#Color Grading for Film & Broadcast in London

[hellomainilondonblog-blog]

Best Photography in London, United Kingdom

As part of my on-going adventure to find awesome photography locations around the world to contribute with you, I recently headed to London, a city I know and love, to see if I could put together a guide to the best photography locations in London.

The bar has already been set high, with my guides to photographing Yosemite, capturing the Grand Canyon at sunrise and sunset and my 12 favourite Maini.london photography spots proving popular, and being British I surely wanted to do London justice.

I decided to focus on some of the more popular photo shoot locations for this guide that would happily fit into a weekend trip to London – it would partner up nicely with our 1 day or 2 days London itineraries.

Are you travelling over to London soon and watch for some cool spots to take some great photos?  Maybe you just want to see some cool sights?  Perhaps you want to see a couple of spots that are off the humbled path?  Well, read on and let me show you what I have educated in my travels to this wonderful city! There is so much to enjoy here, and it is all beautiful awesome!

I travel to London sometimes on business, and always make sure to bring along my camera and my tripod, because this town offers some unbelievable spots for photographers of all skill levels.  Are you interested in historic architecture?  Do you love bridges?  What about Big Ben? (I can't seem to get left!)  There is so much to see and do there, and I can never get to all of it, but I necessary to share some of my popular spots that I have come across thus far. There are a lot of them.

Best food photographer in the UK is the best of the camera-wielding best, capturing priceless remembrance, tender stories and the unguarded moments without the wedding party and guests insightful they’re there. After the confetti has all blown away some of the best wedding reminders you can have are captured through a lens, a good wedding photographer can make or break those memories.

So to help you find the camera composer for you, here’s our annual roundup and The 50 Best UK Wedding Photographers of 2017 with some simply impressive photos to get misty-eyed over.

What do I need to do to become a photographer?

You do not need any formal experience to become a photographer but a good eye, creativity and technical ability are fundamental. You can study courses at the college or educational institution to gain photography skills. Most professional photographers have taken a college or university course to advance their skills. 

To get on to a photography- associate degree or higher education course, you will generally need five GCSEs (A-C) including math’s and English and two/three A levels including one in art, design or media. Check with universities.

Alternatively, you could do a level 3 vocational course in art and design, or photography – analysis with the academy. 

WHAT PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING IS THE BEST?

Lights, camera, action! This has been used by photographers with their models and executive when shooting movies.

But, think about those three words, lights, camera and action and their context. They mean that if you want an impressive visual image, you have to generate the perfect lighting, the perfect camera settings and the perfect model for the action. Of the three factors, lighting can be said to be the aspect that either makes or breaks a great photograph. Whether you are inauguration out in photography, or you have years of experience in the same, you need to master the art of studio lighting because this is the medium that revolutionizes regular images into masterpieces.

DETERMINING THE RIGHT TYPE OF LIGHTING

Here is the first question which you demand to ask yourself before you start looking for any lighting equipment. What do you aim to achieve with the photography and what lighting to use to accomplish the contracted results in a photography studio?

DIFFERENT LIGHTING PATTERNS

Lighting arrangement is simply the particular ways in which studio lighting and shadows play across a given space in order to create different shapes and shadows. There are four major lighting patterns which are:

Split lighting

Loop lighting

Butterfly lighting

Rembrandt lighting

Website: - http://maini.london/

Contact no: - +447453307071

[thewhizzyhead]

Multiples of 15 for the ask game!!

ooohhh this will be fun thanks for the ask dude!!!

15. Last song I listened to?

Hate Myself by Dodie SO EVERYONE LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOW AND WATCH THE MUSIC VID AS WELL IT'S GREAT

30. Eye color?

Dark Brown

45. Last Film I Watched?

WW84 which is frankly the only film I've watched in like i dunno the last 5-6 months

60. Pet Peeve?

Umm groupwork freeloaders and people who aren't consistent with their promises

75. Where do I want to live?

Practically speaking somewhere nearby the city but not inside the city and somewhere with quite a bit of space. But if I'm allowed to dream big with no repercussions whatsoever then somewhere with good governance and also snow (I wanna touch natural snow gimme a break). I dunno if NYC or London will have them both but I think they're cool so yeah

90. Favorite sporty activity?

I'm not really that into any physical sports but I do like running and I think badminton and basketball are really fun! Also i really miss swimming

105. Last person I texted?

My mom um 3 months ago. Yeaaa as much as possible we don't really text here cause it's expensive and wifi is cheaper and the more accessible option so

120. Am I much of a daredevil?

Nope definitely not but GOD I WISH I WAS

135. Do I like gossip?

As long as the gossip is just petty school stuff that does not directly concern me or my friends then um yeah cause it's fun seeing school twitter tea wars okay-

150. What is the best decision I have made in my life so far?

Umm i'm not that sure but I can sum it up to three decisions: choosing to befriend someone so reckless in 9th grade that because of them, my confidence started piecing itself back together; choosing to participate in a division and regional journalism competition in 9th grade (I was the scriptwriter for my school's TV English Broadcasting team); and choosing to accept my bisexuality.

165. Do I believe in fate?

Kinda? I guess? I'm not that religious anymore but I do believe in God and that He has a plan for me so yeah

180. Do I like shopping?

Depends on what we shop for. Books? Yup. Hoodies? hell yes. Heels? HELL NO.

195. Would I ever want to encounter aliens?

Uhhhhhhhhh it kinda depends? If they want to share their technology and knowledge then hell yeah! If they want to annihilate the human race then hell no

210. What is on my bucket list?

I'd like to be somewhat proficient with playing the piano and guitar and I'd like to be decent at singing. Learning more about music and how to write music stuffs is also on my bucket list so yay! Also bringing back my hobby of running every morning is on my bucket list too

[xiaoquebanxiaoqueban]

How much does the cost of a reliable sound and light rental for one day

How much does the cost of a reliable sound and light rental for one day

Jinan Zhanli Media Culture Co., Ltd. is a rental company that provides professional, high-quality LED screen rental, high-definition large screen, lighting and audio equipment rental services for everyone. The company has many LED screens, lighting and audio equipment, and quality Guaranteed and affordable.

1. According to the color primary color, it can be divided into a single primary color large screen: a single color (red or green). Large dual-color screen: red and green dual-color, 256-level grayscale, can display 65536 colors. Full-color large screen: three primary colors of red, green and blue, full-color large screen with 256 levels of gray can display more than 16 million colors. 2. Peng Guishen, the creator of Peng Guishen LED digital large screen by display device classification: The large screen device is a 7-segment digital tube, suitable for making clock screens, interest rate screens, etc., and displaying digital electronic screens.

Generally, the large-scale cultural performance market is an important stage for the rental screen to show its talents. However, in response to the excessive and excessive performances of cultural evenings and various performances, the organizers blindly pursued the big scenes, big dances, big productions, luxury waste, and competing competitions. In August 2013, the Central Propaganda Department and other five ministries jointly issued a notice , To stop luxurious extravagance and promote frugality to organize evening parties. Under the general environment of advocating 'thrift and thrift' at home and building an 'economical-saving' society, the LED display rental market has also undergone great changes. The rental market has gradually expanded from the end occasion to the middle and low end. In other words, LED rental display screens began to fully enter the civilian market. As the market expands, rental products continue to innovate and develop in line with market demand, showing a prosperous situation with hundreds of contentions. The rental screen market has almost become a 'battlefield for my military' for my LED display company.

The display screen made by putting red and green LED <a href="https://www.winpowerlights.com/product/par-can-light"></a> chips or lamps together as a pixel is called a three-color or dual-primary color screen, and putting the red, green, and blue LED chips or lamps together as a pixel display The screen is called three primary color screen or full color screen. If there is only one color, it is called a monochrome or single primary color screen. The pixel size of the indoor LED screen is generally 1.512 mm

How to choose a good lighting rental company is particularly important. The scale of lighting and audio rental companies is generally in the process of renting equipment. We will tend to choose companies with a larger market. Audio rental involves areas: 1. Large-scale professional lighting Audio design and installation project; 2. Lighting, sound projection equipment project in gymnasium, auditorium, bar; 3. Multi-function meeting room, <a href="https://www.winpowerlights.com/product/dmx-controller-console">here</a> conference voting system project; 4. Multimedia off-class classroom project. 5. Public broadcasting system engineering, what equipment does stage lighting include: 1. Spotlight is one of the main types of lamps widely used in stage lighting,

The smaller the dot pitch, the higher the pixel density and the more information capacity, the closer the viewing distance. The larger the dot pitch, the lower the pixel density, the less the information capacity, and the farther the viewing distance is. 5. Resolution The number of pixels of the LED display screen is called the resolution of the LED display screen. Resolution is the total number of pixels of the display screen, which determines the information capacity of a display screen. 6. The LED display panel (LEDPanel) assembles the LED pixel modules into a matrix according to the actual needs, and is equipped with a dedicated display drive circuit, DC stabilized power supply, software, frame and external decoration, etc., to form an LED display screen.

The current status of my LED rental display market Looking at the development trajectory of our LED display rental market, we will find that the rental display market has developed rapidly. In addition to the advancement in technology and technology, the market demand and the guiding role of the market Very obvious. At present, with the outbreak of 'small pitch' in our LED display industry, the market growth is stable. With the advancement of technology and the overall good trend and environment, the leasing market is developing towards a larger and broader space. At the same time, as the industry enters a 'diversified' period of development, display products are more diverse and cross-border development of enterprises in multiple fields, which has brought a very profound impact on the LED rental screen market.

How much does the cost of a reliable sound and light rental for one day

It is often used to package several LED dies that can produce different primary colors into one. The pixel size of outdoor LED screens is mostly 641.5 mm, and each pixel is composed of several various monochromatic LEDs. The common finished product is called a pixel tube, two-color The pixel tube is generally composed of 2 red and 1 green, and the three-color pixel tube is composed of 1 red, 1 green and 1 blue. [1]

The larger the unit area display of the LED color screen display screen, the greater the power consumption, and the higher the power supply stability of the wire. Among many wire products, the use of wires that meet the requirements of the national standard can ensure its safety and stability. The requirements are three points: the wire core is a conductive carrier of copper wire, the tolerance of the wire core cross-sectional area is within the standard range, and the insulation of the rubber wrapping the wire core Compared with the general copper-clad aluminum core, the core cross-sectional area is small, and the insulation rubber grade is not enough, the electrical performance is more stable,

Indoor full-color LED display adopts indoor surface-mounting three-in-one technology with its following characteristics, and is widely used in large stadiums, train waiting rooms, TV program broadcast scenes, exhibition venues, large-scale arts and cultural evenings, concerts, etc. Conference microphone rental, to provide you with more quality and first-class service. Audio rental can greatly save costs and save a lot of expenses for buying microphones. Moreover, the audio rental service is more user-friendly, and can provide dedicated services anytime, anywhere to ensure the complete completion of activities or meetings.

The general Lamp uses the mid-axis lens method. Dome and Oval / SuperOval are also similar, but the brightness of Oval / SuperOval is more concentrated in the small axial direction than Lamp. Flat uses the straight lens method. The advantage is that the light viewing angle is larger than the central axis lens method, but the disadvantage is that the light flux is reduced and the light intensity is weakened. As for TopView, SideView, etc., reflector cups or island reflector cups are mostly used. This method is to add a reflector in the package to reflect and refract the beams with partial divergence angles to converge, so that the angle and the light intensity can be balanced.

Regardless of whether a single-color, two-color or three-color screen is made with LEDs, the brightness of each LED that constitutes a pixel needs to be adjustable to display the image. The fineness of adjustment is the gray scale of the display. The higher the gray level, the more delicate the displayed image, the richer the color, and the more complicated the corresponding display control system. Generally, the 256-level gray-scale image has a very soft color transition, while the 16-level gray-scale color image has a very obvious color transition boundary. Therefore, color LED screens are currently required to be 256-level to 4096-level grayscale.

Lux (Lux) refers to the illuminance of 1L of luminous flux evenly distributed over an area of ??1 square meter. Generally, the active luminous body adopts the luminous intensity unit candlelight CD, such as incandescent lamps, LEDs, etc .; the reflective or transmissive objects use the luminous flux unit Lumen L, such as LCD projectors; . The three units of measurement are numerically equivalent, but need to be understood from different angles. For example: if the brightness (luminous flux) of an LCD projector is 1600 lumens, and the size of the projection to the total reflection screen is 60 inches (1 square meter), then the illuminance is 1600 lux, assuming that the light outlet is away from the light source 1 cm, the area of ??the light outlet is 1 square cm, then the luminous intensity of the light outlet is 1600CD. However, the true LCD projector will have a greatly reduced brightness due to loss of light propagation, loss of reflection or light-transmitting film, and uneven light distribution. Generally, an efficiency of 50 is good.

Since the 19th century, light sources have changed rapidly. In 1808, the Lyceum Theatre in London first used a gas lamp. Because the gas lamp can be controlled by the pipeline and can be changed in light and dark, it can be promoted. In 1846, the Paris Opera House used an arc light source for the first time, and then used the arc light to create a color silk filter and created a stage image that uses five consecutive light changes to express the entire process from sunset to sunrise. At the beginning of the 20th century, after the advent of tungsten filament light bulbs, a concentrated spotlight was provided for the stage.

How much does the cost of a reliable sound and light rental for one day

[flickdirect]

In 1958 British Author Michael Bond introduced us to the duffle coat wearing, marmalade-loving bear Paddington. Then in 1975 BBC television broadcast a series about the beloved bear and in 2014 Warner Bros. gave us a live-action feature film. Last year they followed that up with Paddington 2, which garnered both critical and audience acclaim once again reminding everyone why we loved the little brown bear in the first place. Now, The Blu-ray and DVD are coming to stores and are ready for purchase.

As the film opens Paddington (Ben Whishaw; Cloud Atlas) is living with the Brown family in suburban England. He has basically helped to make his neighborhood a fun place to live and most everyone who knows him seems to love him (with a few exceptions). He has a nice life and is pretty content but he wishes he could share it with his Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton; Vera Drake). His compromise is to try and save up in order to buy her an old, expensive popup book of London. When he announces this to a large crowd who has gathered for the opening of the famous fair they all seem to think he is sweet and adorable (but we already know that).

However, one individual has a more sinister plan. One night as Paddington is walking through town he sees a thief breaking into his friend's, Mr. Gruber's (Jim Broadbent; Gangs of New York) shop. Paddington follows the criminal inside and sees that he is stealing the popup book. Paddington follows the thief but he, unfortunately, gets mistaken for the perpetrator himself and is arrested and convicted of the crime. As the cute, little, brown bear ends up behind bars, the Brown family, especially Mrs. Brown (Sally Hawkins; The Shape of Water) starts investigating in order to clear Paddington's name.

Whishaw does a terrific job of voicing the bear, which I can only imagine is no easy task as the pressure to "get it right" must have been immense. Luckily he does just that providing a soothing, innocent tone, which makes you want to love the bear all the more. Hawkins is a little "kooky" but lovable. Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral) as old-time actor Phoenix Buchanan adds an evil dimension to the whole film while the rest of the supporting cast mesh well and complete the film, especially the group who befriends Paddington in prison.

The Blu-ray is 1080p resolution with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The colors pop off the screen and details are very clear. The Dolby Atmos 7.1 audio is sharp and clean especially during the musical numbers (including a hilarious one involving Grant). The special features include Paddington: The Bear Truth, Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Paul King, The Browns and Paddington: A Special Bond, Knuckles: A Fistful of Marmalade, The Magical Mystery of Paddington's Pop-Up Book,, The (Once) Famous Faces of Phoenix Buchanan, How to Make a Marmalade Sandwich, and the Phoenix Buchanan Music Video. Some of these features are as adorable as the movie.

The film is sweet if a little cheesy but the "feel good" factor makes it fun for the whole family. There are a couple of very funny moments and even the "harden" criminals are almost sweet. The production value is top notch and the detail of Paddington's fur is exceptional. The story is not original but cute nonetheless. There is a reason the film did so well with critics and fans alike and is worth the price. This is one movie you definitely want to own.

Grade: A

About Allison Hazlett-Rose Allison Hazlett-Rose has always had a passion for the arts and uses her organization skills to help keep FlickDirect prosperous. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose oversees and supervises the correspondents and critics that are part of the FlickDirect team. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose attended Hofstra University where she earned her bachelors degree in communications and is a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle.

Read more reviews and content by Allison Hazlett-Rose.

via FlickDirect Entertainment News and Film Reviews

[lorrainecparker]

The Electronic Side of Color Media

In our previous installment, we looked at the history of color in film. Film color evolved over the years from hand painting directly on the film frames to various photochemical processes. At first glance, it would seem color video burst on the scene fully formed in December, 1953. That’s when the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the RCA Compatible Color Television system as the American color television standard. But that’s not how it happened. In fact, it wasn’t even the FCC’s first government approval of a color system.

As with film, television began in black and white. Both media were rooted in the same problem – the need to provide a recognizable image across a smooth grading of dark to light. Simply put, to create either film or television, black and white had to be worked out before color could be accomplished.

However, the complexities behind the initial rollout of black and white television were electrical and differed greatly from those of photochemical film.

Like film, television was born as still images and has its origins in other inventions. For instance, the desire to send pictures over wires or through the air was first realized in the form of what later came to be known as facsimile (FAX) machines. In 1846 a Scottish inventor, Alexander Bain was able to reproduce graphic signs using a chemical mechanical device.

Early FAX Machine

Thirty four years later, in 1880, an article appeared in the French publication “La Lumiére électrique” in which Maurice Leblanc, a French engineer and industrialist, correctly outlined the five functions required of a working television system. Film based imagery was just adding moving pictures about this same time. Even though Leblanc was never able to construct such a project, it could have been the inspiration for Paul Nipkow, a German engineer, to invent and patent the scanning disk in 1884.

Nipkow’s scanning disc breaks up the picture into tiny dots of varying light intensities which in turn varies the voltage output of a photosensitive tube according to the amount of light exciting it. Again, there is no record Nipkow ever produced a prototype to prove the idea would work probably due to other technical limitations of the time.

Finally in 1926, it was Scottish scientist John Logie Baird who proved the concept by developing the first crude but working mechanical television system able to reproduce a human face. The limitations of mechanical systems were obvious. To get anything more than 200 lines of resolution would require huge discs rotating at fantastic speeds. But Baird’s Televisor was a reality and mechanical television continued until the mid thirties when Philo Farnsworth invented his Image Dissector tube that did electronically what the Nipkow disk was doing in Baird’s mechanical system.

It should be noted that others working independently of each other were also experimenting with transmitting moving images through wires and through the air. Charles Francis Jenkins was probably the most noted American attempting to develop a mechanical system for the new media. However, today he is most remembered for the contributions he made to motion picture projection.

It was Baird who first adapted his system to color. Only two years after successfully showing his monochromatic image, on July 3, 1928, Baird demonstrated the transmission of a color image. To accomplish this, Baird modified the Nipkow disc so it had three separate spirals with each spiral having a filter representing each of the additive primary colors – red, green and blue. At the receiving end, a switch driven by the signal alternated the illumination of the correct color to be reproduced.

Only a year later, 0n June 27, 1929, the Bell Laboratories division of American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) under the supervision of Dr. Herbert E. Ives also displayed a primitive color system. The acquisition side used a beam of light to scan the subject. But for projection, instead of holes in a spiral disk with tri-colored filters, the AT&T version used banks of photocells with the appropriate filters.

Almost ten years later, on February 4, 1938, Baird made the first color broadcast by transmitting a 120 line mechanically scanned color image from his studios to a projection screen in London’s Dominion Theater.

But all-electronic television, even though it was only black and white, was capturing the world’s attention. Farnsworth’s Image Dissector and Vladimir Zworykin’s Iconoscope and Kinescope tubes from RCA had provided much higher resolution and would be the way the general public in America was introduced to television.

Research on color during the war was taking place quietly behind the scenes in the US and Great Britain. In 1940, Baird worked with an all-electronic television system to come up with a color television receiver that used a black and white cathode-ray tube with a rotating color wheel in front of it. Between 1941 and 1943, in the midst of World War II, Baird demonstrated three optical projection methods not only able to reproduce color but also three dimensional images as well.

Baird’s two color system reproduced human skin tones well. But just as Technicolor learned with film years earlier, all three primary colors must be used to reproduce a full color palette.

In October, 1944, the magazine Wireless World published an article about Baird’s latest achievement called “Telechrome,” a cathode ray tube built with two semi transparent fluorescent mica discs, one coated with orange-red and the other coated with blue-green. Like two strip Technicolor motion picture film, the pictures produced a limited palette but were able to portray human skin tones accurately. However, the camera side still required two spinning color discs in front of the pickup tube.

In 1940, the American CBS television network research department led by Dr. Peter Goldmark designed a color television system based on Baird’s 1928 designs. As explained in a paper written for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) by William F. Schreiber and Robert F. Buckley, the Goldmark/CBS system “succeeded in demonstrating remarkably good color pictures using quite practical equipment which was readily manufacturable at that time.”

Goldmark first demonstrated his system on August 28, 1940. According to Goldmark’s paper for the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), it employed “electronic scanning both at the transmitter and at the receiver” using a mechanical wheel spinning color filters at both ends. The test was broadcast for the first time over one of CBS’ experimental television stations in New York City, W2XAB. When the Goldmark demonstration took place, practical color television was thought to be much further in the future. But here was practical working equipment already built and good enough to be shown.

American commercial black and white television was authorized to begin in July of 1941, however, less than six months later, World War II intervened and by April of 1942, Goldmark and many others were instructed to cease all research and manufacturing for color television and turn their attention to the war effort. Neither monochrome or color television had not been able to make it to the marketplace yet. The phenomenon would have to wait until after the war.

As World War II ended, work at RCA/NBC quickly turned back to the development of a simultaneous or compatible color system. One that would allow all those black & white receivers being installed in homes all across America to continue to receive programs in black and white even though they maybe broadcasting in color. At CBS, Goldmark returned to his research, too. In addition, a third company, Color Television, Inc. (CTI), was at work on a system.

CTI was a company created to develop a color television system based on the patents of George E. Sleeper, Jr. of San Francisco and used a line sequential concept. Simply put, a camera with three lenses (with filters in each of the three additive primary colors – red, green and blue behind each lens) would scan the three images and create three side by side pictures on the pickup tube. The receiving tube would produce three images side by side that would then be superimposed on a rear projection screen.

But it was the battle between RCA/NBC and CBS that became the most contentious and controversial. The leaders of the two companies, David Sarnoff, chairman of RCA, and William Paley, chairman of CBS, were bitter rivals as each tried to best the other in the race to present television to the American public.

The U.S. population was weary from the rationing and sacrifice of war and ready to start a new life. This pent up demand was answered by companies re-tooling to a peacetime economy by releasing products made possible by re-purposing technologies developed as part of war research. From penicillin to plastics to kitchen appliances, World War II advancements to make life easier, healthier or better entertained were welcomed. As so many television sets were being sold so quickly, it was obvious black and white was enough to attract a large audience.

Up through 1949, it was estimated a cumulative 3,602,872 black & white TV sets had been sold in the U.S. The following year, 1950, when the color systems were competing for approval by the FCC, 6,132,000 sets were sold in that year alone, bringing the total close to 10 million. In one year, compatibility went from a small problem to a much larger one. Thousands of television receivers were flying off the shelves of stores everywhere. With so many black & white sets in use, compatibility for color quickly became a major issue.

But in its initial demonstration to the FCC, the RCA system, while compatible with black and white, was a disaster. Failures of the early RCA system are backed up in color television historian Ed Reitan’s color chronology. On October 10th, 1949, RCA presented their system to the FCC for the first time. Reitan’s comment is “RCA makes its initial disastrous demonstration to the FCC.” This would haunt RCA. An article in the trade publication Variety on October 12, 1950, said, “Results were surprisingly disappointing, compared to the crisp pictures shown at CBS demonstrations last week.”

Even so, when the FCC approved the CBS system in October, 1950, many were surprised and dismayed the Commission had opted for a non-compatible system noting that it was just a matter of time before RCA’s system could be perfected. Many argue the reasons were more political than technical.

In December, 1950, Popular Science magazine published an article, “Here’s Your Color TV” by Martin Mann that, in addition an explanation of how the CBS system worked, also offered an explanation for the choice that is generally accepted.

To the question why did the FCC pick the CBS system, Mann says, “The answer is simple. The Commissioners felt it was the only good one!” Overriding RCA’s compatible advantage, the FCC found many serious faults with the RCA system. Mann cites a few from the FCC’s report, “The color fidelity is not satisfactory… the picture was marred by mis-registration (colors failed to superimpose properly)… No practical converter (for putting color – not just black and white-on existing sets).”

Scene photographed off working CBS color receiver in 2014 at the Early Television Foundation & Museum. Photo by author.

Sarnoff did not accept the decision and legal teams from RCA and other companies supporting the RCA compatible system began filing for injunctions.

Launch of the CBS system was held up by these actions and most of the TV set manufacturers boycotted the system. The Supreme Court even got involved when they wouldn’t overturn the FCC’s decision because “courts should not overrule an administrative decision merely because they disagree with its wisdom.”

With each passing day, the television audience grew exponentially. CBS faced a the task of providing an ever growing number of inexpensive (read: cheap) solutions to converting monochrome televisions already manufactured and/or sold to receive any show including CBS network color productions in black & white.

It wasn’t just public relations. CBS had a stake in compatibility, too. It was a matter of the bottom line. Without the converters, if CBS produced a program in color, the network would be dark except for all but a handful of mechanical color set owners (actually gray lines is all anyone would see on monochrome sets). Rather than have millions watching a show, it be more like an audience in the hundreds. Owners of standard (unconverted) black and white televisions were growing exponentially. Advertising is sold on a basis of a certain amount of people watching. It is doubtful any advertisers would be drawn to programming that couldn’t be delivered to 99% of the potential audience.

On the manufacturing end, CBS was faced with a cumbersome moving part in the form of its color disc and finding a way to make the wheel sync with the electronic parts and avoid the two interfering with each other. No manufacturer wanted to be a part of this and even the company CBS purchased to manufacture its sets (Air-King) couldn’t deliver.

Back of a CBS field sequential receiver showing the color wheel drum assembly. This one was owned and maintained by color television historian, the late Ed Reitan. Photo taken at the Early Television Foundation & Museum by author.

In the end, it was the size of the market and the complexity of the CBS color receivers that did in the system. Less than 1000 CBS color receivers would ever be built. Reitan puts the number at even less than that.

The needs of a war, this time the Korean conflict, required manufacturers to shift away from building some products for the private sector that required the use of scarce parts and concentrate their efforts on wartime production demands. It was generally accepted that CBS used this government edict to save face when it couldn’t deliver working receivers in a timely manner.

Reitan in his color television timeline entry for October 19th, 1951, tells it this way, “…the Defense Production Administration asks CBS “to conserve material for defense” for the duration of the emergency. CBS announces (almost too quickly) that it agrees and will also drop color broadcasts; color receivers are recalled and destroyed. Strangely, monochrome receiver production is not affected!”

The next day CBS broadcast its last color program using a mechanical color disc. The entire run of the system had lasted just under four months.

On March 25th, 1953, CBS officially threw in the towel. With 23 million black and white sets in consumer’s homes, CBS’s President, Frank Stanton admitted to it being “economically foolish for us single-handedly at this time to resume a large-scale broadcasting and manufacturing program.” CBS was ready to quietly let their system pass into oblivion.

By the time the FCC ultimately approved the RCA system on December 17th, 1953, there were over 28 million black and white sets in American homes.

On December 17th, 1953, the FCC reversed itself for the first and only time in its history. It authorized RCA’s compatible color television standard, the system we refer to today as NTSC. By then, RCA was able to make enough improvements in their product to satisfy manufacturers and government officials and provided a system that allowed monochrome televisions already in the marketplace to receive color programs in black and white.

Improvements in RCA’s system brought its compatible color system close to the quality of the CBS system. From RCA Broadcast News, January, 1954

By the time the first color programs were broadcast after the RCA authorization, the number of television sets in the country was approaching 30 million. The delays Sarnoff’s RCA had fought for in the courts also worked against his system as well. It would take years for color to catch on. It wasn’t until 1967 that color receivers outsold monochrome for the first time. In 1973, color finally reached into more than half the households in the U.S. Throughout the period, NBC/RCA weathered financial losses as color programming went out to large audiences who watched them in black & white with only a fraction able to see the shows in color.

Today, film is used only sporadically to acquire images. Even then, it is immediately transferred to an electronic/digital format for completion. NTSC video is gone and replaced with High Definition digital television. The “big iron” of the Technicolor three strip color film camera or the RCA compatible color television camera has been replaced. In fact, there is no longer such a thing as a “film” camera or a “television” camera. Most modern production is agnostic to a distribution form. And color has become its own art form conveying mood and emotion.

In the beginning, the public was reticent to accept color. Black and white images were still a novelty, first in theaters then in living rooms. Early color on film and TV was not that good. But to to get to our world of today, black and white had to give way to color and go through its inherent growing pains. The photochemical film and analog video processes also had to pass through strictly manual or mechanical steps to get to the brightly saturated hues of Technicolor film or to a perfected RCA all electronic system for television.

In a media universe to come, the images we see will be more lifelike than ever. Imagers will more fully convey to our senses what the human eye is capable of gathering. The addition of virtual reality already allows us to stand on different worlds or interact with beings that do not exist. Hard to imagine it all taking place in black and white!

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