Kinemacolor

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1911 Kinemacolor recreated from original materials.
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1911 Kinemacolor recreated from original materials.

Kinemacolor was the first successful color motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906, and launched by Charles Urban's Urban Trading Co. of London in 1908. From 1909 on, the process was known as Kinemacolor. It was a two-color additive color process, photographing and projecting a black-and-white film behind alternating red and green filters.

"How to Make and Operate Moving Pictures" published by Funk and Wagnalls in 1917 notes the following:

OF the many attempts to produce cinematograph pictures... the greatest amount of attention so far has been attracted by a system invented by George Albert Smith (1864-1959), and commercially developed by Charles Urban under the name of "Kinemacolor." In this system (to quote from Cassell's Cyclopædia of Photography, edited by the editor of this present book), only two colour filters are used in taking the negatives and only two in projecting the positives. The camera resembles the ordinary cinematographic camera except that it runs at twice the speed, taking thirty-two images per second instead of sixteen, and it is fitted with a rotating colour filter in addition to the ordinary shutter. This filter is an aluminium skeleton wheel... having four segments, two open ones, G and H; one filled in with red-dyed gelatine, E F; and the fourth containing green-dyed gelatine, A B. The camera is so geared that exposures are made alternately through the red gelatine and the green gelatine. Panchromatic film is used, and the negative is printed from in the ordinary way, and it will be understood that there is no colour in the film itself.

source: Widescreen Museum

The first motion picture exhibited in Kinemacolor was an eight-minute short filmed in Brighton titled A Visit to the Seaside, which was trade shown in September 1908. On 26 February 1909, the general public first saw Kinemacolor in a program of 21 short films shown at the Palace Theatre in London.

In 1910, Kinemacolor released the first dramatic film made in the process, Checkmated. The documentary film With Our King and Queen Through India (also known as The Durbar at Delhi) (1912) and the dramas The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1914), and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1914) were the first feature films made in color. Unfortunately, these latter two features were also among the last films released by Kinemacolor.

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[edit] Success and Decline of Kinemacolor

Kinemacolor projectors were eventually installed in some 300 cinemas in Britain, and 54 dramatic films were produced. Four dramatic short films were also produced by Kinemacolor in the United States in 1912-1913 and one in Japan, Yomodsune Sembon Zakura (1914).

However, the company was never a success, partly due to the expense of installing special Kinemacolor projectors in theaters. Also, the process suffered from "fringing" and "haloing" of the images, a insoluable problem as long as Kinemacolor remained an additive process. Kinemacolor in the U.S. became most notable for its Hollywood studio being taken over by D.W. Griffith, who also took over Kinemacolor's failed plans to film Thomas Dixon's The Clansman, which eventually became The Birth of a Nation (1915).

The first (additive) version of Prizma Color, developed by William Van Doren Kelley in the U.S. from 1913 to 1917, used some of the same principles as Kinemacolor. In the U.K., William Friese-Greene developed another additive color system for film called Biocolour. However, in 1914 George Albert Smith sued Friese-Greene for infringing Kinemacolor's patents, slowing the development of Biocolour by Friese-Greene and his son Claude in the 1920's.

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[edit] List of Films Made in Kinemacolor

  • The Adopted Child (1911)
  • Aldershot Views (1912)
  • All's Well That Ends Well (1914)
  • Alpes-Maritimes - Cascade de Courmes (1912)
  • The Alps (1913)
  • An American Invasion (1913)
  • The Amorous Doctor (1911)
  • Artillery Drill at West Point (1910)
  • Atlantic City (1912)
  • The Baby (1910)
  • A Balkan Episode (1911)
  • Band of Queen's Highlanders (1909)
  • Big Waves at Brighton (1912)
  • Biskra and the Sahara Desert (1910)
  • The Blackmailer (1911)
  • Boys Will Be Boys (1911)
  • Brown's German Liver Cure (1911)
  • The Bully (1910)
  • The Burglar as Father Christmas (1911)
  • Butterflies (1913)
  • By Order of Napoleon (1910)
  • By the Side of the Zuyder Zee (1912)
  • Caesar's Prisoners (1911)
  • Cairo and the Nile (1912)
  • The Call of the Blood (1913)
  • The Cap of Invisibility (1912)
  • Carnival at Nice (1914)
  • Carnival in Ceylon (1913)
  • Carnival Scenes at Nice and Cannes (1909)
  • Cart Horse Parade-May 31st-Regent's Park (1912)
  • Castles in the Air (1912)
  • Cat Studies (1908)
  • Charles Barnold's Dog and Monkey (1912)
  • Checkmated (1911)
  • Children Forming United States Flag at Albany Capitol (1912)
  • Children's Battle of Flowers at Nice (1909)
  • Choosing the Wallpaper (1910)
  • A Christmas Spirit (1912)
  • Church Parade of the 7th Hussars and 16th Lancers (1909)
  • A Cingalese Fishing Village in Ceylon (1913)
  • A Citizeness of Paris (1911)
  • The Clown's Sacrifice (1911)
  • Coney Gets the Glad Eye (1913)
  • Coney as a Peacemaker (1913)
  • Coronation of George V (1911)
  • The Coster's Wedding (1910)
  • The Crusader (1911)
  • Dandy Dick of Bishopsgate (1911)
  • A Detachment of Gordon Highlanders (1909)
  • Detective Henry and the Paris Apaches (1911)
  • A Devoted Friend (1911)
  • Egypt (1910)
  • Elevating an Elephant (1913)
  • An Elizabethan Romance (1912)
  • Entertaining Auntie (1913)
  • Esther: A Biblical Episode (1911)
  • The Explorers (1913)
  • The Fall of Babylon (1911)
  • Farm Yard Friends (1910)
  • Fate (1911)
  • Fifty Miles from Tombstone (1913)
  • The Fisherman's Daughter (1911)
  • Floral Fiends (1910)
  • The Flower Girl of Florence (1911)
  • Following Mother's Footsteps (1911)
  • For the Crown (1911)
  • A French Duel (1911)
  • From Bud to Blossom (1910)
  • From Factory Girl to Prima Donna (1911)
  • The Funeral of Edward VII (1910)
  • Galileo (1911)
  • A Gambler's Villainy (1912)
  • Ganges at Benares (1913)
  • The General's Only Son (1911)
  • George V's Visit to Ireland (1911)
  • Gerald's Butterfly (1912)
  • Girl Worth Having (1913)
  • Gladioli (1913)
  • Potomac Falls Virginia (1910)
  • Haunted Otter (1913)
  • Hiawatha (1913)
  • A Highland Lassie (1910)
  • The Highlander (1911)
  • His Brother's Keeper (1913)
  • His Conscience (1911)
  • His Last Burglary (1911)
  • The House That Jack Built (1913)
  • How to Live 100 Years (1913)
  • The Hypnotist and the Convict (1911)
  • Ice Cutting on the St. Lawrence River (1912)
  • In Gollywog Land (1912)
  • In the Reign of Terror (1911)
  • Inaugurazione del Campanile di San Marco (1912)
  • Incident on Brighton Beach (1909)
  • Indiens sur le terrain M. A. A. A. (1910)
  • The Inventor's Son (1911)
  • The Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarvon (1911)
  • Italian Flower and Bead Vendors (1912)
  • Italy (1910)
  • Jack and the Beanstalk (1912)
  • Jane Shore (1911)
  • Japan (1913)
  • Johnson at the Wedding (1911)
  • Julius Caesar's Sandals (1911)
  • Kinemacolor Fashion Gazette (1913)
  • Kinemacolor Panama Pictures (1913)
  • Kinemacolor Photo Plays (1913)
  • Kinemacolor Puzzle (1909)
  • Kinemacolor Songs (1911)
  • The King and Queen on Their Way to Open the Victoria and Albert Museum (1912)
  • The King of Indigo (1911)
  • Kitty the Dressmaker (1911)
  • Lady Beaulay's Necklace (1911)
  • Lake Garda Northern Italy (1910)
  • Launch of the S.S. Olympic (1912)
  • The Letter (1909)
  • Liquors and Cigars (1910)
  • The Little Daughter's Letter (1911)
  • Little Lady Lafayette (1911)
  • Little Lord Fauntleroy (1914)
  • The Little Picture Producer (1914)
  • The Little Wooden Soldier (1912)
  • The London Fire Brigade (1910)
  • London Zoological Gardens (1910)
  • Lost Collar Stud (1914)
  • The Lost Ring (1911)
  • Love and War in Toyland (1913)
  • Love Conquers (1911)
  • Love in a Cottage (1911)
  • Love of Riches (1911)
  • Love Story of Charles II (1911)
  • Love's Strategy (1911)
  • A Lucky Escape (1911)
  • The Lust for Gold (1912)
  • Magic Ring (1911)
  • The Making of the Panama Canal (1912)
  • The Marble Industry at Carrara Italy (1913)
  • A Merry Monarch (1913)
  • The Mighty Dollar (1912)
  • The Millionaire's Nephew (1911)
  • The Minstrel King (1912)
  • Miscellaneous Flowers (1914)
  • Mischievous Puck (1911)
  • Mission Bells (1913)
  • Modelling Extraordinary (1912)
  • A Modern Hero (1911)
  • The Modern Pygmalion and Galatea (1911)
  • Motor and Yacht Boating in England (1910)
  • Music Hath Charms (1911)
  • Mystic Manipulations (1911)
  • A Narrow Escape (1913)
  • Nathan Hale (1913)
  • Natural Colour Portraiture (1909)
  • Naval Review at Spithead (1910)
  • Nell Gwynn the Orange Girl (1911)
  • Nobility (1912)
  • A Noble Heart (1911)
  • Normal Melbourne (1912)
  • Nubia, Wadi Halfa and the Second Cataract (1911)
  • Oedipus Rex (1911)
  • Ofia, the Woman Spy (1912)
  • The Old Guitar (1912)
  • The Old Hat (1910)
  • Oliver Cromwell (1911)
  • Only a Woman (1912)
  • Other People's Children (1913)
  • Pageant of New Romney, Hythe, and Sandwich (1910)
  • Paris Fashions (1913)
  • The Passions of an Egyptian Princess (1911)
  • The Peasants and the Fairy (1911)
  • Performing Elephants (1913)
  • Phil Rees' Stable Lads (1912)
  • Picking Strawberries (1910)
  • Pisa Italy (1913)
  • Pompeii (1912)
  • The Power of Prayer (1913)
  • The Priest's Burden (1911)
  • The Princess of Romana (1913)
  • The Rabbits-Sheep-Carrots for the Donkey (1909)
  • Rambles in Paris (1913)
  • Reaping (1909)
  • The Rebel's Daughter (1911)
  • Representatives of the British Isles (1909)
  • Reptiles (1912)
  • Review of Troops by George V (1910)
  • Revues des Boy Scouts a Montreal (1910)
  • The Richmond Horse Show (1910)
  • The Rivals (1913)
  • Riviera Coast Scenes (1909)
  • Riviera Fisher Folk (1909)
  • Robin Hood (1913)
  • A Romance of the Canadian Wilds (1910)
  • Romani the Brigand (1912)
  • Royal Ascot (1912)
  • A Run with the Exmoor Staghounds (1912)
  • Sailing and Motor Boat Scenes at Southwick (1909)
  • Samson and Delilah (1911)
  • Santa Claus (1913)
  • The Scarlet Letter (1913)
  • Scenes a Montreal comprenant le Gymkhana (1910)
  • Scenes in Algeria (1910)
  • Scenes on the Mediterranean (1913)
  • A Scrap of Paper (1913)
  • A Seaside Comedy (1912)
  • The Silken Thread (1911)
  • Simpkin's Dream of a Holiday (1911)
  • Small Game at the Zoo (1912)
  • Soldiers' Pet (1909)
  • Spreewald (1913)
  • St. John the Baptist (1912)
  • Stage Struck (1913)
  • Steam (1910)
  • The Story of the Orange (1913)
  • The Story of the Wasp (1914)
  • Strange Mounts (1912)
  • Suffragette's Parade in Washington, D.C. (1913)
  • The Sugar Industry of Jamaica (1913)
  • Sunset on the Nile (1913)
  • Swank and the Remedy (1911)
  • Swans (1909)
  • Sweet Flowers (1909)
  • Tartans of Scottish Clans (1906)
  • Telemachus (1911)
  • Three Cape Girls (1912)
  • The Tide of Fortune (1912)
  • Theodore Roosevelt (1912)
  • There Is a God (1913)
  • Tobogganing in Switzerland (1913)
  • La Tosca (1911) with Lillian Russell based on the play by Victorien Sardou
  • A Tragedy of the Olden Times (1911)
  • Trilby and Svengali (1911)
  • A Trip Up Mount Lowe USA (1913)
  • A True Briton (1912)
  • Two Can Play at the Same Game (1911)
  • The Two Chorus Girls (1911)
  • Two Christmas Hampers (1911)
  • Two Clowns (1906)
  • The Two Rivals (1912)
  • Uncle's Picnic (1911)
  • The Unveiling of the Queen Victoria Memorial (1911)
  • The Vandal Outlaws (1912)
  • Venice and the Grand Canal (1910)
  • The Vicissitudes of a Top Hat (1912)
  • View of Brighton Front (1909)
  • A Visit to Aldershot (1909)
  • A Visit to the Seaside (1908)
  • Visite de son Altesse Royale le Duc de Connaught a Montreal (1910)
  • Voyage de Liverpool a Vancouver via Montreal (1910)
  • Washington's Home and Grounds at Mount Vernon (1910)
  • Water Carnival at Villefranche-sur-Mer (1909)
  • Waves and Spray (1909)
  • William Howard Taft (1912)
  • William Tell (1914)
  • Winter in Moscow (1913)
  • Winter Sports at Are (1913)
  • With Our King and Queen Through India (The Durbar at Delhi) (1912)
  • The Wizard and the Brigands (1911)
  • Women Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs (1908)
  • The World, the Flesh, and the Devil (1914)
  • Yomodsune Sembon Zakura (Japan, 1914)

[edit] See Also

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