Some Problems in Directing Color Pictures

Rouben Mamoulian

A brief discussion of whether color in the motion picture is here to stay, pointing out that black-and-white was a convention that had to be accepted because of technical limitations at the beginning of the art. Had color-pictures been invented first, a black-and-white picture would now seem flat and inadequate—although there are beauties in the unreal shadows that can not be denied nor be destroyed. The paper concludes with a few remarks upon the use of color for enhancing and emphasizing the emotional situations of a picture, and the effects to be achieved by carefully selecting the colors of the clothing or uniforms of the actors and of the backgrounds and lighting.

Print ISSN
Published
1935-08
Content type
Original Research
DOI
10.5594/J05387