Projection engineering (Sept 1929-Nov 1930)

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Page 34 Projection Engineering, September, 192'J the possible emotional and artistic value of color applied to the motion picture screen. Some of you may have been present on one or two previous occasions when the author has had the privilege of presenting to this Society papers, written in collaboration with Townsend3 and Tuttle4 discussing the use of color in more or less abstract static and dynamic forms as a valuable element in a motion picture program. You are already aware, therefore, that he has long been interested in the possibilities of color as an aid to the creation of dramatic atmosphere. In fact he is firmly convinced that color per se, if properly employed may exert a powerful influence on the emotional reactions. He therefore begs your indulgence while in the following pages a few ideas along these lines are presented for your consideration. The Language of Color The literature pertaining to the language, symbolism, and emotional effects of color, though scattered and fragmentary, extends over the entire period of recorded history. Mythology is replete with the symbolism of color. On the Greek stage the colors of the costumes were adjusted to the mood of the action. Color is intimately associated with the entire history of the Christian Church and a very definite color symbolism has developed. Color has been so inseparably linked with sensory experience throughout the evolution of mankind that it has acquired by objective and subjective association definite and important emotional value. No attempt can be made within the confines of this paper to give anything approaching a complete bibliography of the subject. One or two references, however, may be valuable to those interested. Field in his Chromatography* discusses various colors from the standpoint of their emotional value 3 Loyd A. Jones and L. M. Toxensend. Trans. Soc. Mot. Pict. Eng. No. 21 :3S. 1925 4 Loyd A. Jones and Clifton Tuttle. Trans. Soc. Mot. Pict. Eng. No. 28 :183. 1927. 5 George Field. Chromatography. Charles Tilt, 1835. and gives numerous references tending to show rather general agreement as to the character of such effects. A quotation given by Field8 from Opie,7 an English artist of the late 18th century, is of particular interest. "Every passion and affection of the mind has its appropriate tint and coloring, which if properly adapted, lends its aid, with powerful effect, in the just discrimination and forcible expression of them ; it heightens joy, warms love, inflames anger, deepens sadness, and adds coldness to the cheek of death itself." The most recent, complete, and by far the best publication on this subject is that by Luckiesh.8 This is a carefully considered conservative treatment in which are given numerous data 'collected from many fields along with the valuable contributions of the author to this subject. The book will repay careful study and is earnestly recommended to the attention of those interested. The following quotation" is of interest as it indicates the attitude of the author toward the subject and is an admirable statement of the point of view which should be taken by any investigator in a little known field. '"It would be unscientific to deny the existence of a language of color because we do not understand it thoroughly at present and quite unprogressive to reject the possibility of finally completing the dictionary of this language. Color experiences are indeed very intricate at present but it is likely that this is due to our scanty knowledge of the elements and processes involved in the emotional appeal of colors, and to our inability to interpret and to correlate properly the various factors. Much knowledge must be unearthed before a rudimentary dictionary of this language is available but first the scientific attitude should admit the possibility that the language of the group of experiences associated °l. c. p. 11. ' Opi^s Lecture IV, p. 147. 8 Luckiesh. The Language of Color. Dodd, Mead and Company, 1920. 9 1, c. p. 4. Fig. 5. Spectrophotometr ic curves for Rose Doree, Aquagreen, and Nocturne. 300 350 450 500 550 WAVE LENGTH (mj») with color eventually will be understood." In considering color from this point of view it must be remembered that we are now dealing with color as it appears, that is, the sensation evoked in consciousness, rather than with the objective character of color as determined by its physical characteristics. All of the various factors, therefore, which determine the character of the subjective reactions, such as simultaneous contrast, previous retinal excitation, and many others must be considered in attempting to define the emotional reaction that may be induced by subjecting the eye to stimulation by radiation of known physical composition. Moreover, a color may, just as a word or phrase, have more than one emotional value or significance; and, as in the case of the spoken language, the intended meaning must be determined by the contextual factors such as general character of the scene structure, subject matter of preceding sequences, type of dramatic action, etc. For instance, a green matching in hue and saturation characteristics the color of spring foliage, may connote by direct subjective association, springtime, trees, grass, gardens, etc. Used on radically different types of scenes, however, such as interiors, it may be found particularly valuable for suggesting by indirect or subjective association certain more abstract concepts, such as youth, freshness, hope, aspiration, and those moods closely linked in our consciousness with the springtime of life. Objective and Subjective Color Associations A rather careful analysis of the admittedly rudimentary color language indicates that the great majority of existing connotations may be classified in two rather distinct groups which may be designated as (a) direct objective association and (o) indirect subjective association. It is relatively easy to quote many examples of the class a correlations. For instance, sunlight is quite definitely suggested by yellow. Now, as a matter of fact, sunlight is not yellow, and it has been shown definitely that when the retina is excited by sunlight or by radiation of identical spectral composition in a visual field from which all possible contrasting areas have been removed, the sensation evoked is hueless, that is, corresponding to gray or white. A white object, however, illuminated by sunlight under a clear blue sky appears yellow. It seems quite evident, therefore, that through centuries of evolution a definite conscious or subconscious relationship between sunlight and yellow has been so established that under artificial conditions yellow almost invariably suggests sunlight. Thus a motion picture scene printed on yellow base, such as tint No. 6 (Sunshine), should definitely suggest sunlight illumination whether it be an exterior flooded with light from the sun or an interior into which