Magnacolor
Description
“An American two-colour subtractive process still worked by the Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures Corporation. This concern was licensed by the owners of the “Prizma” patents, which it will be remembered was the name under which the patents of William van Doren Kelley were commercialized. Herbert J. Yates now operates the “Trucolor” process, which will presumably supplant Magnacolor.
Camera. — Normal bipack is used in a standard camera equipped with special gate and magazines according to usual bipack practice.
Printing. — Double-coated positive film is used. One side of the film is toned blue by an iron solution, and the opposite side is toned red-orange by mordanting with an iodide and dye-toned by the familiar technique of flotation. Under the Mason patent each side is treated, without danger of the solutions toning more than one side at a time, by floating the film on the surface of the solutions.”
(Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall, p. 337.)
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Mysore Yesterday and Tomorrow Credit: Image courtesy of the 20th Century Fox Collection at the Academy Film Archive. Photograph: Barbara Flueckiger.
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Secondary Sources
Alt, Dirk (2011): “Der Farbfilm marschiert!” Frühe Farbfilmverfahren und NS-Propaganda 1933-1945. München: Belleville, on pp. 43–44. (in German) View Quote
Anonymous (1947): Trucolor Only Acetate Releases ’til 1948. Splicing and Focusing Data. In: International Projectionist, 22,8, p. 12 and pp. 35–36. View Link
Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall, pp. 337. View Quote
Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. In: Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931. Leipzig: J. A. Barth, pp. 214–221, on pp. 215–218. (in German) View Quote
Huntley, John (1949): British Technicolor Films. Cornhill, London: Skelton Robinson, on p. 202. View Quote
Limbacher, James L. (1969): Four Aspects of the Film. A History of the Development of Color, Sound, 3-D and Widescreen Films and Their Contribution to the Art of the Motion Picture. New York: Brussel & Brussel, pp. 43 f.
Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, p. 92. View Quote
Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1931): Progress Report. Color Cinematography. In: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 17, July 1931, pp. 99–101, on p. 100. View Quote
Films
Popular Science (Series)1
Unusual Occupations (Series)1
1 Huntley, John (1949): British Technicolor Films. Cornhill, London: Skelton Robinson, on p. 202. View Quote
Links
Anonymous (1947): Trucolor Only Acetate Releases ’til 1948. Splicing and Focusing Data. In: International Projectionist, 22,8, p. 12 and pp. 35–36. View Link
Contemporary Reception
Anonymous (1931): Consolidated Colour System. In: The Bioscope, 1279,LXXXVII, Apr., p. i. View Quote
