Kodacolor (filmmaking)
Encyclopedia
In motion pictures
, Kodak's Kodacolor brand was associated with an early lenticular
(additive color
) film system, first introduced in 1928 for 16mm film. The process was based on the Keller-Dorian
system of lenticular
color photography.
The process used a special panchromatic
black-and-white film stock used with the emulsion
away from the lens. The film base in front of the emulsion was embossed with a mass of tiny lenses, the purpose of which was to form small images of a striped filter which was attached to the camera lens. The filter had three coloured stripes (red, green and blue-violet); when an exposure was made the varying proportion of each colour reflected from the subject passed through the filter and was recorded on the film beneath each of the embossed lenses as areas of strips in groups of three, each strip varying in density according to the received colour value (Dufaycolor
used similar principles, but had the filter as part of the film itself).
Filming required the camera to be used at f/1.9 only, so that the striped filter worked correctly. The original Kodacolor film required an exposure of about a 1/30 second at f/1.9 in bright sunlight representing a film speed in modern terms of about 0.5 ISO. The later Super Sensitive Kodacolor could be used "outdoors in any good photographic light, and even indoors under favourable conditions."
To project the film a projector was required fitted with the Kodacolor Projection Filter, which is similar in appearance the filter fitted to the camera. The lenticular image on the film is transformed into a natural colour picture on the screen. As with most colour processes involving a lenticular image the pattern intrudes, and there is noticeable light loss.
While Kodacolor was a popular color home-movie format, it had several drawbacks. It could not yield multiple copies easily, special film was necessary to shoot with, and the additive image was colorful and clear, but inherently darker than subtractive processes. The process was discontinued in 1935 with the introduction of Kodachrome
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, Kodak's Kodacolor brand was associated with an early lenticular
Lenticular lens
A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...
(additive color
Additive color
An additive color model involves light emitted directly from a source or illuminant of some sort. The additive reproduction process usually uses red, green and blue light to produce the other colors. Combining one of these additive primary colors with another in equal amounts produces the...
) film system, first introduced in 1928 for 16mm film. The process was based on the Keller-Dorian
Keller-dorian cinematography
Keller-Dorian cinematography was French technique from the 1920s for filming movies in color. It used a lenticular process to separate red, green and blue colors and record them on a single frame of black-and-white film...
system of lenticular
Lenticular lens
A lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...
color photography.
The process used a special panchromatic
Panchromatic
Panchromatic film is a type of black-and-white photographic film that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light. A panchromatic film therefore produces a realistic reproduction of a scene as it appears to the human eye. Almost all modern photographic film is panchromatic, but some types are...
black-and-white film stock used with the emulsion
Emulsion
An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible . Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion is used when both the dispersed and the...
away from the lens. The film base in front of the emulsion was embossed with a mass of tiny lenses, the purpose of which was to form small images of a striped filter which was attached to the camera lens. The filter had three coloured stripes (red, green and blue-violet); when an exposure was made the varying proportion of each colour reflected from the subject passed through the filter and was recorded on the film beneath each of the embossed lenses as areas of strips in groups of three, each strip varying in density according to the received colour value (Dufaycolor
Dufaycolor
Dufaycolor is an early French and British additive color photographic film process for motion pictures and stills photography. It was based on a four-color screen photographic process invented in 1908 by Frenchman Louis Dufay...
used similar principles, but had the filter as part of the film itself).
Filming required the camera to be used at f/1.9 only, so that the striped filter worked correctly. The original Kodacolor film required an exposure of about a 1/30 second at f/1.9 in bright sunlight representing a film speed in modern terms of about 0.5 ISO. The later Super Sensitive Kodacolor could be used "outdoors in any good photographic light, and even indoors under favourable conditions."
To project the film a projector was required fitted with the Kodacolor Projection Filter, which is similar in appearance the filter fitted to the camera. The lenticular image on the film is transformed into a natural colour picture on the screen. As with most colour processes involving a lenticular image the pattern intrudes, and there is noticeable light loss.
While Kodacolor was a popular color home-movie format, it had several drawbacks. It could not yield multiple copies easily, special film was necessary to shoot with, and the additive image was colorful and clear, but inherently darker than subtractive processes. The process was discontinued in 1935 with the introduction of Kodachrome
Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009.-Background:...
.