The Technicolor process

[Mainecoonmaniac]

It's pretty amazing technology. I think it's basically dye transfer for motion pictures. Enjoy!

 

[AgX]

Yes it is.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Not really dye transfer since each dye is formed in one of three layers in the film. For dye transfer the dyes would be transferred from somewhere. Still impressive technology with the precision needed for it to work

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Not really dye transfer since each dye is formed in one of three layers in the film. For dye transfer the dyes would be transferred from somewhere. Still impressive technology with the precision needed for it to work

Thanks for the clarification. I've heard that the old Technicolor cameras have 3 parts where BW film is used. I think the process is reassembled during print. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[AgX]

Not really dye transfer since each dye is formed in one of three layers in the film.

Technicolor indeed is a dye-imbibition (dye-transfer) process. Not a dye-forming process.

 

[Prof_Pixel]

I highly recommend: https://eastman.org/technicolor to gain a better understanding of the process.

 

[falotico]

Hopefully we won't have an avalanche of Technicolor fans screaming that the company was always famous for dye transfer film prints. In the 1960's the company did start to produce prints from multi-layered stock using dye couplers to produce the final colors. At that point it became like all the other labs, although Technicolor continued to make some dye-transfer prints up to the 1990's. Today it is involved in digital projection of movies.

Up until 1951 Technicolor used special cameras to produce separation negs. The firm started with a two--color process which existed until 1935. The release print showed an image that was a blend of green and orange dyes. The system could render very nice flesh tones. Some examples were very popular films.

A new camera was developed in 1935 which allowed full-color movies. It required three rolls of negative film, one photographed the blue light, one the green; and one the red. The blue roll was printed to an inter-positive roll which was developed in a tanning developer and then run through hot water to etch away the unexposed emulsion and leave gelatin which corresponded to the yellow colored pixels of the image, (yellow is the opposite of blue--a blue negative generates a yellow positive). The yellow inter-positive was dipped into a vat of yellow dye and then pressed against the release print, transferring a yellow image to the release print. The green roll produced a magenta inter-positive which was dipped in magenta dye and pressed against the release print; similarly for the red roll to yield cyan images.

There are some collectors who have preserved records of the dye mixtures used in Technicolor.dye transfer prints. I have seen a recipe used for films in 1938, which would be when Errol Flynn's "Robin Hood" came out. Two dyes were used for the yellow color, one was Brilliant Paper Yellow, schultz 716. Three dyes were used for the cyan, one was Wool Green, Schultz 856. Three dyes were used for the magenta, one was Pontamine Fast Pink Bl, schultz 340. Technicolor made extensive tests of thousands of commercial dyes.