Re: IB Comments

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bmaxey1@juno.com
Date: 09/07/01-04:47:30 PM Z


>>FWIW, there were two parts to Technicolor. One was the use of a special
>>three-color color separation camera to make the negatives. The second
part
>>was the printing method, essentially identical to the dye-transfer
process
>>for still photography.

True, with a minor nit pick. Technicolor went through different types of
systems. for example, there was a 2-strip process (1915-1916) as well.
there were also several other Technicolor Processes that were quite
interesting.

>>The beam-splitter cameras were discontinued in 1951 in favor of
originals
>>made on color negative film. Technicolor had been looking for some
means of
>>eliminating the color separation cameras for years before this. They
were
>>expensive, difficult to use, slow and were available only in limited
>>numbers. Technicolor lost business because the cameras had to be
reserved
>>well in advance and might not be available for retakes after principle
>>photography. Producers also didn't like being so much in the hands of
>>Technicolor as the use of these special cameras made them.

Actually, in 1955, Technicolor introduced Process #5, it was also
3-strip; 4-strip if you include the Black Printer. To be completely
accurate, Technicolor has been introduced; again, 3-strip IB. The reason?
Nothing better. BTW: Producers had little problems getting the cameras
they needed and technicolor was the standard system used to shoot
hundreds of films. Walt Disney owned one snd shot hundreds of cartoons in
Technicolor.

>>The imbibtion printing process (Technicolor's name for it) was
>>continued until about the late 1970's. The reason was simply that it
had
>>become uneconomical.

True, uneconomical compared to modern color negative stocks. The name is
still Technicolor IB. The name was never dropped. Technicolor was
Technicolor and it was all Dye Imbibtion (IB) excepting their other
processes that were not IB..

>>The plant which made them was getting very old and
>>wearing out and could not compete for speed with printing using
>>chromogenic film. There may have been other problems, perhaps
invironmental
>>ones although that was a pretty early date for that.
>>The dye-imbibition printing process becomes very economical for very
>>large runs of prints. At the time it was discontinued feature pictures
were
>>generally printed in quantities of a few hundred at most. The price
break
>>for Technicolor came at 200 prints.

Yup, cost was indeed a factor. These day, it is economical to use the
process, although still costly.

>>Technicolor is now trying to revive the imbibtion process, using new
>>materials which are more enivironmentally friendly than the original
>>>>process. Current practice for Hollywood feature pictures is to make
>>thousands of prints, so the process is potentially quite competitive.
The
>>new prints are excellent. Its hard to compare them to the old prints
>>because the original films are different.
>>IMHO, Technicolor's quality for conventional chromogenic prints has
been
>>mediocre for some time. These days release prints may be made by more
than
>>one lab so sometimes its possible to compare. At least from my
observation
>>(which is limited ) labs like Deluxe do a better job. This may be
another
>>reason that Tech is trying to resurect the old process.

Technicolor is a very large player in the printing and distribution end
of the business. Perhaps they are now the largest.

>>I agree, that when done right, the Technicolor dye-imbibition process
>>looks better than chromogenic prints, but the difference is less now
than
>>when the processe was discontinued.

Actually, if you ever get a chance to see an actual Technicolor print, do
so. They are terrific. I am glad it is back; although in a limited
fashion.

>>The color of late 1930's to late 1940's Technicolor pictures, made with
>>the old type cameras, are astonishing. Its getting hard to see
originals
>>anymore because they were all on nitrate stock, now getting very
brittle
>>plus there are few places with the necessary fire safety equipment to
>>project nitrate. The dyes used were azo dyes with very good fading
resistanc

Not true. Not every Technicolor film was on Nitrate film. And, if you
want to see the actual film material, search eBay. From time to time you
can find films listed that are true IB.

HCM


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