The Cine Technician (1939)

105 C 1 N B-T EC II N I ( A X March-April, 1938 IMRE GASPAR, Director of Gasparcolor, gives our special representative the processer's viewpoint I had spoken to so main people about colour pictures in the past few days, most of them people who only touch colour once in a while that when I went up to Alons. [mre Gaspar on the subjeef I expected a really illuminating answer to my leading question: "What is your own opinion of colour films'.'" I got it. "I have no opinions on colour films." My leading ace was trumped, Then he smiled. "1 will tell you in advance that whatever 1 say on colour films someone will boil it all down to one of the pigeon-holed variety of remarks — 'The colour film was almost perfect' — or 'the colour film was only in its infancy' etc., etc. My own view, as a processer of the film, is that the threecolour method is as near to the perfect theoretical method of obtaining colour on the screen as is possible with a transparent medium. I agree that five, six or more colour processes might he useful in printing on paper, hut then you must realise the difference between colour obtained by transmitted light and colour obtained by reflected light. "Eye-strain? Largely imagination. If there is any such strain, it is perhaps due to the fact that the picture is projected in a darkened room. In the ordinary way we see nearly all our impressions of colour by fairly strong sunlight or fairly strong artificial light, and the eye adjusts itself to the amount of light present. The amount of light being reflected or transmitted from all around the front of the eye, the iris of the eye is con equently contracted But in the theatre the large mass of the hall is in complete darkness and only a small proportion of the effective visible space gives any stimulus to the eye, with the result that the iris is verywide open. So if you take a scene in broad sunlight, and on the transparency obtain anything like the real colour value of that scene, it does not necessarily appear so after being projected. "Concerning pictures that have already appeared in colour (1 specify no particular colour system). 1 feel that the public must definitely be very conscious of the colour, not because the colours are particularly harsh or glaring, or sore upon the eye. hut because the colour is treated as colour. They are coloured pictures, very often giving the effect that you get in certain types of studio portraits, which are made by a black and white print tinted or crayoned. "A certain amount of eye strain might be due to the fairK rapid succession of different tone colours in the normal process of cutting or editing. In the case of the ordinary black and white picture, the eye is taken up with the action going on on the screen, and as all the tones are black and white the general impression on the eve is grey, and when we cut from one shot to another we simply cut from one grey to another, maybe perhaps of slightly different densities, but certainly not enough to disturb the eye. In the cutting of a colour picture, again the action takes up most of the interest, and a shot of any predominant colour would have to remain for a very long time on the screen before it would give rise to any actual disturbing after-image. True, the complementary colours can be used to take away the after image, but it is not entirely necessary. Very seldom does a shot remain long enough to give rise to these disturbances. "it is only because we have becomi 50 used to the black and white film that we feel it is perhaps mor< natural than a him in colour. But in actual fact can anything he more unnatural than a film in black and white'.1 When we see Greta Garbo's lips on the screen, they are black, but we have become used to a process of translation ; so that even when we sei them we know they are icd. When we see Connie Bennett's hair, in actual effect it is grey on the screen, but we say almost automatically — "what beautiful ash-blonde hair." We translate them, because we have become used to them, into their appropriate actual colour. The difference in the colour film is that it obviates this necessity for translation. "And the studio personnel? Well. I refuse to believe that any gicat advantage can be obtained from the use of so-called 'colour experts.' On the contrary, the colour expert as such would be more of a hindrance than a help : you remember the 'sound experts' not so long ago. and you remember that it was only when the sound exp> ' was removed and the studio personnel began to make films in their own particular 'film' way that the film was released from the shackles of sound. Much the same is true of colour, although more responsibility will devolve upon the director and the art director. The director cannot he just somebody who has an expert knowledge of colour, he must have a "feeling for colour." It will mean a closer collaboration between the director, the art director and the cutter dining the shooting, but beyond that I see nothing which would prevent the people who make black and white pictures making perfectly successful colour pictures. The only final proof of the success of colour pictures will be when the public (who pays the piper) is not aware of colour pictures as such." JOE ROCK, Managing Director, Joe Rock Productions, believes in colour Nothing 1 can say about colour can be of any value to improve any of the systems in existence to-day. However, 1, personally, am a great believer in colour, and in the future of colour, having had experience directly and indirectly in financing, producing and exploiting various colour systems. 1 was sent to the Far East in 1031, by the MultiColour Company, to encourage the production of colour pictures, and especially to establish laboratories throughout the Far Eastern countries. The liquidation of MultiColour, and the Sino-Japanese war in Shanghai put an end to any colour schemes in the Far East. When our new studios were planned, great consideration was given to the production of colour pictures. We therefore went to great expense to instal Mole Kichardson High Intensity Arcs, which makes us one of the fewstudios in England 1.00% ready tor colour pictures. W< have had very fine results with Technicolor and Dufayc< ilour. It is m\ opinion that it colour was intelligently handled in future production, the black and white film would eventually pass right out of existence. The laboratories must he absolutely 100% perfect with their technical work, at all times, otherwise colour will lapse hack as in the years following the great outburst of colour, soon alter sound was introduced.