Film color management history video

[Redcrown]

Just for the fun of it. It's kind of long and mostly boring, but the basic message is interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d16LNHIEJzs

[Tim Lookingbill]

I posted my reply on that YouTube video.

Not sure what you find interesting about it since it doesn't tell the whole story.

Thank god digital technology fixed all that.

[Redcrown]

I never read the comments on Youtube videos, but you made me do it this one time.

Made me pleased that I appear able to go through life interested in things instead of offended by them. I'm also glad I can find value in something without having the "whole story." Needing the whole story before finding value must be a terrible burden.

[digitaldog]

I find the message kind of difficult to accept if I'm reading it correctly (film was designed for white people, technology should be an equalizer etc). It appears that Kodak didn't know for years that their film was less than ideal for black people, chocolate and dark wood grain. They found out, they fixed it as best they could.

[Tim Lookingbill]

Kodak didn't seem to have a problem reproducing African American skin tone in the '40's & '50's...

http://www.shorpy.com/node/17209

http://www.shorpy.com/node/2298

And that was on the most difficult to process to get it right Kodachrome. Why didn't that YouTube video show those images plus all the ones in National Geographic I saw back in the '60's of the scantily clad African tribesman and women? I had no problem seeing detail to distinguish the flat chested from the well endowed.

And this one was taken at night for crying out loud... http://www.shorpy.com/node/1218

Here's another... http://www.shorpy.com/node/128?size=_original#caption

And all these were taken during the most racially charged era of our time for African Americans. They had to make "To Kill A Mockingbird" to drive home this point.

[amolitor]

Of course they optimized the film for their market. And Fuji optimized their film for their market.

If your choices are:

Make white people look good.
Make black people look good.
Make nobody look good.

Which is the correct answer?

In fact what they did was they made white people look least terrible. Even modern digital color is underwhelming.

[Tim Lookingbill]

In fact what they did was they made white people look least terrible. Even modern digital color is underwhelming.

I didn't see any facts in your statement.

[amolitor]

Perhaps you should compare some colored objects, perhaps even people, with photographs of the same objects. Side by side.

You might find yourself surprised.

The only reason our crummy color technologies work at all is because the visual cortex is remarkably forgiving.

Most of what we 'see' moment to moment is made up by our brains, so all a photo really had to do is cue the machine effectively.