American Cinematographer - August 1984 - 82

- rather
than any attempt to
establish and pursue scientific norms of
color fidelity.

cess

Today's excellent film emul¬
sions are perfectly adequate for record¬
ing the full range of colors underwater.
Kodak color control patches can be re¬
produced just as faithfully through 40
feet or more of sea water as anywhere
else. The

reason

the real colors aren't

being recorded is that existing exposure
controls, light sensing devices and
published in-water color correction data
contain inaccuracies which do
with the spectral imbalances
fluctuations encountered in the

color reveals the

complete visible

spectrum of colors in the sea while

filming with ambient daylight. It records
lovely pastels that
dominate a healthy tropical coral reef.
Films shot in Aquacolor show appealing

the rich colors and

suntanned divers instead of green¬
skinned humanoids.

Members of the film industry
have remarked that Aquacolor® is to

existing underwater films what Tech¬

not cope

nicolor® was to the era of black and
white films. Clay Kelty, president of
Continental Film Laboratories of Florida,

and light

told

sea.

Un¬

derwater

camera equipment has not
provided with precision devices to
deal with the dynamic exposure and
color balance problems.
So, for the most part, film¬
makers have capitalized on the usual
blue/green film results and used this
cyan sea for sinister settings. This is

been

valid. But there is much more to show
in the underwater world than this lim¬
ited perspective. A wealth of new script

opportunities become available when
cameras can record the colorful reality.
Earth is a water planet. To
enlarge appreciation of the role of the
sea, Larry Westhaver and the author
have been working together to develop
Aquacolor camera systems. The compo¬
nents of the Aquacolor system are mul¬
tiple composite optical filters with selec¬
tion devices, and a patented automatic
aperture control with a specialized
metering system to maintain precise ex¬
posure through filters in water. Aqua¬

"there is no comparison" be¬
Aquacolor and any underwater
footage he's ever seen. He says Aqua¬
color is "a whole new ball game" for
underwater cinematography. Dr. Walton
Smith, Dean Emeritus of the University
of Miami's Marine Institute, calls Aqua¬
color "the most important breakthrough
in underwater photography in the last
30 years."
us

tween

At the 125th Technical Con¬
ference of the SMPTE in November,

1983, members saw a 20 minute pre¬
sentation reel from Aquacolor Pictures
that revealed four significant advances
for underwater color filmmaking: (1) In¬

comparable color saturation, with color
charts, gray scales and skin tones re¬
produced through at least 40 feet of sea
water almost as naturally and vividly as
if they were filmed through air (2) New
dimensions in precise exposure - automatically (3) Optimum de¬
tail and color in turbid water, (4) Less
time and expense required on location
and in the lab.
The presentation was so well
received that Eastman Kodak Company
ordered copies of the film to make avail¬
able to local SMPTE sections all over

the United States. One

print went to the
engineers in Rochester so they could
see an example of optimum use of their
film emulsion. The film has since
Silver Screen Award at the U.S.
Industrial Film Festival and a Golden

new

won a

Eagle from the Council

on

International

Nontheatrical Events.
The techniques of above¬
water photography are not adequate to
the task of recording the underwater
scene within the tolerances adhered to

in

cinematography through air. Analyz¬
ing the intensity and color content of
light through air is quite simple by com¬
parison. Above water, light is relatively

American

Cinematographer

August/September 1984
American Cinematographer - August 1984

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