Kinemacolor at the Electric Palace, Harwich

[Chris Bird]

In May, archivist David Cleveland and I put on a 35mm show for the reopening of the Electric Palace, Harwich, which dates from 1911, using my 1913 Gaumont Chrono projector. I was back up there yesterday. It was the 111th anniversary of the Palace's opening. With David Cleveland and projector restorer Nigel Lister, we set up a 1919 Ernemann machine that Nigel had converted to run Kinemacolor, and did a test. We hope to put on a proper show that way sometime in the new year. Here are some of the photos.

The amazing thing is that the print itself is black and white. Only upon projection are the colours reapplied, exactly as shot by the camera, which uses an identical colour wheel.

The system runs at 32fps. Nigel had altered the gearing of the machine so that one turn of the crank transports 16 frames instead of the usual 8, so you crank at 2 turns per second.

David and historian Brian Pritchard did a huge amount of work to bring back Kinemacolor for the centenary in 2008, when these prints were made. The original projector they used had to be returned to a museum, which is why Nigel set out to modify this machine for the format. It was a huge privilege to be part of this yesterday.

[Steve Lee]

Totally wonderful Chris,
I have always had a love and passion for early cinemas, from the days when the business moved from the touring bioscopes as fairground sideshows into purpose built buildings. There is just something magical about about them and the Harwich Electric Palace looks amazing.
My great grandfather was a silent movie pianist, and was musical director for a man whose name was Montugue Pike. He was the first person in europe to build a cinema circuit in and around London. I believe that only two of these buildings still stand today. I think this is where my love and passion for these buildings comes from.
As for the chrono projector this was a piece of genius, to produce a black and white film that has been polarized with alternative red and green frames, then to recall the colours back on the projector using the colour wheel. Genius.
To think that this technology is still being used today with domestic DLP digital projectors.

Steve

[Paul Adsett]

Chris, what an incredible achievement by you, David , and Brian. I have always been faccinated by the pioneering efforts to obtain color motion pictures.
The main problem with Kinemacolor was the color fringing effect with camera or subject motion. The same problem exists today to some extent in DLP video projectors where you have the rainbow effect induced by the spinning color wheel. The vast majority of people never see it, but some people find it really bothersome. For that reason I will stick with LCD or LCOS projectors.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Chris,

Thank you! Both the Kinemacolor process and the location are fascinating!

[Graham Ritchie]

Fantastic Chris, if you could take a little bit of video if possible, that would be great also

[Brian Fretwell]

We had a 16mm show of a system replicating Kinamacolor at the first Blackpool Film Fair I went to (I think it was the year Derann closed). The fringing in this system is on moving objects of if the camera pans. It is the same on the Frieze Green system that was on a BFI DVD and shown printed as two colour on a single frame at a talk given there many years ago. On single chip DLP projection the fringes show only if you move your eyes quickly across the picture, I assume the people who do not see them rarely do that.

[Dominique De Bast]

Amazing !

[Maurice Leakey]

For members who wish to know more about Kinemacolor.
Kinemacolor - Wikipedia

[John Burgess]

The late John Cunningham ( Breakspear films) who was a good friend of mine modified a 16 mm projector to take 9.5 mm film and added a Kinemacolour attachment , he demonstrated this at Chiswick Town Hall at one of the 9.5 events a few years ago . It worked very well and was well received. Although John by profesion was a Pharmacist , he was also a self taught engineer and did amazing work on old cine equipment. I was fortunate that he lived quite close to me and whenever I went to see him he would talk me through his latest project. Great times , and sadly missed.
John

[Chris Bird]

Thank you for all the comments. It's a huge pleasure to be part of this. Here is another picture of the projector, and the man who adapted it for Kinemacolor: Nigel Lister. Nigel did a lot of the projection at Blackpool, and is a highly skilled engineer, as well as a former professional projectionist.

John, I understand that John Cunningham's Kinemacolor conversion is now in the collection of Dino Everett.

[Ken Finch]

I have a dvd of one of John Cunninghams demonstration which was made at one of the Group 9.5 meetings. It was was videod but the off screen shots are far from perfect because of the projection speed. John was using his Eiki/Elf projector which he had converted to 9.5 mm. I do not remember who filmed it. Some years ago I had a book titled “How to Use 9.5” by D M Neale, which mention the process. It was originally suggested, and may be, tried by Alan Lott, who was one of the writers of the 9.5 column in Amateur Cine World. (The amateur film makers Bible!). The was at a time when colour film on 9.5 was no longer available and before ferrania colour (PCF). Incidentally, another additive colour process available on 9.5mm in the 1930s was Dufaycolour. I have a 9.5 eXample of this which was passed on to me. Ken Finch😊

[Brian Fretwell]

Ah Dufaycolour - the B&W reversal (or negative) film with a transparent colour grid printed on the base to that it recorded colour a bit like the modern colour chips in video cameras. Good colour but low brightness and it showed the grid when blown up on screening. The basis for the later Polaroid cine film, I believe.

[Ken Finch]

Yes, quite right Brian. I have a DVD of a British film which was made in Dufaycolour but the prints were probably made using some other process. Just cannot remember the title of at the moment! Ken Finch😘

[Rik Jackman]

What a hidden gem in Harwich - thanks for sharing

[Paul Adsett]

Dufaycolour - the B&W reversal (or negative) film with a transparent colour grid printed on the base to that it recorded colour a bit like the modern colour chips in video cameras. Good colour but low brightness and it showed the grid when blown up on screening. The basis for the later Polaroid cine film, I believe.

Exactly right, and the reason that Polavision could only be shown on the special 12 ins back=projection player, which needed 3 halogen bulbs to get a viewable picture! A total disaster, and you would think that Polavision would have realized from the start that their system was doomed if the film could not be shown in any conventional movie projector.