Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

COLOR 767
monochrome system show up only too badly in this kind of shot.
But many television programs are not particularly suited to color
transmission simply because they are not colorful enough. The
Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Easter Parade would
be naturals, but a quiz show would gain very little from the use
of color. Note how few movies are produced in color, and note
also the usual type of color production; it is always reserved for
either the extravaganza or overwhelming production.
One reason
for the scarcity of color movies is the great cost of the film used;
it is nearly 50 per cent greater than black and white.
In television, the addition of color would cost very little more
and would not require any of the additional running expenses
which keep color movies up in the high cost bracket. Once in-
stalled and paid for, the maintenance costs would be the same as
for black and white. There is a hurdle to overcome in educating
the public to buy color receivers and during the interim period
problems of dual transmissions would have to be solved. But those
are problems for the industry, not this book. Here we are con-
cerned with ways in which these colors are produced and applied
to the art. The author, having had the privilege of working for a
short time on the CBS color system and seeing color television,
can only ask, "How long, Oh Lord, how long?" There are many
color processes and each one has different features, but there are
only two methods of obtaining color.
subtractive methods.
These are the additive and
The former method consists of adding colors to make white
light, the latter of removing certain colors from white light to
leave the required color. In each case, filters made of gelatin or
glass are normally used to control the colors.
Many systems have been proposed for the creation of television
pictures in color, but very few have actually been known to
work even passably. So far, the Columbia Broadcasting System
and the Radio Corporation of America have been the contenders
for the color honors. Color Television, Inc. of San Francisco is
due to demonstrate its system and by the time this book is pub-
lished, it is probable that the decision on which system to use, if