List of color film systems
This is a list of color film processes known to have been created for photographing and exhibiting motion pictures in color since the first attempts were made in the late 1890s. It is limited to "natural color" processes, meaning processes in which the color is photographically recorded and reproduced rather than artificially added by hand-painting, stencil coloring, or other arbitrary "colorization" methods.
Legend
- Process: the name of the process, as advertised by the company if commercialized. Known alternative names and second-party commercial aliases are also shown.
- Year: The earliest known year of existence based on patents, reports of demonstrations, etc. The first public showing or commercial use (if any) may be later.
- Projection method: a classification into one of four process types, plus a notation of how many primary colors were used:
Additive: multiple black-and-white images photographed through color filters are projected through corresponding filters and united on the screen. The component images may either be projected simultaneously or in rapid succession.
Subtractive: the color image is physically present as transparent coloring matter in the film. No special projection equipment is required.
Mosaic (additive): the film incorporates a mosaic of extremely small color filters, allowing a color image to be photographed as one black-and-white image consisting of many microscopically small color-filtered fragments. The same mosaic reconstitutes the color when the film is projected, so no special equipment is needed.
Lenticular (additive): a black-and-white film which has been embossed on its base side with hundreds or thousands of tiny lenses is used for the original photography, base side forward and in conjunction with a segmented multicolored filter on the camera lens. As in mosaic processes, the result is an array of adjacent microscopic black-and-white image fragments that record the color information. Projection must reverse the optical geometry used for photography, so it requires not only a similar segmented filter but also highly compatible and correctly adjusted projection optics. - Inventor: the known inventor(s) of the process.
- Introductory film: the first known public showing of the process.
List
| Process | Year | Projection method | Inventor(s) | Introductory film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee-Turner Colour | 1899 | Additive (3 color) | Edward Raymond Turner[1][2] | N/A (Experimental) (circa 1902) |
| Biocolour | 1905 | Additive (2 color) | William Friese-Greene | Untitled Film (1906)[3] |
| Kinemacolor | 1906 | Additive (2 color) | George Albert Smith | A Visit to the Seaside (1908) |
| Warner-Powrie | 1906 | Mosaic (3 color) | John Hutchison Powrie | Untitled film (1928) |
| Keller-Dorian | 1908 | Lenticular (3 color) | Albert Keller-Dorian Rodolphe Berthon |
Unknown |
| Cinecolorgraph | 1912 | Subtractive (2 color) | A. Hernandez-Mejia | Unknown |
| Brewster Color (I) | 1913 | Subtractive (2 color) | Percy Douglas Brewster | Unknown |
| Chronochrome a.k.a. Gaumont Color |
1913 | Additive (3 color) | Leon Gaumont | Unknown |
| Prizma (I) | 1913 | Additive (2 color) | William van Doren Kelley | Our Navy (1917) |
| Cinechrome | 1914 | Additive (3 color) | Colin Bennett | Prince of Wales in India (1921) |
| Kodachrome (I) | 1916 | Subtractive (2 color) | John G. Capstaff Eastman-Kodak |
Concerning $1,000 |
| Technicolor (I) | 1916 | Additive (2 color) | Daniel F. Comstock Herbert Kalmus W. Burton Wescott |
The Gulf Between (1917) |
| Douglass Color (Douglass Natural Color) |
1918 | Additive (2 color) | Leon Forrest Douglass | Nature Scenes (1918) and Cupid Angling (1918) |
| Kesdacolor | 1918 | Subtractive (2 color) | William van Doren Kelley Carroll H. Dunning |
American Flag (1918) |
| Prizma (II) | 1918 | Subtractive (2 color) | William van Doren Kelley | The Glorious Adventure (1922) |
| Gilmore Color | 1918 | Additive (2 color) | Frederic Eugene Ives Otto C. Gilmore |
Unknown |
| Zoechrome | 1920 | Subtractive (3 color) | T.A. Mills | Unknown |
| ColorCraft | 1921 | Subtractive (2 color) | W.H. Peck | Unknown |
| Polychromide | 1922 | Additive (2 color) | Aron Hamburger | Unknown |
| Technicolor (II) | 1922 | Subtractive (2 color) | Daniel F. Comstock Joseph A. Ball Leonard T. Troland Jarvis M. Andrews |
The Toll of the Sea (1922) |
| Szczepanik | 1924 | Additive (3 color) | Jan Szczepanik | Unknown |
| Kelleycolor | 1926 | Subtractive (2 color) | William van Doren Kelley Max Handschiegl |
Unknown |
| Color Cinema Corporation | 1927 | Subtractive (2 color) | Color Cinema Corporation | Unknown |
| Lignose Naturfarbenfilm | 1927 | Additive (3 color) | Lignose | Unknown |
| Busch Color | 1928 | Additive (2 color) | Unknown | |
| Harriscolor | 1928 | Subtractive (2 color) | William Van Doren Kelley | Unknown |
| Kodacolor (I) | 1928 | Lenticular (3 color) | Rodolphe Berthon | N/A (16 mm home movies only) (1928) |
| Raycol | 1928 | Additive (2 color) | Maurice Elvey | The School for Scandal (1930) |
| Splendicolor | 1928 | Subtractive (3 color) | Unknown | |
| Technicolor (III) | 1928 | Subtractive (2 color) | Daniel F. Comstock | The Viking (1928) |
| Agfa bipack | 1929 | Subtractive (2 color) | Agfa | Unknown |
| Horst Color | 1929 | Additive (3 color) | L. Horst | Unknown |
| Multicolor | 1929 | Subtractive (2 color) | William Thomas Crespinel | Unknown |
| Finlay | 1929 | Additive (3 color) | Clare l. Finlay | Unknown |
| Harriscolor | 1929 | Subtractive (2 color) | J.B. Harris Jr. | Unknown |
| Cinechrome | 1930 | Unknown | Cinecolor Ltd. | Unknown |
| Cineoptichrome | 1930 | Additive (2 color) | Lucien Roux Armand Roux |
Unknown |
| Dascolor | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | M. L. F. Dassonville | Unknown |
| Harmonicolor | 1930 | Additive (2 color) | Maurice Combs | Talking Hands (1936) |
| Hirlicolor | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | George A. Hirliman | Captain Calamity (1936) |
| Photocolor | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | Photocolor Corp. | The Gift of Montezuma (1930) |
| Pilney Color | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | Unknown | |
| Allfarbenfilm | 1930 | Additive (3 color) | Unknown | |
| Sennettcolor | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | Mack Sennett (financier) | Strange Birds (1930) |
| Sirius Color | 1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | L. Horst | Unknown |
| Brewster Color (II) | 1930 | Subtractive (2 or 3 color) | Percy Douglas Brewster | Autumn Foliage (1930) |
| UFAcolor a.k.a. Chemicolor, Spectracolor |
1930 | Subtractive (2 color) | UFA Studios | Pagliacci (1936) |
| Vitacolor | 1930 | Additive (2 color) | William Van Doren Kelley Max B. Du Pont (financier) |
Unknown |
| Chimicolor | 1931 | Subtractive (3 color) | Syndicate de la Cinematographe des Couleurs | Unknown |
| Magnacolor | 1931 | Subtractive (2 color) | Consolidated Laboratories | The Bold Caballero (1936) |
| Dufaycolor | 1931 | Mosaic (3 color) | Louis Dufay Dufay-Chromex Co. |
Sons of the Sea (1939) |
| DuPack | 1931 | Subtractive (2 color) | DuPont Co. | Unknown |
| Rota Farbenfilm | 1931 | Subtractive (2 color) | Unknown | |
| Russian two-color system | 1931 | Subtractive (2 color) | Nikolai Agokos Fedor Provorov Pavel Mershin |
Karnaval cvetov (1935) |
| AGFAcolor (I) | 1932 | Lenticular (3 color) | AGFA | N/A (16mm only) |
| Cinecolor (I) | 1932 | Subtractive (2 color) | William T. Crispinel Alan M. Gundelfinger |
Sweden, Land of the Vikings (1934) Honeymoon Hotel (1934) |
| Technicolor (IV) | 1932 | Subtractive (3 color) | Joseph A. Ball | Flowers and Trees (1932) |
| Morgana Color | 1932 | Additive (2 color) | Bell and Howell Lady Juliet Williams |
N/A (16mm only) |
| Gasparcolor | 1933 | Subtractive (3 color) | Bela Gaspar | Kreise (1933) and Muratti Greift Ein (1934) |
| Vericolor | 1933 | Subtractive (2 color) | Vericolor Inc. | The Magic Isle (1935) |
| Francita Process a.k.a. Opticolor (UK) |
1935 | Additive (3 color) | British Realita Syndica, Ltd. | Jeunies filles à marier (1935) |
| Kodachrome (II) | 1935 | Subtractive (3 color) | Eastman Kodak | N/A (16mm only) |
| Cosmocolor | 1935 | Subtractive (2 color) | Otto C. Gilmore | Wings Over the Golden Gate (1935) |
| Russian three-color process | 1936 | Subtractive (3 color) | Pavel Mershin Fedor Provorov Avenir Min |
The Fox and the Wolf (1937) |
| Telco-Color | 1936 | Subtractive (3 color) | Cavalcade of Texas (1938) | |
| Dunningcolor | 1937 | Subtractive (3 color) | Carroll H. Dunning Dodge Dunning |
Tehauntepec (1937) |
| AGFAColor (II) a.k.a. Sovcolor, Chrome Color Art Chrome Color, ORWOcolor |
1939 | Subtractive (3 color) | I.G. Farben | Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (1939–41) |
| Thomascolor | 1942 | Additive (3 color) | Richard Thomas | Unknown |
| Cinefotocolor | 1947 | Subtractive (2 color) | Daniel Aragonés | El un rincón de España (1948) |
| Fullcolor | 1947 | Subtractive (3 color) | The Goldwyn Follies (1947 reissue) | |
| Rouxcolor | 1947 | Additive (3 color) | Lucien Roux Armand Roux |
The Miller's Daughter (1948) |
| Thomson Color | 1947 | Lenticular (3 color) | Société Thomson | Jour de fête (1949, color version not released until 1994) |
| Cinecolor (II) a.k.a. SuperCineColor |
1948 | Subtractive (3 color) | Alan M. Gundelfinger | The Sword of Monte Cristo (1951) |
| Konicolor | 1948 | Subtractive (3 color) | Konishi Roku | |
| Magicolor | 1947 | Subtractive (3 color) | The Humpbacked Horse (a.k.a. The Magic Horse, 1947) | |
| Polacolor | 1948 | Subtractive (3 color) | Polaroid Corp. | Unknown |
| Technichrome | 1948 | Subtractive (2 Color) | Technicolor Company of England | The Olympic Games of 1948 |
| Trucolor (II) | 1948 | Subtractive (3 color) | Republic Pictures Consolidated Film Industries |
This is Korea (1951) |
| Eastman Color a.k.a. DeLuxe Color Metrocolor Pathécolor (II) WarnerColor and Technicolor (after 1954) |
1950 | Subtractive (3 color) | Eastman Kodak | Royal Journey (1951) |
| Alfacolour a.k.a. Alfacolor |
1950 | Subtractive (2 color) | Alpha Photographic Laboratories | Unknown |
| Ansco Color | 1952 | Subtractive (3 color) | General Aniline and Film Corp. | Climbing the Matterhorn (1948) |
| Dugromacolor | 1952 | Additive (3 color) | Dumas, Grosset, and Marx | Unknown |
| Ferraniacolor | 1952 | Subtractive (3 color) | Toto in Color (1952) | |
| Fox Lenticular Film | 1953 | Lenticular (3 color) | Twentieth Century-Fox | N/A (experimental) |
| Fujicolor | 1953 | Subtractive (3 color) | Adventure of Natsuko (1953) | |
| Polavision | 1977 | Additive (3 color) mosaic | Polaroid Corp. | Super 8mm only |
References
- "World's first colour moving pictures discovered". BBC News. 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
patented his colour process on 22 March 1899
- Hughes, Beth (12 September 2012). "We have discovered the world's first colour moving pictures". National Science and Media Museum blog. National Science and Media Museum. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- "Novelties at the Convention". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 1906-08-02. p. 6.
External links
- Timeline of Historical Film Colors, a comprehensive database of color film systems including bibliographies, filmographies, many photographs of historical films, patents, and links etc.
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