A new world of colour
The unique colour process used in Claude Friese-Greene's film 'Open Road' was based on the film processing experiments of his father William.
'His development was not alone in the field however, and other systems were proving more popular.'
Showcased in 1911 and called 'Biocolour', those pre-World War I tests by William Friese-Greene proved how the colourisation of a film could be shown on an existing cinema projector without the need for alteration or additional mechanics.
His development was not alone in the field however, and other systems were proving more popular. Kinemacolor was widely used between 1909 and 1915, even though cinemas had to hire expensive special equipment to show the films.
At the turn of the 20th century this battle over the colour process led to a rash of early patents and innovations, and in particular led to conflict between the Friese-Greene 'Biocolour' and Kinemacolor.
Published: 2007-04-18