Tinted Films for Sound Positives

Positive motion picture film on tinted support has been available for many years. It has been used extensively; in fact during some periods within the past few years eighty to ninety per cent of the total production has been printed on tinted positive film. There is little doubt that the employment of material which imparts a pleasing and variable color to the screen adds to the beauty of the production, breaks the monotony of looking for long periods at a plain black and white picture, and softens harsh outlines which otherwise may produce unpleasant impressions. But of much greater importance than these rather incidental aesthetic contributions of color is its great potential power to enhance, by either objective or subjective association, the emotional significance of the scene with which it is associated. It must be admitted that the language of color—the more or less precise evaluation of the emotional value of the various hues, tints, and shades—is at present in a very rudimentary stage, of evolution. Correlations are in many cases subconsciously felt without being consciously defined. It is entirely possible, and in fact probable, that careful study and experimentation may lead to the development of this language or symbolism into a powerful emotional tool in the hands of the master motion picture dramatist.

Print ISSN

0096-6460

Published

1929-05

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J10216