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Technicolor history
Technicolor company history timeline
Kalmus developed an interest in creating a viable natural color motion picture process after taking on a commission to produce a "flicker-free" movie system, and Technicolor Corporation was founded in 1915.
A frame blowup from The Gulf Between, the first two color Technicolor production, photographed in Florida in 1917.
Early on they struggled with color fading and discoloration, but eventually found a way to fix these issues and were able to produce their first film using this method – The Gulf Between (1917).
Technically speaking, the first movie in color, Cupid Angling, came out in 1918.
of the transition to sound many producers also started to shoot in color at the end of the 1920s.
It was the brainchild of Herbert T. Kalmus, who founded Eastman Kodak’s Research Laboratories in 1920.
The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a division of Technicolor) began producing films using this process in 1922.
Technicolor was one of the first companies to commercialize color film technology when they introduced their process in 1922.
United StatesP. 1,596,641 (Weaver, Eastman A., Gallison, Ernest A.; filed July 21, 1923; granted Aug.
United StatesP. 1,613,300 (Troland, Leonard T.; filed April 25, 1925; granted Jan.
E.P. 264,369 (Ball, Joseph Arthur/Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation; filed April 12, 1926; granted Jan.
Troland, Leonard T. (1927): Some Psychological Aspects of Natural Color Motion Pictures.
1927)12 Love At First Flight (Eddie Cline, Jan.
United StatesP. 1,821,680 (Troland, Leonard Thompson; filed June 15, 1929; granted Sept.
Redskin (USA 1929, Victor Schertzinger): Anonymous (1929): Watch Photoplay’s New Sound Reviews for the Latest Talkie Developments.
E.P. 353,962 (Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation; filed May 9, 1930; granted Aug.
Technicolor ad in Photoplay, 1930.
By the early 1930’s, Technicolor developed a brand-new camera, which utilized a three-color system (otherwise known as three strip Technicolor) rather than a two-color system.
Invented in 1932, the Technicolor camera recorded on three separate negatives--red, blue and green--which were then combined to develop a full-color positive print.
The Technicolor process, perfected in 1932, originally used a beam-splitting optical cube, in combination with the camera lens, to expose three black-and-white films.
Beilage Kinotechnische Rundschau, 90, 15.4.1933. (in German) View Quote
The company continued producing films until 1935 when they filed bankruptcy due to financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression.
The first Technicolor film shot entirely in Technicolor’s three color process was Becky Sharp in 1935.
Mees, C. E. Kenneth (1937): The Development of the Art and Science of Photography in the Twentieth Century.
4 Kalmus, Herbert T. (1938): Technicolor Adventures in Cinemaland.
In 1938, Technicolor created a new color process known as Trucolor for use on low-budget movies with black & white sequences or those filmed in two-color processes such as Cinecolor or Kodacolor.
In 1942 Theo, an exile from Nazi Germany, tries to convince his doddering old British friend that the honourable methods of warfare they learned as young men have given way to a new form of barbarism.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, British romantic drama, released in 1943, that is famous for its lush Technicolor cinematography.
A shortened version of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp was finally shown in American theatres in 1945.
In 1948, Technicolor-London utilized a large number of dual film bi-pack cameras to document the Olympic games in two colors.
In 1972, for example, its research and development department invented the videodisc system but overlooked its vast commercial potential in the home-video market, selling it instead only as an audio-visual tool in military training.
10 Neale, Steve (1985): The Beginnings of Technicolor.
In 1989 GE agreed to combine its European business interests in appliances, medical systems, electrical distribution, and power systems with the formerly unrelated British corporation General Electric Company.…
Following the trend toward reprivatization in France, Thomson became a publicly traded firm in 1999.
Following privatization, Thomson-CSF went through a series of transactions, including with Marconi plc, before becoming Thales in 2000.
In 2000, Thomson Multimedia purchased Technicolor from Carlton Television (owned by Carlton Communications) in the UK and began a move into the broadcast management, facilities and services market with the purchase of Corinthian Television, becoming Thomson Multimedia.
In September 2005, Thomson first showed its Infinity camcorder.
In 2005, Thomson bought Cirpack and Inventel.
Also in 2005, Thomson marketing executive Nicholas de Wolff developed a plan for the creation of interactive Innovation centers, where early research projects could be demonstrated to industry leaders and clients in a close-up format, allowing for more strategic advanced product development.
In February 2007, Thomson Multimedia's Technicolor Content Services division announced that it had invested in Indian animation studio Paprikaas to expand its entertainment services capabilities.
In October 2007, Thomson SA agreed to sell its consumer electronics audio video business outside Europe including the worldwide rights to the RCA brand.
On January 29, 2009, Thomson announced its intention to sell the PRN and Grass Valley businesses to focus on services business and improve its financial position.
28 Kitsopanidou, Kira (2009): “Glorious Technicolor”. La stratégie d’innovation de la couleur de Technicolor dans l’industrie cinématographique Américaine.
In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy protection.
In 2010 the company changed its name to Technicolor.
In early 2010, Thomson sold the television brand RCA to ON Corporation.
The development of the project started in fall 2011 with stage 1.
Sponsors, supporters, patrons of the crowdfunding campaign April 23 to July 21, 2012, $11,175 raised
On June 20, 2012, Vector Capital won a competitive bid for a minority stake in Technicolor, beating JP Morgan with a surprise, last-minute bid.
On July 3, 2012, the Technicolor broadcast services division was acquired by Ericsson.
In 2013 the University of Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded additional funding for the elaboration of this web resource.
On June 10, 2014, Technicolor announced the acquisition of the Canadian VFX studio Mr.
News and Blog×News and BlogIn June 2015, the European Research Council awarded the prestigious Advanced Grant to Barbara Flueckiger for her new research project FilmColors.
Since 2016, the team of the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors has been collecting and adding written sources and photographs.
Pierotti, Federico (2016): Un’archeologia del colore nel cinema italiano.
All the members of the two research projects on film colors, both led by Barbara Flueckiger, have been capturing photographs of historical film prints since 2017.
Flueckiger, Barbara (2018): Torn between Chromophobia and Colour Mania.
In June 2020, Technicolor filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the Technicolor post-production brand was sold to LA-based Streamland Media.
In January 2022 The Mill united with MPC Advertising to create one global studio network under The Mill brand.
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| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | 2002 | $16.0M | 200 | 12 |
| Radial | 1999 | $1.1B | 7,000 | 28 |
| Broadcom | 1991 | $8.4B | 15,000 | 568 |
| Ingram Micro | 1979 | $43.0B | 35,000 | 184 |
| Versant | 1988 | $253.0M | 50 | - |
| Discover Books | 2004 | $13.0M | 375 | - |
| INSULECTRO | - | $37.0M | 100 | 4 |
| Tintri | 2008 | $125.9M | 236 | 1 |
| Tompkins Industries, Inc. | - | $28.0M | - | - |
| Kimco Staffing Services Inc | 1986 | $250.0M | 4,000 | 1 |
Technicolor history FAQs
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Technicolor may also be known as or be related to TECHNICOLOR USA INC, Technicolor, Technicolor Inc and Thomson SARL (1893–1914) Thomson Multimedia (1914–2010).