Footage of world's first colour film presented

They may be a little low-res for today’s film aficionados used to 3-D technology and HDTV but these images show the pioneering work that paved the way for modern cinematography.

The footage is the work of Edward Turner and was filmed in about 1901, long before television went global.

Turner filmed through red, green and blue filters and superimposed the frames on top of each other but many experts deemed his technique a failure.

However, as the stills of London traffic, of his children and of a macaw show, it was far from it.
The inventor patented his idea in 1899 with his financial backer Frederick Lee but died four years later aged 29 before he could take full advantage of it.

The footage was discovered at the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire and converted into digital files by the BFI National Archive.

Curator of cinematography Michael Harvey said: ‘We sat in the editing suite as full-colour shots made 110 years ago came to life on the screen. ‘I realised we had a significant find on our hands. We had proved that the Lee and Turner process worked.’


/metro.co.uk/