Page 24 - RD_March_2013.pdf

Cinecolor used a 'standard' camera loaded with two films, one orthochromatic, dyed red, and a
panchromatic strip behind it. Color light would expose the cyan record on the orthochromatic
stock, which also acted as a filter, exposing only red light to the panchromatic film stock.
In the laboratory, the negatives were printed onto a film with an emulsion on either side; one
side being toned red, the other cyan. When projected, the combination gave an acceptable range
of colors.
While Cinecolor could produce vibrant reds, oranges,
blues, browns and flesh tones, its renderings of other
colors such as bright greens (rendered dark green) and
purples (rendered a sort of dark magenta) were muted.
In the late 1940s and the early 1950s, many Westerns
were filmed on Cinecolor. Cinecolor films generally have
a blue sound track. Color retention is generally very good.
Cinecolor was used from 1932 until 1954, and was used
for 35mm, 16mm and 8mm films.
Right: Cinecolor print - The Three Musketeers (1949)
Trucolor
This was a similar process to Cinecolor, except that it used a dye-coupler built into the film emulsion
to achieve color in the release print. Color retention is not as good as Cinecolor due to the use of
dye couplers and not toning to achieve color. Many of the 1950s Republic Westerns were released
in Trucolor, as the process was owned by Republic.

Super Cinecolor

Super Cinecolor prints were made from black-and-white color separation matrices which were
generally made from Kodachrome or Eastman Color negatives.
The Super Cinecolor process was developed as an extension
of Cinecolor’s well developed two color process. It used
similar methods to produce a two sided, two color print,
then a yellow layer was added on the cyan side of the print
through means of imbibition printing.
The soundtrack was applied on the cyan-yellow side,
resulting in a blue soundtrack. The final prints had vivid
dyes that did not fade, producing a somewhat colorful
appearance to the final print.
Along with Cinecolor, Super Cinecolor prints have retained
their color well. Only a handful of Super Cinecolor films
were produced.

Left: Super Cinecolor print. Abbott and Costello in Jack and
the Beanstalk (1952)