Lab 1:
Please turn in your homework on Disney & Snow White and turn in your Metropolis papers if you have not already done so last class.
During our lab time, please work on your silent film projects. Check in with your film company. Producers should meet with me before the end of the class period to report how your projects are coming along. Your silent film projects are due when you return from Spring Break.
Also, take a look at some of the following information about color in film during period 1.
Color tends to be a subconscious element in films. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests the mood of the film or the characters in it. At its most effective, complimentary characters are dressed in complimentary colors--antagonists are dressed in contrasting colors to their protagonists. Characters can match or contrast their settings and a whole host of other useful symbols can be created with color.
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive a nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first two-strip Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive a nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in two-strip Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Cecil B. DeMille's epic, 1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) and KING OF KINGS (Cecil B. DeMille, 1926) used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929). Various other musicals followed, such as Lockstep (1929), clip shown here and Gold Diggers (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
3-strip Technicolor
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors, therefore, are most vivid)
Early color in film was used as an expression (like expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are more formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies and was seen, oddly, as less than realistic. You should note that most early color films were romances, fantasies, musicals, or animated films.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
During the 1930's, technicolor was still expensive. It was still being used as a movie gimmick as seen here. The Women (1939); here's the trailer for the film.
Period 2: Classroom:
It was, therefore, technicolor and the 3 strip technicolor process that rocketed the Walt Disney Studios into a formidable film studio. Please refer to the chapter on Walt Disney to see why he's important in the film industry.
Disney & Animated Film Extra Credit:
Please turn in your homework on Disney & Snow White and turn in your Metropolis papers if you have not already done so last class.
During our lab time, please work on your silent film projects. Check in with your film company. Producers should meet with me before the end of the class period to report how your projects are coming along. Your silent film projects are due when you return from Spring Break.
Also, take a look at some of the following information about color in film during period 1.
Color in Film
Color tends to be a subconscious element in films. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests the mood of the film or the characters in it. At its most effective, complimentary characters are dressed in complimentary colors--antagonists are dressed in contrasting colors to their protagonists. Characters can match or contrast their settings and a whole host of other useful symbols can be created with color.
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive a nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first two-strip Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive a nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in two-strip Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Cecil B. DeMille's epic, 1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) and KING OF KINGS (Cecil B. DeMille, 1926) used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929). Various other musicals followed, such as Lockstep (1929), clip shown here and Gold Diggers (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
3-strip Technicolor
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors, therefore, are most vivid)
Early color in film was used as an expression (like expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are more formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies and was seen, oddly, as less than realistic. You should note that most early color films were romances, fantasies, musicals, or animated films.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
During the 1930's, technicolor was still expensive. It was still being used as a movie gimmick as seen here. The Women (1939); here's the trailer for the film.
Period 2: Classroom:
It was, therefore, technicolor and the 3 strip technicolor process that rocketed the Walt Disney Studios into a formidable film studio. Please refer to the chapter on Walt Disney to see why he's important in the film industry.
- Flowers and Trees (1932) Walt Disney, but starring no one important
- Disney's The Three Little Pigs (1933)
- Mickey and the Polo Match (1936, try to spot and name the famous actor caricatures...)
- About Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (short historical bio)
- Ferdinand, the Bull (1938, Oscar Winner)
- Scene from Pinocchio (1940)
- Scene from Fantasia, The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1940)
Disney & Animated Film Extra Credit:
At Paramount Studios, animation by Max Fleischer (creator of Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and the animated Superman) was also becoming a big thing. Here's the full version of Gulliver's Travels (1939) [You can watch and analyze this film as extra credit for MP4.]
Other animated films: If you have access to the Disney films Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well.
We will screen Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Enjoy the singing! As we watch note how color is used to characterize good versus bad characters. Additionally, use the critical lens of gender criticism and/or feminism to interpret the film.
HOMEWORK: Read the script selections for The Wizard of Oz & Gone With The Wind for next class (see handouts). Work on your silent film projects. Schedule time to shoot your film!
Other animated films: If you have access to the Disney films Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), or Bambi (1942) you can watch these and analyze them as well.
We will screen Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Enjoy the singing! As we watch note how color is used to characterize good versus bad characters. Additionally, use the critical lens of gender criticism and/or feminism to interpret the film.
HOMEWORK: Read the script selections for The Wizard of Oz & Gone With The Wind for next class (see handouts). Work on your silent film projects. Schedule time to shoot your film!
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