DRAFT, 12/1/1998
APPENDIX C
The following list of color characteristics can be used by archives desiring more specificity in describing color characteristics than is provided for in 5C2. These terms, when not already included in the line of physical description, may be included in a note. Optionally, these terms may be placed in the line of physical description in parentheses following the general color characteristics.
color
b&w (black & white)
3 layer color
undetermined 2 color
undetermined 3 color
3 strip color
2 strip color
red/orange (red or orange strip)
blue/green (blue or green strip)
cyan (cyan strip)
magenta (magenta strip)
yellow (yellow strip)
S E N 2
S E N 3
sepia (sepia tone)
other tone
tint
tinted and toned
stencil color
hand colored
Definitions
Color.
The image is recorded in more than one color. The color is a result of a number of processes, either photographic or electronic, capable of reproducing a reasonable range of hues, or of original application of color materials, e.g., paint.
Black & white (b&w).
The image is recorded or printed in black and white.
3 layer color.
Film with three layers of emulsion - cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each layer is sensitive to a portion of the color spectrum. Beginning in the early 1950s, color film work has been done primarily on 3 layer, also called multilayer, film. Frequently used 3 layer color negative films are Eastman Color and Fuji Color. A 3 layer negative may be printed onto 3 color separation masterpositives (sometimes given as red, green, blue). Trade names associated with this color separation process include Columbia Color and Supercinecolor.
Undetermined 2 color.
A system of color reproduction which the cataloging agency has not specifically identified in which the visible spectrum is divided into the blue-green and orange-red regions for recording and presentation. Although extensively used in early color film processes, the inherent inability of two components to reproduce a satisfactory range of hues rendered all such systems obsolete when three-color processes became readily available and relatively inexpensive.
Undetermined 3 color.
A system of color reproduction which the cataloging agency has not specifically identified in which the visible spectrum is divided into three sections, normally red, green, and blue, for the purposes of recording and presentation.
3 Strip color.
Color system in which three color-separation negatives were produced on black-and-white film. 3 Strip color is often used synonymously with the trade mark, Technicolor. In the Technicolor three-component system, light reflected from the subject matter is transmitted through the single lens of a special camera where it strikes a prism. One part of the light is passed through the prism and a green filter to a green-sensitive negative. The remainder of the light is reflected from the prism and absorbed by negatives sensitive to red and blue light. Each of the negatives is developed to produce new negatives which resemble black-and-white negatives. The Technicolor 3 color process has been available only in China since ca. 1980.
2 Strip color.
Color system in which the visible spectrum is divided into the blue-green and orange-red regions for recording and presentation. Although extensively used in early color film processes, the inherent inability of two components to reproduce a satisfactory range of hues rendered all such systems obsolete when three-color processes became readily available. In its earliest form, a two-color print was made from two separation negatives exposed in a beam-splitter camera, each record being in the form of a black-and-white silver image. 2 Strip color processes were used in the 1920s through the mid-1950s. During this period the following companies used the 2 strip color process: Cinecolor, Magnacolor, Multicolor (very briefly), Technicolor (until ca. 1932).
Red/orange.
Color separation record for red or orange.
Blue/green.
Color separation record for blue or green.
Cyan.
Color separation record for cyan.
Magenta.
Color separation record for magenta.
Yellow.
Color separation record for yellow.
S E N 2.
Successive exposure negative 2. S E N 2 is a method of motion picture color photography in which two color separation negative images were recorded on one strip of film by photographing each frame two times successively through red and blue filters. The resultant negative was subsequently optically printed by the use of a skip-frame mechanism. The process was restricted to the photography of animated cartoon and puppet subjects in which the movement from frame to frame could be controlled. The successive exposure process was rendered obsolete by the introduction of 3 layer (multilayer) color negative film.
S E N 3.
Successive exposure negative 3. S E N 3 is a method of motion picture color photography in which three color separation negative images were recorded on one strip of film by photographing each frame three times successively through red, blue, and green filters. The resultant negative was subsequently optically printed by the use of a skip-frame mechanism. The process was restricted to the photography of animated cartoon and puppet subjects in which the movement from frame to frame could be controlled. The successive exposure process was rendered obsolete by the introduction of 3 layer (multilayer) color negative film.
Sepia tone.
Conversion of a black-and-white image in silver to sepia (a brownish gray to dark olive brown) by metallic compounds. Sepia was the most common tone used, and was used in black-and-white prints of film for special sequences to enhance the dramatic or pictorial effect.
Other tone.
Color created by chemically altering the color, for example using uranium to produce red, or increasing the brilliance of a print. Toning differs from tinting in that the clear portions of the film remain unaffected. Only the silver image of the positive film becomes colored.
Tint.
A tint was created by dipping film in a bath of chemicals to get a dominant tone. Later raw stock became available already tinted in 11 stock shades, "peach blow," blue for moonlight, amber for firelight, etc.
Tinted and toned.
Color has been added to a film by using a tinted base and a toned emulsion.
Stencil color.
Color is added using stencils, one cut for each color. Stencil color replaced the hand-coloring used earlier.
Hand colored.
The image, produced by a photographic process, is hand colored.
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