The ghost eyes in the cinema
We all know how much beautiful eyes are valued in the cinema and how blue eyes are more sought after in front of a camera. But surely you did not know that in the early days of cinema, when movies were still silent and in black and white, having eyes of this colour was a huge inconvenience.
The explanation is for a technical reason: at that time the type of film used was orthochromatic. This film is highly sensitive to the colour blue and covers a more limited spectrum of light. Consequently, a person with very clear blue eyes appeared in the film with practically white eyes, giving him a rather haunting, almost ghostly appearance.
Many actors and comedians like Stan Laurel were unable to begin their careers until the panchromatic film began to be used.
Geraldine Farrar was a famous opera singer and a well-known star. Her presence in the cast of any film would be an incentive for the viewers of the time. The only problem with this actress was her blue eyes, but a star like her couldn't be ruled out for that reason.
The solution for her to work on the movies was very ingenious. When the director was filming her close-ups, sent an assistant to stand next to the camera, in front of the actress, holding a large piece of black cloth. When the actress looked at the fabric, her pupils dilated and the camera successfully captured her eyes.
Luckily, the cinema developed very quickly, now all this remains as a very distant curiosity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
El Testamento del Dr. Caligari. 2021. Linger on your pale blue eyes: la problemática de tener ojos azules en la era muda.Nitrateville.com. 2021.
Stars Hurt By the Switch From Orthochromatic to Panchromatic - NitrateVille.comThe Film Photography Project. 2021.
What is Panchromatic and Orthochromatic Film? - The Film Photography Project.
Comments
Post a Comment