OUGD601 - Research: History of Film

David Parkinson gives an in depth look at the transformation of film from the late 1800s through to the 1990s. This book explains the history of film and how it has developed over these years. One section that has been particularly important is the detail of the introduction of technicolour.

Before technicolour, colour was added to film post production before film makers developed a way to fuse red and green to film reels which was developed into two colour Technicolour. The first film to be shot on using this Technicolour, in 1922, was The Toll of the Sea. A year later, three colour Technicolour was mastered which became industry standard for the next twenty years. For a time, colour film was considered an expensive luxury. The introduction of colour allowed for more expressive visuals and more creative setting.

'Initially, owing to its expense, colour was employed primarily for its novelty or decorative value, with producers urging the extravagant use of bold hues in costumes and scenery.' Parkinson, 1995, 112

Introduction to colour opened up many opportunities for set and production design and it is probably the underlying aspect of production design that is still the most important. It will be important to have a more detailed look into production design and art direction in film.