Barbara Flueckiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach (eds.)
Since the earliest days of cinema, film has been a colorful medium and art form. More than 230 film color processes have been devised in the course of film history, often in close connection with photography. In this regard, both media institutionalized numerous techniques such as hand and stencil coloring as well as printing and halftone processes. Apart from these fundamental connections in terms of the technology of color processes, film and photography also share and exchange color attributions and aesthetics.
This publication highlights material aspects of color in photography and film, while also investigating the relationship of historical film colors and present-day photography. Works of contemporary photographers and artists who reflect on technological and culture-theoretical aspects of the material of color underline these relations. Thematic clusters focus on aesthetic and technological parallels, including fashion and identity, abstraction and experiment, politics, exoticism, and travel.
Color Mania contains a general introduction to color in film and photography (technique, materiality, aesthetics) as well as a series of short essays that take a closer look at specific aspects. An extensive image section illustrates the texts and color systems and continues the aesthetic experience of the various processes and objects in book form.
Edited by Barbara Flückiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach, in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur
With contributions by Michelle Beutler, Noemi Daugaard, Josephine Diecke, Evelyn Echle, Barbara Flueckiger, Eirik Frisvold Hanssen, Eva Hielscher, Thilo Koenig, Joëlle Kost, Franziska Kunze, Bregt Lameris, David Pfluger, Ulrich Ruedel, Mona Schubert, Simon Spiegel, Olivia Kristina Stutz, Giorgio Trumpy, Martin Weiss, Nadine Wietlisbach
Design: Meierkolb
16 × 24 cm, 6 ¼ × 9 ½ in
240 pages, 122 illustrations
paperback
This database was created in 2012 and has been developed and curated by Barbara Flueckiger, professor at the Cartine Boutique Tissue Box Cover-Bed, Bath, & Beyond to provide comprehensive information about historical film color processes invented since the end of the 19th century including specific still photography color technologies that were their conceptual predecessors.
Timeline of Historical Film Colors was started with Barbara Flueckiger’s research at Harvard University in the framework of her project Film History Re-mastered, funded by Swiss National Science Foundation, 2011-2013.
In 2013 the University of Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded additional funding for the elaboration of this web resource. 80 financial contributors sponsored the crowdfunding campaign Database of Historical Film Colors with more than USD 11.100 in 2012. In addition, the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of the Arts provided a major contribution to the development of the database. Many further persons and institutions have supported the project, see acknowledgements.
Since February 2016 the database has been redeveloped in the framework of the research project Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions funded by a grant from Swiss National Science Foundation. Since 2016, the team of the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors has been collecting and adding written sources and photographs. All the members of the two research projects on film colors, both led by Barbara Flueckiger, have been capturing photographs of historical film prints since 2017.
Follow the links “Access detailed information ›” to access the currently available detail pages for individual processes. These pages contain an image gallery, a short description, a bibliography of original papers and secondary sources connected to extended quotes from these sources, downloads of seminal papers and links. We are updating these detail pages on a regular basis.
In June 2015, the European Research Council awarded the prestigious Advanced Grant to Barbara Flueckiger for her new research project FilmColors. Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Aesthetics, see press release of the University of Zurich and information on the University of Zurich’s website.
Subscribe to the blog to receive all the news: https://blog.filmcolors.org/ (check out sidebar on individual entries for the “follow” button).
Contributions to the Timeline of Historical Film Colors
“It would not have been possible to collect all the data and the corresponding images without the support from many individuals and institutions.Thank you so much for your contribution, I am very grateful.”
Barbara Flueckiger
Experts, scholars, institutions | Sponsors, supporters, patrons of the crowdfunding campaign, April 23 to July 21, 2012
Experts, scholars, institutions
Prof. Dr. David Rodowick, Chair, Harvard University, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies
Prof. Dr. Margrit Tröhler, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
Prof. Dr. Jörg Schweinitz, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
Prof. Dr. Christine N. Brinckmann, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
PD Dr. Franziska Heller, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
Dr. Claudy Op den Kamp, Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich
Prof. Anton Rey, Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich University of the Arts
Dr. Haden Guest, Director, Harvard Film Archive
Liz Coffey, Film Conservator, Harvard Film Archive
Mark Johnson, Loan Officer, Harvard Film Archive
Brittany Gravely, Publicist, Harvard Film Archive
Clayton Scoble, Manager of the Digital Imaging Lab & Photography Studio, Harvard University
Stephen Jennings, Photographer, Harvard University, Fine Arts Library
Dr. Paolo Cherchi Usai, Senior Curator, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
Jared Case, Head of Cataloging and Access, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
Nancy Kauffman, Archivist – Stills, Posters and Paper Collections, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
Deborah Stoiber, Collection Manager, George Eastman Museum, Motion Picture Department
Barbara Puorro Galasso, Photographer, George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film
Daniela Currò, Preservation Officer, George Eastman House, Motion Picture Department
James Layton, Manager, Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art
Mike Pogorzelski, Archive Director, Academy Film Archive
Josef Lindner, Preservation Officer, Academy Film Archive
Cassie Blake, Public Access Coordinator, Academy Film Archive
Melissa Levesque, Nitrate Curator, Academy Film Archive
Prof. Dr. Giovanna Fossati, Head Curator, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, and Professor at the University of Amsterdam
Annike Kross, Film Restorer, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, Curator Silent Film, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
Catherine Cormon, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam
Anke Wilkening, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Wiesbaden, Germany
Marianna De Sanctis, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna
Paola Ferrari, L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna
Gert and Ingrid Koshofer, Gert Koshofer Collection, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Memoriav, Verein zur Erhaltung des audiovisuellen Kulturgutes der Schweiz
BSc Gaudenz Halter, Software Development Color Film Analyses, video annotation und crowdsourcing platform VIAN, in collaboration with Visualization and MultiMedia Lab of Prof. Dr. Renato Pajarola, University of Zurich, (Enrique G. Paredes, PhD; Rafael Ballester-Ripoll, PhD) since 07.2017
BSc Noyan Evirgen, Software Development, in collaboration with Visualization and MultiMedia Lab von Prof. Dr. Renato Pajarola, Universität Zürich (Enrique G. Paredes, PhD; Rafael Ballester-Ripoll, PhD), 03.2017–01.2018
Assistants Film Analyses:
BA Manuel Joller, BA Ursina Früh, BA/MA Valentina Romero
The development of the project started in fall 2011 with stage 1. Each stage necessitated a different financing scheme. We are now in stage 3 and are looking for additional funding by private sponsors. Please use the Stripe interface to pay conveniently online.
Read more about the financial background of the project on filmcolors.org.
The author has exercised the greatest care in seeking all necessary permissions to publish the material on this website. Please contact the author immediately and directly should anything infringe a copyright nonetheless.
is a comprehensive resource for the investigation of film color technology and aesthetics, analysis and restoration, developed and curated by 25 Royal Water Bottle Labels, Princess Water Labels since 2012.
Microscopy Project HTW Berlin and University of Zurich
In a joint research project between 1* 6 Round Hunting MOLLE Shotgun Stock Shell 12 Gauge Holder Amm and the University of Zurich (UZH), historical film color samples stemming from the Koshofer Collection, now at UZH, have been microscopically investigated in transmission and in cross-sections at the conservation-scientific facilities of HTW Berlin. The intriguing and often stunning photomicrographs showcase the relationship between the photographic image, their material and chemical composition and the three-dimensional structure unique to the analog moving image heritage in color, while exhibiting their own peculiar beauty.
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Museum of Modern Art MoMA
Opened in 1935, The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film has one of the strongest international collections of motion pictures in the world, totaling more than 30,000 films between the permanent and study collections.
UCLA Film & Television Archive stands among the great world institutions for the conservation, exhibition and interpretation of moving images. The Archive constitutes the largest collection of media materials of any university in the world.
“The Cinémathèque for me is a place that must be a kind of home where people come as they are and then come out different,” said once Henri Langlois. Since it was founded in 1936, the Cinémathèque française has given as much importance to films as to everything related to them (archives, books, devices, costumes, models, etc.). Thanks to this visionary spirit, the institution has, over the years, assembled an impressive collection of films, archives and devices. Link
Established in 1935, the BFI National Archive holds one of the largest film and television collections in the world containing nearly a million titles. Using the latest preservation methods, we care for a variety of obsolete formats so that future generations can enjoy the UK’s film heritage.
The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford explores the science and culture of light and sound technologies and their impact on our lives. The Museum’s collections trace the history of the technical developments of both professional and amateur motion pictures.
The Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center acquires, describes, stores, preserves and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of motion pictures, television programs, radio broadcasts and sound recordings.
The Academy Film Archive was founded 25 years ago to collect and preserve significant contributions to both the art and science of the motion picture. The archive contains nearly 200,000 items and has preserved over 1,000 films.
Founded in 1949, the George Eastman Museum is a world leader in the areas of photography, motion pictures, and their associated technologies. The Moving Image Department holds more than 28,000 films from the entire history of cinema and other materials related to the history, production, and exhibition of moving images.
Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen
Founded in 1963, the Deutsche Kinemathek holds a large collection of films, as well as film-related materials such as advertisement material and scripts, photography, scenography, and of film apparatus from the 1900s to the present, and a library. Since 2000, the collections are also shown in a museum for film and television in Berlin.
The DFF Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in Frankfurt am Main is dedicated to the medium of film, showcasing its history and present, its aesthetics and influence. It pursues its mission to provide access to film heritage through museum exhibitions, daily film screenings, publishing activities, film education, film festivals and extensive archival collections. The film archive department conserves and makes accessible over 20 000 film elements: Vintage prints, pre-print elements, original negatives and outtakes, analogue preservation elements, dedicated rental prints and the outcomes of recent digitization projects and digital restoration efforts. A wide range of moving images is represented – dating from the birth of cinema up to the present.
Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive, Prague
The Národní filmový archiv / National Film Archive in Prague is one of the ten oldest and largest film archives in the world. It was set up in 1943 and in 1946 it became a member of the International Federation of Film Archives – FIAF. In 1997 it became a founding member of the Association of European Film Archives and Cinematheques, ACE.
The Lichtspiel / cinémathèque Berne was founded in 2000 to collect and preserve anything related to the production and reproduction of moving images. It is a unique cinematographic collection with an open cinema in the heart of the hall, an archive, a workshop and a storehouse, a mélange of cinema, museum, service station for cinematographic material and network for film aficionados.
Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna is an internationally distinguished film archive founded in the 1960s. Cineteca’s activities include: film restoration, film collection, teaching programs, daily theatrical screenings, publishing (books and DVDs), a globally known restoration festival (Il Cinema Ritrovato), a library, non-film collections. Cineteca’s L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory has established its reputation in the world of film archives thanks to the restoration of many masterpieces.
Established in 1998 as an incorporated non-profit foundation, it is the mission of the DEFA Foundation to preserve the 12,000 films made at the East German DEFA studios, to use them for the public good and in general to support and sponsor German film culture and art.
Founded in 1981 as „Filmmuseum der DDR” (Filmmuseum of the GDR), the Filmmuseum Potsdam holds a large collection of films, as well as film-related materials and film apparatus, focusing mainly on the history of the Babelsberg Film Studio from the origin in 1917 until today. Since 2012, amateur filmmaking in the GDR has become a second important focus of the Filmmuseum.
