to restore The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Brussels) and Nosferatu (Bologne and Munich).

⁴ For example, The Complete Film Dictionary, ed. I. Konigsberg: “The style of this kind of film, notably its settings and lightings as well as its somber tone and tense mood, is sometimes thought to have derived in part from German expressionism of the 1920’s.” (p. 122)

⁵ Wilhelm Dieterle also carefully marked the kind of tinting in the script of his films, e.g., Der Mann am Wege (1923); I have to thank Wemer Sudendorf, Stiftung deutsche Kinemathek, for this information.

⁶ The journalist Josef Aubinger refers to this screening in Der deutsche Film, no. 6-7 (17 February 1922).

⁷ Kinema Jumpo (Tokyo), no. 119 (3 December 1922).

⁸ Vol. 26, no. 40 (8 October 1920), p.10. See also Der Film no. 41 (1920), p.10; Illustrierte Filmwoche, no. 42 (1920).

¹³ Neppach in Kinematographische Monatshefte, no. 5 (1922).

¹⁸ Cf. Martin’s essays “Bühne und Expressionismus,” Neue Hamburger Zeitung, no. 230 (1918) and “Die Bühne und ich,” Die vierte Wand, no. 14-15 (1927), p. 70 f.

²¹ Cf. F. Grafe and M. Gines, “Tomaten auf den Augen,” Cinema, no. 35 (1989) p. 91.

²² Cf. Carl Hoffmann’s short report on how he captured the night in this film in Filmkurier (7 May 1922).

²³ E. Ledig, Rot wie Feuer, p. 97 ff.

²⁴ Information provided by Werner Sudendorf, Berlin.

²⁵ Cf. Filmtechnik, no. 24 (1928).

²⁶ Franta Zlin, cf. E. Weiss, Erzählungen (Frankfurt, 1982) (first published 1928).

²⁷ In this context a painting of the Expressionist artist Gert Wollheim “The Wounded” (1919) draws attention.

²⁸ I want to thank Matthias Allary for providing many useful comments and copies of several interviews.

²⁹ W. Brenner in tip (Berlin), no. 14, (1989).

³⁰ I am grateful to Alexander Bohr (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen) and Jürgen Keiper who draw my attention to Maddin.

³¹ According to S. Schwarzenberg, “the best way to imagine Archangel is to contemplate a Russian ancestor of David Lynch making movies during the silent era of Sergej Eisenstein.” Screen international, vol. 16, no. 791 (31 January 1991).

³² Cf., for instance, E. Heller, Wie Farben wirken. Farbpsychologie, Farbsymbolik, Kreative Farbgestaltung (Reinbek, 1989).”

(Degenhardt, Inge (1996): On the Absence and Presence of Colour in Film. In: Monica Dall’Asta, Guglielmo Pescatore and Leonardo Quaresima (eds.): Il colore nel cinema muto. Bologna: Clueb, pp. 88–102.)

“Daniela Currò is preservation officer in the Motion Picture Department at George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. Previously, she was project manager at the Haghefilm Foundation and film preservation specialist and colour grader at Haghefilm Conservation B.V. in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has also collaborated in research and restoration projects with Italian film archives such as Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin. Ulrich Rüdel holds a doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Münster and worked on biosensors and intellectual property rights before turning to film preservation. He is conservation technology manager at the British Film Institute, and was formerly R&D manager at Cineco/Haghefilm Conservation B.V. and project manager for the Haghefilm Foundation. Both Currò and Rüdel worked at Cineco/Haghefilm Conservation BV at the time of the interview.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Currò, Daniela, Claudy Op den Kamp and Ulrich Rüdel, ‘Towards a More Accurate Preservation of Color: Heritage, Research and the Film Restoration Laboratory’, in Simon Brown, Sarah Street, Liz Watkins (eds). Color and the Moving Image (London and New York: Routledge, 2012), pp. 307–19.

Rüdel, Ulrich, ‘The Technicolor Notebooks at the George Eastman House’, Film History vol. 21 no. c1, 2009, pp. 47–60.

Cherchi Usai, Paolo, Daniela Currò and Ulrich Rüdel, ‘The Haghefilm Foundation, Amsterdam: A Learning Laboratory’, Journal of Film Preservation vol. 82, 2010, pp. 87–93.

Paletz, Gabriel M., ‘The Finesse of the Film Lab: A Report from a Week at Haghefilm’, The Moving Image vol. 6 no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–32.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT [EXTRACT]

DATE OF INTERVIEW: 14 SEPTEMBER 2010

INTERVIEWER: LIZ WATKINS

[…]

LIZ WATKINS: So how do you gauge the colour for a restoration?

ULRICH RÜDEL: Well, for instance, I promised to show you this copy of this Agfacolor tint-and-tone manual because at first for me, it was like a little culture shock. I’m still not 100 per cent sure from when it actually dates, but there’s an article that refers to a toning recipe in here that seems to exactly fit a toning recipe that was published elsewhere in 1921 or 1922 which would date it around that time.¹⁰ The copy I have here I think came with a letter from the late 1920s or even 1930, but when we first saw it we were absolutely stunned by how intense these colours were.

LW: It has actual frames of coloured film in it?

UR: Yes and this is also very interesting when we talk about whether or not the so-called ‘nitrate effect’ exists, because here you see indeed that the film base is as clear as glass. This is something you only see with nitrate, but whether that shows up on screen or not or substantially translates into something on the screen, well that I’m not quite sure about.

LW: They’re almost jewel-like colours, aren’t they? They are incredibly intense.

DANIELA CURRÒ: They are, yes, but then what we also have to consider is that this is a sample book from Agfa. What about the tints from other companies? Could they have had a different look?

UR: I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know what orange they have, for instance, but in other cases I think they might have arrived often at similar dyes, in different places, different geographical locations.

DC: What I mean is that looking at nitrates, I can see patterns coming from a given production company, which usually employed the same colours.

UR: But maybe it’s different choices made using the same palette of dyes?

DC: Of course, but how many dyes are there? Were these the only dyes available? And which were the concentrations and mixes used?

UR: Well I guess there are quite a few even just in this book if they have twelve recipes. I mean, this was the conclusion: there’s so much we don’t know. If you look at the prints, they’re usually in a much worse condition. So we can only make observations, but we don’t actually know. Maybe the other ones were once as vibrant and have decomposed. Are we looking at a deliberate difference in colours here, between Agfa and Kodak, or Europe and the US, or from 1910–20 or into the 1920s? Or does Agfa just happen to have used better paper to mount these frames, so that they survive better than the Kodak tint-and-tone manuals or say, are the storage conditions in Europe on average better (e.g. cooler) than those on the US West Coast?

DC: So what you normally do you’re when looking for a reference point when you get a reel of tinted nitrate on your table, is that you use the colour on the perforation area because you assume it is not as faded as the centre of the frame. Fading in fact could have occurred as a consequence of the heat of the projector’s lamp, but sometimes even in a brand new film that has just been tinted, the edges are a little darker than at the centre, regardless of whether the film has ever been projected. So this assumption is not always correct.

UR: Indeed, we confirmed that, on occasion, and it’s not really surprising because you know you have to shake your tinting solutions or agitate it at least once in a while to make sure to always get fresh solution to the film. The perforations would create some extra stirring, some agitation which would help the colouring process. So that might be an explanation for that, but it’s a subtle difference. Sometimes in films we’ll see the effects; we see the films with different colours but without drawing any definite conclusion. For instance, in one project we were looking at the homogeneity of the colour but in some cases we saw variation depending on how we did it. These slight differences in colour intensity perhaps would be not very noticeable with very dark colours. I think we would probably see that well in a colour that is lighter, so that’s tricky because you have the combination of chemistry and photography, but also vision and psychology.

DC: Often it is experience that helps you understand what the colour that you see was supposed to be like, because sometimes you are lucky enough to find the same decomposition pattern as you’ve seen on a film that you’ve inspected previously. That’s why I keep my camera nearby and I always take pictures. For example, in a film I worked on recently, the first shot looked almost to be green-toned and then the shots after it were blue-toned. So then the choice was whether I should select green toning or whether the fact that all the rest of the film is blue-toned should make me think about something else? There was another film that I had inspected previously that had exactly the same kind of green toning, but occurring only in the middle of a shot that apart from this decayed area was toned blue; that particular shot had decomposed further. That made me think that the first shot in the roll I was inspecting had actually for some strange reason a higher level of decomposition. So, it should have been blue-toned like the rest of the film. The subject of the film was a trip to Niagara Falls too, so it made sense that the tone of the film was blue since all the shots were set in a water environment. There are many considerations to take into account. That’s why you document the choices you make and keep the originals. Somebody else could judge the same phenomenon differently.

UR: This brings up another issue that might be a bit of a concern, that regardless of which route by which you choose to reproduce a tint and tone, I would say that the standard and usually the preferred one is the Desmet process. You could question how well it preserves colour, because what you’re recording are the timing values made in a particular lab, at a particular time, for a particular film stock, and to match the light source of a modern projector.¹¹ The properties of a segment of film are certainly not comprehensively documented by timing values. You can’t predict it very well because every component has a little influence on the actual colour rendition. So it might already be arguable how faithful at all the image is a match to the original experience, and how good a colour preservation for posterity is achieved by using this method. I mean, if you need new prints twenty years from now, you will have to struggle yet again with similar issues to re-recreate the Desmetcolor from two decades before.

NOTES

¹⁰ Elfriede Ledig and Gerhard Ullmann, ‘Rot wie Feuer, Leidenschaft, Genie und Wahnsinn. Zu einigen Aspekten der Farbe im Stummfilm’, in Elfriede Ledig (ed.), Der Stummfilm: Konstruktion und Rekonstruktion (Munich: Verlegergemeinschaft Schaudig/Bauer/Ledig, 1988), pp. 89–116, 105.

¹¹ Noël Desmet and Paul Read, ‘The Desmetcolor Method for Restoring Tinted and Toned Films’, in Luciano Berriatua (ed.), All the Colours of the World: Colours in Early Mass Media 1900-1930 (Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis, 1998), pp. 147–50.”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Interview. Ulrich Rüdel and Daniela Currò. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): British Colour Cinema. Practices and Theories. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 219–227, on pp. 221–226.)

“The major form of color in silent cinema was applied color, colors not achieved by photographic processes, but applied to the positive print. In the most common process, tinting, a black-and-white positive print was immersed in a translucent dye. Thus the lighter areas of the image were colored, while the darker, and especially the entirely black areas, remained unchanged. A tinted image could be described as black and red (or black and green, or blue, or yellow, etc.). Toning, less frequent but still common, involved a process of printing and processing in which the actual chemicals that created the range of grays and blacks in the image were colored. Thus instead of a black-and-white image toning produced a blue and white one (or orange and white, red and white, green and white, etc.). In the era of shorter films some filmmakers colored areas of the image with a variety of colors, either by hand or with the aid of stencils, often with a realistic effect such as green trees, blue water, red flames, golden armor, or blue dresses. Tinting or toning were common practices from the feature era, appearing in most films until at least the mid-1920s.

However, color prints from the silent era were rarely screened until recently, leading to the distorted view that color film emerged gradually during the sound era awaiting the technical perfection and industry adoption of color photography. This was mainly due to archival policy. Until a few decades ago, color film stock was vulnerable to decay and deterioration and less suitable as an archival preservation medium than more stable black-and-white stocks. Applied color appears only on positive projection prints, not on negatives, and not on all prints of a film. Silent films were primarily printed on nitrate stock, whose chemical instability demanded their transfer to more recent stocks for preservation. Should an archivist copy a colored nitrate print onto color stock in order to preserve its tints, knowing that the color stock would itself eventually fade, or should she transfer it onto more stable black-and-white stock? Official policy of film archives until recently recommended duplicating nitrate prints onto black-and-white stock, an entirely defensible decision given the necessary trade-off that all preservation involves.

Certain archives screened nitrate prints with original tints publicly. I remember the excitement when MoMA would screen their tinted prints of Intolerance (D. W. Griffiths, 1916) or Broken Blossoms (D. W. Griffiths, 1919). Scholars realized that color, especially tinting, formed part of the silent film aesthetic. But that color appeared in most silent films was not widely realized until the 1980s, when archivists’ attitudes towards color changed, partly due to more stable color stocks. The decision not to preserve silent films in color came from practical preservation concerns, but it also reflected an attitude towards color that has cultural and aesthetic roots. Tints were considered secondary to the photographic aspects of the film. Color remained a supplement. Film scholars often viewed color as an add-on rather than an essential aspect: tints were applied after the production and directors may have had little or nothing to do with the process, instead leaving them in the hands of technicians. Some critics claimed that tinting was vulgar and obscured photographic qualities, a claim sometimes made by critics in the silent era as well. This viewpoint reflects a strain of chromophobia that runs through Western culture, often directed towards popular arts with their loud carnival colors. Philosophers held that color was not a primary, but, according to Descartes, a secondary accidental quality; certain forms of Puritanism claimed color was a sign of vanity and a cause of distraction; while some schools of painting suggested that color offered only a minor aesthetic quality compared to drawing which outlines essential forms (Batchelor 2000).

Awareness of color in silent film has come full circle with a new fascination in color processes and the effects (and affects) of color in cinema generally. But problems from the preservation side remain. Archivist Giovanna Fossati surveyed color prints made from nitrate originals in the collection of the Nederlands Filmmuseum (Fossati 2009: 83–89). Fossati found colors rarely strictly corresponded. The reasons were multiple. Photographic duplicates from applied color original prints involve a process of translation and unintended transformation. As anyone who has studied photographs of paintings knows, color photography is always selective and particularly responds differently to colors placed in close juxtaposition. But even if the photograph were strictly accurate in the reproduction of the original, neither color system is totally stable. The applied dyes in silent film are always in a process of fading or transforming. Even an accurate photograph will only capture one moment in this process. Color in film remains transitory, subject not only to changes wrought by time, but changes as it migrates through different film stocks and modes of processing. Attempts to preserve colors produced by different processes means those changes can be immense. Video not only offers new tools for the control of color, with its millions of differentiated colors, but also new problems in reproducing them yielding the old joke about the meaning of the initials NTSC – the video standard set in the US by the National Television System Committee – that they actually indicate “never the same color,” still applies (Fossati 2009: 45–49).

All of these aspects indicate the headache color presents to archivists and historians of film stylistics. While one inevitably regrets the loss of aspects of an artwork, some archivists have decided to acknowledge and even embrace the inevitable ephemerality of our medium. Paolo Cherchi Usai in his work as archivist, theorist and filmmaker has embraced this inevitable death of cinema and the role historians and filmmakers play in constructing requiems willing to acknowledge the mortality of film works (Cherchi Usai 2001). Such filmmakers include Pieter Delpeut in Lyrical Nitrate (1991) or Bill Morrison’s Decasia (2002), and the filmmakers who have used colors obtained by unconventional chemical processes, such as David Gatten in What the Water Said (1998-2007) and Peggy Ahwesh in The Color of Love (1994).¹ Color belongs to the material side of film. While it may be stored as digital information, its dynamic unstable chemical nature balances the serendipity of alchemical transformation with the inevitability of decay. This inherently unfixed nature of color combines with its unique perceptual and emotional effects to create a power foreign to either Cartesian certitude or the Platonic ideal eternity.

From the perspective of archiving and preservation, film color remains uniquely vulnerable and its relative absence from earlier accounts of silent film history may derive less from suspicion or ideological suppression than from the nature of color itself, elusive and ungraspable, as eager to appear to us as to flee from us. But what I am calling the suppression of color refers also to our incomplete understanding of another aspect of the history of color in silent cinema: less the prevalence of color during most of the silent era, now widely acknowledged, but the near total disappearance of applied color by the 1930s, which has rarely been remarked upon – even though everyone recognises it! The true mystery of color in film may lie in the emergence of black-and-white in the 1930s through the 1950s as the standard of cinema. Because the preservation of applied color in silent prints remains spotty, the nature of this transformation remains unclear. Was it abrupt, and did it basically coincide, as has often been supposed, with the coming of sound or did it occur gradually, as some preliminary evidence seems to indicate, with a reduction in colored prints during the late 1920s? It has often been claimed that the disappearance of tinting had a technological basis since the dyeing process interfered with the soundtrack. While this sounds plausible, given that some early sound films were tinted, it needs to be questioned and subjected to further investigation. Could the addition of a soundtrack offer a different sort of explanation, more aesthetic and stylistic, as synchronized sound and dialogue clashed with, or somehow rendered redundant, the addition of color? For example, it is useful to recall that early talkies often eliminated the continuous musical accompaniment that had defined silent film, or restricted it to opening and closing credits. It is most likely that streamlining the production of projection prints with sound played a major role, since applied color processes added a complicated stage in the preparation of prints. But why did the aesthetic addition of color at this point seem no longer worth the effort? Histories of laboratory and print preparation may well hold the answer to our question, although aesthetic effects must also have been a consideration. Whatever the explanation may be, this literal suppression of color in the 1930s or late 1920s remains a stylistic change that has basically been taken for granted.

How was black-and-white film viewed during the silent era? Was it a stylistic alternative to color, a seemingly random variation, or was it rarely seen at all? Undoubtedly this question needs to be asked in terms of specific periods (e.g. pre-1907; 1908-1913; 1914; 1919; 1920-1924; 1924-1929); for different national cinemas; and for genres (was tinting and coloring more common in dramas than in slapstick, in fiction than in newsreels?). In how many films did tinting appear only in a few sequences and what sort of scenes were these (to what extent was tinting limited to blue night scenes, red fires, or did it operate as stylistic markers within otherwise black-and-white films)? The lack of tinting was remarked upon in the admittedly limited showings of the Expressionist film Von Morgens bis Mitternacht, Karl Heinz Martin’s 1920 adaptation of George Kaiser’s expressionist play. Recent restorations of classic Weimar films reveal the expressive possibilities of tinting in such films as The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1919), Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922) and Orlacs Hande (Robert Wiene, 1924).² But if Von Morgens bis Mitternacht avoided tints, was this for expressive motives? Did stark black-and-white make the film seem closer to the severe woodcuts of the early German Expressionist group of artists, Die Brücke? […]

Issues of archival restoration of color also raise stylistic considerations. However, when a modern photographic color print is made of prints originally using these processes, these distinctions tend to blur. The blacks of a tinted print lose their integrity, while the whites in a toned print tend to merge with the dominant color. To address this problem The Royale Cinémathèque of Belgium introduced an alternative called the Desmet process (Fossati 2009: 89–90). Instead of simply photographing the original colored print onto color stock, a black-and-white print is flashed into color in order to preserve the original dark blacks, preserving the original tonal contrast.

notes

¹ What the Water Said was a series of films made by David Gatten from 1998 to 2007.

² Contemporary critics remarked on the lack of tinting in the Expressionist film Von Morgens bis Mitternacht, Karl Heinz Martin’s 1920 adaptation of George Kaiser’s Expressionist play (although the film had admittedly very few screenings).

references

Batchelor, D. (2000) Chromophobia, New York: Reaktion.

Cherchi Usai, P. (2001) The Death of Cinema: History, Cultural Memory and the Digital Dark Age, London: British Film Institute.

Fossati, G. (2009) From Grain to Pixel: the Archival Life of Film in Transition, Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Press.”

(Gunning, Tom (2013): Where Do Colors Go at Night? In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): Color and the Moving Image. History, Theory, Aesthetics, Archive. New York, London: Routledge, pp. 81–92, on pp. 82–86.)

The Great White Silence (GBR 1924, Herbert G. Ponting):

“Ponting’s references to the use of color for his still photography primarily concern the selection of hues that enhance the subject: “Ice Blink” is printed “in the green [carbon] tissue” and another “in a very fine blue tissue, which seems to suit the subject exactly” (Ponting, 15 June 1926). In Silence, however, the fourteen different combinations of tinting, toning and hand coloring that are detailed by instructions scratched into sections of film indicate a color design that is also significant to its themes and narrative.

Cherchi Usai tracks the significance of certain colors in the silent period to suggest thematic associations, such as a shift to amber which could signal “when a table lamp was turned on in a room” (1991: 29–38). In Silence the thematic use of color, perhaps unintentionally, maps territory, both by delineating between areas associated with the ship and those inhabited by the Antarctic wildlife. In this context a shift from amber in the record of the expedition member’s daily work to the sepia tone and green tint of zoological studies indicates that of a different realm, whilst combinations of a blue tone and pink tint are associated with the effects of light refracted by the ice. Ponting’s use of color contributes to narrative progression through a historiography practice of editing and commissioning new material.

The initially black-and-white film footage and selected photographs of the Terra Nova seen through an ice cave can be linked to his written account of the expedition, which is particularly attentive to color:

During this first and subsequent visits, I found the coloring of the grotto changed with the position of the sun; thus sometimes green would predominate, then blue, and then again it was a delicate lilac. (Ponting [1921] 2000: 68)

[…] Such descriptions suggest what was not immediately recorded by the cinematography. The movement of the ice floe is evoked in Silence through inter-cut still and moving images of the grotto taken a year apart, each shot colored in jewel-like tones to be found in tinting and toning catalogues. The addition of color to these images offers the cinematographer’s perspective as a layer of interpretation over the “subtle shadows of the snow and […] wonderful transparent texture” that Scott notes of his black-and-white photography (Scott [1921] 2000: xv).

The significance of color to the narrative is established in the opening section of the film. The initial black-and-white images of Captain Scott and Ponting position them as auteurs of both the expedition and the diegesis before the color scheme is instigated as the Terra Nova sets sail. The changes in color that are contiguous with those of the film’s themes are reduced in the section detailing the final journey to the Pole. This also gives an inflection of coherence across a section that is assembled from a significant number of technical revisions including animation, still-photographs and drawings, to avoid distraction from the tale. A shift in color to a blue tint denotes their imminent demise in the “fateful tent” which persists across the memorial portrait photographs of the five men. The still images screened are the work of duplication across a strip of 35 mm film. This contrasts with the transcendent blue tone and amber tint that transfigures the remaining images: drawings of an angel reaching down to Captain Scott and a cairn of rocks surmounted by a cross that marks the graves of the expedition members. Notably the remaining inter-titles of Silence are dominated by a quote from Scott’s diary and marked by the imaged authorisation of his handwritten signature which forecloses the film.

references

Cherchi Usai, P. (1991) “The Color of Nitrate”, Image, 34, 1-2: 29–38.

Ponting, H. G. ([1921] 2000) The Great White South, New York: Cooper Square.

Ponting, H. G. British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Volume 7, MS280/28/7, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.

– (15 June 1926) Letter to Frank Debenham.

Scott, R. F. ([1921] 2000) “Kathleen Scott’s Foreword”, in H. G. Ponting, The Great White South, New York: Cooper Square: xv.”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Herbert G. Ponting’s Materials and Texts. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): Color and the Moving Image. History, Theory, Aesthetics, Archive. New York, London: Routledge, pp. 230–242, on pp. 233–235.)

“herbert g. ponting’s materials and texts

liz watkins

For as long as celluloid can last, the filmed record of Captain Scott’s last tragic journey to the Pole is at last completed. It has taken years of work, and now posterity can look on it, just as we do, for as long a time as discovered science can ensure (Ponting, 11 August 1924: 8)

The 2010 digital restoration of The Great White Silence (Ponting, 1924) commemorates the centenary of the departure of the British Antarctic Expedition (1910-13). Herbert G. Ponting’s photographic record of the expedition has been integral to the narratives that have emerged around the loss of the polar party. The stills and cine-photography formed a strand of the expedition’s scientific research by offering a visual record of the region. A study of the provenance of the 2010 restoration discerns a supplementary layer of information (residual marks of production and decay) beneath the fascia of image and narrative. The interpretation of instructions that are scratched into the film and attributed to Ponting have informed the “return” of color in the 2010 release of Silence. The restoration refers to and incorporates sections of film from diverse archives and pasts elaborating a historiographic process that embeds ideas of authorship and authenticity in a narrative of irresoluble loss.

Herbert G. Ponting, camera artist to Captain R. F. Scott’s fated polar expedition (1910-1913), re-edited his film footage across an initial twenty-year period in response to the technological and cultural contexts of each release. The material and textual alterations that can be tracked across the different versions reveal a tension between the film as scientific document, historical record and the continuing development of a narrative that underlies its remobilisation as a commercial enterprise in the film market. […]

This discourse, of authenticity and authorship, in which the return of color is keyed to Ponting’s instructions scratched into sections of leader, is invoked in the digital simulation of tinting and toning as applied color processes. These technical alterations open a space in which to address the impact of the digital on the film object and text. It is in this sense that the reconstruction (Busche 2006: 3) of the color scheme operates as a facet of historiography, imagination and memory.

The camera negatives were initially processed by Ponting in the Antarctic and returned to the UK in two consignments to be screened in two parts under the title With Captain Scott R.N., to the South Pole (1911 and 1912). Ponting, who held the rights to the expedition stills photography, subsequently purchased those for the cinematograph films from the Gaumont Company in 1914 for £5,100. […] Work on editing Silence began after the 1921 publication of his written account of the expedition, The Great White South.

[…] During this period Ponting’s correspondence with Frank Debenham who, with his assistant Miss Winifred M. Drake, advised on the accuracy of the film’s illustrations, indicates the difficulties of revitalising the film in keeping with the full breadth of technological developments that would position his “ancient results equal to modern panchromatic photography” (Ponting, 22 October 1932; 15 August 1933).¹ Adaptations to the technique required to produce 90° South included the transfer of material to film stock with different perforations and the alteration from the speed of filming at 16 fps to that of the 24 fps of synchronised sound projection. The residual effects of these technical manipulations are visualised in the instabilities of the image in relation to the frame (Ponting, 12 January 1933). Ponting’s revision incorporates additional material including the commissioning of new maps, a 25-foot painting of the landscape, a diorama and an amended animated line and map sequence, each of which was filmed and inter-cut with still photographs to further illustrate the journey of Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers and Evans to the South Pole (Ponting, 15 August 1933). […]

In reformulating the film footage to the shifting interests of its anticipated reception the visual appeal of the image and the drama of the story are emphasised. The tension between the film as commodity and expedition record lies in the accumulation of information and its erasure and of the materials and detritus that invoke a direct relationship between the photographic imprint and the cinematic illusion projected of light. While the re-editing of the film footage is responsive to different innovations, indicating its potential to be deciphered as a tract of film history, such alterations in technique also affect the film as a text.

[…]

Ponting’s references to the use of color for his still photography primarily concern the selection of hues that enhance the subject: “Ice Blink” is printed “in the green [carbon] tissue” and another “in a very fine blue tissue, which seems to suit the subject exactly” (Ponting, 15 June 1926). In Silence, however, the fourteen different combinations of tinting, toning and hand coloring that are detailed by instructions scratched into sections of film indicate a color design that is also significant to its themes and narrative.

Cherchi Usai tracks the significance of certain colors in the silent period to suggest thematic associations, such as a shift to amber which could signal “when a table lamp was turned on in a room” (1991: 29–38). In Silence the thematic use of color, perhaps unintentionally, maps territory, both by delineating between areas associated with the ship and those inhabited by the Antarctic wildlife. In this context a shift from amber in the record of the expedition member’s daily work to the sepia tone and green tint of zoological studies indicates that of a different realm, whilst combinations of a blue tone and pink tint are associated with the effects of light refracted by the ice. Ponting’s use of color contributes to narrative progression through a historiography practice of editing and commissioning new material.

The initially black-and-white film footage and selected photographs of the Terra Nova seen through an ice cave can be linked to his written account of the expedition, which is particularly attentive to color:

During this first and subsequent visits, I found the coloring of the grotto changed with the position of the sun; thus sometimes green would predominate, then blue, and then again it was a delicate lilac. (Ponting [1921] 2000: 68)

[…] Such descriptions suggest what was not immediately recorded by the cinematography. The movement of the ice floe is evoked in Silence through inter-cut still and moving images of the grotto taken a year apart, each shot colored in jewel-like tones to be found in tinting and toning catalogues. The addition of color to these images offers the cinematographer’s perspective as a layer of interpretation over the “subtle shadows of the snow and […] wonderful transparent texture” that Scott notes of his black-and-white photography (Scott [1921] 2000: xv).

The significance of color to the narrative is established in the opening section of the film. The initial black-and-white images of Captain Scott and Ponting position them as auteurs of both the expedition and the diegesis before the color scheme is instigated as the Terra Nova sets sail. The changes in color that are contiguous with those of the film’s themes are reduced in the section detailing the final journey to the Pole. This also gives an inflection of coherence across a section that is assembled from a significant number of technical revisions including animation, still-photographs and drawings, to avoid distraction from the tale. A shift in color to a blue tint denotes their imminent demise in the “fateful tent” which persists across the memorial portrait photographs of the five men. The still images screened are the work of duplication across a strip of 35 mm film. This contrasts with the transcendent blue tone and amber tint that transfigures the remaining images: drawings of an angel reaching down to Captain Scott and a cairn of rocks surmounted by a cross that marks the graves of the expedition members. Notably the remaining inter-titles of Silence are dominated by a quote from Scott’s diary and marked by the imaged authorisation of his handwritten signature which forecloses the film.

The 2010 restoration of Silence, which sees the return of the chromatic schema, is drawn into a discourse of authenticity and authorship through reference to the color instructions scratched into sections of leader that accompany the film negatives. For Silence, as with many examples from the 1920s, the instructions do not consistently distinguish between tinting, toning and hand painting as possible methods of coloring the film. Luciano Berriatúa notes “the variety of these tints and their intensity from year to year. And also from laboratory to laboratory”, indicating potential points of divergence from the color instructions (Berriatúa 1998: 135–139).³ Both Paul Read and Nicola Mazzanti indicate material inconsistencies that occur between prints of what is ostensibly the same film due to differences in the concentration of dye solution and the duration of the submergence of each strip of film (Mazzanti 2009: 67–93; Read 2009: 9–46; BJP 1924: 611–614). For example, the recurrence of a color instruction could incur a variation in color intensity. It is in this sense that the salience of color in the study of Silence encounters numerous factors affecting the variations in hue, transparency and intensity that result from different dyes and processing methods.

[…] In the 1990s Angelo Lucatello’s comparative work, which contributed to the later digital restoration, identified several differences between the 1923 nitrate soft print of Silence and the EYE Film Institute’s holdings which include additional material such as a still-photograph of Dr Atkinson’s frost bitten hand. Such combinations of elements also extend to the duplication of fragments of leader and instructions in the fine grain contact print assembled in the 1990s by the NFTVA. The diversity of materials that informed the reconstruction (see workflow chart in Figure 21.3 […]) indicates the potential for the film image and text to alter.

[…] For Mazzanti the collation of different versions and generations of prints toward what Busche calls a reconstruction (2006: 3) can elicit shifts in the film text by decomposition or design to constitute a “variant” rather than new “version” of a film (Mazzanti 2009: 76–77). While Ponting’s re-editing constructs new versions, the trajectory of the digital reconstruction forms a variant within the cultural context of its production. The “return of color” through digital grading encounters inconsistencies in the filmic elements sourced. The inflection of color across the configuration of assembled materials (see the workflow chart) noted in the exhibition of the 2010 print contributes to the discourse of authorship and authenticity. […]

In evaluating the concepts of “authorship” and “variants”, Ponting’s correspondence with Debenham is significant in its recognition of the involvement of four assistants. The assistants include Mr Gent, who had been the Gaumont Company’s representative in Australasia and acted as their signatory on the agreement with the expedition. Gent was in Ponting’s employment from 1918 until at least 1930 on a wage of £400 per annum. Ponting states that in addition to his work on the cinematographic films Gent was responsible for the care “of the negatives and everything appertaining to them” (Ponting, 29 July 1929; 8 January 1930). […]

In a sense, the process of reconstruction resonates with Ponting’s own practice. The assembled materials therefore map the path of the digital reconstruction to formulate an image of the film elements and a digital simulation of the applied color processes of tinting and toning. Each transfer to a new medium signals a shift in the image and text. The assembled “film” accumulates the characteristics of each medium and process; alterations remain visible through the details that they add or erode from the image. […]

The subsequent image sustains a trace of previous generations of film material. The residual imprints of processing and the simulacra of marks specific to other film elements reveal fragments and images drawn from diverse pasts into a new narrative form. […]

Although an assumption of objectivity underlies the subjective selections made, there are layers of interpretation from Ponting and his assistants, through to those of the reconstruction. The NFTVA’s work documents a trajectory through previous generations of materials now detailed and in storage. A study of the restoration trajectory tracks alterations in design and the contingent marks that register the susceptibility of celluloid and photosensitive emulsion to the impact of the environment during filming and storage. Traces of the technologies of production and decay constitute data which can be read as a supplementary record of the expedition and form a strand of the historiography of its materials and texts. Ponting’s photographic work is integral to the narratives that have emerged around the expedition. The restoration underscores and distances photography and detail as paradigmatic of authenticity. It also offers a new point of access to Silence as film text and to a narrative that plays on imagination, memory and the historicity of the subject. For its historical, narrative and pictorial significance the chromatic scale of the film, like the deictic salience of marks and scratches, offers the illusion of the past in the present that allows the spectator to invest in the digitally colored image as an image of authenticity.

notes

1. Debenham was a geographer on the British Antarctic Expedition (1910-13). He was later Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute.

3. The NFTVA consulted a Pathé catalogue of tints and tones and additional individual frames that form part of the Kodak collection at the National Media Museum Bradford. These sources were used as a point of reference for the 2009-2010 restoration of Silence. Additional reference material included prints of Silence from the EYE Film Institute and La Cinémathèque de Toulouse, and a research screening of tinted and toned prints of The Lodger (Hitchcock, 1926) and South (Frank Hurley, 1919) for NFTVA restoration project members and technicians from Deluxe Digital, London.

references

Berriatúa, L. (1998) “Regarding a Catalogue of the Tints Used on the Silent Screen”, All the Colors of the World: Colors in Early Mass Media 1900-1930, Reggio Emilia: Edizioni Diabasis: 135–139.

British Journal of Photography [BJP] (1924) “A Review of Dye Toning Processes”, British Journal of Photography [BJP], 71, 3360: 611–614.

Busche, A. (2006) “Just Another Ideology? Ethical and Methodological Principles in Film Restoration”, The Moving Image, 1: 1–28.

Cherchi Usai, P. (1991) “The Color of Nitrate”, Image, 34, 1-2: 29–38.

Lucatello, A. (2010) “How Do They Do It? The Great White Silence“, The Discovery Channel, 27 October. Online. Available at http//ww.yourdiscovery.com/ video/how-they-do-it-how-they-do-it-the-great-white-silence/

Mazzanti, N. (2009) “Colors, Audiences and (Dis)continuity in the ‘Cinema of the Second Period’”, Film History, 21: 67–93.

Ponting, H. G. ([1921] 2000) The Great White South, New York: Cooper Square.

Ponting, H. G. (17 December 1913) Letter to Apsley Cherry Garrard, British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, MS559/102/2, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.

– (11 August 1924) “The Great White Silence Programme Notes”, D. 1500/1/1, Bournemouth Electric Theatre, Dorset History Centre: 3–10.

– (22 October 1932) Letter to Padre Hayes, MS964/7/22, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.

Ponting, H. G. British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Volume 7, MS280/28/7, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge.

– (15 June 1926) Letter to Frank Debenham.

– (29 July 1929) Letter to Frank Debenham.

– (8 January 1930) Letter to Frank Debenham.

– (12 January 1933) Letter to Frank Debenham.

– (15 August 1933) Letter to Frank Debenham.

Read, P. (2009) “‘Unnatural Colors’: An Introduction to Coloring Techniques in Silent Era Movies”, Film History, 21, 1: 9–46.

Scott, R. F. ([1921] 2000) “Kathleen Scott’s Foreword”, in H. G. Ponting, The Great White South, New York: Cooper Square: xv.”

(Watkins, Liz (2013): Herbert G. Ponting’s Materials and Texts. In: Simon Brown, Sarah Street and Liz Watkins (eds.): Color and the Moving Image. History, Theory, Aesthetics, Archive. New York, London: Routledge, pp. 230–242, on pp. 230–240.)

The Lodger. A Story of the London Fog (GBR 1927, Alfred Hitchcock)

“A final example of elaborate interior and exterior colour design from the 1920s is The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Hitchcock 1926). Colour underscores a design that unsettles the idea that interiors or the past can be neatly demarked or insulated from contemporary developments. The film uses tinting and toning to associate colour primarily with exteriors, modernity, fear, and the unknown. The narrative raises suspicions that a lodger (Ivor Novello) living in a large, Victorian London house might be a serial killer of young women on London’s streets, who stabs them and leaves behind a triangular piece of paper signed by ‘The Avenger’. The film has profoundly intermedial origins, as is well known, in Marie Belloc Lowndes’ popular novel (1913), and a stage adaptation by H.A. Vachell, Who Is He?, which Hitchcock saw in 1915. It is also indebted to Hitchcock’s experiences in Germany in the 1920s, particularly his familiarity with set design techniques steeped in theatricality and modernism (Street 2001, 68–70). British crime fiction also inspired the ‘internationally circulating visual vocabulary for London’ that is replicated in The Lodger, as in German films of the 1920s including Paul Leni’s Das Wachsfigurenkabinett [Waxworks] (1923), and later films such as the Anglo-German co-production Nachtgestalten [The Alley Cat] (1929), and E.A. Dupont’s Piccadilly (UK 1929; see Bergfelder, Harris, and Street 2007, 138–140). The Lodger betrays these influences in its exteriors and interiors, from London’s dark streets to the studio construction of a three-sided house with narrow walls and ceilings to facilitate varied lighting effects, and the glass ceiling constructed to visualize the novel’s reference to the anxiety caused by the unsettling sound of the lodger pacing up and down in his room. British cinema of the 1920s, as Christine Gledhill (2003, 93) has noted, was steeped in a ‘pictorial-theatrical-narrative mode’ that involved adapting theatrical staging and pictorial seeing to the needs of narrative cinema. This convergence of media traditions was integral to Hitchcock’s early films. At the same time, his experiences filming in Studio Babelsberg, Berlin in 1924 brought him into contact with F.W. Murnau, a director profoundly influenced by the theatre and lighting designs of Max Reinhardt, and with cinematographer Baron Ventimiglia who shot The Lodger with such luminary precision.

The company Deluxe 142 worked on the British Film Institute’s restoration in 2012. Since the negative no longer exists, the sources for the digital restoration were nitrate prints dating back to the 1940s. Colourist Stephen Bearman worked to replicate the iron-blue tone and amber tints that are so important for the film’s colour scheme: the combination of the two colours for exteriors sought to produce ‘an effect similar to that of the old London pea-soup fogs, the “London particular” the scenes were intended to represent’ (Read and Meyer 2000, 191), while at the same time delineating spatial boundaries between interiors and exteriors. The ‘blue for night’ colouring is invested with associations that go beyond realistic replication. Rather, it underscores the film’s broader theme of encroaching modernity.

The film also uses spatiality to underscore the conflicts of modernity by delineating different, conflicting time frames present in its décor: the interiors of the house are decorated from an earlier (Victorian) era, even though the film’s narrative takes place in the 1920s. Its large rooms with high ceilings are cluttered with bricà-brac, candelabra, flowers, ornaments, pictures, all tinted warm amber. The outside world however is full of suspense, the unknown, and danger, and is dominated by the cold, iron-blue toning, which not only forms a contrast with the safe, cosy interior of the house, but by dual processing the blue tone with amber tinting, the colours problematize the safe warmth of the interior. The film’s opening accords with this scheme: as we see a terrified woman about to be murdered, the tinting and toning replicate the blue-and-amber title card, which repeats the amber illuminated sign ‘To-Night Golden Curls’ that pulsates outside. The distinctive titles were by E. McKnight Kauffer, a painter and poster designer who developed an avant-garde graphic style, working also with artists such as Wyndham Lewis and T.S. Eliot. This particular, pulsating title is emblematic of the way that the film’s thematic concerns are underscored by colour. Indeed, there are close associations between colour, artificial light, modernity, and the sexualized, night-time world of showgirls. Throughout the film, the amber-tinted interiors of the house appear to separate it from the dangers associated with the city (most often coded with blue). The irony of this is that the house may not be a safe haven – from another time and out of danger – because the lodger very well might be the killer, as he is set up to be through the film’s staging and mise-en-scène.

The location of a lodging-house in a modern city indeed further problematizes the demarcation between exterior and interior that the film’s colour system initially encourages us to believe. As Murray Pomerance (2009, 431) points out regarding the film, ‘in modernity… just as exteriors come inside, so interiors are exteriors’. When Daisy and the lodger are outside in the dark, illuminated under a street light whose effect is shown by an amber tint against a blue tone, the all-pervasive blue surrounding them serves to emphasize their isolation as vulnerable innocents in the dangerous city. Colour is used for a nightmare sequence when the policeman’s growing suspicions are shown: amber-tinted objects such as the lodger’s bag and the quivering ceiling lights as he paces above are superimposed against a blue background to visualize his worst fears. Blue is used to support the dramatic narrative most obtrusively towards the end of the film when an angry crowd frantically turns into a lynch-mob and chases the lodger, who they think is the murderer. In this way the film’s colour supports an interior/exterior schema that works towards symbolizing the colliding worlds of the time, as the ‘colour wave’ emphasized change and the unexpected. The intermingling of decades, of media and spatiality is an important indicator of cinema’s multiplicity and centrifugal connotations.

As these examples indicate, perceptions of cinematic colour were multifarious in their appreciation, so that the apparent conventional uniformity of a tinted frame by no means indicated a mise-en-scène that was unremarkable or unrecognizable. The continued interest in hybridized colour attests to the pursuit of variety, attraction, and experimentation at a time when the institutionalization of cinema was supposed to have curtailed these intermedial impulses. The key point is that cinema’s confidence was not associated with a sense of static maturity, accompanied by a loss of momentum and innovation. Rather, cinema’s dynamism in the 1920s was characterized by flux, repetition, and difference as it negotiated its place across multiple contexts. The total experience of colour during this period was essentially an intermedial one, informed by the many intersecting areas of life, art, and commerce. As cinema was becoming more institutionalized, the many influences with which it interacted were similarly at different stages of development. The resulting collision of manifestations of the colour world underlines the complexities of mapping intermedial exchange during this dynamic period. While a growing perception of what cinema was capable of and what made the medium distinct was evident, its profoundly intermedial connections – more typically associated with an earlier phase of development – were not foreclosed in the 1920s. Instead, intermediality produced a chromatic vibrancy in the art and cinema of the era that resonates still today.”

(Street, Sarah; Yumibe, Joshua (2013): The Temporalities of Intermediality. Colour in Cinema and the Arts of the 1920s. In: Early Popular Visual Culture, 11,2, May, pp. 140–157, on pp. 152-154.)

“Virage”

Von Richard Rühl, Berlin

Bekanntlich bedient man sich beim Film der Virage (Färbung des Positivs, um sowohl besondere, der betreffenden Szene angepaßte Stimmungen, wie auch bei einigen Arten der Virage die im Bild gezeigten Vorgänge besonders plastisch herauszubringen. Z.B. erzielt man die Wirkung einer Nachtszene durch blaue Virage, Mondschein – man denke an ein Liebespaar auf einer Marmorbank – durch blau-grün, Feuer- und Kaminszenen durch rot, das Boudoir einer schönen Frau durch rosa, große, helle Räume durch gelb usw. So erweckt jede Farbe, unter denen natürlich sehr viele Nuancen möglich sind, im Beschauer die für das betreffende Bild erforderlichen Empfindungen. Von diesen vielen Nuancen wird nur leider aus Bequemlichkeit in punkto Zeit und Geld, sowie geeigneten und besonders dafür geschulten Kräften viel zu wenig Gebrauch gemacht. Es ist nämlich gar nicht so einfach, wie das aussieht, wirklich genau zur Handlung passende Virage zu wählen, deshalb, weil sie ja die Urheber der Photographie sind und somit das lebhafteste Interesse an dem richtigen Ausfall der Virage haben.

Man kennt zwei Arten von Virage. Die eine, die sogenannte gewöhnliche Virage, besteht in der Färbung des Filmbandes mit Anilinfarben in Verbindung mit Eisessig oder Zitronensäure. Die beiden letzteren Substanzen bewirken die gleichmäßige Verteilung der Farben und die Haltbarkeit der Färbung. Selbstredend muß man dabei auch einen beträchtlichen Zusatz von Wasser nehmen. Die andere Art, die “chemische Virage”, geschieht durch Abschwächen des zu viragierenden Filmstreifens und darauf folgendem Einsetzen in chemische Lösungen. Die Wirkung ist dann die, daß die dunkleren Töne des Positivs sich verschärfen und die halbdunklen kontrastreicher werden, während die hellen keine Änderung erfahren. Dadurch entsteht eine besonders plastische Wirkung. Hieraus ergibt sich, daß man sehr dichte Negative bereits beim Kopieren etwas heller halten muß, damit sich die Nuancen des Bildes nicht miteinander vermischen. Umgekehrt kann man aus unterlichteten aber trotzdem kontrastreichen Negativen durch chemische Virage eine bessere Wirkung herausholen.

Schon aus diesen Unterscheidungsmerkmalen und der Herstellung der chemischen gegenüber der gewöhnlichen Virage erhellt, daß die chemische Virage teurer und auch anspruchsvoller in Zeit und Übung ist. Aber trotzdem ziehen sehr viele Fachleute der größeren Möglichkeiten wegen die chemische Virage vor.

Die Behauptung, daß die chemische Virage eine geringere Haltbarkeit des Zelluloidstreifens gegenüber der gewöhnlichen Virage zur Folge hat, dürfte wohl kaum Berechtigung haben, da in beiden Fällen chemische Substanzen benutzt werden und in dem einen der Eisessig und die Zitronensäure ebenso angreifend auf das Zelluloid wirken können, wie im anderen die chemischen Flüssigkeiten.

Neben der “einfachen” Virage, d.h. der Viragierung des Filmstreifens auf eine der beiden oben angeführten Arten, kennt man noch die “doppelte” Virage. Man versteht darunter chemische mit darauf folgender gewöhnlicher Viragierung. Derartige Kombinationen, die sich natürlich auch auf verschiedene Farben erstrecken, nimmt man zwischen chemisch braun mit grün, vor chemisch braun mit rosa, chemisch braun mit gelb, chemisch blau mit rosa u.a. Einen sonnigen Wald würde man z.B. chemisch braun mit grün viragieren, ein Kircheninneres mit seiner feierlichen Stimmung chemisch braun mit rosa oder auch chemisch braun mit violett, einen Steinbruch mit seiner staubigen Einförmigkeit chemisch braun mit gelb. Meeres- oder Wolkenstimmung chemisch blau mit rosa usw. Es gibt also sehr vielfache und fein nüancierte Variationen.

Trotzdem sieht man auch heute noch leider Szenen, die lediglich nach Schema und Überlieferung ohne irgendwelche künstlerischen Gesichtspunkte viragiert sind. Das Bild der so schnell herbeieilenden Feuerwehr kennt der routinierte Kinobesucher als knallrot, das glückliche oder auch unglückliche Liebespaar mit Nachtigallschluchzen (Orchester!) sitzt nächtlicherweile in tintenblauer Farbe. Der Schmetterlingsammelnde Professor stolziert einsam in einem giftgrünen Walde umher usw. Das Publikum ist eben geduldig und hat sich zum Teil daran auch schon gewöhnt.

Ganz abgesehen von derartig sinnloser und kitschiger Virage werden aber auch schon […] da das, wie bereits erwähnt, Erfahrungssache ist und andererseits der Färber, also derjenige, welcher die Virage vorzunehmen hat, fast immer von der Handlung des Films, den er bearbeitet, keine blasse Ahnung hat. Aus diesen Gründen müssen die Operateure meistens die Wahl der Virage zu ihren vielen anderen Arbeiten noch mit übernehmen oder aber tun das schon beim Viragieren Fehler gemacht. Der Färber übersieht im Drang der Geschäfte die besonderen Zeichen, mit welchen die Virage auf den Positiven angegeben ist, wie zwei Sterne, einen Kreis und einen Stern usw., die alle besondere Farben kennzeichnen sollen. Oder aber so ein armer Rahmen wird im Färbebottich überhaupt vergessen und seine Bilder verwandeln sich da von einer sanften Frühlingswiese zu einem knallgrünen Feuersalamander. Ganz nett ist es auch, wenn der treulose Ehemann seine junge Frau in einem strahlend hellen, gelbviragierten Hotelvestibül brutal sitzen läßt, um dann aber, doch von der Reue getrieben, sie nach einer Viertelstunde in einem blauen wiederzufinden. Das ist zwar nicht besonders logisch, aber wie ich in manchem Kino festgestellt habe, schon dagewesen.

Eine dritte Art des Viragierens ist eigentlich das Kolorieren, wenn man unter Viragieren das Färben von Positiven versteht. Nur daß beim Kolorieren einzelne Teile jedes Bildes gefärbt werden, was natürlich sehr mühsam ist, wenn es gut ausgeführt wird, aber auch sehr große Effekte hervorrufen kann. Es würde hier zu weit führen, auf Einzelheiten des Kolorierens einzugehen.

Nicht unerwähnt soll schließlich noch bleiben, daß die Wahl der Virage zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten erfolgen kann und zwar entweder bei Übergabe der einzelnen Szenen an die Kopieranstalt zum Entwickeln und Kopieren, oder aber bei der Vorführung der Musterkopie. Die letzte Methode hat den Vorteil, daß man sich aus dem Fortgang der Handlung und ihren Stimmungen ein Bild für die erforderliche Virage machen kann, jedoch den Nachteil, daß das Positiv bereits verölt oder beschmutzt durch die Projektion an die Kopieranstalt zurückgelangen kann. Schmutz- und Ölstellen nehmen aber bekanntlich schwer oder gar nicht Virage an.

So sehen wir, daß gerade das Kapitel “Virage” besonders der Beachtung der Fachleute wert ist.”

(Rühl, Richard (1923): Virage. In: Film-Kurier, 12.2.1923.) (in German)

“Toning Bromide Prints. – No. 5,602, 1913 (March 7, 1912). By the aid of suitable developers the latent image in photographic emulsions can be developed directly into a coloured picture in so far as the oxidization products, which are formed when the latent picture is reduced, are coloured and, owing to their physical or chemical properties, remain at the place where they are formed. A yellowish-brown picture is so obtained when developing with pyrogallic acid, a blue picture with indoxyl, and a red one with thioindoxyl.

The object of the invention is to obtain coloured pictures of this kind not from the latent picture, but from a black developed picture.

It is found that pictures which are developed black can be converted into coloured pictures with developers of this kind by first converting the silver of such pictures into reducible silver compounds by means of a mixture of ferricyanide of potassium and bromide of potassium, and by then reducing such compound with developers corresponding to requirements. In this case we obtain besides the silver picture a coloured picture due to the coloured oxidation product. In this manner it is possible subsequently to convert any black silver picture into a coloured one. By repeating the operation new coloured materials can be deposited at the places containing the silver, so that any desired intensification can be thereby obtained. Lastly, in order to obtain a pure coloured picture the silver can be removed by one of the known agents.

For example, a black silver picture is bleached in a solution of 10 per cent. ferricyanide of potassium and 10 per cent. bromide of potassium, well diluted with water, and then developed to a yellowish-brown colour in a solution of pyro. 0,1 gm., soda 2 gms., and water 100 c.c.s.

Or a picture bleached as just described is developed to a red colour in a solution of thioindoxyl carboxylic acid 0.5 gm., acetone 5 c.c.s., potash 2 gms., and water 100 c.c.s. Dr. Rudolf Fischer. 20, Beyrnestrasse, Steglitz, Berlin.”

(Fischer, Rudolf (1913): Toning Bromide Prints. In: The British Journal of Photography, 60, p. 712.)

Downhill (GBR 1927, Alfred Hitchcock)

“As films became longer, often dealing with complex narratives and different temporalities, tinting and toning […] could be motivated by an extended range of imperatives. […] Rachael Low argues that for some time blue tints made up for technical deficiencies in lighting and stock which made night-shooting difficult. Once the latter improved, tinting was not so necessary for night effects, but was nevertheless used creatively and to convey a sense of realism. One example cited is Hitchcock’s Downhill (1927), in which a sequence conveying the central character’s delirium was dyed sepia, while his imaginings were in green.⁸²

NOTES

⁸² Rachael Low, The History of the British Film, 1918-29 (London: Allen & Unwin, 1971), p. 280.”

(Street, Sarah (2012): Colour Films in Britain. The Negotiation of Innovation 1900-55. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, on pp. 19–20.)

La poule aux œufs d’or (FRA 1905, Gaston Velle)

“Si pensi al motivo magico dell’oro presente in tanti racconti fiabeschi, tradotto visivamente nella féerie attraverso l’uso abbondante del giallo per dare risalto a oggetti magici, tesori nascosti o ambienti regali e lussuosi. Il motivo ricorre in molte vedute, come La poule aux œufs d’or della Pathé (La gallina dalle uova d’oro, Velle, 1905), ispirata alla favola in versi di Jean de La Fontaine, da cui mezzo secolo prima aveva preso spunto il drammaturgo Adolphe d’Ennery per una féerie teatrale dal medesimo titolo⁴³.

[…]

In La poule aux œufs d’or, la forma monocroma accompagna il normale svolgimento della vicenda (la piazza del mercato, il cortile, il pollaio), mentre la colorazione a pochoir subentra in corrispondenza di effetti pirotecnici e accadimenti soprannaturali (la personificazione della gallina, la visione della testa di Satana dentro l’uovo, l’esplosione dell’uovo).

⁴³ Cat. Pathé n. 1311 (cfr. Bousquet 1996, p. 916). Sulla féerie di d’Ennery (Cirque National, 1848), cfr. Ginisty 1910, pp. 198–199.

Bibliografia

Bousquet, Henri (1996), Catalogue Pathé des années 1896 à 1914. 1896 à 1906, Bousquet, Bures-sur-Yvette.

Ginisty, Paul (1910), La féerie, Michaud, Paris.”

(Pierotti, Federico (2012): La seduzione dello spettro. Storia e cultura del colore nel cinema. Genova: Le Mani-Microart, on pp. 43–47.) (in Italian)

“Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film

IN the production of motion picture film it is common to vary the color of the film either by tinting or toning or by a combination of the two processes.

[…]

Toning consists in either wholly or partially replacing the silver image of the positive film by some colored compound, so that the clear portions or highlights of the image, which consist of plain gelatin, remain unaffected and colorless.
Toning effects may also be secured by floodlighting the screen from the sides by using suitable color filters in conjunction with the floodlights.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 6.)

“The equipment necessary for systematic tinting is essentially the same as that required for development, consisting of the usual tanks and racks or small drums or the usual processing machines. It is advisable, however, that the racks and tanks employed should be used for this purpose exclusively and, if possible, occupy a separate room to exclude any chance of dye particles settling on wet film or dropping in the developer, fixing, or rinsing tanks. When weighing out quantities of dyes, care should be taken that they are not sifted or blown into the air of the room. The mixing room should be located, therefore, as far as possible from rooms containing wet film, such as the drying room, to obviate any loss of valuable film by contamination.

The “drum” system, however, is not to be recommended for tinting and toning operations, on account, of the expense involved in apparatus and the larger space required for manipulation, though for operation on a small scale, a small wooden drum revolving in a shallow wooden tank is most efficient and economical.

When the tank and rack system is employed, the tanks should have an outlet at the bottom in the form of a hard-rubber stopcock or a plain wooden plug. The racks or drums may be of wood. The racks should not be interchanged but kept separate, either for tinting or toning to prevent contamination of one bath with racks previously employed in another. This also applies to the small drum system. For instance, a pink tint would be ruined by using a rack which had previously been immersed in a deep blue dye bath, unless that particular rack had been washed thoroughly. In order to prevent the retention of tinting and toning solutions by wooden racks it is necessary to waterproof them.

Waterproofing wooden racks may be accomplished satisfactorily either by impregnating the wood with paraffin wax or by treating it with a nitrocellulose lacquer. Painting, varnishing, or treatment with a solution of wax in a suitable solvent is ineffective. Varnish or paint chips off, while treatment with a wax solution leaves an excess of paraffin on the surface of the slats which is liable to be scraped off by the film and adhere to the emulsion.

Paraffining is accomplished by first, thoroughly soaking the racks in water and then immersing in a very hot paraffin wax. Soaking serves to swell the wood, and in the hot paraffin bath the water in the pores is replaced by paraffin. The racks should be wiped thoroughly with a cloth on removing from the paraffin bath to remove the excess wax. This process has the disadvantage that the paraffined racks are quite heavy.

The alternative method of waterproofing consists in dipping the thoroughly dried out racks in a nitrocellulose lacquer such as Eastman Silver Dip Lacquer. After dipping the racks should be allowed to dry and the dipping process repeated five or six times to get a reasonably thick coating. Racks should be examined at regular intervals while in use and redipped whenever necessary.

For fuller details regarding materials suitable for constructing photographic apparatus see communication No. 176 from the Kodak Research Laboratories (E. K. Co.), “The Resistivity of Various Materials Towards Photographic Solutions.” Equipment suitable for tinting motion picture film is described in communication No. 187 from the Kodak Research Laboratories, “The Development of Motion Picture Film by the Rack and Reel Systems.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 13–14.)

“Method of Preparing the Dye Solutions

Dyes should be mixed in glazed earthenware or enameled iron pails or crocks using warm water when necessary. A separate wooden paddle should be used for mixing each dye and washed thoroughly after using.

Dissolve the solid dyes in as small a volume of hot water as possible, and filter through fine muslin. Pour hot water over any residue remaining so that all the dye will be dissolved, and dilute the solution in the tank to the required volume at. 65° F. (18° C.).

Depth of Tint

The depth of the tint depends on the following factors:

1. The Nature and Strength of the Dye Bath.

Except in special cases such as fire scenes, sunset, and moonlight effects, it is very undesirable to employ strong tints since, apart from the displeasing effect and irritation to the eye, the dyes produce a slight softening of the gelatin film when used at 80° F. (27° C.) in a 1% solution.

When delicate tints are employed, the effect, is both to remove the contrasty black and white effect, and to add a touch of warmth to the black deposit of silver, even in cases where the highlights are insufficiently stained to be noticeable. The result in many cases is equal to that obtained by partial toning.

2. The Temperature of the Dye Bath.

Although temperature has little effect on the rate of dyeing with the dyes recommended, when used without the addition of acid, it is advisable in all cases to work at 65° to 70° F. (18° to 21° C.) to produce uniform results and remove any danger of softening the film.

3. The Time of Dyeing.

In order to duplicate any particular tint with a given dye bath the film may be dyed either by time or by inspection. Dyeing by time is reliable if the dye bath does not contain acid, though if acid is present, in time the acidity decreases, slowing down the rate of dyeing, so that it becomes necessary to judge the progress of dyeing by inspection.

If two or more tints of the same color are required, it is better to vary the time of dyeing rather than to vary the dilution of the bath, as a means of reducing the number of individual dye baths to a minimum, providing the time of dyeing for the lighter tint is not less than one minute. This time is considered a minimum for the production of uniform results and for complete control of the dyeing operations.

The time of dyeing also depends somewhat on the previous handling of the film. Film, fixed in a bath containing potassium or chrome alum, dyes more quickly than that treated with plain hypo and hardened with formalin.

Should the film for any reason be over-dyed, some of the dye may be removed by washing for 10 to 15 minutes, though the fastness of the dyes to bleeding will permit, only slight mistakes to be rectified in this manner.

Life of the Dye Bath

About 20,000 feet of film may be dyed per 50 gallons of dye bath. As the rate of dyeing slows down, the bath should be revived by adding a concentrated solution of the dye and not by adding acid. When the bath becomes muddy, especially in warm weather it should be renewed.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 17–18.)

“Method of Procedure

Either the “drum” or “rack” method may be employed, the rack being agitated slightly to insure even dyeing and prevent accumulation of air bubbles, after which the film should be given a thorough rinse in plain water.

When tinting on processing machines, the strength of the dye bath should be adjusted according to the speed of the machine.

Before drying films on racks it is advisable to set the rack at a slight angle for a few minutes, to enable the surplus water to drain off more readily through the perforations. If drums are used for drying it is advisable to remove the surplus water by whirling the drum previous to drying.

If uniform results are to be obtained, film should never be passed through the projector before tinting or toning.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 18.)

“TONING

As distinct from tinting, a toned image consists of a colored image embedded in a layer of colorless gelatin, so that while the highlights are clear, the shadows are colored.

The coloring matter may consist of an inorganic colored compound (metallic salts) or a dye, or of a mixture of both, and by wholly or partially replacing the black silver image by one or more of these substances, the toned image is produced.

It is, of course, important that the colored compound should be as transparent as possible so that the full tone will be apparent on projection. In this respect, while some samples of toned film appear colored in the hand, they produce a substantially black and white picture on projection, so that when judging any particular tone, it is absolutely necessary to view the image on the screen.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 23.)

“Metal Tones

Of the various colored metallic compounds, uranyl (uranium) ferrocyanide (brown), iron ferrocyanide (blue), and silver sulphide, are most suitable for toning purposes.

Silver sulphide when in a finely divided condition appears brown by transmitted light, and a black silver image on film may be toned brown by first bleaching in a mixture of potassium ferricyanide and potassium bromide, thus converting the silver to silver bromide, washing, and then immersing in a solution of sodium sulphide which converts the silver bromide to silver sulphide. If a normal black and white positive is toned in this way the image will, however, appear black or blue black on the screen because the brown color of silver sulphide is only apparent when the image layer is thin. It is necessary, therefore, to commence toning with a thin or medium positive.

In order to replace the silver image by uranyl (uranium) or iron ferrocyanides, the film is placed in a single solution consisting of the metallic ferricyanide dissolved in a suitable solvent such as an alkaline salt of citric, tartaric, or oxalic acids in the presence of a mineral acid and certain other salts. The silver image is thereby partly converted to a mixture of silver ferrocyanide and the corresponding iron (ferric) or uranyl ferrocyanide, thus producing a toned image. A certain degree of intensification of the original image is given by these toning processes.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 23–24.)

“Dye Tones

Owing to the limited number of colored metallic compounds available for toning purposes it is possible to obtain only a limited range of tones by the above methods. Certain inorganic compounds, however, have the peculiar property that when immersed in a solution of a basic dye the dye comes out of the solution and attaches itself to the compound. The dye is then said to be mordanted, and the inorganic compound is called the mordant. Silver ferrocyanide is a typical mordant. If, therefore, a silver image is converted more or less to a silver ferrocyanide image and then immersed in a solution of a basic dye, a mordanted dye image is produced.

As a result of a series of experiments in our Research Laboratories it has been found that the most satisfactory method of mordanting a black and white motion picture image is to immerse the film in a special uranium toning bath until the black silver image just commences to turn brown. At this stage sufficient, silver ferrocyanide has been formed to mordant basic dyes strongly, and if the time of immersion is prolonged so that the image is appreciably colored it will not mordant as well.

Immersion of the film in an acid solution of potassium ferricyanide will produce a satisfactory mordant image of silver ferrocyanide, but if the film is left too long in the acid ferricyanide bath, the mordanting action of the silver ferrocyanide image is destroyed. The uranyl ferrocyanide which is deposited along with the silver ferrocyanide in the uranium toning bath serves as a signal which indicates the point at which the film must be removed from the mordanting bath.

The most suitable dyes for dye toning are basic dyes, which do not readily dye gelatin, so that on immersing the mordanted film in a weak solution of the dye containing a little acid, the dye becomes mordanted to the image while the highlights consisting of clear gelatin remain colorless.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 24.)

“Nature of the Positive to be Toned

Since the uranium and iron toning processes intensify the original image, in order to obtain uniform results, the positive film used for toning should have the correct density.

Three standards of positive film have been chosen: Normal, Medium, and Thin. […] The “Thin” and “Medium” standards are obtained by giving a shorter time of development. A 30% reduction of the development time is usually necessary for a “Thin” positive and 20% for a “Medium” one.

The exact degree of intensification which takes place in any particular case will soon be learned after a few trials.

Nature of the Developer

Any good Elon-hydroquinone formula will give good tones, though for toning, it is necessary that the developed film should be entirely free from fog, since a thin veil becomes intensified in most of the toning processes.

Fog and stain may be caused by: (1) carelessness in compounding a developer; (2) prolonged development at too high a temperature; (3) forced development; (4) processing film on a drum whereby aerial oxidation is induced; (5) the presence of hydrogen sulphide, hypo, tin, copper, etc., in the developer; and other causes. For more complete information on developer-fog consult the following communications from the Kodak Research Laboratories: (a) “Chemical Fog,” (b) “Sulphide Fog by Bacteria in Motion Picture Developers,” (c) “The Staining Properties of Motion Picture Developers,” (d) “The Effect of Desensitizers in Development.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 25.)

“Fixing and Washing

Fixation should be complete and, if possible, carried out in two consecutive baths and followed by thorough washing, otherwise uneven coloring will result. See communication on “The Development of Motion Picture Film by the Rack and Reel Systems” from the Kodak Research Laboratories.

In order to eliminate any possibility of uneven toning it is always advisable to tone immediately after washing and before drying. If the film is washed insufficiently, hypo accumulates in the toning bath and causes the precipitation of a sludge thus destroying the toning action.

Equipment

The equipment necessary for systematic toning is essentially the same as that required for tinting as described on page 13.

All toning operations should be conducted in a room removed as far as possible from the developing room to exclude any chance of contaminating the developer solution by toning chemicals, especially the sulphiding bath, which would cause development fog immediately.

Metal surfaces which would come in contact with the toning solution should be avoided since the presence of such surfaces will cause contamination and precipitate a sludge. If metal pegs are employed on the racks they should be coated with an acid-resisting paint. Other materials of construction may be similar to those described previously for tinting apparatus (see page 13).

Racks should be waterproofed either with wax or nitrocellulose lacquer as described on pages 13 and 14.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 25–26.)

“Mixing Solutions

Developers, toning solutions, and dyes should be mixed in crocks of glazed earthenware or enameled iron, using warm water where necessary and insuring thorough solution by stirring with a wooden paddle, which should be washed thoroughly after each operation. Having thus dissolved the chemicals in as small a quantity of warm water as possible, filter through fine muslin and make up the bath with cold water, so that the final solution will be at approximately the correct temperature.

The chemicals employed should be pure (for the samples, “E. K. Co.” tested chemicals were used), and in cases where a good water supply is not available, only distilled water should be used. Detailed directions on mixing photographic solutions are given in the article, “Handling and Mixing Photographic Chemicals” Photo Miniature Nos. 200-201, published by Tennant and Ward, New York.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 26.)

“Control in Toning

As in the case of tinting with dyes, the nature of the tone obtained with the various solutions depends on the following factors:

1. The Nature and Dilution of the Toning Solutions.

Except in those cases where it recommended to revive the bath by adding more acid, it is not advisable to modify the composition or dilution of the various solutions, as these have been adjusted to give the best results.

2. The Temperature of Toning.

In most cases a change of temperature from 60° to 75° F. (15° to 24° C.) has merely the effect of changing the time of toning. It is advisable, however, to maintain the temperature of the various solutions between 65° and 70° F. (18° to 21° C.).

3. Time of Toning.

The nature of the tone produced by the iron and uranium baths varies with the time of toning, and reaches a limit in from 10 to 15 minutes, so that in a shorter time intermediate tones are produced. Since the toning processes intensify the original image, if an intermediate tone is required, it is necessary to commence toning with denser film than when toning is to be carried to the limit.

When producing intermediate tones, it is possible, therefore, either to tone in the normal bath for a given time or in a diluted bath for a longer time. In order to reduce the number of individual toning baths to a minimum it is recommended to vary the time of toning rather than to vary the dilution of the bath and to judge the tone by inspection. Since the strength of the toning bath falls off with use, inspection is necessary in all cases except with the sulphide tone.

Before commencing work with any bath, it is advisable to make a test on a short length of film.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 26–27.)

“Permanency of Tones

The permanency of the tones produced largely depends on the care exercised throughout the various operations.

The silver sulphide image may be considered permanent, though in the other cases, where more or less silver ferrocyanide is present, the toned image is not absolutely permanent, being somewhat soluble in hypo and affected by fumes of hydrogen sulphide.

In the case of the iron and uranium tones, the colored ferrocyanides are dissolved by alkali such as sodium carbonate, so that the toned film should not be washed for too long a time in water which is at all inclined to be alkaline.

Dye toned film is reasonably fast to light, but since the toned image partially consists of silver ferrocyanide, it is affected by fumes of hydrogen sulphide, and on exposure to the air for long periods the surface of the film becomes covered with a metallic looking deposit of silver sulphide. This tarnishing may be prevented by varnishing with a nitrocellulose varnish such as Kodalak. […]

In no case, however, if the instructions are followed carefully will the toned image deteriorate during the active life of the film. Moreover, so far as can be ascertained, the wear and tear of him which has been toned by the methods recommended is in no way impaired, though by virtue of the hardening action on the gelatin of the alum contained in some of the toning baths, it is advisable, especially during the winter months, to immerse the film for three or four minutes in the usual 2% glycerine bath after toning.

If film is to be stored for long periods of time, toning is inadvisable, nor is it advisable to tone valuable film unless duplicates are available.

The life of the toning bath has been carefully investigated in each case, the term “life” being considered as the total length of film capable of being toned by a given volume of fresh solution when toning is conducted continuously and without interruption.

In all cases it is false economy to use a toning bath to exhaustion and thus obtain inferior tones, since the cost of the chemicals employed is insignificant compared with the value of the film being treated.

Since the figures given represent the capacity of the baths for toning under the best conditions, they only apply providing; (a) the baths are kept covered as far as possible when not in use, to exclude light; (b) no foreign metallic surface, however small, is allowed to come into contact with the solution and (c) the bath is kept free from contamination with hypo.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 27–28.)

“Stability of the Solutions

All toning solutions containing potassium ferricyanide are sensitive to light, the ferricyanide being reduced to ferrocyanide, which results in the formation of a sludge of the metallic ferrocyanide. Thus, the uranium bath will deposit a brown sludge and the iron bath a blue sludge when exposed to light. Therefore, when not in use the tanks should be covered carefully so as to screen the solutions from daylight.

It is also very important that no metallic surface, however small, should come in contact with the solutions; any metal pegs on the racks or pins used to hold the film together will gather the tone in preference to the film, causing the formation of sludge. Plain wooden racks with or without wooden pegs should be used, and metal faucets replaced by wooden plugs.

If a large quantity of sludge forms in the tank at any lime, it is a result of incorrect mixing, the action of light, or the presence of hypo or of foreign metallic substances.

Mix in the order given. The solution obtained should be perfectly clear and pale yellow in color.

It is convenient to keep 10% stock solutions of the above, from which a new bath may be compounded expeditiously. A 10% hydrochloric acid solution is one containing 10 parts by volume of the concentrated acid in 100 volumes of the final solution.

Temperature of Toning—65° to 70° F. (18° to 21° C.).

Time of Toning.

Since this and the following single solution methods of toning produce a marked intensification of the silver image – which intensification increases with the lime of toning – it follows that the nature of the tone changes with time also.

The composition of the bath has been so adjusted that the maximum effect is produced in about 10 minutes, the tone passing through a series of changes from brown to red during this time.

It is possible, therefore, to obtain intermediate tones by withdrawing the film from the bath at shorter intervals, though in such cases the contrast of the original black and white film should be adjusted accordingly since with slight toning very little intensification takes place.

Sample tones Nos. 22, 23, and 24 illustrate the effect of time of toning on the color of the resultant image as follows:

Time of Washing—Ten to fifteen minutes.

The highlights will become clear in the above time, though a thin yellowish-brown veil may remain in the clear gelatin as a result of the intensification of minute traces of fog, but this has no effect on projection. If the bath is working correctly the yellowish veil is only just perceptible, but if appreciably visible, then either the film was fogged during development, or the bath was not compounded correctly. Washing should not be carried out for too long a period, especially with water inclined to be alkaline, because the toned image is soluble in alkali.

Life of Bath.

Fifty gallons of solution will tone about 5000 feet of film without any appreciable change in the tone, after which the rich tone tends to flatness as a result, of a deficiency of acid in the bath. At this point the bath may be revived by the further addition of acid to the extent of the original amount, when a further 5000 feet may be toned. At this stage the richness of tone falls off rapidly and the bath should be thrown away.

Used intermittently over a period of several days the life of the bath is approximately as above.

With continued use a slight brownish flocculent precipitate may form in the bath, but this should be only slight, otherwise it is caused by incorrect mixing, the action of light, contact with a metallic surface, or the presence of hypo in the bath.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 28–30.)

“Sulphide Tone (Sepia)

Positive Employed.

With a thin positive a warm brown tone is obtained while with denser film the effect is that of a blue-black tone. […]

The well washed positive is thoroughly bleached in A, so that the image appears uniformly yellow on looking at the back of the film, washed for 5 minutes, and immersed in solution B until the film is thoroughly toned. A trace of iron in the sodium sulphide will do no harm providing the solution is boiled and the precipitated iron sulphide allowed to settle before use.

The method of compounding this bath is very important. Each of the solid chemicals should be dissolved separately in a small quantity of warm water, the solutions allowed to cool, filtered into the tank strictly in the order given, and the whole diluted to the required volume. If these instructions are followed, the bath will be a pale yellow color, and perfectly clear.

Time of Toning—Two to ten minutes at 70° F. (21° C.). The color of the toned image varies from a light bluish-gray for short time toning (about 3 minutes) to a deep blue for long time toning (10 minutes). […]

Time of Washing.

Wash for ten to fifteen minutes until the highlights are clear. A very slight permanent yellow coloration of the clear gelatin will usually occur, but should be only just perceptible, when it will have no effect on projection. If the highlights are stained blue, then either the film was fogged during development or the bath was not compounded correctly. Washing should not be carried out for too long a period, especially with water inclined to be alkaline, because the toned image is soluble in alkali.

Life of Bath.

If the acid is renewed to the extent of the original amount after toning each 5000 feet, the bath is capable of toning 15,000 feet per 50 gallons of solution.

If even after revival, the tone remains flat, the bath is exhausted and should be thrown away.

After continued use, a slight, bluish sludge will collect in the bath, but this is not harmful. Should this form, to any appreciable extent, it is a result of incorrect mixing, the action of light, contact with metallic surfaces, or the presence of hypo in the bath.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 30–32.)

“Mixed Uranium and Iron Tone

This particular tone is obtained by first toning in the Uranium bath for about 3 minutes and then in the Iron bath for about 2 minutes. Longer immersion in the Iron bath makes the tone colder and vice versa.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 32.)

“DYE TONES

To obtain dye tones the film is first immersed in a mordanting bath, which converts the silver image to silver ferrocyanide, after which it is washed and immersed in a solution of a basic dye until the required tone is obtained.

The procedure is as follows:

Place in the Mordanting Bath, wash 10 to 15 minutes, place in the Dye Bath, then wash 5 to 10 minutes.

The uranyl nitrate should be of good quality and should not contain an excess of free nitric acid. First dissolve the chemicals separately in a small quantity of water, then add the oxalic acid solution to the uranyl nitrate solution, and finally add the potassium ferricyanide solution. If the uranyl nitrate is added directly to the potassium ferricyanide a brown precipitate will be obtained, which will not dissolve readily in the oxalic acid.

After mixing, the bath should be light yellow and perfectly clear. Expose the solution to light as little as possible, because light causes the precipitation of a brown sludge of uranyl ferrocyanide.

Time of Mordanting—Immerse the film until a very slight chocolate colored tone is obtained. When the bath is new this will take from 1% to 2 minutes, but as the bath ages, this time must be prolonged. If a concentrated stock solution of the mordanting bath is kept on hand a little of this may be added to revive the bath at intervals.

After mordanting 10,0-00 feet of film per 50 gallons of solution the bath should be thrown away.

Remember that the first appearance of a slight brown tone is the signal to remove the film from the mordanting bath. If mordanting is prolonged beyond this point inferior dye tones will be obtained. […]

The temperature of the mordanting bath should not be higher than 75° F. (24° C.).

Time of Washing after Mordanting—Wash until the highlights are free from yellow stain, which usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not prolong the washing for more than 20 minutes, or some of the mordant will be washed out.

Time of Dye Toning—Immerse in the dye bath for from 2 to 15 minutes according to the color desired. The quantity of dye which mordants to the image increases with time, so that short immersion will give a slightly colored image and prolonged dyeing a strongly colored image.

Nature of Positive to be Dye Toned—For a weakly colored tone use a normal positive. Prolonged dyeing intensifies the image, so that for a deep colored tone use a medium positive.

Samples Nos. 47 and 48 illustrate the effect of time of toning on the color of the resultant image as follows:”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 32–34.)

“How to Modify a Dye Toned Image

In case a length of film is over-dyed, some of the dye may be removed by immersing in an 0.2% solution of concentrated ammonia and rinsing before drying.

If after dyeing for 10 minutes the image does not mordant sufficient dye, thoroughly wash, immerse again in the mordanting bath, wash and then place in the dye bath.”

Intermediate Dye Tones

Intermediate colors may be obtained either by mixing the dye solutions as in tinting or by immersing the film in successive dye baths. For instance, if a yellowish-green tone is desired, first tone in the yellow bath and then immerse for a short time in the green bath.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 35.)

“Double Tones

It has been found that by omitting the ammonium alum from the Iron toning formula the half-tones of the toned film are white and the shadows blue, and if this image is then immersed in any of the basic dye solutions as used for dye toning, the dye is mordanted to the half-tones, while the shadow’s remain more or less blue. By varying the dye solution used, the color of the half-tones may be varied at will. […]

In order to secure double-tones, proceed as follows:

Time of Toning—Tone until the shadows arc deep blue.

Time of Washing—Ten to fifteen minutes.

Time of Dyeing—Immerse in the basic dye solution as used for dye toning for five to fifteen minutes until the desired depth of color in the half-tones is obtained.

Safranine gives pink half-tones […].

Auramine gives yellow half-tones […].

Chrysoidine gives orange half-tones […].

Time of Washing after Dyeing—Five to ten minutes until highlights are clear.

Life of Bath—The life is the same as that of the Iron toning formula on page 32.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 35–36.)

“Combined Toning and Tinting

Pleasing effects may be obtained as follows: (1) by metal toning or dye toning images on tinted base; and (2) by tinting toned images on clear base cither by (a) general tinting or (b) local tinting by hand with a brush or by stenciling.

These methods give an image whose clear portions or highlights show the color of the tinting dye, whereas the shadows and half-tones project a tint intermediate between that of the tinting dye and the toned deposit.

[…]

Considerable judgment must be used in choosing suitable tints to blend with any given tone. Pleasing combinations of toning with tinting are obtained with sunset and moonlight effects over water by first toning blue and then tinting orange, red, or yellow.

[…]

Unevenness may be caused by:

1. Grease on the film. Never project film, if possible, before tinting or toning.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on p. 36.)

“Troubles in Toning

Most difficulties met with in toning may be traced to one or more of the following causes:

Uneven Toning.

Unevenness may be caused by:

1. Grease on the film. Never project film, if possible, before tinting or toning.

2. Drying spots on untoned him. If possible, always tint or tone film immediately after washing and before drying.

3. Examination of the film too frequently during toning, which results in more complete toning in places where-ever the solution fails to drain from the film.

4. Insufficient, or uneven washing of the film after bleaching and before toning.

5. Incomplete removal of water from the toned film previous to drying. Any residual drops or streaks of water produce corresponding markings on the dried film, especially if the wash water is at all alkaline because most of the toned images are soluble in alkali.

6. The presence of “rack marks” on the untoned film characterized by excessive density where the film passes over the ends of the racks. These “rack marks” are intensified on toning and are visible as periodic dark flashes on the screen. By tightening the wet film on the rack previous to toning, the position of the film with respect to the end slats is changed, so that the “toning rack mark” does not coincide with the “development rack mark,” though the latter, if present, is intensified by the toning. This procedure of tightening serves to separate the “toned development rack mark” from the “toning rack mark” so that the dark flashes are not so visible on the screen.

Rack marks are entirely eliminated by processing machines and by means of racks fitted with roller end slats. For further particulars see communication No. 187 from the Kodak Research Laboratories, “The Development, of Motion Picture Film by the Rack and Reel Systems;” also communication No. 250, “Rack Marks and Airbells on Motion Picture Film.”

7. Mottling or unevenness on the black and white film which is intensified on toning. Unevenness often attributed to defects in manufacture is caused by: (1) soaking the film in water previous to development and failure to agitate the film rack thoroughly for the first minute or so after placing in the developer, (2) short development of fully exposed film. When printing from a contrasty negative by fully exposing and developing for a short time it is very difficult to secure uniform development, the best procedure being to keep the film rack continuously in motion when in the developer.

Most of the defects as outlined above are usually inherent in the untoned film, but are so slight as to escape notice until they are intensified by toning.

White Spots.

White spots are produced by particles of hypo or carbonate dust or splashes of a solution of these, settling on the toned film. The toned image consists of silver together with more or less silver ferrocyanide and the ferrocyanides of uranium and iron with more or less dye as the case may be. Silver ferrocyanide is soluble in hypo while uranyl and iron ferrocyanides arc soluble in a solution of sodium carbonate, strong ammonia, etc., so that the white spots indicate those parts where the toned image has been dissolved away.

Irregular white spots may also be formed if the film is imperfectly squeegeed after washing and before drying, especially if the wash water is slightly alkaline. When a spot of water on the toned film evaporates, the small quantity of alkali present in the water becomes more concentrated and finally dissolves away more or less of the tone, leaving a white spot on the film.

White spots due to these causes may be prevented by immersing the film for a few seconds in a 0.5% solution of glacial acetic acid after toning and before placing on the drying rack.

Stained Highlights.

Stained Highlights are caused by:

1. Traces of fog on the film before toning.

2. An improperly compounded toning bath. All solutions when new should be perfectly clear.

3. Premature exhaustion of the bath. This is a result of the action of light or the presence of some metal in the tank in the shape of screw heads, faucets, pins, etc., which gather the tone and cause the formation of sludge.

It is important to keep all solutions containing potassium ferricyanide exposed as little as possible to daylight, to use only wooden racks with wooden pegs, and to cover all metal parts very carefully with acid-resisting paint.

4. In dye toning, stained highlights are a result of insufficient washing after mordanting or dyeing, too strong a dye bath, or an incorrect amount of acid in the bath.

Precipitation of Toning Bath.

If a precipitate forms in the toning bath (uranium or iron) which on standing settles out as a sludge, this is caused either by (a) the presence of an exposed metallic surface in die tank or (b) the presence of hypo in the toning solution. The precipitation may be prevented by taking care to use only stoneware or wooden tanks, and racks fitted with wooden pegs, and by thoroughly washing the racks of film so as to prevent contamination of the toning bath with hypo.

Providing the racks have been waterproofed thoroughly, either with wax or lacquer (as described on pages 13 and 14), the possibility of hypo being retained in the wood is reduced to a minimum.

The uranium mordanting bath on page 33 is precipitated in a similar manner by hypo and exposed metallic surfaces.”

(Eastman Kodak Company (1927): Tinting and Toning of Eastman Positive Motion Picture Film. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak, on pp. 36–39.)

“Prima di tutto, il negativo viene “posato” (inglese: graded o timed; francese: étalonné) cioè viene decisa – con procedimenti diversi – la corretta esposizione di ogni inquadratura in rapporto alle altre e sulla base di considerazioni estetiche o narrative. L’esempio banale è quello delle scene notturne, che possono essere prodotte anche solo in sede di posa del negativo, inserendo una dominante blu o scurendo artificialmente la scena. Ma, in modo piú sottile, la posa può trasformare una ariosa e solare mattinata estiva in un cupo pomeriggio autunnale, con un semplice cambiamento di esposizione.

Inoltre, nel caso dei negativi originali di film muti destinati a essere colorati, questi vengono spesso ritrovati mancanti delle indicazioni dei colori da utilizzare (perché eliminate nel frattempo o perché affidate a codici a noi ignoti o semplicemente perché registrati su materiale cartaceo andato smarrito). Ma quand’anche il colore venga indicato, non potremo mai conoscere l’esatta gradazione dell’imbibizione o del viraggio originali.”

(Farinelli, Nicola; Mazzanti, Gian Luca (2001): Il restauro. Metodo e tecnica. In: Gian Piero Brunetta (ed.): Storia del cinema mondiale. Vol. 5. Teorie, strumenti, memorie. Bologna: Einaudi, pp. 1119–1174, on p. 1147.) (in Italian)

“E che dire del colore, ad esempio nel cinema muto, quando le “ricostruzioni” avvengono a partire da copie in bianco e nero, mal duplicate, troppo contrastate, dove non solo i notturni diventano diurni, ma dove la luce del sole diviene accecante, in virtú dell’altro contrasto che cancella il cielo, le nubi? E ciò è vero a tal punto che il restauro dei film colorati su pellicola negativa a colori non è piú ritenuto corretto, in quanto tende ad annullare la differenza fra imbibizione e viraggio⁴², cancellando una articolazione che invece è elemento importante della dinamica cromatica (e narrativa) di questi film. Oggi si tende a preferire, proprio perché in grado di meglio riprodurre queste differenze di processo di colorazione, il già citato sistema Desmet.

⁴² Definiamo “viraggio” (francese: vìrage, inglese: toning) un procedimento di colorazione che modifica chimicamente l’argento metallico della pellicola trasformandolo in un composto colorato. L’”imbibizione” (francese: teinture, inglese: tinting), invece, indica un processo nel quale un colorante viene assorbito dall’emulsione oppure è steso sul supporto. Il risultato visivo del viraggio è che i “neri” dell’immagine risultano colorati, mentre i bianchi restano tali. L’imbibizione ha invece l’effetto opposto. I due procedimenti possono essere combinati ottenendo risultati di grande effetto.”

(Farinelli, Nicola; Mazzanti, Gian Luca (2001): Il restauro. Metodo e tecnica. In: Gian Piero Brunetta (ed.): Storia del cinema mondiale. Vol. 5. Teorie, strumenti, memorie. Bologna: Einaudi, pp. 1119–1174, on p. 1169.) (in Italian)