jimc@haddock.UUCP (05/10/85)
On a side note, remakes of some old *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* episodes were shown in one movie feature last Sunday night on one of the networks. They took some of the old introductions of the television series (which featured Hitchcock) and computer-colored them, so they wouldn't stand out against the modern color remakes. The result was quite impressive, I thought. I am curious: were directors of black and white films attentive to color when they were filming? I would think that the directors of old-time color features were certainly more attentive to it than black-and-white directors. The result might be some strange-looking colors revealed to us through this new process. Or am I wrong?
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (05/12/85)
>I am curious: were directors of black and white films >attentive to color when they were filming? I would think >that the directors of old-time color features were certainly >more attentive to it than black-and-white directors. The >result might be some strange-looking colors revealed to us >through this new process. Or am I wrong? My understanding is that you are wrong. When I first heard of the process I also thought that it reconstituted the original colors. That would be pretty impressive. I have heard since that it is an entirely different process. The first frame of a scene is shown to the technician on some sort of TV screen I would guess. He uses a light pen to color it entirely himself. The computer then uses those color choices and colors the succeeding frames itself. When a new surface appears the computer stops and asks the technician to color it. If something is supposed to change color during the course of a scene, the computer might be a little stuck to handle that situation, but then how often would such a scene appear in a black and white film? Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
john@moncol.UUCP (John Ruschmeyer) (05/13/85)
>Nf-From: haddock!jimc May 10 11:20:00 1985 > >I am curious: were directors of black and white films attentive >to color when they were filming? I would think that the directors >of old-time color features were certainly more attentive to it than >black-and-white directors. The result might be some strange-looking >colors revealed to us through this new process. Or am I wrong? If you looked at the "real" colors of B&W films, you probably would be a bit surpried. I seem to recall that in early black-and-white episodes of "Doctor Who", the supposedly white console was actually light green. Apparently, light green filmed better than white in B&W. (This tidbit is mentioned in "Doctor Who- the Key to Time".) I am not sure, however, whether the computer enhancement brings out the "true" colors or whether that is a human decision. -- Name: John Ruschmeyer US Mail: Monmouth College, W. Long Branch, NJ 07764 Phone: (201) 222-6600 x366 UUCP: ...!vax135!petsd!moncol!john ...!princeton!moncol!john ...!pesnta!moncol!john Silly Quote: "Oh sair, it was Kahn. We found him in an unlinked inode. He put creatures in our bodies... made us post lies, say things, flame things, but keptin was strong..."
jims@hcrvax.UUCP (Jim Sullivan) (05/13/85)
> I am curious: were directors of black and white films attentive > to color when they were filming? I would think that the directors > of old-time color features were certainly more attentive to it than > black-and-white directors. The result might be some strange-looking > colors revealed to us through this new process. Or am I wrong? What does it matter ? The colour of objects would be decided by the person doing the colouring of the film (At least that's how I understand the process, you assign colours to the first frame in a shot, and then let the computer fill in the other frames). IF this is not the case, the film industry has achieved a break-through in AI and pararpsychology, a computer that reads the minds of dead people ! By the way, I seem to remember being told that for black and white movies, chocolate syrup was used as blood. It had the right consistancy, and looked better that fake blood on film ! Jim Sullivan
reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (05/14/85)
In article <13900040@haddock.UUCP> jimc@haddock.UUCP writes: > >I am curious: were directors of black and white films attentive >to color when they were filming? I would think that the directors >of old-time color features were certainly more attentive to it than >black-and-white directors. The result might be some strange-looking >colors revealed to us through this new process. Or am I wrong? The computerized coloring process doesn't magically guess what the original colors were. A designer chooses what colors to put into the black and white film. Thus, you won't see bizarre colors unless the art director of the coloring effort had something slipped into his coffee at lunch. The actual colors of objects in black and white films can be surprising. Almost any set that looks white before the mid-thirties was actual a pastel color, often pink. In the mid-thirties, cinematographers figured out a way to light a pure white set so that it would look good. This contributed to the art deco look of many 1930s films. RKO, and the Astaire-Rogers musicals in particular, became famous for always including a BWS - a Big White Set. Doubtless those involved sought to make sets and costumes pleasing to the color-distinguishing eyes of the cast and crew, but only secondarily. The primary goal was producing interesting contrasts when converted to black and white film. -- Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa {...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher