Timeline of Historical Film Colors

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Please access detailed information on over 250 individual film color processes via the classification system on this page, display the Timeline of Historical Film Colors in chronological order, search via the tag cloud at the end of this page or directly on the search page, or see the contributing archives’ collections on the header slides.
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Color Mania Book
Color Mania Book
Out now:

Barbara Flueckiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach (eds.)

Color Mania. The Material of Color in Photography and Film

Since the earliest days of cinema, film has been a colorful medium and art form. More than 230 film color processes have been devised in the course of film history, often in close connection with photography. In this regard, both media institutionalized numerous techniques such as hand and stencil coloring as well as printing and halftone processes. Apart from these fundamental connections in terms of the technology of color processes, film and photography also share and exchange color attributions and aesthetics.

This publication highlights material aspects of color in photography and film, while also investigating the relationship of historical film colors and present-day photography. Works of contemporary photographers and artists who reflect on technological and culture-theoretical aspects of the material of color underline these relations. Thematic clusters focus on aesthetic and technological parallels, including fashion and identity, abstraction and experiment, politics, exoticism, and travel.

Color Mania contains a general introduction to color in film and photography (technique, materiality, aesthetics) as well as a series of short essays that take a closer look at specific aspects. An extensive image section illustrates the texts and color systems and continues the aesthetic experience of the various processes and objects in book form.

The publication is also available in German

Edited by Barbara Flückiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach, in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur
With contributions by Michelle Beutler, Noemi Daugaard, Josephine Diecke, Evelyn Echle, Barbara Flueckiger, Eirik Frisvold Hanssen, Eva Hielscher, Thilo Koenig, Joëlle Kost, Franziska Kunze, Bregt Lameris, David Pfluger, Ulrich Ruedel, Mona Schubert, Simon Spiegel, Olivia Kristina Stutz, Giorgio Trumpy, Martin Weiss, Nadine Wietlisbach
Design: Meierkolb

16 × 24 cm, 6 ¼ × 9 ½ in
240 pages, 122 illustrations
paperback

2020, 978-3-03778-607-9, English
About
About this Project
This database was created in 2012 and has been developed and curated by Barbara Flueckiger, professor at the Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich to provide comprehensive information about historical film color processes invented since the end of the 19th century including specific still photography color technologies that were their conceptual predecessors.

Timeline of Historical Film Colors was started with Barbara Flueckiger’s research at Harvard University in the framework of her project Film History Re-mastered, funded by Swiss National Science Foundation, 2011-2013.

In 2013 the University of Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded additional funding for the elaboration of this web resource. 80 financial contributors sponsored the crowdfunding campaign Database of Historical Film Colors with more than USD 11.100 in 2012. In addition, the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of the Arts provided a major contribution to the development of the database. Many further persons and institutions have supported the project, see acknowledgements.

Since February 2016 the database has been redeveloped in the framework of the research project Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions funded by a grant from Swiss National Science Foundation. Since 2016, the team of the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors has been collecting and adding written sources and photographs. All the members of the two research projects on film colors, both led by Barbara Flueckiger, have been capturing photographs of historical film prints since 2017.

Please report errors or suggestions.

Follow the links “Access detailed information ›” to access the currently available detail pages for individual processes. These pages contain an image gallery, a short description, a bibliography of original papers and secondary sources connected to extended quotes from these sources, downloads of seminal papers and links. We are updating these detail pages on a regular basis.
News and Blog
News and Blog
In June 2015, the European Research Council awarded the prestigious Advanced Grant to Barbara Flueckiger for her new research project FilmColors. Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Aesthetics, see press release of the University of Zurich and information on the University of Zurich’s website.

Subscribe to the blog to receive all the news: https://blog.filmcolors.org/ (check out sidebar on individual entries for the “follow” button).
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Contributions to the Timeline of Historical Film Colors

“It would not have been possible to collect all the data and the corresponding images without the support from many individuals and institutions.Thank you so much for your contribution, I am very grateful.”
Barbara Flueckiger

Experts, scholars, institutions | Sponsors, supporters, patrons of the crowdfunding campaign, April 23 to July 21, 2012

Experts, scholars, institutions
- Prof. Dr. David Rodowick, Chair, Harvard University, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies
- Prof. Dr. Margrit Tröhler, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
- Prof. Dr. Jörg Schweinitz, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
- Prof. Dr. Christine N. Brinckmann, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
- PD Dr. Franziska Heller, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
- Dr. Claudy Op den Kamp, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
- Prof. Anton Rey, Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of the Arts
- Dr. Haden Guest, Director, Harvard Film Archive
- Liz Coffey, Film Conservator, Harvard Film Archive
- Mark Johnson, Loan Officer, Harvard Film Archive
- Brittany Gravely, Publicist, Harvard Film Archive
- Clayton Scoble, Manager of the Digital Imaging Lab & Photography Studio, Harvard University
- Stephen Jennings, Photographer, Harvard University, Fine Arts Library
- Dr. Paolo Cherchi Usai, Senior Curator, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
- Jared Case, Head of Cataloging and Access, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
- Nancy Kauffman, Archivist – Stills, Posters and Paper Collections, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
- Deborah Stoiber, Collection Manager, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
- Barbara Puorro Galasso, Photographer, George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film
- Daniela Currò, Preservation Officer, George Eastman House, Motion Picture Department
- James Layton, Manager, Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art
- Mike Pogorzelski, Archive Director, Academy Film Archive
- Josef Lindner, Preservation Officer, Academy Film Archive
- Cassie Blake, Public Access Coordinator, Academy Film Archive
- Melissa Levesque, Nitrate Curator, Academy Film Archive
- Prof. Dr. Giovanna Fossati, Head Curator, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, and Professor at the University of Amsterdam
- Annike Kross, Film Restorer, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
- Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, Curator Silent Film, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
- Catherine Cormon, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
- Anke Wilkening, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Wiesbaden, Germany
- Marianna De Sanctis, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna
- Paola Ferrari, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna
- Gert and Ingrid Koshofer, Gert Koshofer Collection, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
- Memoriav, Verein zur Erhaltung des audiovisuellen Kulturgutes der Schweiz
- Claudius Kelterborn, Collector
- David Landolf, Director, Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern
- Brigitte Paulowitz, Head Archivist and Restorer, Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern
- Margaret Bodde, Executive Director, The Film Foundation
- Maria Paleologos, The Film Foundation
- Jessica Bursi, The Film Foundation
- Michael Champlin, DeBergerac Productions, Inc. Rochester, NY
- Joakim Reuteler, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel
- Prof. Dr. Rudolf Gschwind, Director, Imaging and Media Lab, University of Basel
- Erwin Zbinden, Researcher, University of Basel
- Klaus Martin Boese
- Mike Mashon, Head of the Moving Image Section, Library of Congress
- George Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress
- Lynanne Schweighofer, Safety Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress
- David Pierce, Library of Congress, Assistant Chief, Library of Congress
- Kieron Webb, Technical Projects Officer, British Film Institute
- Bryony Dixon, Silent Film Curator, British Film Institute
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin
- Dr. Jan-Christopher Horak, Director, UCLA Film & Television Archive
- Todd Wiener, Motion Picture Archivist, UCLA Film & Television Archive
- Ross Lipman, Film Restorer and Filmmaker
- Dr. Céline Ruivo, Director Film Collections, Cinémathèque Française
- Dr. Iris Deniozou, Archivist, Cinémathèque Française
- Paul Read, Film Conservator
- Roger Smither, Film Historian
- Nicola Mazzanti, Associate Director, Royal Film Archive of Belgium
- Laurent Mannoni, Directeur scientifique du patrimoine et du Conservatoire des techniques, Cinémathèque française
- François Ede, Researcher and Film Restorer
- Andrea Meneghelli, Cineteca di Bologna, Archivio Film
- Alessandra Bani, Cineteca di Bologna, Archivio Fotografico
- Hege Stensrud Høsøien, Director, National Library of Norway
- Dr. Eirik Frisvold Hanssen, Head of Film and Broadcasting Section, National Library of Norway
- Tina Anckarmann, Film Archivist, National Library of Norway
- Jeanpaul Goergen, Film Scholar
- Prof. Martin Koerber, Leiter der Abteilung Film, Deutsche Kinemathek
- Reto Kromer, reto.ch
- Brian Pritchard, Motion Picture and Film Archive Consultant
- Bertrand Lavédrine, Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections Paris
- Mikko Kuutti, Deputy Director, Kansallinen audiovisuaalinen arkisto / National Audiovisual Archive, Finland
- Juha Kindberg, Film Collection, Kansallinen audiovisuaalinen arkisto / National Audiovisual Archive, Finland
- Dr Kelley Wilder, Senior Research Fellow, De Montfort University
- Michael Harvey, Curator of Cinematography, National Media Museum, Bradford
- Ruth Kitchin, Collections Assistant, National Media Museum, Bradford
- Kathryn Gronsbell, Moving Image Archiving & Preservation, NYU
- Gisela Harich-Hamburger, Photo Conservator
- Dr Luke McKernan, Lead Curator, Moving Image, The British Library
- Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS, FBIPP, Director-General, The Royal Photographic Society
- John Falconer, Lead Curator Visual Arts, Curator of Photographs, The British Library
- Cindy Keefer, Director, Center for Visual Music
- Dr. Anna Batistová, Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague
- Lenka Šťastná, Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague
- Mark Jacobs
- Toni Booth, Curator, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
- Sylvie Pénichon, Conservator of Photographs, Amon Carter Museum of American Art
- Gawain Weaver, Photograph Conservator, Gawain Weaver Art Conservation, San Anselmo, CA
- Phil Rutter, Hon Treasurer & Secretary, British Kinematograph, Sound & Television Society
- Ben Letzler, editorial assistance
- Beda Künzle, support website programming
- Manuel Joller, coordinator data management
- Barbara Fritzsche, support data management
- Andreas Bühlmann, support data management
- Michelle Beutler, support data management
- Diana Arenas R., support data management
- Sabrina Züger, coordinator data management
- Jamie Lee Moser, support data management
- Valentina Romero, support data management
- Meredith Stadler, support data management
Sponsors, supporters, patrons of the crowdfunding campaign

April 23 to July 21, 2012, $11,175 raised
- reto.ch
- Hannes and Esther Bernhardt, grand supporters
- Marianne Flückiger Bösch and Bernhard Bösch, major supporters
- Daniel Flückiger, major supporter
- Hanna Gubler Ursin
- Louis Krähenbühl
- Prof. Heinz B. Heller
- Dariush Daftarian and Viola Lutz, supporters
- Annette Schüren, supporter
- Peter A. Huber, supporter
- Kurt Horlacher, supporter
- Thomas Haegele, supporter
- Brigitte Frizzoni
- Stina Werenfels, supporter
- Gabriela Schmidt, supporter
- Esther Flückiger, supporter
- Dorothee Schön
- Stefanos Domalis
- Charlotte Flückiger, supporter
- Andreas Koch, supporter
- Nina Scheu, supporter
- Filmspur audiovisuelle Quellen
- Reinhard Zschoche, supporter
- William Hungerbuehler, supporter
- Franziska Heller, supporter
- Silvana Konermann, supporter
- Eirik Hanssen, supporter
- Thomas Elsaesser
- Tonio Seiler and Nora Cista
- Anne Gjelsvik
- Veronika Ronchin
- Ulrich Ruedel
- Dennis Atkinson
- Britta Hartmann
- Cynthia Freeland, sponsor
- Dominik Schrey, sponsor
- Guido Kirsten, sponsor
- Daniela Casanova, sponsor
- Alice Christoffel, sponsor
- Martin Koerber
- Silvia Müller
- Simon Spiegel, sponsor
- Yvonne Zimmermann, sponsor
- Elias Savada
- Lars Gaustad
- Alexandra Navratil, sponsor
- Christian Gosvig Olesen, sponsor
- Joanne Bernardi, Associate Professor, University of Rochester
- Laura Major, sponsor
- Dan Binns, sponsor
- Fred Truniger, sponsor
- Margrethe Bruun Vaage, sponsor
- Samuel Flückiger, sponsor
- Ulrike Bergermann, sponsor
- Ursula McCormack, sponsor
- Tereza Smid, sponsor
- Barbara Fritzsche, sponsor
- Marco Brazerol, sponsor
- Susie Trenka, sponsor
- Jan Sahli, sponsor
- Thomas Binder, sponsor
- Anne Kelly, sponsor
- Brigitte Gloor, sponsor
- Sean Kelly
- Lynanne Schweighofer
- Mattia Lento
- Philip Frederic Grütter, campaigner
- Hitomi Matsuyama
*Note: Several donors prefer to remain anonymous.

ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors

Project Leader and Principal Investigator:

Prof. Dr. Barbara Flueckiger, [email protected]

Team:
- Dr. Bregt Lameris, PostDoc Film Studies [email protected]
- Dr. Giorgio Trumpy, Research Scientist [email protected]
- Dr. David Pfluger, Senior Researcher [email protected]
- Martin Weiss, Technician, Film Restorer and Senior Researcher [email protected]
- MA Joëlle Kost, PhD Candidate [email protected]
- MA Michelle Beutler, PhD Candidate [email protected]
- MA Olivia Stutz, PhD Candidate [email protected]
Research Management:

Dr. Evelyn Echle, Scientific Research Manager [email protected]

Software Development:

BSc Gaudenz Halter, Software Development Color Film Analyses, video annotation und crowdsourcing platform VIAN, in collaboration with Visualization and MultiMedia Lab of Prof. Dr. Renato Pajarola, University of Zurich, (Enrique G. Paredes, PhD; Rafael Ballester-Ripoll, PhD) since 07.2017

BSc Noyan Evirgen, Software Development, in collaboration with Visualization and MultiMedia Lab von Prof. Dr. Renato Pajarola, Universität Zürich (Enrique G. Paredes, PhD; Rafael Ballester-Ripoll, PhD), 03.2017–01.2018

Assistants Film Analyses:

BA Manuel Joller, BA Ursina Früh, BA/MA Valentina Romero

Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions

Project Leader:

Prof. Dr. Barbara Flueckiger, [email protected]

Team:

MA Noemi Daugaard, PhD Candidate, [email protected]
MA Josephine Diecke, PhD Candidate, [email protected]

Data Management Timeline of Historical Film Colors:

MA Sabrina Züger, BA Manuel Joller, BA Jamie-Lee Moser, MA Meredith Stalder, MA Valentina Romero
Budget / Sponsors
Budget / Sponsors
Financing the Timeline of Historical Film Colors?

The development of the project started in fall 2011 with stage 1. Each stage necessitated a different financing scheme. We are now in stage 3 and are looking for additional funding by private sponsors. Please use the Stripe interface to pay conveniently online.

Read more about the financial background of the project on filmcolors.org.

Thanks for your support!
Copyright Notice
Important copyright notice
Many graphics, photographs, and text portions
that appear on this web page are protected by copyright!

Please ask for permission if you would like to use them.

The author has exercised the greatest care in seeking all necessary permissions to publish the material on this website. Please contact the author immediately and directly should anything infringe a copyright nonetheless.

Timeline of Historical Film Colors by Barbara Flueckiger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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E-mail to Barbara Flueckiger, founder and project leader of Timeline of Historical Film Colors
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Timeline of Historical Film Colors
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Thank you very much for your financial contribution! Each sponsor receives a credit on the acknowledgement page: http://zauberklang.ch/acknowledgements.html

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Thank you very much for your financial contribution! Each sponsor receives a credit on the acknowledgement page: http://zauberklang.ch/acknowledgements.html

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Thomascolor

Year

1934

Principle

Additive 3 color: 4 images on 65 mm

Invented by

Richard Thomas

Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press.
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Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press.
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Secondary Sources

Nowotny, Robert A. (1983): The Way of All Flesh Tones. A History of Color Motion Picture Processes, 1895-1929. New York: Garland Pub., pp. 272-273. View Quote

Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, pp. 46–47 and p. 49. View Quote

Downloads

Patents

U.S.P. 2,152,224 (Thomas, Richard; filed June 30, 1936; granted Mar. 28, 1939)
Download PDF

Timeline of Historical Film Colors by Barbara Flueckiger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Quote as Flueckiger, Barbara (2012 ff.): Timeline of Historical Film Colors. (= https://filmcolors.org/).
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Color Mania Book

Color Mania. The Material of Color in Photography and Film

About this Project

News and Blog

Acknowledgements

Experts, scholars, institutions

Sponsors, supporters, patrons of the crowdfunding campaign

ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors

Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions

Budget / Sponsors

Important copyright notice

Contact