A MANUAL FOR CGLOR TELEVlSKDN PRO-QUCTWN

The-sis for the Degree of M. A.
MmfliGAN STATE UNEVERSHY
Janice Reefer

19.65

 

grazsns
L I B R A R Y
Michigan State
Univcr lty

 

ROOM USE ONLY

ABSTRACT
A MANUAL FOR COLOR TELEVISION PRODUCTION
by Janice Rector

The purpose of this study was to bring together pro-
duction principles influencing a color television production
staff. These influences are many and varied: color
psychology, technical changes due to color equipment,
light for color, set considerations due to peculiarities of
the color system, make-up necessities, and new commercial
considerations.

The study correlates the experience of production
staffs at three commercial stations and one medical tele-
vision unit in the midwest area, each of which allowed the
author to observe its operations and question its personnel.
The commercial stations are: WNBQ, Chicago; WON-TV,
Chicago; and WTMJ—TV, Milwaukee. The medical unit is at
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Information was
gathered at these three places from producer-directors,
staging and light people, graphic artists, and engineers.
The interviews were supplemented by information gathered
from articles in trade journal about practices at other
local stations, and books and periodicals concerning lighting,

theatre, television (color and monochrome), photography,

Janice Rector

color, psychology, and the human eye. Other information
has come from printed reports of color production work—
shops conducted by the National Broadcasting Corporation
in New York. This study, then, is a compiling of informa-
tion, both fact and opinion, with the objective being to
derive from these varying sources certain principles which
persons, new to the world of color, could use, thereby
cutting down station time wasted in tria; and error periods.
The conclusions drawn from this compilation of
material are set down in the form of principles which may
supplement a student’s knowledge of color television, or

be followed by the colortelevisionproduction staffs to

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the addition of color telecasting to their monochrome
production, or the changeover from monochrome to color,

less difficult.

.J.h_ FOR ' LOR TELLVISLov
By

Janice Rector

Submitted to
Michig

an State University
-h gif”iil fulfillment Of the refii.:rx‘
for the degree of

MASTER OF ART S

Eepartment of Television and E9»

\cA‘A

, 1965

r E" 1:) 1‘ E‘J. " [gr/4;” £1 //é/;5r‘(;__ /(

Major PPS fes o...

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PROBE.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For furnishing information used in this study, the
author is grateful to the following persons, who pro-

vided access to their studios and answered questions about

their operations:

University of Michigan;

Hazen J. Schumacher, Jr ,--Associate Director of
Television TV Consultant,
Center for Research on
Learning and Teaching

Richard Pharo--Studio Engineer, Broadcasting Service
Television

aw:
Norman Nowicki--Direc or
Robert Stebbens-—Art and Facilities Manager
Gene Phillips——Assistant Manager of News Department
Felix Kubic——Cameraman
Leroy Olliger—-Production Manager
Roy Cotner—-Scenio Designer

Elmer Cawthon--Engineer

WTMJ—TV

Sprague Vonier--Sales Manager

Nicholes Brauer——Chief Engineer

Budd Reth-—TV Production Services Director
hugo Birmingham—-Producticn Supervisor

Robert Petrie—-Program Manager
WNBQ-TV:

John Burns—-Production Manager

11

At WJIM—TV, Lansing, Michigan (which produces only in
monochrome) the following provided helpful information

about television production in general:
William Corder-—Production Manager

None of these professional men should be held reSpon-
sible for the way the author has interpreted the information
derived from these interviews.

For guidance throughout the study, the author thanks

her academic supervisors, Dr. Colby Lewis and Mr. Arthur Weld.

TABLE OF CCNTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

LIST OF

LIST OF

Chapter

I

H
H

G

TABLES . v .

FIGURES. . . . . . - .

TNIFODLCII.N . , .

BASIC INESFMATIC ABOUT C

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electLJ; Ahsorpticn- . .
dditi.w3 Col-fl“ Mixtpu‘e . .
ubtra:five Col r Mixture
olor Dimensions .

ystems of 33:3: Notation
ole: Temperature.

clor as Slojective Expe ien
olor Psycho;:gy .
olor Harmor‘ . .

O

”IFIC PRACTICES FOR COLOR TE

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ccurate C:i:r Reproduction

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O O O O
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There must be a sufficient minimum level

of scene br :ghtness.

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The right kind of lights must be us.ed .
The contra—f range must be restricted

even m.2'.

e than for mo rocnrone Tf .

Color can be a; tered by light and

shadow

e a O

The appearance of the subject is altered
.f

by colored llluminatio:
The camera must be adjusts

color temperatur

The appeararce of the sub;
by the color of adJacent
areas . t»

to the proper

s affected
ackground

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Chapter Page

Color is affected by the reflective
characteristics of the surface. . . . 48
Color fidelity is affected by the
peculiar characteristics of the

electronic system . . . . . . . . A9

Make- -Up. . . 55
When Composing Shots for Color Television

Consider . . . . . . . . . . . 58

That theatrical properties of light may
be adopted to enhance productions. . . 58

Set considerations for the programs. . . 60

The part of costumes. . . . . . . . 60

Slides and Film . . . . . . . . . . 61

Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Commercial Considerations. . . . . . . 62

News Department Considerations . . . . . 63
Miscellaneous Production Notes . . . . . 64
BIBLIOGRAPHY o o o . . . . . . . . . . . 67
APPENDIX. . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Table

LIST OF TABLES

‘CLOR AS AFFECTED

BY DIFFERENT ILLUMINATIONS

V1

LIST OF FIGURES

I. MUNSELL COLOR WHEEL

II. VERTICAL "SLICE" OF A COLOR WHEEL.

vii

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Although, as of this this writing in 1965, the pro-
duction of color television programs is restricted to a
few stations in large cities, students of broadcasting
are understandably curious about the principles and prac-
tices involved and foresee a time when there will be
broader opportunity to put their learning into practice.
Since color, when rightly used, can provide a closer
reproduction of reality than monochrome, affords a new
potential for decorative and emotional expression, and
should be particularly effective medium for advertising,
it seems inevitable that color television will eventually
supplant monochrome in stations everywhere. Although
directed primarily to students, the study may also prove
helpful to production staffs of stations which are contem-
plating a conversion to color for their local programs and
would like to benefit from the experience of other stations
which have already done so. The reader should be aware,
however, that since this study is intended to be a type of
handbook the author has sometimes presented as statements of
fact what some technicians and production people might prefer

to see reported as opinion.

In presenting this material, it has been assumed that

reader

U!

will already be familiar with production principles
and practices in monochrome television and will therefore
need no explanation of "contrast range," "gray scale," "key
light," and other such terms of the trade. On the other
hand, it is supposed that the readers may have little
knowledge within the field of color. Therefore, the first
part of this study provides condensed information, obtained

from library research, about the physical propagations and

t—u

reproduction 0 color and about the psycho—physical factors
involved in the experiencing of color by the human organism,
explaining concepts and terminology which may help to make
the second part of the study more intelligible, In the
second part is a discussion of specific production practices
which are recommended to promote faithful color reproduc-
tion and efficient operation of the production staff.

The study has been made intentionally brief in hopes
of reducing the great amount of material which has been
written about color to that which will be essential,
appropriate, and reliable for the worker in color television
production, who is not expected to be an expert researcher,
or a theorist, or a specialist in any techniques involving
color except those of the television studio. In achieving
this brevity, however, an attempt has been made to furnish
more than how—to-do-it recipes by providing some under—

standing of the principles behind them. The author hOpes

that these general principles will remain valid long enough
for the study to be useful, evenixlthe face of all of the
technical advances so rapidly developed in the industry.

In presenting principles about color to a lay reader,
an author faces three problems. Much that has been written
about color harmony and the psychological effects of color
appears to be subjective and speculative, and therefore
unreliable. On the other hand, a thorough and accurate
understanding of those aSpects of color which have been
scientifically researched requires more grounding in scien-
tific disciplines, such as those of physics and physiology,
than can be expected of the average television production
worker.

The third difficulty is the highly transitory state of
man's scientific understanding of color and of the technical
devices which he uses for color reproduction. Technology
progresses so rapidly these days that the present methods
and equipment for color television may soon be outmoded.
For example, during the time it has taken to collect and
compile the information for this study, the four—tube color
camera has almost entirely replaced the three—tube color
camera. And it appears now that the Plumbicon four-tube

camera will soon be the standard of the industry.

CHAPTER II
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT COLOR

Although color television is proof of man's ability
to control color phenomena, his scientific knowledge of
these phenomena in terms of physics, psychology, and
physiology is still theoretical and incomplete.

It seems evident, at least, that color is not a sub—
stance but a sensation, which is normally in response to
the radiant energy known as light.1 This energy stimulates
cells in the retina of the eye to varying electrical
responses, which are communicated to the optical nerves,
which in turn send electrical impulses to the brain, where
they are interpreted as color sensations.2 Any attempt to
describe this process more specifically encounters a
divergence between old and new scientific theories.

According to established theory, the radiant energy
known as light travels at different wavelengths, each of

which produces a different hue sensation. These wavelengths

range from approximately 400 millimicrons for blue to

 

1Encyclopaedia Britannica ("Color;" Chicago: William
Benton, 1963), VI, p, 205.

 

2For a further description refer to Appendix I.

u

somewhat over 700 millimicrons for red. White light is
a mixture of all wavelengths within this range in nearly
equal quantities. Its component wavelengths can be dis-
played by passing a beam of white light through a prism
onto a white surface, where they Spread out in a rainbow-
like spectrum.

Color vision has been generally theorized to be
stimulated by three dominant wavelengths within this
Spectrum: red, green, and blue. Thus, the network of
Optical nerves "is so arranged that it forms three light
sensitive systems, one responding to red light, one to

1 And, as will be

green light, and one to blue light."
further explained, this theory is reflected in the current
method of reproducing color television pictures by triads
of phosphorescent particles on the receiving screen which
glow in red, green, and blue respectively. Not only
television, but also printed color reproductions and photo-
graphic color transparencies depend upon red, green, and
blue as the the three light "primaries."

In 1959, however, Edwin H. Land, president of the
Polaroid Corporation, announced and demonstrated a two-

color theory. In his experiments, he photographed a scene

through a filter which transmitted only the short wavelengths

 

lColor as Seen and Photographed (Rochester: Eastman-
Kodak, 1962?, p. 9.

 

of light onto a black-and—white negative. From this, he
made a positive transparency, called the "short record."
By similar means he obtained a "long record" from a
negative exposed only to the long wavelengths from the
scene. Then, onto a white surface he projected light of
short wavelength through the short record, and light of
long wavelength through the long record, and by super-
imposing the two projected images he obtained a full
color reproduction of the scene. To obtain a faithful
reproduction, he found that the wavelengths involved did
not have to be restricted to a very narrow portion of the
spectrum; it was sufficient that one record represent the
shorter, and the other the longer wavelengths. Hence, he
concluded that "Colors in images arise not from the choice
of wavelength but from the interplay of longer and shorter
wavelengths over the entire scene."l
Does this color theory have any television possibilities?
"Yes," say some television theorists but it will be in the
future. Their feeling is that it would make a more stable
color system and reduce the necessity for delicate balancing.
Francis Bello in Fortune explained the two—color television
system like this: one beam would carry the basic black and

white picture having been picked up through a green filter,

 

1Edwin H. Land, "Experiments in Color Vision," Scien-
tific American, CC (May, 1959), p. 88.

 

and a second beam would provide a red "interlace" of coloring
information thereby activating the red phosphors. In the
home receiver the blue phosphors would remain but the green
would be replaced by white. There would probably be some
loss of quality in the blue reproduction but basically all
colors would be more true and stable.1
Another challenge to the three-color theory has come
from three biOphysicists at Michigan State University,
Dr. Barnett Rosenberg, Dr. Kaiser Aziz, and Dr. Robert Heck,
who reported their findings in 1965. These are that light
striking the retina sets up an electrical current in the
cells called "cones." If the light wavelengths are short,
the current flows in one direction; if long, the current
flows in the opposite direction; if in between, the current
flows in both directions. Instead of three sets of cones,
one for red, green, and blue respectively, there appear to
be only two sets-—one for red-green reactions, the other
for blue-yellow. The red-green cones react positively for
red and negatively for green; the blue-yellow cones react

positively for blue and negatively for yellow; while colors

such as yellow-green yield a zero current.2

 

lFrancis Bello, "An Astonishing New Theory of Color,"
Fortune, LIX (May, 1959).

2Barnett Rosenberg, Robert J. Heck, and Kaiser Aziz,
"Color Responses in An Organic Photoconductive Cell," LIV
(August, 196A), pp. 1018-1026.

Whether this theory will become established, or
whether the Land two-color system will supplant the three-

color one is not yet known.

Selective Absorption

Most objects commonly seen appear colored because of
selective absorption. When white light falls on them, they
absorb certain wavelengths from it and reflect others which,
reaching the eyes, stimulate the sensation of a particular
color. Which wavelengths are absorbed and which reflected
will depend on the physical structure of the material.

"Red" material is so structured, for instance, that it
absorbs all but wavelengths in the region of 700 millimicrons,
which are the "red wavelengths."

For the material to appear red, however, the light
must contain red wavelengths for the material to reflect.
The material will look red under red light or under white
light, which includes red among its other wavelengths.

Under green or blue light, however, it will look black,
since it absorbs these wavelengths and receives no red ones
to reflect. (This would be true, at least, if the light
were spectrally pure. Most of the colors we commonly see,
however, are not produced by light of a single wavelength
or narrow band of wavelengths, but by the mixing of several.
Thus, the red material may contain some green pigmentation;
hence, seen under green light, it may appear somewhat dark

green rather than pure black.)

A so-called black material absorbs all wavelengths,
reflecting none. On the other hand, a so-called white
material reflects all the wavelengths it receives. Under
white light it will appear white; under red light, red--
and so on.

Selective absorption applies not only to opaque
materials, but also to translucent ones such as photo—
graphic color filters and the gelatines used to color the
beams of spotlights. Here, the material absorbs certain
wavelengths from the light passing through it and trans-

mits the rest.

Additive Color Mixture

 

As previously mentioned, white light can be separated
into component hues. On the other hand, these hues can be
added together to reconstitute white light. To do this, it
has been found necessary to use only three hues: red,
green, and blue. Where beams of these three hues overlap
on a white screen they produce white light. Overlapping in
pairs, they produce other hues:

Red plus green yields yellow

Red plus blue yields magenta

Green plus blue yields cyan (blue-green)

From this one can deduce that:
Yellow is white light minus blue

Magenta is white light minus green
Cyan is white light minus red

10

The hues at opposite ends of each line immediately above
form complementary pairs. the complementary to any given
color of light is that which, when added to it, will
produce white light.1

Red, green, and blue are called the additive pri-
maries. By varying their combinations and prOportions
they can be used to produce not only white light--or
yellow, magenta, and cyan light—-but also almost any other
hue. Therefore, they are used in the present color tele-
vision system at both the broadcasting and the receiving
ends.

Within the color television camera there are three
pickup tubes, one responding to red wavelengths, another
to green, and the third to blue.2 And on the inner face
of the receiving picture tube, there are phosphors which
are grouped in triads, one glowing red, another green, and
the third blue, when activated by the prOper electron beam.
Three electron beams scan together, one exciting the red
phosphors, another the green, and the third the blue, each
to its prOper degree of brightness. Thus, each triad com-

bines the light from its phosphors to produce a patch of

color corresponding to a tiny segment of the original scene

 

lMichel Jacobs, The Art of Color (New York: Doubleday,
Page and Company, 1926), p. 57.

 

2For further explanation refer to Chapter III.

11

viewed by the camera. This patch of color is not "equal to"
the original patch in the studio but it is a "created" color
patch which the television engineers hope will be as close

to the original color as possible.

Subtractive Color Mixture

To produce colors by additive primaries is not always
convenient, however, since this requires three separate
light sources such as the triad of phosphors of the over-
lapping colored beams. One could not produce colors by
placing a red, green, and blue filter in front of the same
light beam, because no light would get through; thus, a
red filter would absorb from white light the green and blue
wavelengths, transmitting only the red. The next filter,
whether blue or green, would absorb the red wavelengths
and the third filter would receive no wavelengths to transmit.

Results are different, however, with yellow, magenta,
and cyan filters. Each of these transmits, not one third but
roughly two thirds of the spectrum:

Yellow transmits both red and green

Magenta transmits both red and blue

Cyan transmits both blue and green

Thus:
Green is transmitted by both yellow and cyan
Blue is transmitted by both magenta and cyan
Red is transmitted by both magenta and yellow
As a result, where any two of these filters overlap, they

produce one of the additive primaries. In this fashion, a

yellow filter would substract blue, but transmit red and

12

green light. If the next filter were cyan, it would sub-
tract the red light, receive no blue to transmit, but
would transmit the green. So:

white light passed through yellow and cyan makes green

white light passed through magenta and cyan makes blue
and white light passed through magenta and yellow makes red.
Combining all three filters will produce black. We have
seen, for example, that yellow and cyan filters would sub-
tract all but green light; this green would be absorbed by
a magenta filter, leaving no light to transmit.

This process is known as substractive color mixture.
One of its uses is for photographic color transparencies
(such as 2" x 2" slides), which are built up in layers of
cyan, yellow, and magenta. These hues are called the
subtractive primaries. As another use, inks in the hues
are overprinted by engravers to make colored illustrations.
In this case, of course, reflection rather than transmission
takes place. When yellow and cyan inks, for example, are
printed together and viewed under white light, the yellow ink
subtracts the blue wavelengths and the cyan the red wave-
lengths, leaving only the green ones to reflect to the eye.
For the best results, painters should also use the

subtractive primaries, magenta, yellow, and cyan; but since
the practice of painters was established long before
subtractive color theory came into being, they have tra-
ditionally thought of their primaries as red, yellow, and

blue. Red and blue, of course, are terms applied to

13

additive rather than secondary primaries. Part of the con—
fusion is one of nomenclature. The additive primaries can
be more accurately described as vermilion, blue—violet, and
green; the subtractive primaries as purplish red, greenish
yellow, and greenish blue. Thus, the term red and the term
blue may each be used to refer to two entirely different
hues.

Using the painter's terminology, anyone who has used a
box of watercolors as a child knows that his primaries can
be mixed to make other colors. Thus:

Red and yellow make orange

Red and blue make purple

Blue and yellow make green

Some theorists of pigment coloration prOpose more than
three primaries. For example, the Munsell system uses five:
red, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Figure I shows these
arranged at equal intervals around a color circle. Inserted
between are secondary hues: yellow-red, green—yellow, blue—
green, purple-blue, and red-purple°

Hues which are opposite each other in this circle are
complementaries, which pair off as follows:

red and blue-green green and red-purple

yellow and purple-blue blue and yellow-red

purple and green-yellow
With paints, complementaries are hues which, when mixed in
roughly equal proportions, produce--not white as with

colored light--but neutral gray. Gray is also the product

of mixing the pigment primaries. It is difficult to

14

     
  

red-
purple

     
 
  

orange

 

 

yellow—
green"

\
\-§_n’—-"

 

FIGURE I

MUNSELL COLOR WHEEL

15

reconcile this with theory since, as explained in the
preceding section, a combination of the subtractive pri-
maries should result in black. The discrepancy may be due
to a fact alluded to earlier—-that, like most of the other
materials we see, the pigments are spectrally impure,
reflecting not a single wavelength but a mixture of several.
The painter can "gray down" or dull a given hue to any
desired degree by mixing with it more or less of its comple-
mentary hue or gray. He can darken it by adding black paint.
He can lighten it by adding white paint or, in the case of
tranSparent water colors, by diluting it to let the white
paper show through. In these ways he can be said to be

changing the color's dimensions.

Color Dimensions

 

Any color can be described in terms of three basic
dimensions or attributes. How these dimensions are described
and designated differs somewhat depending on whether one is
thinking in terms of light or paint.

Hue is a term used with both light and paint. This
describes whether the color is red, yellow, green, blue, etc.
More scientifically, it distinguishes color according to wave-
length. Thus the reds (from about 610 to 700 millimicrons)
differ in hue from the greens (520 to 580 millimicrons), and
a red of 612 would differ in hue from a red of 643 milli—

microns.

16

The next dimension is variously termed value, bright—
ness, and luminance. [glue is used by painters to describe
the lightness or darkness of color, its mixture with either
black or white-—light colors usually being described as
tints and dark colors as shades.

The gray scale for value is also the gray scale for

monochrome television brightness. Brightness and luminance

 

are terms used by television engineers and others who think
of color in terms of light rather than pigments. Where the
painter says "lighter," the engineer says "brighter," but
the two are simply emphasizing different attributes of the
same effect.

The lighter a colored surface, the brighter the light
reflected from it. To make color lighter on a television
receiver screen, the phosphors are made to glow more
brightly. Brightness is what the photographer or television
technician measure when he holds an exposure meter up to a
subject's face. It is the only dimension in which colors
are rendered in monochrome television.

Technically, the fire engine represents the third
dimension of color which the painter calls chroma or satura-
tign_and the engineer only saturation. Thinking in terms of
pigments, the painter uses the terms to mean the degree to
which a color departs from a neutral gray of the same bright-
ness, becoming more vivid or positive in hue. Thus, a highly

saturated red is as vivid a red as the pigment manufacturer

17

can produce. This red can be desaturated (dulled down,
grayed off) by mixing it with another hue, such as its
complementary blue—green. A color thus desaturated is
sometimes described by painters as a tone.

What happens in terms of light during this process
is that, as the proportion of red pigment in the mixture
is lessened, the red wavelengths reflected from it become
mixed with wavelengths reflected from other pigments——for
instance, wavelengths of both blue and green, so that the
mixture tends to reflect light from all over the spectrum.
When the radiant energy is spread more or less evenly
over the Spectrum, the reflecting surface will be
perceived as gray or white, depending on its level of
brightness and it will be "de-saturated." But, it would
be "saturated" if the light energy were confined to a

sin le wavelength or narrow band of wavelengths. It Should

0Q

be remembered that all hues when at full saturation or

(T

ecause of the inherent

O”

intensit' are not of e ual stren h
9

darkness or lightness of the hue itself.

Systems of Color Notation
The terms introduced in the preceding section are
useful to facilitate communication between persons who are
working to achieve a desired color effect. When everyone
in a television studio understands them, a director, for

example, can say, "That's too highly saturated to make a

18

g”d background," or "Let's see if we can reduce the
brigh;ness of the tablecloth," and othersnmillbe able to

give him what he wants.
The three dimensions are also useful for more pre—
cisely specifying which color one needs for a background

or costume. "Fiesta red" or "Tahitian coral"

may not

mean the same thing to everyone and to some they may mean
nothing at all. Identification is improved when one can
refer to numbered samples on a chart. This will be evident
to workers in monochrome telev1sion who identify brightness
levels in terms of rumbered gray scale steps.

Not only brightness (value) but also hue and chroma

(saturation; can be indicated in the Munsell System of

Color Notation. As shown in Figure II, all pigment varia—
tions of a jiven hue can be laid out on a graph, the vertical

.5

axis of whizh measures (from bottom to top) increases in
value, and the hori ontal axis (from left to right) increases
in chroma, each proceding in numbered steps. To specify a
given color, then, one first states its hue, then its value
step, and finally its chroma step. Hue is designated by an
initial, the other dimensions by numerals. Thus, a specific
blue might be identified as B 5/3. The "5" tells one that
the color is in the middle brightness range, the "3" that

it is not saturated. The exact appearance of the color

can be seen by consulting the Munsell »cok of color samples.

 

 

 

l9

'\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White XE
Value to light
MHL (tint)
/\
LHL
HML
Gr 5 3
ML saturation or chromi
Gray ‘5? (tpne) ix B
LML
HLL
MLL ///;n
V
BL Value to dark
Black LL
(shade)
FIGURE II WH White or High Light
MHL Medium High Light
LHL Low High Light
HML High Medium Light
ML Medium Light or Gray
LML Low Medium Light
HLL High Low Light
MLL Medium Low Light
BL Black or Low Light

20

Another sample book is the Color Harmony Manual,
originated by Egbert Jacobson, art director of the Container
Corporation of America, to illustrate a system of color
harmony deveIOped by Wilhelm Ostwald. Believing that har-
mony is a product of orderly arrangement, Ostwald so
organized his color samples that harmonic relations between
them could be readily discerned and plotted along straight
lines.

A third system is that of the International Commission
on Illumination, commonly known as the ICI System. By this,
a given color is Specified in terms of the amounts of red,
green, and blue which should be mixed to duplicate it. The
hue, brightness, and saturation of the color are expressed
.in qualities which are physically measurable by inter-
nationally accepted standards. Hue is expressed by dominant

wavelength; brightness by luminous reflectance or luminous

 

transmittance; and saturation by excitation purity, which is

 

the percentage of its distance between a neutral (white,
gray, or black) and the position (plotted on a chart) of
the fully saturated Spectral hue.

The three systems have been mentioned here only to
make the reader aware of them and of their purposes. For
more thorough understanding of them, he should consult other

sources 0

21

Color Temperature

Anyone who has taken color photographs probably knows
that he has had to use one type of film for daylight
exposures and another for pictures taken under incandescent
tungsten light. If he has tried to use the tungsten-type
film in daylight, he knows that the pictures he took with
it looked unnaturally blue. This is because tungsten light
contains fewer blue wavelengths than daylight does; hence,
to compensate, the tungsten-type film has been made more
sensitive to blue.

There are two phenomena to appreciate here. One is
that light sources differ in the kinds of wavelengths and
consequently in the color of the light which they emit. The
nearest to white light is that given off by the sun at high
noon, in contrast to which incandescent tungsten light is
yellower. A single type of film might still be used if the
eye could register the extent of this difference in waves
lengths, but (and this is the second phenomenon) the eye,
influenced by the brain, adapts to incandescent light,
apparently becoming more sensitive to blue, thus making the ‘
light appear whiter than it actually is. So the filmed
report, although objectively true, would be at variance with
man's subjective experience. Therefore, as his eye's sensi-
tivity to blue increases, the film's sensitivity must be

rebalanced to correspond.

22

The same adjustment is required with a color television
camera. For the system to reproduce colors as they appear
to the eye, the outputs of the red, green, and blue pickup
tubes must be balanced to match the eye's relative sensi-
tivity to red, green, and blue wavelengths--and this
balance will be different according to the color temperature
of the illumination in which the camera is Operating.

When a non-inflammable material such as iron or fire
clay is heated, it changes color from dull red to bright red
to orange to yellow and, at extreme temperatures to white.
There is a direct connection between its heat and the color
of the light it emits. So, very high temperatures which no
thermometer could withstand, or the temperatures of remote
incandescent objects like the stars, can be measured in terms
of their color. Man's knowledge of what temperatures equate
with certain colors is gained by progressively heating a
small oven of fire clay and noting the temperatures at which
its glowing interior emits certain colors of light. These
temperatures and colors are equated in terms of color temper-
ature, which is measured in degrees Kelvin, after the
British scientist, Lord Kelvin.

The light emitted from a given source can be described
in degrees Kelvin. To find its color temperature, the afore—
mentioned oven is heated to the point where its interior
matches the color of the light in question. Then the
temperature of the oven at this point, measured in degrees

Kelvin, is the color temperature of the light in question.

23

The color temperature of incandescent lamps varies
according to the size of their filaments in relation to the
voltage of the current passing through them. Normal incan-
descent lighting used in television color studios may
range from 2900° K to 3200° K. White fluorescent lamps
are 3500° K. The color temperature of daylight varies,
sunlight plus light from a clear blue sky ranging from
6000° K to 6500° K, whereas light from a totally overcast
Sky is rated between 6700° K and 7000° K. More about what
such differences mean to color television production will

be reported in the next chapter.

Color As Subjective Experience

 

In discussing color temperature, it was indicated
that people do not always see colors as the camera records
them. Partly this is because the eye makes certain adapta-
tions to accommodateto changes of hue and brightness in the
light striking the retina. Partly it is because the retina
relays color impulses to the brain, which evaluates and
interprets them in the light of such factors as previous
experience, memory, mood, fatigue, and momentary interest
and attention. Man, then, sees subjectively, whereas the
camera sees objectively. Therefore, colors which the
camera has reproduced may not seem natural to the human
observer.

The eye differs from the camera in its adaptation to

brightness. It is true that both instruments have an iris

24

that can be closed or opened to regulate the amount of light
passing through it, but that on the camera must be con—
sciously controlled (photocells not yet being used on tele-
vision cameras), whereas that in the eye is automatic and
unconscious. Because of this unconscious adjustment,
successive levels of illumination which are actually very
different may appear to us nearly or completely alike.
Furthermore, flat, contrastless light appears less bright
than contrasty illumination. Also, a scene containing

highly saturated colors appears brighter than one which is
more desaturated, a vividly colored interior seeming brighter
than an overcast exterior although such is not the case. For
these reasons, the eye is not reliable for determining proper
camera exposure. This should be done with an exposure

meter.

Besides failing to discriminate accurately between
successive general brightness levels, the eye is poor at
discerning the range of brightness in a single scene. As
we gaze from one part of the scene to another, our eyes
adapt rapidly to brightness differences between them so that
the contrast between them appears lower than it actually is.
Therefore, we may not realize that the contrast range
exceeds that which the television system can faithfully
reproduce.

Another subjective phenomenon is known as ”simul—

taneous brightness contrast." This means that a light

25

subject will appear even lighter when seen against a dark
background, and a dark subject darker against a light
background. This affects the appearance of colors; for
example, a colored subject seen against white will seem
duller (more desaturated) than against black.

The term "brightness constancy" has been given to
our tendency to see a white object as white under almost
any circumstances, even if it is in the Shade and its
actual brightness is a middle gray.. The same is true of
faces; therefore, we may fail to illuminate them sufficiently
for the camera's objective requirements.

We are also faced with a "hue constancy" tending to
see colors as we think they should look, not as they actually
are. Therefore, we fail to see that the face in the Shadow
of a tree may be green with light reflected from the foliage
but seeing it so recorded by the camera, we would reject it
as unnatural.

Colors appear more intense when we are first exposed
to them, then decrease to two-thirds or less of their
apparent saturation. Somewhat related to this effect is
our tendency to adapt quickly to Colored illumination,
viewing objects under it as if they were under white light.
This is apparent to anyone who has worn tinted sun glasses.
Removing the glasses, we are likely at first to see every-
thing tinged with a hue complementary to that of the

glasses, so that after wearing green glasses, for instance,

26

the world looks pink, if, after looking fixedly for some
time at a relatively pure hue, we shift our gaze to a
neutral gray surface, it will appear tinged with the
complementary to the positive hue. If the hue is green,
for instance, its "after image" will be rose.

A related phenomenon is "simultaneous hue contrast."
This means that a color, seen against some other saturated
color, will take on some of the complementary of that
saturated hue. Thus, raw beef on a yellow platter may
look purple Since it is tinged with blue, which is the
complementary of yellow. Displayed on a blue-green platter,
however, its redness will be enhanced since the complementary

of blue-green is red.

Color Psychology

 

Experiments with the response of the human organism to
color reveal some conclusions which perhaps may be self
evident. Overlong exposure to any Single hue is liable to
be distressing, the color receptors in the retina seeming
to seek a balance of hues from various portionscfi‘the
spectrum. Intensely saturated hues are liable to produce
visual fatigue. When two highly saturated complementaries
(as red and bluish green) are seen juxtaposed, they may
vibrate against each other.

Fully saturated colors are strong attention getters,
which should be used to reinforce the center of interest in

a composition rather than to compete with it. A small area

27

of high saturation is sufficient to balance a much larger
area of low saturation.

Contrast——in any of the three dimensions of color—-
is also a strong attention getter. Hence, the highest
contrast should be located within the center of interest.
To emphasize the center of interest it is effective to
establish between it and its background a pronounced con—
trast of at least one of the dimensions (brightness,
saturation, or hue).

Maximum hue contrast occurs between complementaries.
These seem to have opposite natures in several respects.
Red, yellow, and orange are generally described as "warm"
colors, whereas their complementaries in the blue and green
region cf the spectrum are "cold.” The warm colors are also
classified as "active," whereas thelr complementaries are
"passive.”

Contrasts between values and intensities may be used
to promote an illusion of depth. Thus, a small spot of
red w1ll seem to advance, and an equivalent spot of blue
to recede. Brighter (lighter) objects tjnd to appear
closer than dark ones; and the greater the brightness czn~
trast between foreground and background, the greater the
illusion of depth. Depth can be destroyed by using too
highly saturated a background.

Colors have an apparent weight, which should be con~

sidered when determining their placement. Strong reds and

28

yellows make poor carpets, for instance, because they
refuse to settle on the floor. A narrow dado of pink
would be too weak to support a red wall.

That colors have an ability to stimulate emotional
reactions and symbolize meanings seems evident, but much
that has been written on this subject is Speculative. The
study is complicated Since varying the dimensions of a
given hue may result in a different psychological effect.
Furthermore, the effects vary with the sex, health, age,
nationality, associations, and other characteristics of
the beholder, making generalizations unreliable. Almost
every work on color assigns qualities or "feelings" to the
various hues. These qualities are typified by the following

1
examples:

Red: exciting, fervid, active
Orange: lively, energetic, forceful
Yellow: cheerful, inspiring, vital

Green: peaceful, quieting, refreshing
Blue: subduing, sober

Purple: dignified, mournful

White: pure, clean, youthful

Black: ominous, deadly, depressing

Of possible interest to the producers of musical
programs is the tendency of some people to make associations

between sound and hue—-low sound being paired with deep

tones, slow music with blue, and fast music with red.

 

lMathew Luckiesh, The Language of Color (New York:
Dodd, Mean, and Company, 1925).

 

29

"Though individual colors affect us in various ways,
it is in various combinations and above all in various
arrangements that the fullest emotional suggestiveness of

color is called forth."l

Color Harmony

 

The art of making harmonious color schemes cannot be
taught or even explained in a few pages of print. Some
persons have an instinct for it. Others theorize about
it, seeking mathematical relationships to serve as formulas.
Some schemes, called monochromatic, are built on varying
the brightness and the saturation of a single hue. Others,
called "analagous," use hues that are spectrally adjacent,
such as various tones of red, orange, and yellow. More
lively schemes use complementary colors, contrasting reds
and oranges, for instance, against a background of greenish
blue.

One of the Simplest theories to practice holds that
colors will harmonize if used in their "natural order of
value." In other words, yellow is naturally a light color,
purple a dark one. Moving around the color circle in one
direction from yellow towards purple, pure orange is darker
than pure yellow, pure red is darker than pure orange.
Moving the other way, pure green is darker than pure yellow,
pure blue is darker than pure green. A color scheme which

keeps the hues in this natural order of value or brightness

 

lLouis Wienberg, Color In Everyday Life (New York:
Dodd, Mead & Company, 1928), p. 68.

30

will be harmonious. A scheme which reverses this order
will be discordant. For example, deep purple with pink
will be harmonious; lavender and maroon will be discor-
dant. This does not mean that discords should always be
avoided; sometimes they contribute a piquancy which saves.
a color scheme from being too bland or too sweet.

Pairs of colors which will not make satisfactory
combinations are: those colors in which there is not
enough contrast between lightness and darkness to prevent
confusion; those between which there is an insufficient
difference of hue to be clearly recognized; and those which
strain the eyes due to the "vibration" of the colors.

But these are only a few of many different theories.
The person interested in color planning and harmony can
find many others recorded in books. Besides reading,
however, he should develop his ability to design in color
by looking at color and working with it, analyzing the
schemes he sees in paintings, illustrations, and costume
essembles, and experimenting with schemes which he builds

for himself with paints or swatches of colored material.

CHAPTER III

SPECIFIC PRACTICES FOR COLOR TELEVISION
PRODUCTION

It was the aim of the previous chapter to present
general information which would be usefulto those who work
with color in any medium, including those engaged in the
production of color television. Besides this general
information, however, the television production person
needs something more: he needs to know how his work in
color will be affected by the conditions of his particular
medium, especially by the requirements of the cameras and
associated elements of the electronic system.

There are some basic differences between monochrome
television production and color television production; but
if the staff's knowledge is sufficient in monochrome,
adapting to color should not be too difficult.

In television broadcasting the camera picks up
reflected light from the scene and transfers this reflected
light into electronic signals. Where the monochrome signal
is made up of a brightness or luminance signal, which
transmits only light and dark images, the color signal is

made up of a luminance signal and chrominance Signal. This

31

32

luminance Signal of a color camera supplies the entire signal

1
for the monochrome receivers

and the chrominance Signal
carries the color information.2

In color television after the light from the scene
has passed through the camera lens, it must be separated
into red, green, and blue wavelengths and diverted to the
appropriate color tube. This is accomplished by a system
of dichroic and regular mirrors. (Dichroic mirrors reflect
light of one dominant wavelength and transmit the rest.)

New developments in color television equipment are
being made at a rapid rate. Two such new deve10pments are
the RCA TK A camera and the Plumbicon camera tube.

The new RCA transistorized color camera has added a
monochrome (luminance) channel, which sharpens the picture
and produces a more natural coloring, to the red, green, and
blue color channels. The RCA engineers feel that with this
camera there are two advantages over the three tube cameras:
(1) monochrome receivers can have better pictures because the
picture resolution is independent of the accuracy of the red,
green, and blue phosphors; and (2) the contrast of color
pictures is a1So enhanced by the high resolution of the
luminance channel. This camera is becoming the standard

camera for the industry.

 

1Donald G. Fink, Color Television Standards (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1955), p. 118.

2William F. Boyce, Fundamentals of Color Television
(Indianapolis, Indiana: Howard W. Sams and Company, Inc.,
1954), pp. 65 and 66.

 

33

The Plumbicon camera tube has been introduced by NU
Phillips Gloeilampenfabrielen of Holland. It is a small
lightweight vidicon type television camera tube offering
all the benefits of circuit simplicity while producing
pictures of image orthicon quality. The Plumbicon has high
sensitivity and insures excellent final gradation of high
contrast pictures. Its only deficiency, at this time,
is a limited sensitivity to red. Cameras are being tested
in Great Britain using four Plumbicon tubes (1 red, 1 green,

1 blue, and 1 for luminance).

Accurate Color Reproduction

 

Marvelous as these color systems are, they will not:
reproduce color accurately unless production people insure
that the Scene before the cameras meet certain conditions.
Those conditions required by the present day RCA systems

are as follows:

There must be a sufficient minimum level of scene

 

brightneSS.—-The light level for monochrome television

 

normally ranges between 75 and 100 foot candles. Color
television requires about four times as much, often cited
as between 350 and 400 foot candles. This much is needed
because light from the scene must be Split among three
image orthicon pickup tubes within the camera, with enough
light reaching each tube to let it function properly. Some

smaller studios can handle as low as 250 to 300 foot candles

34

if the cameras are not very far from the performer.1 Thirty
to 40 per cent of the light is lost before reaching the

tubes from passing through balancing filters and dichroic
mirrors; for example, on the WGN "Bozo Show" (a daily program)
they maintain a light level of 300 to 350 foot candles with
highlights reaching A00 foot candles.

The exact amont of illumination depends, of course,
on the lens stop, which in turn depends upon the desired
depth of field. To secure adequate depth of field for
closeups of a surgical incision, the University of Michigan
television unit sometimes applies 1,000 foot candles to the
immediate area of the incision.

Light in a studio may be measured by measuring inci-
dent light fromtflmasource or by measuring reflected light
from the set or object.- WTMJ in Milwaukee measures incident
light normally but will measure reflected light occasionally
as a comparison.

For a low key effects it is prudent to keep the
performers lighted to 350 footcandles, reducing the back-
ground to no less than 250 foot candles. To preserve their
true color, backgrounds should normally receive as much
illumination as the performance area. If darkened too much,
they may become muddied and mottled with tinges of spurious

color. However, for special effects the background may be

 

1Broadcast News, LXXXI (December, 1954), p. 20.

 

35

deliberately "dropped" to almost black as seen in the
"Perry Como Show" and the "Andy Williams Show" quite
frequently.

To provide sufficient illumination, it is useful
to have instruments of high wattage than may be used in
monochrome production: 1500w scoops, 2 5kw Fresnels, and
1 to 3kw ellipsoidal projectors. Backlights will, of
course, need to be higher in wattage to balance the increased
amount of frontal illumination.

Spots on floor stands and panning with the action have
proved helpful for reinforcing insufficient light levels.
Care must be taken that they move with the camera so as not
to unbalance the evenness of the illumination.

A ”trick" to be remembered is "any object or part of
an object can be made more visible to the observer by
directing to it a light source whose wavelength matches the

color of the object or portion of the object."1

The right kind of lights must be used.--Most studios

 

have found that using incandescent lights rather than
fluorescent lights produces a better picture--color or
monochrome. The reason fluorescent lights are not used even
though they give off less heat, last longer, and cost less
is the softness of the light. This light disperses evenly

over a wide area causing a minimum of shadow, thereby making

 

lColor Television (Philadelphia: Philco Corporation,
1956), p. 1A.

 

36

it difficult to define forms or achieve depth. Fluorescent
lights also emit a cold blue or green cast giving this tinge
to everything in the scene.

Using both incandescent and fluorescent lights for a
scene simultaneously Should not be tried because the camera
will not transmit a good color picture where the spectral
characteristics of the light sources vary.

Thus, at this time, incandescent lights seem to be
the best for studio purposes. However, there are some
problems revolving around the use of incandescent bulbs as
well. For example: (1) the cameras will need to be
adjusted a bit more often because of the general red glow
the lights emit; and (2) the temperature at which the fila-
ment is operated, the age of the lamp, and the diameter and
length of the filament effect the color temperature of the
lamp. (As the temperature of an incandescent body is
increased the light goes from a yellow—white at lower
temperatures to blue at higher temperatures. As the lamp
gets older the light will become more yellow or orange in
cast.) But for the purposes of television lighting incan-
descent lights have a wider range of usable intensities~
going from a soft overall light to a hard pointed light.

Table I illustrates the subtle color change which is
caused by the use of various light sources. A lighting
director should know the "tinge" his lights will cast and
inform the scenic designer or artist so they may make the

correct changes in their paint colors.

37

 

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38

The contrast range must be restricted even more than

for monochrome TV.--The overall subject contrast should not

 

exceed 20:1.

One should remember that this subject contrast is a
product of the light ratio and the reflectance ratio.

To understand what is meant by light ratio, imagine
that a subject is lighted by a fill light, aimed from
directly in front,and a key light, coming in from a 45°
angle, each delivering equal amounts of light on the subject.
The area illuminated by both instruments receives twice as
much light as the area illuminated only by the fill; hence
the lighting ratio is 2:1. If one moves the key in half
way, however, the inverse square law operates to increase
its light four times. Therefore, the highlight area now
receives four units of key plus one unit of fill, totaling
five units, while the shadow area still has only one unit
of fill. Thus, the lighting ratio is now 5:1.

To obtain the reflectance ratio, use an exposure meter
to measure the lightest and the darkest area of the subject
when it is lighted uniformly with flat frontal illumination.
A ratio of 6:1 would mean that the lightest area reflects
six times as much light as the darkest.

The subject contrast range is obtained by multiplying

the lighting ratio by the reflectance ratio. For example:

2:1 x 6:1
5:1 x 6:1

12:1, which is within tolerable limits

30:1, which exceeds the recommended limit
of 20:1

39

The lower the reflectance ratio (i.e. the closer all
subject colors are to the same brightness level), the more
the lighting ratio can be increased.

Normally, however, there will be wide variation in
the reflectance of subject colors. Hence the light should
be quite evenly applied. A second reason for applying the
light evenly is that otherwise shadow areas are liable to
pick up tinges of spurious color and a false hue. As a
rule, therefore, a modeling light should be used cautiously,
not exceeding a 2:1 reflectance ratio between the highlight
and shadow areas of the performer's face, and plenty of fill
light should be used in shadow areas. Applying this to the
nine step gray scale of value-~in monochrome the range
should be six steps but in color the range is only four°

When shooting outdoors, overcast skies are better than
direct, bright sunlight, the shadows from which will
probably need to be lightened by using reflectors. Indoors,
light studio floors will help to diffuse the light and
reflect it into areas left in shadow by the toplight.

The color of performers' faces changes perceptibly as
they move through hot spots and shadows. Therefore, a con—
sistent level of illumination should be maintained through—
out their movement path. Since even illumination is
needed not only across the scene but also in depth, there
should be enough rows of lighting instruments overhead to

cover all zones of the playing area from front to rear.

“0

These overhead lights should be beamed at no angle flatter
than 45° with the horizontal. When instruments must be
hung lower than this or mounted on floor stands, one should
avoid having the performers walk forward or backward in
their beams since, following the inverse square law, the
illumination on these performers will vary inversely with
the square of their distance from the light source; thus,
by halving their distance from the source, they will
increase their brightness not twice but four times.

To even out the illumination, dimmers, of course, are
very handy for balancing the output from various lighting
instruments but they do change color temperature if moved
from a specific setting during a program. Some unevenness
may be caused not only by direct light but by bounce light
from some reflectant surface. In judging the evenness of
the light distribution, a meter is more reliable than the
eye.

Once the lighting ratio has been carefully restricted,
there may still be trouble from too wide a reflectance
ratio or, in other words, from having very dark and very
light objects present in the same scene. This may cause
situations like the following: The camera begins with a
full shot of a fashion model wearing a royal blue suit
and carrying a white bag and gloves. For this, a reasonably
generous exposure is required to bring out the form and hue

of the suit. Then, however, the same camera zooms into a

Ml

closeup of the white bag and gloves. To keep these from
washing out, the exposure must be reduced-—but as the iris
is closed, one can see the color of the Suit change from
royal blue to navy.

Since regulating the iris control does change the
color of subjects, it is advisable to keep hands off it
and solve one's problems by restricting the light and
reflectance ratios instead. Concern with these ratios
is nothing new to television, of course, since workers in
monochrome must also be cautious against exceeding the
contrast range. When this is exceeded in monochrome,
however, only form and detail are obscured, which is bad
enough--but in color television, the color of the subject

is altered as well.

Color can be altered by light and shadow.--Intense

 

illumination causes color to appear less saturated because
the hue is diluted by the excess of illumination, while
low intensities cause a more saturated appearance. Where
illumination is dim, bright light colors are necessary in
order to show up, for the middle and deep tones will drop
down and meet together in dark tones.

Shadows are dangerous because they may pick up unwanted
colors and take on a color tinge of the complementary of the
light source. But if too many lights are unskillfully

employed, secondary shadows will be cast within the principal

42

shadows. Shadows are also affected by the amount of
scattered light received from duesurroundings. To correct
for shadows supplementary light should be thrown into the
shadow areas. Shadows, however, are needed because too
much light tends to obscure the forms of the subject in
floods of uncontrolled light, producing flat and insipid

impressions.

The appearance of the subject is altered by colored

 

illumination.-—The two references for building color

 

schemes in color television are human flesh and recognizable
commercial products. Since these must be reproduced as the
public knows them and expects to see them, they serve as

the foundation for all other colors in the scene.

One way to preserve their versimilitude is to illumi—
nate them only with unfiltered light, restricting colored
illumination to backgrounds. This is contrary to the
practice in stage performances of lighting the performance
area with amber or bastard amber for key light, with blue or
surprise pink to fill the shadows. In color television,
colored light is used on performers only in dance numbers
or for other frankly stylistic effects. Commercial packages
are invariably keyed with white (i.e. unfiltered incandes-
cent) light, although sometimes an attempt is made to enhance
the color of the package by toning its shadow side with fill

light which is complementary in hue to that of the package.

43

When a subject fails to look natural in color,
despite the avoidance of colored light sources, the
spurious hue may be due to reflected light from some
nearby colored surface.

No one source of light can bring out all object
colors to the best advantage. Some colors will be
accentuated, others reduced, and almost all objects will
change more or less with a change in the spectral quality
of the light source. But all colors in a scene may not
retain their relative values as the intensity of light is
increased or decreased. This overall quality of all
colors depends on the color composition of the light. Thus
colors may be changed by changing the color of the light
source. Very often if a color on set is creating a "glow”
or "bloom" problem it can be corrected by a change in the
lighting of that area. When using colored lights it should
be remembered that a colored light thrown against a pigment
of the same color will emphasize the color. When a colored
light falls upon a composition containing a variety of
color, it will make the least change in those colors which
are most nearly identical with its own; and it will make
the greatest change in those which most directly oppose it.
All other colors will be modified in proportion to their
opposition to the color of the light and always in the

direction of decreasing value. "It may be taken as a

44

fundamental aXiom that a colored object will not appear
the same, in general, under two illuminants differing
in spectral character.”1

To use colored lights or gels it is important to
have them strong enough that the other lights won't wash

them out.

The camera must be adjusted to the proper color

 

temperature.--In order to reproduce color faithfully, the

 

color television camera must match as closely as possible
the eye's relative sensitivity to various wavelengths in
the illumination. The eye is more sensitive to the yellow
and green regions of the spectrum than to red and blue.
If the camera were more sensitive than the eye to blue,
for instance, it would render blue too light in proportion
to red and green and would also render all colors that con-
tain blue in mixture (including white) more bluish than the
eye sees them. Adjusting the response of the camera to
that of the eye is accomplished by proportioning or
"balancing" the relative outputs of the red, green, and blue
channels.

This balance must take into account the color tempera—

ture or relative proportion of the wavelengths in the

illumination reaching the camera. In balancing tubes for

 

lMatthew Luckiesh, The Lightinngrt (New York: McGraw
Hill Book Company, Inc., 19l7), p. 53.

 

45

interior shots, for example, the blue tube is made more
sensitive to compensate for the relatively low blue
content of incandescent tungsten light, which is rated
usually around 3200° K. When these relative balances have
been accomplished, cuts may be made between the indoor
camera and the outdoor camera without noticeable incon-
sistencies in the color of the successive shots. However,
it must be remembered that even under the best conditions,
color cameras are difficult to balance and they do not
always "fall in line" as the theories would indicate.

In the previous chapter it was noted that artificial
light sources may differ widely in color temperature--
incandescent tungsten and fluorescent sources, for instance,
being so different that they cannot be mixed on the same
subject without risking unpredictable results. Fluorescents
(at 35009 K) and incandescents (probably at 3200° K) differ
by 300° K, whereas the camera should not be exposed to a
variation of more than 200° K.

This precaution must be observed when incandescent
lights are dimmed, since a dimmed filament becomes
increasingly deficient in blue, making skin tone brown.

As previously indicated, natural light also varies
in color temperature, being yellowish and reddish early
and late in the day, bluish in shade and under overcast
skies, white in noon sunshine, and blue-green at dusk. As

such changes occur, a light-balancing filter may be used

46

for changing the quality of the light admitted to the
camera in order to match that for which its tubes are
balanced. When there is a predominance of blue in the
light a yellow filter can be used to suppress some of it
in favor of the red and green wavelengths. On the other
hand, a bluish filter can be used to readjust light which

is too yellow.

The gppearance of the subject is affected by the color

of adjacent or background areas.—-No color is seen by itself.

 

When considering a color it must be realized that the
essential factors are the colored object itself in relation
to its scenic area, the light source, and the observer.

The color of the skin, clothing, and objects may
change as the performer moves from one background to another
or as the camera takes a different angle shot, particularly
if these backgrounds differ widely in the amount of light
they reflect and the "rule" of simultaneous brightness con—
trast comes into play (explained on page 22). Large bright
backgrounds darken and muddy tones of everything in front
of them. To play safe, they should be kept somewhat darker
than the subject because if colors near flesh tones are
used (peach, light yellow) there will be little contrast
and one may lose the face in the background.

To darken a backing without repainting it or substi—
tuting a new one, one may be able to move a light off it,

move it back from the subject, angle it down, or shield it

4‘7

so that it receives less light to reflect. To lighten a
background without repainting it or substituting a new
one merely reverse the above procedure.

A blue drape-~not too electric blue seems to be a
good all-rowmdbackgroundsbecause it complements flesh
tones and does not cast a tinge of its own color on other
colors. But blue drapes are not as easily controlled with
colored lights as are gray drapes with some "warmth,"
i.e., a neutral of the proper value, the color of which
may be influenced by the lighting.1 Broadly speaking
intense pure colors of the warm end of the spectrum should
be used only for accessories and trimming because of
their "advancing" quality, while these same colors grayed,
or the cool colors, can be used for the large background
masses. It may save a great deal of trouble, at first,
to use neutral background and brighten them up with lights.

It should be remembered that the backgrounds for
closeup shots may include things other than scenery. A
hand passing across a commercial display of variously
colored towels, for instance, can turn dark and brown when
it passes in front of a white towel.

Similar trouble can be caused by excessively bright
areas adjacent to the subject. Thus, white shirts will
muddy the faces above them and should therefore be

replaced by gray shirts. The arm of a kitchen demonstrator

 

lSprague Vonier, WTMJ—TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

48

may be darkened and browned by its adjacency to a white
mixing bowl or to some highly reflectant metallic object
such as a toaster. As in monochrome television, glossy
surfaces should be sprayed to diffuse highlights and
eliminate glare. Extremely light areas on commercial
products and white pages from "slick" magazines may also
need to be sprayed with a flattening agent. Such effects
as this could be remedied by adjusting the camera controls
when an excessively bright area enters the picture.

The effects of simultaneous hue contrast can also be
observed in a color television picture. (Remember the raw
beef looking purple on a yellow platter, but looking redder
on a blue-green one. Page 26.)

Remember also that the subject may be spuriously

colored by light reflected from a nearby colored surface.

Color is affected by the reflective characteristics

of the surface.--Everyday experience will confirm that

 

reflectance plays a substantial role in color appearance.
A wool and a satin, for instance, may look altogether
different although colored with the same dye because the
texture makes a difference in the appearance. In a loose
fabric of porous surface the light penetrates more deeply
and is colored by many multiple reflections. For example:
wool fibres are transparent while those of cotton are not;
hence light cannot penetrate as far into the latter as

into wool. Thus when cotton is seen under white light, the

49

wavelengths which one might expect to be absorbed cannot
penetrate the material sufficiently to be absorbed; they
too are reflected, producing white highlights or giving
the whole surface a washed out appearance. Therefore, a
hard to use color, like pure red, may turn out to be
suitable in fabrics of some textures even though not in
most.

Generally, in television, it is best to use purer
colors in roughly textured weaves, such as tweed, and in
piled fabrics, such as velvet, rather than in smoothly
polished ones because they give a softness to a color and
do not reflect glare.

Also, a surface angled to reflect light into the eye
or camera lens will look different than when it is angled
to reflect in some other direction.

For these reasons it is difficult to predict the
appearance of a certain color by judging only from a color
chart with matte-finished samples viewed under ordinary
diffuse room illumination.

It is best to stay away from starched whites and
light colors, since the starch adds a gloss which reflects
directly into the camera lens causing a "bloom," and light

colors are naturally more light reflecting.

Color fidelity is affected by the peculiar character-

 

istics of the electronic system.--Reference to "peculiar

 

characteristics” does not necessarily mean that the system is

50

inaccurate.“ Sometimes it is just that the camera sees more
objectively than the untrained eye, bringing out hues such
as the purples in tar roads which artists may discern but
are ignored by most of us. At the Colonial Theatre in

New York, which NBC Color Television used as its first
theatre studio, the brown linoleum floor persistently showed
on camera with a greenish hue, attributed to refraction of
light through a surface film of wax and dust. Here also,

a ”blue" drape came out on the screen as blue-green,
apparently because of a green ingredient in the dye which
affected the camera more positively than it did the human
retina.

While acknowledging the accuracy of the system when
it is properly aligned, it must also be admited that this
accuracy is sometimes not achieved without a great deal of
engineering skill and effort. Some colors seem harder
to reproduce than others. Certain yellows, for instance,
may easily go too orange or too green. This trouble seems
to have persisted from the early days of the system:

Vance Hallack, producer in charge of color for NBC,
recalls that during the 1950 FCC demonstrations, trans—
mission engineers fought bitterly all day with the
receiver engineers, each blaming the other for the poor
color coming through. "Finally, during a break," he
says, "I sent out for green bananas and substituted
them for yellow ones in a fruit bowl on the set. Soon
as we started up again, a receiver man called up,

screaming:

"What's with the green bananas?"

m-zu‘1 s M-hwfi
I EM
..

51

"Don't know what you're talking about," I told him.
"They’re yellow on our monitors." That kept him
quiet for half an hour. Then he called up again and
said: l"Got your yellow bananas--but your apples are
blue."

Colorscxitelevision tend to be a bit more saturated
than they actually are so the artists correct for this by
graying all colors a little.

The alignment of cameras for faithful color reproduc-
tion takes considerably longer than with monochrome cameras,
since the three tubes within each camera have to be balanced
and then the cameras have to balance with each other.

Before every program the cameras must be set up and
adjusted so as to broadcast the maximum possible color
fidelity. In color films there are different kinds of dyes
to adjust for color reproduction but in color television

there are only the three ”pick up" tubes in the camera.

must be adjusted so that the engineers

(I)

These pickup tube

asting efficiently.

()

can be sure they are broad
Requirements for successful color reproduction are
accuracy of exposure, appropriate quality of the illumina-
tion,and suitable contrast range of the subject.
There are several methods used by stations, in various
combinations,to check this color fidelity from the station
point of view. There are four places where color fidelity

can go astray. These places are: (l) the color balance and

 

lMichael Day, "Color Television is Here," Popular
Mechanics (January, 1954), CI, p. 129.

 

52

registration of the cameras; (2) the color temperature of
the lights; (3) the iris Opening used and the distance
between the camera and the object; and (4) technical
difficulties in the camera chain.

There are several methods used to check the color
balance and registration of the cameras. They are—-the Pa
use of an electronic color bar, gray scale alignment, and ‘

"color girl" test pattern. The electronic color bar is

 

incorporated in some color equipment. When the color bar

“C “4-3
135‘.- _

is electronically generated the bar shows on the monitors

'E'3

and the engineers register this alignment on the oscillo—
scope so that when the cameras are turned on the color tubes
are adjusted to match the predetermined oscilloscope setting.

However, some stations do not have this electronic
system and must rely on ”home made" color charts or on the
regular gray scale which they used for monochrome production.
The use of the gray scale does not always insure color
fidelity but it does insure a correct contrast range, which
is a factor in producing color fidelity.

Since it is far too costly to hire a "color girl,"
like NBC in New York, just to check flesh tones, which are
actually the determining factor in color fidelity, some
stations use either a rear projection "color girl" test
pattern or, as the University of Michigan Color Television

Medical Center does, use a hand in front of a green

53

background- Green is complementary to any colors resembling
flesh tones (tan, cream, pink-orange) and does not cast a
tinge of its own color as a color such as red might do.

Color distortion is most likely to occur if the

illumination in the scene differs from that for which the
cameras were originally set. When the cameras have been
checked out on the charts and color bar, etc., it is a good
idea to check the cameras in the light which is being used
for the show.

There is absolutely no substitute for checking
everything on camera; even if samples have to be
brought in in advance to determine how fabrics or
construction materials will render on camera under
specific conditions. Two rules probably are use-
ful: keep it simple and "leave yourself an out"

.in other words, use what has proved successful
and then make simple changes in accent material or
set pieces that can be quickly altered if something
goes wrong; plan sets, positioning of players, con-
struction so that a change in lighting or a quick
repaint job will correct the inevitable horror that
will show up in camera rehearsal.t

Then, after all of the adjusting is done, one might

take note of certain pecularities of the system. The color
television system seems to increase saturation, causing'
colors that are already highly saturated to "pop out" of
the picture. Thus, many costumes from theatrical wardrobe
houses may prove too saturated for color television. The

enhanced vividness is particularly evident with reds and

blues.

 

lSprague Vonier, WTMJ—TV, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

54

This intensification of red by the system requires
caution in the use of saturated red accents. A red carna-
tion worn as a boutonniere by a performer in the background
of the frame may be more evident than anything else in the
composition. Nails coated with bright red polish may look
like wounds, and lips covered with bright red lipstick may
completely destroy the unity of the face. With some faces,
the system seems to bring out blotches of red pigmentation
on the nose and cheeks and to call undue attention to the
redness of backlighted ears. This has implications for
television make-up, as will be explained in the following
section.

As for blue, sometimes a neutral gray cyclorama tinted
faintly with pale blue light is likely to appear much bluer
on camera, and sometimes it is liable to look bluish gray
even when it is under clear lighting. This effect can be
counteracted by choosing a warmish (brownish) gray dye for
the cyclorama instead of a purely neutral gray. Sometimes,
a blue tint may appear in white objects and in highlights
such as those on a shiny human face. This color contrast
between highlight and general flesh tone looks artificial
and may exaggerate the modeling of undesirable features such
as ”bags” under the eyes. It should be corrected by powdering

the face to reduce shine.

55

There is not as much trouble controlling black and
white in the color system as in the monochrome system but
the "rules" of contrast range still apply, and it is not

a good idea to use large areas of these two "colors."

Make—Up

The needibr~make-up in the theatre and now for
television arose because of the use of intense illumination
which gives a sallow, pale, and flat appearance to the
naturally unpainted face. Make—up is used to mold features,
smooth the complexion, give the person an even, healthy
skin tone, to correct for age, for lighting, and to create
character. Make—up must be kept subdued so that it will
appear natural.

Since ordinary theatrical make-up is too warm and
reddish for studio use in color television, Max Factor
worked with NBC to develop a special series of tones which
are grayish and deficient in red. This comes in both
pancake and panstick.

Actually, there are two ranges:

CTVl through CTVl2 are for normal use. (CTV stands
for ”Color Television.") One is the lightest tone, twelve
the darkest.

CTVlWltfiumnufiuCTVl5W are warmer tones, developed for
musical revues and high fashion. (Negroes may use llW

through l5W, the darker tones of this range.)

56

There is also a CTV rouge, a CTV gray for eye shadow,
and a choice of tones for CTV lipstick.

For straight female make-up, CTV4 is normally applied
as a base. The panstick form is preferable for faces be-
cause it can be put on more thinly than pancake, allowing
the performer's natural skin tones to show through, whereas
a heavy application would hide her individuality behind a
mask. Pancake, however, goes on more quickly for body make-
up, which may be needed to keep necks, shoulders, arms, and
hands from looking too "raw" or too light. For cheek rouge
and lipstick one can use the CTV colors, which are muted red.
Most women need glamorizing, with particular regard to cheek
color and definition of the eyes.

The system seems to reduce the definition of some
faces, particularly when distant from camera and particularly
in the region of the eyes. To counteract this, one can use
eye shadow (neutral gray is safe), line the eyes, both top
and bottom, with black liner, and apply mascara to the
eyelashes. Eyebrow pencil should be toned to match the
subject's hair.

Finally, to kill the shine; one applies powder--either
white talc or a neutral flesh tone, containing very little
pink.

For men, lipstick is not used. Rouge is rarely needed
unless an area of shaven beard has had to be covered so
heavily with base that rouge needed to be worked in to keep

the face from looking dead.

57

Most children photograph better without make-up. But
if it is necessary to use some, it should be very light with
no lipstick or eye shadow.

The need to reduce the contrast between a performer
and his background sometimes means altering the make-up
rather than the background. For example, a very pale tone
may be needed on hands that must be seen against light sinks
or refrigerators. In this case, shots should be restricted
to closeups of the hands and whatever they are handling; or
if long shots are necessary, the performer must be placed
so that the hands are not seen prominently, else they will
look too pale in comparison with the face.

Natural shadows are not just a few shades darker than
the foundation base. Flesh very often shows a green, a
neutralized blue, blue-violet, or a purple shadow. Thus to
correct a shadow it is necessary to overcome these color
tinges as well as to lighten the area.1

Outdoor make-up for color television is different from
studio make-up because sunlight is cooler (in color sense)
than incandescent lighting. Instead of exaggerating red
pigment in the skin, sunlight is apt to turn flesh tones
somewhat gray, particularly when the sky is overcast. Hence

one may need to use pansticks such as the Factor N series,

 

lVincent J—R Kehoe, "The Basic Rules of Movie Make-up,"
Popular Photography, XLVIII (January, 1961), p. 97.

 

58

which is bright and warm, with lipstick that is light and
rather vivid. No eyeshadow is used when there is bright
overhead sunlight; instead, reflectors may be used to
lighten the eye sockets.

Just as in monochrome television, local stations are
more apt to minimize the need for make-up than network
studios, according to NBC network personnel. The local
stations will point out that by no means every performer
needs make-up and that sufficiently desaturated cosmetics
can be found without resorting to the special color tele-
vision make-up series. This may be in part because few
local stations maintain make-up specialists who must build
up the importance of their craft. The local station's
profit motive dictates that color production require as
little outlay as possible for additions to the staff
beyond those needed in monochrome productions or for
increased fees to performers to cover the time devoted to
make-up. But the difference in color television between
persons wearing make-up and those not wearing it is quite
apparent.

When Composing Shots for Color
Television Consider

 

 

That theatrical properties of light may be adopted to

 

enhance productions ——As has been discussed earlier, the

 

primary function of light is to give sufficient illumination

so that the subject may be clearly televised. There are two

59

areas of lighting to be considered-—technical and non-
technical. 'The technical objectives of television
lighting are to illuminate the scene before the camera,

to make it possible to obtain a satisfactory picture
signal, and to provide a good picture quality which
includes good resolution and a realistic balance of tones.
The non-technical area should include creating feeling

of volume and space, mood, and atmOSphere, to achieve a
pleasing composition by distribution of light and shadow,
to support the illusion of reality which is attempted in
the setting; to add sparkle to the picture by use of high-
light, backlight, etc., to add beauty and glamour to the
face by smooth soft lighting, and to bring out the good and
play down the bad.

Each program should be lit according to the action
that is to take place, the location of the performers at
each point during the program, and the kinds of angles
and shots to be taken.

Light for a scene may be mixed in two ways: either
by direct mixture of projected light or by indirect mixture
of reflected light. One must consider that without shade
there would be no sense of form. Form is revealed by
light and shade more than by color; and modeling is affected
primarily by the positions of the light sources. Therefore,
one must decide which way or combination is best for the

mood and effect desired; always rememberingiflmfi:the point of

60

reference for color fidelity is the human flesh tone--
everything must be geared to make the human personality on

the screen dominent, acceptable, and believable.

Set considerations for the program.-—It is well to
remember that large and extremely dark areas, very bright
colors, and very excessive contrasts should be avoided.

Finely divided and intricate patterns should not be
used; the small areas of color seem to mingle and lose
their individual character because the camera can't dis-
tinguish fine detail.

The same props and sets used in monochrome may be
used for color with one consideration--if the prOps are
chipped or shabby looking they will look worse in color
than they did on monochrome. Props and sets have to look

a little nicer for color.

The part of costumes.--Costumes are an integral part

 

of any program, but they should not dominate players or
draw too much attention to themselves. Clothes have become
symbolic. Their main function is as a covering for the
body but they may also indicate and communicate special
messages.l Dress can give the impression of age, social
position, status or rank, and season. Thus costumes aid

in making character relationships clear.

 

lLawrence Langer, The Importance of WearingAC1othes
(New York: Hastings House, 1959), p. 156.

61

Color in dress is a prime means of providing a frame
and setting for the personality of the wearer. Colors must
be selected for complexion, features, character of
expression, and personality.

Camera studies sould be made of characters and cos—
tumes against the background to check for conflicting

colors and lighting.

Slides and Film

 

Slides.--Do not use more than three or four hues on a
slide. Most effects desired can be handled with only four,
and this helps avoid getting the slide too busy.1

For legibility of slides, telops, balops, studio
cards, etc , light figures on a dark background are con-

sidered by the University of Michigan Medical School

slightly more desirable than dark against light.

ilm -—Here are some suggestions made by the color TV

workshop conducted by the color corps of NBC December 10,
1953 for bettering the quality of color films (the specific
reasons for the following statements have been explained in
the preceeding text).

‘

lEverett Stahl, "Preparing Slides for Color TV,"
B oadcasting, XLIX (May 9, 1955), p. 42.

62

1. Use complementary colors in achieving harmony.

2. Use a positive color separation between fore-
ground objects and their background.

3. Use flat lighting with plenty of fill light in
shadow areas.

4. Avoid large dark areas in the scene.
Use plenty of close-ups.

Avoid sustained long shots.

\JO\U1

. Avoid changes in overall brightness from scene
to scene.

When dramatic and highly emotional effects are
wanted from color sequences. . .deep blue colors
should be ”cut" abruptly into bright red colors

for maximum excitation. However, bright red

colors should be "faded" or "dissolved" into soft,l
cool hues when more melancholoy moods are desired.

Commercial Considerations

 

An accurate color reproduction of a product can be
achieved by controlling the environment surrounding the
product.

When working with foods, Faber Birren in 99193

Psychology and Color Therapy suggested noting that certain

 

colors stimulate the appetite.2 These "true appetite
colors" are, for the most part, peach, red, orange, brown,
buff, warm yellow, and a clear green. Pink and tints of
blue and violet are "sweet" and not usually found in the

main part of a meal.

 

lFaber Birren, Color Psyphology and Color Therapy
(New Hyde Park, New York: University Books Inc., 1961), p. 263

21bid., p. 263,

63

excellent background for foods because it

H
(I)
{D
:3

Blue

warmer tones. (Note hue constancy factor

5‘
(D
(I)
(D

brings out t
page 25.)
Back light (light falling on a subject from behind
and above) is effective for enlivening bottled liquids in
commercial displays.
It is probably a good idea to impress upon the
advertiser a wise use of color, not just color for color's

sake. In an article entitled "Color" in Broadcastipg this

 

statement was made: "An emotional fatigue factor enters

if color commercial in a aturation campaign is done in

U)

warm, excitable colors which do not wear as well as violet,

1
blue, and green ”

News Department Considerations

 

Somesmationswill want to go as completely into color
as they can and this will, of course, include the news
department. Certain considerations must be thought about
first before rushing pell—mell into filming.

Color film costs about three times as much as black
and white. There are greater problems with color because
of the consideration of the color temperature of the film.
The same film cannot be used indoors as out--at least with—

out filtering, which, of course, cuts down light. Also,

 

lDon Estey, "Color," Broadcasting, IL (October 10,
1955). pa 41:

 

64

more light is needed for color film and this limits night
pictures unless the photographer carries more portable
lights. But, actually, the greatest criteria for a
choice between color and black and white are the subject
matter and the time for which the film is needed. As to
subject matter-—if a fire is burned out and merely
smoking, why waste color: black and white will do the
job. But if a fire is blazing and flaming then color

has a definite advantage. As to the time the film is
needed--it takes longer to develop color film because most
stations do not have equipment for color development. If
the news story is filmed at two for the 6 o‘clock news

show it will have to be done in black and white.

Miscellaneous Production Notes

 

Color requires more personnel in some departments like
engineering, art, and film.

There is also a need for more consideration of lighting
in color than in monochrome because many color problems may
be corrected with proper lighting.

For regular programs more rehearsal time will be
necessary at first; but after the initial "getting acquainted”
period there is little difference from black and white.
However, new programs will take longer to set up in color
than they would have in black and white due to the many
variablesattached to color television production, as dis-

cussed in the previous chapters. Engineering, however,

65

definitely needs more time to check out cameras and equip-
ment. Warm-up time and readjustment time for color
cameras takes much longer too.

Basically a station does not need to radically change
its set up when adding color production. The biggest
problems the station will face are probably (1) getting the
departments to plan each program sufficiently so that all
departments understand the show, the format, and whether
or not it is in color; and (2) to work together, letting
the right hand know what the left hand is doing, so to
Speak. Some of the stations the author interviewed indi—
cated that there was a problem of cooperation between the
engineering department and the production department. There-
fore, it seems wise for a new station to set up certain
procedures and standards so that time will not be wasted in
arguing and "finger pointing."

There should be one person to make the decisions on
color fidelity so that it won't be a case of too many
different ideas on what is the correct color.

It is a mistake to assume that color, just because
it is color, is superior to black and white in all respects.
Questions which one of the management personnel should ask
everytime a show is considered are "What effect is desired?"
and "How important is color to the characterization of the

subject?" Another consideration is the cost--since color

66

production is so much more expensive than black and white
because of increased personnel, equipment, and time
expended. Can the station afford it? Things can be
simplified by using monochrome production where color is

not necessary.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

6?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Albright, H. D., Halstead, William P., and Mitchell, Lee.
Principles of Theatre Art. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1955-

 

Becker, Samuel L., and Harshbarger, H. Clay. Television:
Techniques for Planning and Performance. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1958.

 

Birren, Faber. Color a Survey in Words and Pictures.
New York: University Books, Inc., 1963.

 

Color, Form and Space. New York: Reinhold
Publishing Corporation, 1961.

 

Color Psychology and Color Therapy. New Hyde
Park, New York: University Books, Inc., 1961.

 

Functional Color. New York: The Crimson Press,

 

1957.

New Horizons In Color. New York: Reinhold
Publishing Corporation, 1955.

 

. The Story of Color. Westport, Connecticut: The
Crimson Press, 1941.

Bond, Fred. Color. . .How to See and Use It. San Francisco:
Camera Craft Publishing Company, 1954.

 

Boyce, William F. Fundamentals of Color Television.
Indianapolis, Indiana: Howard W. Sams & Company, Inc.,
1954. -

 

Bretz, Rudy. Techniques of Television Production. New York:
McGraw—Hill Book Company, Inc., 1953.

 

Carnt, P. S., and Townsend, G. B.” Color Television. London:
Iliffe Books Ltd., 1961.

 

Chambers, Bernice Gertrude. Color and Design. New York:
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1951.

 

68

69

Corry, P. Lighting the Stag_. London: Sir Isaac Pitman
and Sons, Ltd., 1961.

D'Amico, Victor E. "Color," "Light and Color," and "The
Costume," Theatre Art. Peoria, Illinois: The
Maguel Arts Press, 1931.,pp. 62-68, 87-104, and 166-
17 .

Dupuy, Judy. Television Show Business. General Electric,
1945.

Evans, Ralph M. An Introduction to Color. New York:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1948.

Eye, Film, and Camera in Color Photography.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1959.

. Hanson, W. T., Jr., and Brewer, W. Lylie.
Principles of Color Photography. New York: John Wiley
and Sons., Inc., 1953. '

Feininger, Andreas. Advanced Photography. . .Methods and
Conclusions. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-
Hall, Inc., 1952.

 

. Successful Color Phgtography. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1957.

 

The Creative Photographer. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: 'Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1955.

 

Fink, Donald G. (Ed.). Color Television Standards. New York:
McGraw—Hill Book Company, Inc., 1955.

Hiler, Hilaire. Color Harmoney and Pigments. California:
Research Publishing Company, 1942.

Hilmer-Petersen, K. Color Before the Camera. London:
The Fountain Press, 1952.

 

Hunt, R. W. G. The Reproduction of Color. London: Fountain
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Itten, Johannes. The Art of Color. Translated by Ernest
Vag Haagen. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation,
19 l.

 

Jacobs, Michel. The Art of color. New York: Doubleday Page
and Company, 1926.

Jacobson, Egbert. Basic Color. Chicago: Paul Theobald, 1948.

70

Kate, Dav; lflmaldorld of Color. IkflMhMi: Kegan Paul,
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Larger, Iawrence. The Importance of Wearinnglothes.
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Luckiesh, Matthew.

C r and Its Applications. New Jersey:
D. Van Nostrand

o
ompany, Inc., 1927.

A.
IV

 

1
.L
m
L

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and Company, $925.

\;

 

A

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ttle, Angela D. Color of Foods.

 

 

 

Ma’Ki nney, Gordon, nd Ii
Westoort, Connect iotm : The Avi Publishilig comp n“,
In;., 195?,

._ .. .., .,. f;.- .. . --.,,.l .., ._- ‘ "._.-. ‘.. -.

Miami, Nip-1.13.. 1. .. 'V --S _. .._..'.- ," timid 1,}710 - -. Jig—JV , 157.26". F LU ca 4:111? 52;}--.1‘;
finjjn [M_L:;tmer.fl. B s:.Jn Lchght;n1 Mif:;;;;<3cmpany,

Manse; , A. H. A Color Notation. New York: Munse l Co-or

 

"TeleV‘Cirn

 

 

 

 

 

_ R -\ , ,
Rub-u e a L) JGJ. E7 9 a", d Watb Ir). ’ L(— 4 E . l d) _-.
" . ‘,- 4 r~ fl- ‘ l.. y" " 1‘ " \“I‘\ ‘r A ‘b L: ‘ '
Th~a.rl oi Lighting Pra.-i-~. new lork: lh:atr- A:,s
‘ ("L - ‘7: ' FIT:-
BOJKS, .399, pp. J“-\.',
h .- *‘ . - " e ' c 7 "‘
oa‘g~o‘, waluer Ih~ Enjoyment ari use 2’ sci . w . lcr'
,A ‘ ’- ‘ ’ ,. .-
than -: Sorlan” - S. _, L9c<
, u. - 1- — , .. - H o, ‘
wl~.cerg, Louis .. 3 .' : -"dHy l_ ” Raw rk' . ll,
, ,____, __ _____ T i '- _
._.,‘1 1 fl.. ..
Meat, and Compl*5, Jaro
viiison, 3?;oer‘ 3‘ C ' t’.a a li Mir at i¥-rk. Itsw lVdc7:
r I, j 1‘ _ _ ‘ ,‘ T. ‘. 4‘! '\
arcflte.‘ “-1 ‘1.-K rubll;0'rg o’m'pcfl'” 1-1 , fly;
D yaw dd: {4; . F
-‘\ 3 H T. I \4 - -.r o” A.» - H ‘ - ( ‘9 r! A .‘v.
[QALKJEI‘S’ LTGSEI .LrJThJ’d-t..-l Lou. ‘~.-'./..-A'.fl, ”1‘ A ftJ. k . 1I'I/L. ’1‘,
_,,,. A, C fi :, -l-wm_wn
.Lyrjj) ’ <':- 51‘ ’ ’ (J— )9 C
- - r“ w n .2 i H r .~ 1 , 1‘. ..|. 1,. .. . _ J" ”' “ 1!
Be.',, 5 aicls. Ar Astonishing new Theory o. L or,
'— ‘ '- ‘ L. ' ‘ ‘ O \ ‘- 5 8 7 I”\ t‘? c ”L ’; ',- ". ”w 1."-
r_1ture, ,9 (May, 1959), ia4—l4 , -99—ltt, LUb, .c.,

 

\J

T .in i-» N... I; x _-. : ' ;_“ s‘h .3» a.
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72

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73
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APPENDIX

74

APPENDIX

The Eye

"Color is a special sensation excited by the action
on the retina of rays of light of a definite wave length."1
But the eye tends to measure light and color as sensation
and not as radiant energy.2

The eyeball is covered by a transparent outer
covering called the cornea. Behind the cornea is the iris
which regulates the amount of light which may enter the
eye. The iris is a ringlike structure which expands and
contracts under the action of light and forms the pupil.
Directly behind the pupil is the lens which bulges or
flattens out to aCcommodate for close or distant objects.
In back of all this is the retina. The retina is a network
of sensitive nerve endings where the light is focused.

It is from the retina that impulses are transmitted to the

brain.

 

 

1Encyclopaedia Britannica ("Vision;" Chicago:
William Benton, 1963), V1, p. 208.

 

2Color Digest (Brooklyn, New York: Higgins Ink
Company, Inc., 1953), p. 20.

 

75

76

These light sensitive elements of the retina are

connected to the brain through a complicated net-

work of nerves. This network is so arranged that

it forms three light sensitive systems, one

responding to red light, one to green light, and

one to blue light.
The upper half of the retina is more sensitive than the
lower half especially in observing changes in illumination.

There is a central region of the retina called the

fovea. This region is dominant in cones and is sensitive
to colors as well as to achromatic light. Only in the
foveal region does the eye see in fine detail. Foveal
vision is essentially day vision. Surrounding and covering
the fovea there is a yellowish pigment which is rather
thick. This pigment, called mecular pigmentation, decreases
the amount of blue light reaching the cones. The mecular
pigmentation varies from one individual to another so
greatly that it causes considerable color perception differ-
ences. Luster is seen only in the foveal region. Of the
receptors in the eye some are sensitive to each of the
three primary colors. The receptor sensitivity is for
deep blue to blue-green and green, green going toward blue
and going toward red, and red. This eye color mixture is
additive.

The cones of the eye are concentrated in the central

region and react to the brightness of light, color, and motion.

 

lColor as Seen and Photographed (Eastman-Kodak, 1962),

 

77

Cones are both achromatic and chromatic. The population of
cones decreases as the distance from the center of the eye
increases.

The rods of the eye are scattered throughout the
retina. They react chiefly to brightness and motion in a
subdued light. The rods are dark-sensitive and respond
only to achromatic sensations. They respond usually to
rays of the shorter wavelengths. Only the rods function
in night vision.

The outer region of the retina is called the periphery
and contains only rods. The periphery is sensitive only to
achromatic light.

We use our eye to give the brain pieces of information
which build up into an image. We actually "see" in our
brain because the information is sent there, interpreted
there, and given meaning there. The eye-brain combine
causes us to see color and objects as we think they should
look, not as they actually are. Visual adaptation is the
adjustment of the visual mechanism to the intensity or
quality of the light stimulus. The eye adapts itself to the
color of the illumination as well as to its intensity.
Therefore, "when the eye is exposed to a given illumination
level for a sufficient length of time it comes to accept
this level as normal,. . .and all other intensities are seen

relative to the given level."1 This phenomenon of the eye

 

 

1Ralph M. Evans, An Introduction to Color (New York:
John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1948), p. 105.

78

is called pronouncedness or brightness constancy and is a
dimension of color over andeuxmnehue, value, and chroma.
This means that our eye—brain combine tends to see objects
in terms of their actual reflecting power rather than in
the amount of light which they are really reflecting. For
example, people tend to see white paper as white in both
bright and dim light. Within the boundaries of light from
5 to 1,000 footcandles color constancy is "on the Job"

and the eye sees objects and colors as uniform and normal.

If the eye is exposed to a stimulus for a short
period of time there is a rather rapid recovery but if the
exposure is extended for quite a while, the recovery takes
longer. Thus, the rate of recovery of the lost sensitivity
of the eye after the termination of the stimulus depends
upon the exposure time and upon the level of sensitivity
reached.

The eye will be able to focus normally on white,
yellow, and purple; but with other colors the eye is
either near or far sighted. The cool colors such as blue
and green make the eye near sighted (myopic) because they
focus in front of the retina. The warm colors such as red
and orange make the eye far sighted (hyperopic) because
they focus behind the retina.

The eye has its greatest sensitivityftm*yellow; but
the eye is also particularly sensitive to the yellow-green

middle of the spectrum. This sensitivity decreases however,

79

as the colors go out towards either end of the spectrum.
In the eye the field of perception of red and green is
less extensive than the field of perception of blue and
yellow.

All eyes do not see color in the same proportion.
Sometimes this is due to color blindness. There are
three types of color blindness. The two most common forms
are the confusion of red or blue with green. The third,
and rarest kind, is the inability to distinguish yellow

from blue.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIE

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