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, browse by image, search by color, 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.
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.
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.
More than a decade of research on film colors, countless visits to archives to explore and document historical film colors for the Timeline has led the team to develop the scientifically proven multispectral scanning workflow Scan2Screen.
Based on an in-depth study of 8 leading commercial film scanners the team identified core requirements to capture historical film colors in a more comprehensive and future-proof way.
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.
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
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).
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
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
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.
Read more about the financial background of the project on filmcolors.org.
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.
Subtractive 3 color: dye destruction process, silver dye-bleach, still photography
“In 1956, after the failure of the French venture, Gaspar resumed his own production of printing materials and chemicals (Koshofer 1981a). In the late 1950s he entered into an agreement with 3M Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, to explore the ...
AGFA BIPACK FILM
The front film is orthochromatic and sensitive, therefore, to green and blue. The rear film is panchromatic and records red-orange only, there being a red-orange filter on the orthochromatic emulsion. In fact, this is a bipack of the ...
Subtractive 3 color: dye destruction process, silver dye-bleach, still photography
“Between 1970 and 1976, Agfa-Gevaert produced its own silver dye-bleach printing material on a white-pigmented acetate base called Agfachrome CU 410.28 Only available to a few photofinishers in Germany, it was used to print amateurs’ ...
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 218.
Additive 3 color: mosaic screen, combined system, still photography
“Agfacolor Film (1932–1934): individual colored particles cannot be seen with the naked eye, but clumps of grains of the same color give the image a pointillist effect (Fig. 2.70). There is no black pigment filler. The film has a thick base ...
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 76.
Gerd Heymer and John Eggert (IG Farbenindustrie, Agfa, Berlin, Filmfabrik Wolfen)
Additive 3 color: Lenticular screen
The basic idea of the lenticular film was developed by the German Raphaël Liesegang in 1896 and applied to still photography by the French Rodolphe Berthon in 1908.
The lenticular process applies tiny cylindrical lenses embossed on the film support ...
Color reconstruction. Credit: Gisela Harich-Hamburger, Diplomrestauratorin (FH).
Source: Heymer, Gerd (1933): Auflösungsvermögen und Farbwiedergabe in der Farbrasterphotographie. In: Veröffentlichungen des wissenschaftlichen Zentral-Laboratoriums der photographischen Abteilung Agfa, 3, 1933, pp. 188-207.
Source: Weil, F. (1933): The Optical-Photographic Principles of the Agfacolor Process. In: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, 20, (April, 1933), No. 4, p. 301-308.
Both the Kodak and Agfa lenticular processes required the correct banded filter to be used with each different batch of panchromatic film. These two filters were for different batches of Agfacolor used in a Leica camera.. Source: Coote, Jack H. (1993): The Illustrated History of Colour Photography. Surbiton, Surrey: Fountain Press.
Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Ede, François (1994): Jour de fête ou la couleur retrouvée. Cahiers du Cinéma: Paris.
Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
Magnification 5x, front. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 10x, back. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification 20x, front. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Reflection on Agfacolor lenticular film. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. In: Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, Dresden 1931, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reconstruction of lenticular film by Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland in the framework of their research project doLCE
Agfacolor Lenticular sample from the Kodak Film Samples Collection at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.
Credit: National Science and Media Museum Bradford.
Photographs by Barbara Flueckiger in collaboration with Noemi Daugaard.
Analog reconstruction by Giorgio Trumpy, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Jan Roháč z Dubé (Czechoslovakia 1947, Vladimír Borsky).
Faded Agfacolor period nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Jan Roháč z Dubé (Czechoslovakia 1947, Vladimír Borský).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Jan Roháč z Dubé (Czechoslovakia 1947, Vladimír Borsky).
Faded Agfacolor period nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Jan Roháč z Dubé (Czechoslovakia 1947, Vladimír Borský).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Jan Roháč z Dubé (Czechoslovakia 1947, Vladimír Borsky).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Kvítí z Čech (Czechoslovakia 1947, dir. Václav Jan Staněk).
Agfacolor positive nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Kvítí z Čech (Czechoslovakia 1947, dir. Václav Jan Staněk).
Agfacolor positive nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Kvítí z Čech (Czechoslovakia 1947, dir. Václav Jan Staněk).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Mistr třeboňský (Czechoslovakia 1950, dir. František Kudláč).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Mistr třeboňský (Czechoslovakia 1950, dir. František Kudláč).
Agfacolor positive nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Mistr třeboňský (Czechoslovakia 1950, dir. František Kudláč).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Praha v říjnu (Czechoslovakia 1945, dir. František Sádek).
Faded Agfacolor period nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Praha v říjnu (Czechoslovakia 1945, dir. František Sádek).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Praha v říjnu (Czechoslovakia 1945, dir. František Sádek).
Agfacolor B original negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Zasadil dědek řepu (Czechoslovakia 1945, dir. Jiří Trnka).
Agfacolor positive nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Zasadil dědek řepu (Czechoslovakia 1945, Jiří Trnka).
Agfacolor positive nitrate print. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Zasadil dědek řepu (Czechoslovakia 1945, Jiří Trnka).
Credit: By courtesy of Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger. Film: 1/50 Sekunde, commercial for Niggemeyer Foto/Kino (1952).
Schmidt, Richard / Kochs, Adolf (1943): Farbfilmtechnik. Eine Einführung für Filmschaffende. Berlin: Hesse, pp. 77-98. (Schriftenreihe der Reichsfilmkammer, 10.) (in German) [quote cite='35875']
Schmidt, Richard / Kochs, Adolf (1943): Farbfilmtechnik. Eine Einführung für Filmschaffende. Berlin: Hesse, pp. 77-98. (Schriftenreihe der Reichsfilmkammer, 10.) (in German) [quote cite='35875']
Schmidt, Richard / Kochs, Adolf (1943): Farbfilmtechnik. Eine Einführung für Filmschaffende. Berlin: Hesse, pp. 77-98. (Schriftenreihe der Reichsfilmkammer, 10.) (in German) [quote cite='35875']
Agfacolor B negative on Agfacolor positive. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Tábor (Oldřich Mirad, Czechoslovakia 1953). Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
Original Agfacolor negative G. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Neposlušný zajíček (German title Klein, aber Oho!, Horst von Möllendorff, Czechoslovakia 1944).
Schmidt, Richard / Kochs, Adolf (1943): Farbfilmtechnik. Eine Einführung für Filmschaffende. Berlin: Hesse, pp. 77-98. (Schriftenreihe der Reichsfilmkammer, 10.) (in German) [quote cite='35875']
Schmidt, Richard / Kochs, Adolf (1943): Farbfilmtechnik. Eine Einführung für Filmschaffende. Berlin: Hesse, pp. 77-98. (Schriftenreihe der Reichsfilmkammer, 10.) (in German) [quote cite='35875']
Negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (Martin Frič, Czechoslovakia 1959).
Negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (Martin Frič, Czechoslovakia 1959).
Negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (Martin Frič, Czechoslovakia 1959).
Negative. Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Film: Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (Martin Frič, Czechoslovakia 1959).
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
Princezna se zlatou hvězdou (CZE 1959, Martin Frič). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photographs of the Agfacolor B negative on Orwocolor positive by Barbara Flueckiger.
“The New Agfacolor Process;
Agfa Ansco Corp., Binghamton, N. Y.
A survey of the history of monopack or multilayer photographic color processes is given, including the coloring methods of greatest importance at the present time. These are: (a) ...
Münchhausen (Josef von Báky, Germany 1943). Credit: Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv and Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung. Photographs of the Agfacolor safety print (acetate) by Barbara Flueckiger.
Paper print. Source: Serda, Charlott (1941): Das Farbfoto-Buch vom Film. Breitkopf & Härtel: Leipzig.
Parade (1960). Credit: Harvard Film Archive, Brandon Film Library Collection, item no. 14303. Photographs of Agfacolor negative on Orwocolor reversal print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Parade (1960). Credit: Harvard Film Archive, Brandon Film Library Collection, item no. 14303. Photographs of Agfacolor negative on Orwocolor reversal print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Additive 3 color: mosaic screen, combined system, still photography
“Agfacolor Plate (1932-1938): colored particles very small and not visible to the naked eye; clumps of particles of the same color give the image a pointillist effect (Fig. 2.63). Unlike with the autochromes, in which the grains are remarkably ...
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 72.
Additive 3 color: Mosaic screen, still photography
“During the war, an important new screen plate appeared, based on patents taken out by J. H. Christensen in 1908. He proposed to make a concentrated solution of gum in alcohol. Divided into three parts, the gum solutions were dyed red, green ...
Magnification. Source: Coe, Brian (1978): Colour Photography. The First Hundred Years 1840-1940. London: Ash & Grant.
Source: Coote, Jack H. (1993): The Illustrated History of Colour Photography. Surbiton, Surrey: Fountain Press.
Source: Heymer, Gerd (1943): Die neuere Entwicklung der Farbphotographie. In: Ergänzungswerk zum Handbuch der wissenschaftlichen und angewandten Photographie. Wien: Julius Springer 1943, pp. 337-463.
Source: Finger, Ehrhard (1998): Die Pioniere des Wolfener Farbfilms. In: Industrie- und Filmmuseum Wolfen e. V. (ed.), Die Filmfabrik Wolfen. Aus der Geschichte, Heft 2, pp. 16-36. (in German) [quote id='4']
Source: Finger, Ehrhard (1998): Die Pioniere des Wolfener Farbfilms. In: Industrie- und Filmmuseum Wolfen e. V. (ed.), Die Filmfabrik Wolfen. Aus der Geschichte, Heft 2, pp. 16-36. (in German) [quote id='4']
Source: Finger, Ehrhard (1998): Die Pioniere des Wolfener Farbfilms. In: Industrie- und Filmmuseum Wolfen e. V. (ed.), Die Filmfabrik Wolfen. Aus der Geschichte, Heft 2, pp. 16-36. (in German) [quote id='4']
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 73.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 73.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 72.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 76.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 42.
Additive 3 color: mosaic screen, combined system, still photography and 35mm MPF (1935–1936)
“Agfacolor Ultra Film (1934–1941): individual colored grains cannot be seen with the naked eye, but clumps of grains of the same color give the image a pointillist effect (Fig. 2.72). There is no black pigment filler. The film has a thick ...
Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 76.