Why were the early movies in black and white, what was so difficult with colours? And what are the dots on old movies?
In: Technology
Movies are film. Film is a thin layer of light sensitive silver crystals. When light falls on the film, through the lens, the silver changes it’s crystal structure. When the film is “developed” the changed silver is washed away. These crystals are very, very tiny leaving collections and clumps of very tiny black pigments.
The reason it’s B/W is that the crystals react the same regardless of the color of light that contacts them.
Making color film involved making three layers (OK, it started with two but I’m describing Technicolor) of filters and three layers of film which were exposed at the same time; developed separately; and used to transfer colored dye to the film strip that was projected in the theater. It was an astonishing effect when audiences first saw color in the theater.
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