These color tests from the production of Army of Shadows, taken by cinematographer Pierre Lhomme, were used during the 2006 restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s long-neglected masterpiece.
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7 Comments
Tue 25 Nov at 01:29 AM
Anonymous
Actors holding graycards? Wow.
Tue 25 Nov at 10:42 AM
Josh
I’ve never seen or ever heard of color coded place cards being used…pretty fascinating. But anything that would help in the restoration of a masterpiece.
Tue 25 Nov at 12:53 PM
Daniel
Definitely an ode to the Melville-ian color palette!
Tue 25 Nov at 04:53 PM
I don’t think they are place cards (?). I believe they are grey cards, which are sent to the lab for the timer to adjust the levels when printing the positive from the negative.
Tue 25 Nov at 04:55 PM
Jeb Adams
That’s some forward thinking there. Were they done before every shot? What about after if it was a tracking shot with lighting changes? Do more modern cameras capture this information automatically (akin to RAW info)?
Wed 26 Nov at 08:46 AM
Keith Wyrick
Any time you’re shooting on film, you shoot a gray card at each lighting setup. They provide a reference point for the lab to develop the film’s colors properly. Usually, though, it’s a member of the camera team holding the card, not the actors.
Wed 26 Nov at 12:36 PM
Peter Ibbetson
If you watch the movie you may understand the meaning of the graycards. The color is one the stars of Army of Shadows.
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