Color in Silent Film

1. Why do you think modern day people perceive early film as ONLY black and white? What do you think has led to this perception? How do you think color was perceived by audiences back in the dawn of cinema?

Color in cinema was largely disregarded in the process of preservation because many believed this aspect to be an "add-on." This is especially the case for tinted and toned films, because they were relatively easier to produce compared to stencil and hand-colored films. In addition to lack of motivation to preserve the colors, colors themselves were hard to preserve due the film's poor shelf-lives. Thus, as a result of fading, attempting to preserve color films were ineffective. Ultimately, many assume that the majority of silent films are monochromatic. Back in the dawn of cinema, the bright colors incorporated into the silent films grabbed the audience's attention. The colors made the films seem to be magical, enhancing the film's tone in most cases.