Film colorization (American English; orcolourisation [British English], orcolourization [Canadian English andOxford English]) is any process that adds color toblack-and-white,sepia, or other monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, to "modernize" black-and-white films, or to restore color segregation. The first examples date from the early 20th century, but colorization has become common with the advent ofdigital image processing.

The first film colorization methods were hand-done by individuals. For example, at least 4% ofGeorge Méliès' output, including some prints ofA Trip to the Moon from 1902 and other major films such asThe Kingdom of the Fairies,The Impossible Voyage, andThe Barber of Seville were individually hand-colored byElisabeth Thuillier's coloring lab in Paris.^[1] Thuillier, a former colorist of glass and celluloid products, directed a studio of 200 people painting directly on film stock with brushes, in the colors she chose and specified; each worker was assigned a different color inassembly line style, with more than 20 separate colors often used for a single film. Thuillier's lab produced about 60 hand-colored copies ofA Trip to the Moon, but only one copy is known to still exist today.^[2] The first full-length feature film made by a hand-colored process wasThe Miracle, in 1912.

The process was always done by hand, sometimes using astencil cut from a second print of the film, such as thePathécolor process. As late as the 1920s, hand-coloring processes were used for individual shots inGreed (1924) andThe Phantom of the Opera (1925) (both utilizing theHandschiegl color process); and rarely, an entire feature-length movie such asCyrano de Bergerac (1925) andThe Last Days of Pompeii (1926).

These colorization methods were employed until effectivecolor film processes were developed. Around 1968-1972, black-and-whiteBetty Boop,Krazy Kat andLooney Tunes cartoons and among others were redistributed in color. Supervised byFred Ladd, color was added by tracing the original black-and-white frames onto new animationcels, and then adding color to the new cels inSouth Korea. To cut time and expense, Ladd's process skipped every other frame, cutting the frame rate in half; this technique considerably degraded the quality and timing of the original animation, to the extent that some animation was not carried over or mistakenly altered. The most recent redrawn colorized black-and-white cartoons are theFleischer Studios/Famous Studios'Popeye cartoons, theHarman-IsingMerrie Melodies, andMGM'sThe Captain and the Kids cartoons, which were colorized in 1987 for airing on theTurner networks.^[3] With computer technology, studios were able to add color to black-and-white films by digitally tinting single objects in each frame of the film until it was fully colorized (the first authorized computer-colorizations of B&W cartoons were commissioned byWarner Bros. in 1990). The initial process was invented by CanadianWilson Markle and was first used in 1970 to add color to monochrome footage of the moon from theApollo program missions.^{[citation needed]}

Computerized colorization began in the 1970s using the technique invented by Wilson Markle. These early attempts at colorization have soft contrast and fairly pale, flat, washed-out color; however, the technology has improved steadily since the 1980s.

To perform digital colorization, a digitized copy of the bestblack and white film print available is used. With the aid of computer software, technicians associate a range of gray levels to each object and indicate to the computer any movement of the objects within a shot. The software is also capable of sensing variations in the light level from frame-to-frame and correcting it if necessary. The technician selects a color for each object based on common "memory" colors—such as blue sky, white clouds, flesh tones, and green grass—and on any information about colors used in the movie. If color publicity stills or props are available to examine, authentic colors may be applied. In the absence of any better information, technicians may choose colors that fit the gray level and are consistent with what a director might have wanted for the scene. The software associates a variation of the basic color with each gray level in the object, while keeping intensity levels the same as in the monochrome original. The software then follows each object from frame to frame, applying the same color until the object leaves the frame. As new objects come into the frame, the technician must associate colors to each new object in the same way as described above.^[4] This technique was patented in 1991.^[5]

In order to colorize a still image, an artist typically begins by dividing the image into regions, and then assigning a color to each region. This approach, also known as thesegmentation method, is laborious and time-consuming, especially in the absence of fully automaticalgorithms to identify fuzzy or complex region boundaries, such as those between a subject's hair and face. Colorization of moving images also requiresmotion compensation, tracking regions as movement occurs from one frame to the next.

Several companies claim to have produced automatic region-tracking algorithms:

• Legend Films describes their core technology as pattern recognition and background compositing that moves and morphs foreground and background masks from frame to frame. In the process, backgrounds are colorized separately in a single composite frame which functions as a visual database of a cut, and includes all offset data on each camera movement. Once the foreground areas are colorized, background masks are applied frame-to-frame.
• Timebrush describes a process based onneural net technology that produces saturated and crisp colors with clear lines and no apparent spill-over. The process is cost effective because it relies on computers rather than human effort, and is equally suitable for low-budget colorization and broadcast-quality or theatrical projection.
• A team at theHebrew University of Jerusalem's Benin School of Computer Science and Engineering describe their method as an interactive process that does not require precise manual region detection, nor accurate tracking; it is based on the premise that adjacent pixels in space and time that have similar gray levels should also have similar colors.
• At theUniversity of Minnesota, a color propagation method was developed that usesgeodesic distance.^[6]
• A highly labor-intensive process employed by the UK-based film and video colorization artistStuart Humphryes, in conjunction with video restoration company SVS Resources, was employed by theBBC in 2013 for the commercial release of twoDoctor Who serials: the first episode ofThe Mind of Evil and newly discovered black and white footage in the director's cut ofTerror of the Zygons. For these projects, approximately 7,000 key-frames (approximately every 5thPAL video frame) were fully colorized by hand, without the use of masks, layers, or thesegmentation method. These were then utilized by SVS Resources to interpolate the color across the intervening surrounding frames using a part computerized/part manual process.^[7]

The earliest form of colorization introduced limited color into a black-and-white film using dyes, as a visual effect. The earliest Edison films, most notably theAnnabelle Serpentine Dance series, were also the earliest examples of colorization, done by paintinganiline dyes onto the emulsion.

Around 1905,Pathé introducedPathéchrome, a stencil process that required cutting one or more stencils for each film frame with the aid of a reducingpantograph.

In 1916, theHandschiegl Color Process was invented forCecil B. DeMille's filmJoan the Woman (1917). Another early example of the Handschiegl process can be found inPhantom of the Opera (1925), in whichLon Chaney's character can be seen wearing a bright-red cape while the rest of the scene remained monochrome. The scene was toned sepia, and then the cape was painted red, either by stencil or by matrix. Then, a sulfur solution was applied to everything but the dyed parts, turning the sepia into blue tone. The process was named after its inventor, Max Handschiegl. This effect, as well as a missing color sequence, were recreated in 1996 for aPhotoplay Productions restoration by computer colorization (see below).

Partial colorization has also been utilized on footage shot in color to enhance commercials and broadcast television to further facilitate the director's artistic vision. As an example,Cerulean Fx provided partial colorization forDave Matthews Band's music videoThe Space Between as well asOutkast's music videosBombs Over Baghdad andRoses.

A number of British television shows which were made in color in the early 1970s werewiped for economic reasons, but in some cases black-and-whitetelerecordings were made for export to countries that did not yet havecolor television. An example is theBBC's five-partDoctor Who storyThe Dæmons. Only one episode survived in color; the rest existed only as black-and-white film recordings. The only known color recording was a poor-quality over-the-air recording of an abridged broadcast in the United States. In the 1990s, the BBC colorized the black-and-white copies by adding the color signal from the over-the-air recordings. The result was judged a success by both technicians and fans. In March 2008, it was announced^[8] that new technology, which involves detecting color artifacts ("dot crawl") in high-resolution scans of black-and-white films, will be used to restore otherDoctor Who episodes as well as shows likeSteptoe and Son where some episodes originally produced in color only exist in black-and-white. However, there are no plans to use colorization on BBC programmes originallyproduced in black-and-white, such as the 1960sDoctor Who episodes, since they have no color information available and so cannot be recovered using these methods.^[9]

Colorization is also sometimes used on historicalstock footage in color movies. For instance, the filmThirteen Days (2000) uses colorized news footage from the time of theCuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

The full-color feature filmSky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), which already made heavy use of digitally generated sets and objects, integrated black-and-white 1940s footage of SirLaurence Olivier into scenes by colorizing him.

In his feature filmThe Aviator (2005), Martin Scorsese seamlessly blended colorized stock footage of theHell's Angels movie premiere with footage of the premiere's reenactment. The colorization by Legend Films was designed to look like normal three-strip film but was then color corrected to match the two-strip look of the premiere's reenactment. Also inThe Aviator, Scorsese used colorized footage ofJane Russell from the original black-and-white film,The Outlaw and dog fight scenes fromHell's Angels.

In 1983,Hal Roach Studios became one of the first studios to venture into the business of computerized film colorization. Buying a 50 percent interest inWilson Markle's Colorization, Inc., it began creating digitally colored versions of some of its films. Roach'sTopper (1937), followed byWay Out West (1937), became the first black-and-white films to be redistributed in color using the digital colorization process,^{[10][11][12][13]} leading to controversy. Defenders of the process noted that it would allow black-and-white films to have new audiences of people who were not used to the format. Detractors complained (among other reasons) that the process was crude and claimed that, even if it were refined, it would not take into accountlighting compositions chosen for black-and-whitephotography which would not necessarily be as effective in color.^[14] Figures opposed to the process includedRoger Ebert,James Stewart,John Huston,George Lucas, andWoody Allen.^[10]

Cary Grant was reportedly "very gung-ho with the outcome" of the colorization ofTopper.^[10] DirectorFrank Capra met with Wilson Markle about colorizing the perennial Christmas classicIt's a Wonderful Life,Meet John Doe andLady for a Day based on Grant's enthusiasm.^[10] Colorization, Inc.'s art director Brian Holmes screened ten minutes of colorized footage fromIt's a Wonderful Life to Capra, which led Capra to sign a contract with Colorization, Inc.^[10] However, the film was believed to be in thepublic domain at the time, and, as a result, Markle and Holmes responded by returning Capra's initial investment, eliminating his financial participation, and refusing outright to allow the director to exercise artistic control over the colorization of his films, leading Capra to join in the campaign against the process.^[10][15]

On a December 27, 1989 episode ofThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson actor Jimmy Stewart criticized efforts to colorize old black-and-white films, includingIt's a Wonderful Life.

In 1986, film criticsGene Siskel andRoger Ebert did a special episode ofSiskel & Ebert addressing colorization as "Hollywood's New Vandalism". Siskel explained how networks were unable to show classic black-and-white films in prime-time unless they offer it in color. "They arrest people who spray subway cars, they lock up people who attack paintings and sculptures in museums, and adding color to black and white films, even if it's only to the tape shown on TV or sold in stores, is vandalism nonetheless." Roger Ebert added, "What was so wrong about black and white movies in the first place? By filming in black and white, movies can sometimes be more dreamlike and elegant and stylized and mysterious. They can add a whole additional dimension to reality, while color sometimes just supplies additional unnecessary information."^[16]

Media mogulTed Turner was once an aggressive proponent of this process, by employing the San Diego firm American Film Technologies.^[17] When he told members of the press in July 1988 that he was considering colorizingCitizen Kane,^[18] Turner's comments led to an immediate public outcry.^[19] In January 1989 theAssociated Press reported that two companies were producing color tests ofCitizen Kane forTurner Entertainment. Criticism increased with the AP's report that filmmakerHenry Jaglom remembered that, shortly before his death,Orson Welles had implored him to protectKane from being colorized.^[20]

On February 14, 1989, Turner Entertainment presidentRoger Mayer announced that work to colorizeCitizen Kane had been stopped:

Our attorneys looked at the contract betweenRKO Pictures Inc. and Orson Welles and his production company,Mercury Productions Inc., and, on the basis of their review, we have decided not to proceed with colorization of the movie. ... While a court test might uphold our legal right to colorize the film, provisions of the contract could be read to prohibit colorization without permission of the Welles estate.^[21]

One minute of the colorized test footage ofCitizen Kane was included in a specialArena documentary,The Complete Citizen Kane, produced by theBBC in 1991.^[22][23]

John Huston's opposition to the colorization of his work led to a landmark three-year French legal case after his death, sparked by a colorized version ofThe Asphalt Jungle. His daughterAnjelica Huston successfully usedFrench copyright law to set a binding precedent in 1991 that prevents the distribution or broadcasting in France of any colorized version of a film against the wishes of the original creator or their heirs.^[24] Major legislative reaction in the United States was theNational Film Preservation Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-446), which prohibits any person from knowingly distributing or exhibiting to the public a film that has been materially altered, or a black and white film that has been colorized and is included in the Registry, unless such films are labeled disclosing specified information. This law also created theNational Film Registry.

Because of the high cost of the process, Turner Entertainment stopped colorizing titles. With the coming ofDVD technology, the notion of colorization was once again gaining press. Because the DVD format was more versatile, studios could offer viewers the option to choose between both versions without switching discs, and thus, the release of colorized titles once again seemed profitable. Some companies rereleased the older colorized versions from the 1980s—an example of this is theLaurel and Hardy box set being released in the UK.^[25]

Other studios, such asSony Entertainment, commissioned West Wing Studios to colorize severalThree Stooges films for DVD release. The studio was given access to the originalColumbia Studios props and sets to lend authenticity to the colorized versions.^[26]

Both film and television restoration and colorization is produced by the companyLegend Films. Their patented automated process was used to colorize around 100 films between 2003 and 2009.Shirley Temple,Jane Russell,Terry Moore, andRay Harryhausen have worked with the company to colorize either their own films or their personal favorites. Two movies that Legend Films are noted for is the colorization of theexploitation filmReefer Madness, for which certain color schemes were used to create a psychedelic effect in its viewers, andPlan 9 from Outer Space. Recently (2007), Legend Films colorizedIt's a Wonderful Life forParamount Pictures (whose subsidiary,Republic Pictures, had regained control of the copyright in the 1990s) andHoliday Inn in 2008 for rights holderUniversal Pictures.

In 2004, a classic Indian film,Mughal-e-Azam, was colored for theatrical release all over the world by the Indian Academy of Arts and Animation (IAAA) in association with Sankranti Creations. Since 2013, Livepixel Technologies, founded by Rajeev Dwivedi has been the sole player in film colorization business and almost completed more than 100 titles related with World War.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005,Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season ofBewitched on DVD. Because the first season was produced in black-and-white, Sony released two versions of the set: one with the episodes as originally broadcast and a second with the episodes colorized. A year later, the second season ofBewitched and the first season ofI Dream of Jeannie, another show owned by Sony, were released the same way. These releases were colorized by Dynacs Digital Studios, a Florida-based company with film colorization and animation studios in Patna, India.^{[citation needed]}

CBS hascolorized a number of episodes ofI Love Lucy,The Andy Griffith Show andThe Dick Van Dyke Show in the 2010s, which are timed to air on Friday nights in holiday periods.

Colorization has also been used to restore scenes from color films that were cut from the finished product but were preserved in black-and-white. In 2018, the originally intended closing scene to the 1978 filmGrease (in which the lead characters kiss) was added to the film's 40th anniversary release. A challenge that still plagues colorization efforts is the fact that the colorized black-and-white film may not match film shot originally in color;Randal Kleiser, the director ofGrease, wanted to edit the scene back into the film but found the colors between the scenes did not match well enough to do so. Kleiser is optimistic that colorization technology will be advanced enough to match true color by 2028, whenGrease reaches its 50th anniversary.^[27]

Colorization is sometimes used ondocumentary programmes.The Beatles Anthology TV show colorizes some footage of the band, such as the performance of "All You Need Is Love" from the TV specialOur World (1967). In the documentary, this scene begins in its original black-and-white beforedissolving into seemingly realistic,psychedelic color.^[28] The color design was based on color photographs taken at the same time as the special was shot. More Beatle footage was colorized for the 2016 documentaryThe Beatles: Eight Days a Week, such as a performance of "Help!"^[29]

The documentary seriesWorld War 1 in Colour (2003) was broadcast on television and released on DVD in 2005. There had previously been full-color documentaries about World War II using genuine color footage, but since true color film was not practical for moving pictures at the time of World War I, the series consists of colorized contemporary footage (and photographs).^[30][31] Several documentaries on theMilitary Channel feature colorized war footage from the Second World War and theKorean War.^{[citation needed]}

The 1960Masters Tournament, originally broadcast in black-and-white and recorded onkinescope, was colorized by Legend Films for the documentaryJim Nantz Remembers. This was the first time a major sports event had been rebroadcast using colorization.^[32]

InPeter Jackson's well-received 2018 documentary,They Shall Not Grow Old, black and white footage fromFirst World War trenches was colorized.^[33]

The Greatest Game Ever Played, the 1958NFL Championship between theBaltimore Colts and theNew York Giants, was colorized by Legend Films forESPN for a sports broadcast special in December 2008.^{[citation needed]}

• National Film Preservation Act
• TNT (TV channel)
• Turner Classic Movies / History
• 2D to 3D conversion—many of the issues involved in colorization, such as object edge identification/recognition, are also encountered in 3-D conversion
• Color recovery of black and white copies that still have color information in them from color recordings

• Anthony Slide,Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States (pg 9, August 1, 2000),ISBN 0-7864-0836-7

• Hand coloring on Timeline of Historical Film Colors with many written resources and many photographs of hand colored prints.
• Tom Marshall - Photo Colouriser with many examples of digitally colourised photos.
• Gene Siskel andRoger Ebert on colorization of black-and-white films, four parts:
  • Siskel & Ebert & The Movies-Colorization, Hollywood's New Vandalism (1of4)
  • Siskel & Ebert & The Movies-Colorization, Hollywood's New Vandalism (2of4)
  • Siskel & Ebert & The Movies-Colorization, Hollywood's New Vandalism (3of4)
  • Siskel & Ebert & The Movies-Colorization, Hollywood's New Vandalism (4of4)