During the early part of the 20th century, color was an experiment that only cropped up from time to time as an artistic venture. Cost was prohibitive, since each frame had to be painted by hand (a task often performed by women). As a result, color was only used for special actions. For example, in "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), the puffs of smoke from gunshots were yellow, and the dresses of the women at a dance were tinted yellow and red.

Later, filmmakers began to experiment with an alternative, less-expensive method by tinting shot sequences with a single color gel placed over the camera lens. Then a more sophisticated two-color process that combined shades of red and green gained acceptance in the 1920s. Finally in the 1930s, the Technicolor Corporation introduced a three-color process, which really charted the way for color films.

It was also around this time that color was combined with sound for an entire motion picture. By then, of course, the frames were no longer painted by hand!

-This Know It All was provided by Dr. Sheri Bleam, a communications professor at Adrian College who teaches film history.