The Cine Technician (1938-1939)

82 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN Sept. -October, 1938 DIRECTING IN DUFAYCOLOR by — GEORGE PEARSON WHEN sound came to the screen the zenith ot cinematic art form seemed to have been readied, and only internal improvement in technique and apparatus remained for the future. Colour as an essential factor did not appear to threaten seriously the sovereignty of the black and white film, lint patiently and persistently the colour experts have laboured, and during the last two years progress has been almost as startling as the previous advance in sound. Colour has arrived. I believe that within two more years the non-colour film will be as great a curiosity as the silent film is to-day. I was deeply impressed by the appeal of colour, and was extraordinarily fortunate in being given an opportunity to make an experiment in the medium through the generous support of Mr. Philip Greatrix and Mr. B. Savage. It was decided to make some colour-musicalshorts in Dufaycolor. since Dufaycolor could be shot with an ordinary camera, rushes in colour could be seen the next day, and studio work appeared to need but Tittle alteration from ordinary black and white shooting. We entered into the experiment with a profound belief in the future of colour on the screen and a keen anxiety to know the pitfalls, discover the technique by actual practice, and gain most valuable experience at first hand. Fortunately Ernest Palmer was able to join us as camera expert, and to him we owe more than we can adequately express ; his experience, ingenuity and adaptability to new conditions, have carried us through many real difficulties. Major Klein of Dufaycolor has aided us throughout in every conceivable way through personal advice, and by placing at our disposal the service of his technical experts. Max Factor gave us every assistance in the difficult matter of make-up. We were fortunate also in the personal aid of Mr. Greatrix who has made colour a life study. Well, we have made the experiment. We have discovered more in the last two months about shooting in colour than we could have gathered by years of theorizing or book-learning. We have struck a score of snags, walked headlong into pitfalls, made many mistakes, but have emerged richer in knowledge, probably poorer in pocket, but definite converts to the colour film as the screen pictorial medium of the future, indeed of the very near future. The psychological effect on the unit of technical workers was remarkable. There seemed an amazing added enjoyment to the work ; the whole attitude of mind was changed, widened, and stimulated. We looked for colour harmonies added to composition and this widened the vision delightfully, producing a strangely provocative mental joy that 1 am unable to describe adequately. I can truly sa\ that after working in colour, the old monochrome work seems curiously dull. In this we owe much to the fact that Dufaycolor is remarkable in its fidelity to the tints and tones of nature; what we saw with the eyes we got, if we obeyed the rules. Exterior work taught us much through the valuable, though expensive, experience of making mistakes, but each error left us with one more bit of knowledge and a determination to avoid repetition of similar indiscretion. Studio work certainly gave us many headaches, all quite avoidable when you have appreciated the rules of the game. We found out lots of queer things about colour harmonies, types and volume of lights, make-up, changing angles, accidental colour reflections caught in movement, and wisdom in background colour selection. Editing was at first a bit of a nightmare, for in that we found our greatest snag, colour-cut matching. But that led to a fresh interest in many technical matters inherent in the scenario of the colour-film. Undoubtedly in the scenario lies the main secret, for when you have assimilated the rules, your scenario will legislate for avoidance of most of the mistakes I have hinted at in this brief general record. In the minds of all of us in this small unit there is one definite conviction. We are adherents to the colourfilm. We believe that the conquest of the screen by colour is near at hand, and that in this conquest Dufaycolor will play a vital part. Direction in colour has added new problems to the director, but it has given him the joy of a wider vision, has opened up a vista of infinite dramatic possibilities, has increased his opportunity for emotional appeal. The last barrier seems to have fallen with the advent of colour, and I look back with queer memories over a lifetime associated with the screen, from the days when we went out and shot from the cuff, through a static camera with a fixed two-inch lens, no close-ups, a hard soot and whitewash picture, to these happy days with a mobile camera, amazing lenses, the capture of sound even in a whisper, and now Dufaycolor. The inheritance of the cinema technician of the future is indeed a happy one.