Orthochromatic stock

1873

|

Hermann Wilhelm Vogel

b/w photography: orthochromatic b/w stock, still photography

“In 1873 Dr Vogel discovered that by adding dyes to the sensitive material, its sensitivity could be extended, so that it would record green as well as blue. The new ‘orthochromatic’ plates were available commercially from 1882. The ...

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„Film orthochromatique (film négatif Pathé Standard)“ (orthochromatic stock). Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
„Film ordinaire (non orthochromatique)“ (Normal, non-orthochromatic stock). Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.

2 Images

Orwochrom

1975

|

(VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack, reversal, 16 mm

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Cross section scheme of different Orwo materials. Source: Kaufmann, Siegfried (1976): Vom ersten Umkehrfilm zum Orwochrom-System. In: Bild und Ton 3/1976, pp. 88-93.

84 Images in 3 Galleries

Orwocolor

1964

|

(VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack

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Frauenschicksale (GDR 1952, Slatan Dudow). Credit: Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv. Photographs of the Orwocolor safety print by Michelle Beutler, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors.
Cross section of Orwo positive print. Credit: Carsta Knaack, HTW Berlin. Film: L'Ours (J.-J. Annaud, 1988).
Cross section schemes of different materials by Orwo. Source: Kaufmann, Siegfried (1976): Vom ersten Farbumkehrfilm zum Orwochrom-System. In: Bild und Ton, 3/1976, p. 88-93.

1026 Images in 27 Galleries

Orwocolor NC 1

1964

|

(VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack

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Orwocolor NC 3

1972

|

(VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack

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Ozobrome 1905–ca. 1910, after 1913 renamed Raydex

1905

|

Thomas Manly

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1905 Thomas Manly (d. 1932) of London introduced the Ozobrome process, which was a modification of his earlier Ozotype, patented in 1898. The process was based on a carbon printing method proposed in 1873 by Auguste Marion (1835–1917) and ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 100.

1 Image

Ozotype

1895

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

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Paget Color Screen

1913

|

Geoffrey S. Whitefield (Paget Prize Plate Company of Watford, England)

Additive 3 color: regular mosaic screen, separate system, still photography

“Paget Color Screen (1913–ca. 1922): lines of red and blue squares alternated with lines of green and blue squares (Fig. 2.52). The lines are at a 45-degree angle from the edge of the plate. The side of the red and green squares measures ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 69.

1 Image

Panacolor

1962

|

Michele P. L. Martinez (Panacolor, Inc)

Subtractive 3 color: Color separation, multilayer print

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Credit: Gert Koshofer Collection. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger

11 Images in 1 Gallery

Panchromotion

1917

|

William van Doren Kelley (Panchromotion)

Additive 4 color: Rotary filter

”Kelley’s first color process was a four-color additive system introduced in 1913. Called Panchromotion, Kelley formed a company which would exploit the process commercially and, he hoped, provide strong competition for Kinemacolor. He apparently ...

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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.
Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press.

2 Images

Pantachrom

1938

|

John Eggert and Gerd Heymer (Agfa)

Subtractive 3 color: Bi-pack and lenticular film recording, duplitized film with toning and silver dye-bleach

“In October, Eggert of the Agfa Research Department, read a paper at the Berlin meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für photographische Forschung, on the Pantochrom subtractive lenticular bipack tricolor process. (Fig. 1) The green and blue ...

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Agfa Pantachrom. Source: Arens, Hans; Heymer, Gerd (1939): Die „Agfa-Farbentafel für Farbenphotographie“. In: Veröffentlichungen des wissenschaftlichen Zentral-Laboratoriums der photographischen Abteilung Agfa, Vol. 6, 1939, pp. 225-229. Leipzig: Hirzel. Photograph by Martin Weiss, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors.

19 Images in 3 Galleries

Pathécolor / Pathéchrome / stencil coloring

1903

|

(Pathé and others)

Applied colors: Stencil, dyed gelatin

Stencil coloring required the manual cutting, frame by frame, of the area which was to be tinted onto another identical print, one for each color. Usually the number of colors applied ranged from 3 to 6. The process was highly improved by the ...

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Casanova (FRA 1927, Alexandre Volkoff). Credit: Cinémathèque française. Photographs of the stencil colored safety print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Print no. 1 of Amour d'esclave (FRA 1907, Albert Capellani). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph of the nitrate film print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Edge mark: Pathé (April 1907-1909), on one edge, PATHÉ FRÈRES and on the other, 14 RUE FAVART PARIS (partially visible). Cf. Ill.PM.4: Brown, Harold (1990): Physical Characteristics of Early Films as Aids to Identification. Brussels: FIAF, on p. 9.
View Quote on Page: Edge Codes and Identification
Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Amour d'esclave (France 1907).
Edge mark: PATHÉ FRÈRES PARIS (without gap, 1906-1907, partially visible). Cf.: Ill.PM.33: Brown, Harold (1990): Physical Characteristics of Early Films as Aids to Identification. Brussels: FIAF, on p. 9.
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Trade mark in scene: Pathé cockerel (until 1909). Cf.: Ill.TM.5: Brown 1990: on p. 30.
View Quote on Page: Edge Codes and Identification
Tinting in combination with stencil coloring. Credit: Turconi Collection by courtesy of George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: L'Exode (FRA 1910, Louis Feuillade)
Credit: Turconi Collection by courtesy of George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: L'Exode (FRA 1910, Louis Feuillade)
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Le Pied de Mouton (ca. 1910).
Edge mark: Pathé (1909 onward), on one edge, PATHÉ FRÈRES 14 RUE FAVART PARIS and on the other, EXHIBITION INTERDITE EN FRANCE EN SUISSE ET EN BELGIQUE (partially visible). Cf.: Ill.PM.5: Brown, Harold (1990): Physical Characteristics of Early Films as Aids to Identification. Brussels: FIAF, on p. 9.
View Quote on Page: Edge Codes and Identification
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Golden Beetle (1907).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Unknown film (ca. 1919).
Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
Credit: Cineteca di Bologna.
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.
Credit: Turconi Collection by courtesy of George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: Kinder-Karno in Nizza.
Toplight and backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Toplight and backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Toplight and backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Pathéorama. Toplight and backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Pathéorama. Backlight, Swiss collector's copy. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Pathéorama. Credit: Clayton Scoble and Stephen Jennings, Harvard University, Fine Arts Library. Backlight. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.
Credit: Clayton Scoble and Stephen Jennings, Harvard University, Fine Arts Library. Backlight. Source: Didiée, L. (1926): Le Film vierge Pathé. Manuel de développement et de tirage. Paris: Pathé.

2265 Images in 73 Galleries

Pentachrome

1938

Subtractive 3 color: dye destruction process, silver dye-bleach, still photography

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Photocolor

1930

|

(Photocolor Corp.)

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, double-coated

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Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Gift of Montezuma.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Sweetest Story.

42 Images

Pinatype / Pinatypie

1903

|

Léon Didier (Meister Lucius & Brüning)

Subtractive 3 color: dye transfer, still photography and film

“In the imbibition process, a dye image is transferred from a gelatin relief image to a receiving layer made either of paper or film. Charles Cros described this method of “hydrotypie” transfer printing in 1880 and suggested it ...

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Cyan and magenta combined, third layer, yellow missing. Source: Meister Lucius & Brüning (1905): Pinatypie. Positiv-Verfahren für die Dreifarbenphotographie. Höchst am Main.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 132.

4 Images

Pinchart

1948

Additive 3 color: Four lenses, red-green-blue-grey

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Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall.
Source: Cornwell-Clyne, Adrian (1951): Colour Cinematography. London: Chapman & Hall.

2 Images

Polachrome

1977

|

(Polaroid Corporation)

35mm Slide Film

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Linear filter structure in Polachrome 35mm instant slide film. The blue filter strips are slightly larger compared to the red and green filters. The filter lines are running along the film strip. According to the image placement of the 135 film format for still photography the image is divided horizontally into triplets of R, G and B filter lines. The emulsion layer has been removed before the image was taken. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
Linear filter structure in Polachrome 35mm instant slide film with a emulsion layer of low photographic density. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
Comparision of the linear filter structure of Polachrome 35mm instant slide film and Polavision Super-8 motion picture film. While the technical concept behind the two film stocks is the same, the Super-8 film was produced with linear filters of a smaller width. Based on the given width of an RGB filter triplet and the 135 still image size there are about 920 horizontal RGB-triplets per image for a Polachrome slide. The Super-8 film image is rotated by 90° compared to the 135 film still image and has about 340 vertical RGB-triplets per frame. The positioning of the image content compared to the filter lines is indicated in the picture. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.

4 Images in 1 Gallery

Polacolor

1947

|

W. H. Ryan and V. K. Walworth (Polaroid Corporation)

Subtractive 3 color: Color separation, multicolor dye images

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Polacolor Instant Photography

1963

|

Edwin Land

Instant still photography

“Polacolor was commercialized in 1963 and became an immediate success. It was acclaimed as the ‘most outstanding single advance in photographic science made during this century’ (Crawley 1963). Indeed, Polacolor introduced important ...

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Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 258.

4 Images

Polaroid integral films

1972

|

Polaroid Corporation

Subtractive 3 color: dye diffusion process, still photography

“In 1972 Polaroid introduced an entirely new concept of instant photography with the film SX-70. With the new integral system, negative and receiving sheets were sealed into a single unit and all the reactive materials were present in the unit ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 238.

1 Image

Polavision

1977

|

(Polaroid Corporation)

Diffusion: Line screen, super-8 mm

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Linear filter structure in Polavision instant Super8 film. The filter lines are running along the film strip. According to the image placement of the Super-8 motion picture standard the image is divided vertically into triplets of R, G and B filter lines. The emulsion layer has been removed before this image was taken. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
Linear filter structure in Polavision instant Super8 film with an emulsion layer of a high photographic density. With the focus set on the emulsion the linear structure of the coloured filters is not visible in this image. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
Comparision of the linear filter structure of Polachrome 35mm instant slide film and Polavision Super-8 motion picture film. While the technical concept behind the two film stocks is the same, the Super-8 film was produced with linear filters of a smaller width. Based on the given width of an RGB filter triplet and the 135 still image size there are about 920 horizontal RGB-triplets per image for a Polachrome slide. The Super-8 film image is rotated by 90° compared to the 135 film still image and has about 340 vertical RGB-triplets per frame. The positioning of the image content compared to the filter lines is indicated in the picture. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
Excerpt of a Polavision Super-8 home movie scanned on a Kinetta scanner in 4.8K resolution edge to edge. In post production a zoom in and out was applied to show the linear filter structure of Polavision film in motion. The zoom was based on image detail from the scan. No upres procedure was applied. Credit: Scanning and editing by Martin Weiss.
A comparison of the colour filter structures of Dufaycolor, Autochrome and Polavision from Anonymous (1978): Ma il Polavision e' un'altra cosa!. Phototest Italiana, 41, Oct., pp 72–77.
A comparison of the colour filter structures of Dufaycolor, Autochrome and Polavision from Anonymous (1978): Ma il Polavision e' un'altra cosa!. Phototest Italiana, 41, Oct., pp 72–77. Translation: David Pfluger and Giorgio Trumpy.
The process of exposure and development of Polavision instant Super-8 film. From Anonymous (1978): Ma il Polavision e' un'altra cosa!. Phototest Italiana, 41, Oct., p. 74.
The process of exposure and development of Polavision instant Super-8 film. From Anonymous (1978): Ma il Polavision e' un'altra cosa!. Phototest Italiana, 41, Oct., p. 74. Translation: David Pfluger and Giorgio Trumpy.
"Polavision (top) vs. Kodachrome 40: These are blowups from closely matching frames of Debra Goldie, filmed simultaneously with a Polavision and a conventional super 8 camera, side by side, with the Twi Light quartz lamp mounted on top of the former. Subject distance was 6 ft., but the super 8 camera was focused for 10 ft. – same as the Polavision camera at its close-up setting. Both Polavision and Kodachrome 40 are closely equal in speed, but differ distinctly in structure, faithfulness of color rendition, and latitude, as is obvious from these frame reproductions. What can't be seen is the relative opacity of Polavision: according to our measurement, it transmits less than 9 percent as Kodachrome 40. However, the lab that made the duplicate transparency blow-ups of the frames found that it had to give a full six stops extra exposure." (Leavitt, Don; Drukker Leendert (1978): First Look: Polavision instant movies. In: Popular Photography, Feb., p. 68.)
"C'est devant un immense agrandissement de l'intérieur d'une cassette Polavision sur la-quelle se découpe la silhouette de l'orateur (ci-contre à gauche) que le Dr Land présenta son invention. Ce document permet de distinguer les poulies de guidage du film (1 et 2), la réserve de produit de traitement et son bec ré-partiteur (3), la bobine débitrice (4), l'ensemble formé par le presseur de film et le prisme (5), la poulie d'entraînement du film (6)." "It was in front of a huge enlargement of the interior of a Polavision cassette on which the silhouette of the speaker was cut out (opposite left) that Dr Land presented his invention. This document makes it possible to distinguish the guide pulleys of the film (1 and 2), the supply of treatment product and its distribution nozzle (3), the supply reel (4), the assembly formed by the presser of film and the prism (5), the film drive pulley (6)." (Anonymous (1977): Naissance du cinéma instantané. In: L'auto-journal, Rubrique realisée sous la direction de Pierre Marais, 12, Jul., pp. 94–95.)
The production of the Filter structure on Polavision film includes the use of a lenticular surface, which is removed after the process. The lenticules are not involved in recording the color information during the taking of images in the camera. Figure 10 and Figure 11 from: Land, Edwin H. (1997): An Introduction to Polavision. In: Photographic Science and Engineering, 21,5, Sept., Oct., pp. 228–236, on p. 228.
Comparison of thickness of the image carrying layer in a Kodak fine grain positive and Polavision film. Figure 24 from: Land, Edwin H. (1997): An Introduction to Polavision. In: Photographic Science and Engineering, 21,5, Sept., Oct., pp. 228–236, on p. 235.
In the Polavision instant color film process the negative image recorded during the exposure of the film is neither developed from a latent image to a visible negative nor is it removed from the film. The latent negative stays as a layer in the film and is responsible for a slight attenuation of the image’s highlights. Figure 25 from: Land, Edwin H. (1997): An Introduction to Polavision. In: Photographic Science and Engineering, 21,5, Sept., Oct., pp. 228–236, on p. 236.
Single frame of a Polavision home movie scanned in 3.5K resolution.

14 Images

Polychrome

1932

|

Frederic Eugene Ives

Subtractive 3 color: dye mordanting and silver toning process, still photography

“In 1932 Frederic Eugene Ives published details of his Polychrome printing system for making three-color paper prints or transparencies from two separation negatives made through a red and a green-blue filter. The process, described by its ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 281.

1 Image

Polychromide

1918

|

Aaron OR Aron Hamburger

Subtractive 2 color: beam-splitter, later bi-pack, mordant dye, still photography and film

“Polychromide, a two-color subtractive process invented in 1918 by Aron Hamburger, achieved limited commercial success overseas, and was occasionally employed in England as late as 1933. Originally an orthochromatic and a panchromatic negative were ...

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Polychromide samples 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.
Credit: Brian Pritchard
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 279.

66 Images in 2 Galleries

Predecessor of Kinemacolor

1906

|

George Albert Smith

Additive 2 color: Rotary filter

“Then we come upon the name of George Albert Smith, F.R.A.S., of Laboratory Lodge, Roman Crescent, Southwick, Brighton, who in E.P. 26,671, of 1906, patented the method which eventually was commercialized as Kinemacolor. In this patent he ...

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Prism

1905

|

Otto Pfenniger (often referenced as Pfenninger)

Additive 3 color: Prism

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Source: Wall, E.J. (1925): The History of Three-color Photography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

1 Image

Prizma I

1916

|

William van Doren Kelley (Prizma)

Additive 3 color: Rotary filter

“The color experiments were conducted in the basement of a house at 1586 E. Seventeenth St., Brooklyn, N. Y. During this time a double-coated stock and a bleach formula which had much to do with the success of the later Prizma process were ...

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Prizma II

1919

|

William van Doren Kelley (Prizma Company)

|

United States of America

Subtractive 2 color: Toning on double coated film

“In its final form Prizma made use of duplitized positive film. As in previous Prizma systems, the original negatives were alternate frame sequential exposures. The Prizma negative was printed on both sides of the positive film in a special ...

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The two colors visible at a splice. Credit: EYE Film Institute Amsterdam. Film: [Kleurenpracht].
Credit: George Eastman House. Preserved by Carole Fodor, Haghefilm Digitaal fellow and graduate of The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. Film: A Day with John Burroughs (Prizma, 1919).
Credit: George Eastman House. Preserved by Carole Fodor, Haghefilm Digitaal fellow and graduate of The L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. Film: A Day with John Burroughs (Prizma, 1919).
Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: The Land of the Great Spirit (1919).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: The Orange.

399 Images in 14 Galleries

Procédé Colombier

1908

|

F. de Colombier

Subtractive 3 color: Tri-pack

“M. F. de Colombier appears to have been the first to suggest the application of this system to cinematography, and like so many French patents it is a little indefinite in phraseology. Three films were employed representing the same view and ...

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Procédé Tetrachrome

1913

|

Louis Mauclaire, Alfred Bréon, Pierre Randabel

|

France

Additive four-color process: rotating filters

Based on four primary colors, the process successively recorded two simultaneous images for two primary colors each. In projection, the four images were combined on screen, supposedly via a regular projector.

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Projection light

Theory

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Proposal of a variety of processes of three-color photography

1869

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Louis Ducos du Hauron

Theory: still photography

“Louis Ducos du Hauron is reported to have become interested in the reproduction of colors by photography in 1859, when he was twentyone years old (Potonniée, 1939). In 1862 he submitted to a friend of his family, M. Lelut, a paper embodying ...

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"Du Hauron invented his Chromographoscope in 1874. It could be used either as a camera or an additive viewer." Source: Coote, Jack H. (1993): The Illustrated History of Colour Photography. Surbiton, Surrey: Fountain Press.
An early three-color print by Louis Ducros Du Hauron, 1877.

2 Images

Proposal of a variety of processes of three-color photography

1869

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Charles Cros

Theory

Description of a variety of color processes, even for images in motion by the use of a rotary shutter.

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Raycol

1929

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Anthony Bernardi (Raycol Ltd.)

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter, sawn-off lens

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Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

13 Images in 1 Gallery

Raylo

ca. 1922

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Hiram Codd Joseph Deeks (American Raylo Corporation)

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Raylo was a material developed by Hiram Codd Joseph Deeks (1880−1952) of the American Raylo Corporation, New York. It was introduced in 1922 for a printing service for users of the Raylo Camera, a one-shot camera that made three negatives ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 87.

1 Image

Roncarolo

1932

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Emilio Roncarolo

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Italy

Subtractive 2, 3 or 4 color: Beam-splitter and bi-pack, later dye-transfer

The Roncarolo system required a camera capable of recording two panchromatic negatives (which became three or four in subsequent patents) through the use of a beam splitter and red and green filters. The chromatic information registered on the two or ...

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Rota Farbenfilm

1931

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack, mordant toning

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Rota Farbenfilm Samples (Kodak Film Samples Collection). Credit: National Science and Media Museum Bradford. Photographs of the Rotacolor Prints by Josephine Diecke, SNSF project Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions and Joëlle Kost, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors.

13 Images in 2 Galleries

Rotocolor

1931

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Harold Muller

Additive 2 color: Rotary filter

“The Rotocolor process was an additive system for color cinematography. The process was announced in 1931 by H. Muller. According to an article in Film Daily, April 12, 1931, and The Motion Picture Herald, April 11, 1931, the process consisted of ...

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Rouxcolor 2 color / Cineoptichrome

1932

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Lucien and Armand Roux

Additive 2 color: Beam-splitter

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Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.

2 Images

Rouxcolor 4 color

1948

Additive 4 color: 4 lenses

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Rouxcolor, four-color, black and white negative and positive, ca. 1948. Credit: Gert Koshofer Collection. Sample No. 83. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger
Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.

7 Images in 1 Gallery

Russian three-color process

1936

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Pavel Mershin (Mosfilm), Fedor Provorov (NIKFI) and Avenir Min (Leningradskii zavod kino-apparatury, Leningrad Film Factory LenKinAp)

Subtractive three color

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Zaveshchanie/The Testament (7 June 1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
Zaveshchanie/The Testament (7 June 1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov. Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Miraculous Traffic Light (1938). Credit: courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov
The Wolf and Seven Goat-Kids (1938). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Fox and the Wolf (1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Fox and the Wolf (1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.

6 Images

Russian two-color system

1931

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Nikolai Agokos, Fedor Provorov and Pavel Mershin (Scientific Research Film and Photo Institute NIKFI)

Subtractive two color

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Screenshot from Mayorov, Nikolai (2012): Soviet Colours. Translated by Birgit Beumers. In: Studies in Russian & Soviet Cinema, 6:2, pp. 241–255. doi: 10.1386/srsc.6.2.241_1 Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.

1 Image

Sakuracolor

1946

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(Konishiroku Photo Industry Co)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack, reversal

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Sanger-Shepherd

1900

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Edward Sanger-Shepherd

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“In 1900 Edward Sanger-Shepherd (ca. 1869−1927), a London scientific instrument maker, started to offer complete outfits for making natural color lantern slides with a dye imbibition printing method that became known as the Sanger-Shepherd ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 128.
Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 129.
Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 130.

3 Images

Sennett Color

1930

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(Sennett Laboratories)

Subtractive 2 color: Bi-pack, double coated, toned

“Public showings of the work done at this plant in Hollywood have been given to Los Angeles audiences. The release prints are made on double sided film. Both sides are developed at one time and then toned red on one side and bluegreen on the ...

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Strange Birds (US 1930, Mack Sennett). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph of the nitrate print: Barbara Flueckiger
Magnification. Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Strange Birds (1930)

18 Images in 1 Gallery

Sensitizing theory

1885

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Hermann Wilhelm Vogel

Color theory

“Dr. H. W. Vogel, the discoverer of colour sensitizers, made three-colour photography possible, and has been the first to recognise the relation between colour sensitiveness of plate and printing colour in the following principle made known in ...

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Silver dye-bleach

1889

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Raphael E. Liesegang

Subtractive 3 color: Dye-bleach

“Probably the first use of the catalytic property of silver was in 1889, when E. Howard Farmer disclosed the action of a silver image upon strong dichromate solutions (Eng. P. 17773/89). When a plate or film, containing a silver image, is immersed ...

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Sirius

1929

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Ludwig Horst (Sirius Kleuren Film Maatschappij)

Subtractive 2 color: Beam-splitter, double-coated

“The Dutch Sirius Color process (1929) used a camera with a beamsplitting system behind the lens to expose a single film, the film passing through two gates at right angles to each other. The double-coated print film was dye-toned. The process ...

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Magnification, 20x. Credit: photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification, 10x. Credit: Photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
Magnification, 5x. Credit: Photomicrograph by Silvana Konermann.
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.
Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Magnification of an image area. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reflection on the Sirius film, front. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.
Reflection on the Sirius film, back. Source: Eggert, John (1932): Kurzer Überblick über den Stand der Farbenkinematographie. Bericht über den VIII. Internationalen Kongress für wissenschaftliche und angewandte Photographie, pp. 214-222. Leipzig: J. A. Barth.

142 Images in 4 Galleries

Sistema Cristiani-Mascarini

1934

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Luigi Cristiani, Giovanni Mascarini

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Italy

Additive four-color: beam splitter and filters, four images on 35mm black and white film.

For this four-color process, the light beam was decomposed into four parts, each of which simultaneously exposed an area equal to one quarter of the 35mm frame of a black and white negative. This was obtained optically by placing a diaphragm and a ...

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Cross-section of the optical system displaying the different lenses, the prism and the four filters. Source: Pierotti, Federico (2016): Un'archeologia del colore nel cinema italiano. Dal Technicolor ad Antonioni. Pisa: Edizioni ETS, p. 71.
35mm black and white film strip with four equal-sized images (left) and 16mm projector with Cristiani-Mascarini optical system. Source: Pierotti, Federico (2016): Un'archeologia del colore nel cinema italiano. Dal Technicolor ad Antonioni. Pisa: Edizioni ETS, p. 71.

2 Images

Sovcolor negative film type B

1945

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(Agfa Wolfen GDR, from 1948 GUKP, USSR)

Subtractive 3 color: Chromogenic monopack, daylight

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Skleněné varhany (Stěklanna je garmonika, Andrej Chržanovskij, USSR 1968). Credit: Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger