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List of color film systems

Overview

This is a list of color film processes
Color film (motion picture)
Color motion picture film refers to motion pictures in color. The first motion pictures were made with silver halide-based photographic emulsion on a clear base...

known to have been developed for shooting or viewing color motion pictures since the development of such photographic technology towards the end of the 19th century.

Process: The name of the process as advertised by the company (alternate names in the "notes" section
Year: Earliest known year of completion (based on patents, general announcements, film premieres).
Projection method: falls into four, distinct categories, as well as how many primary colors were represented in the process:
Additive: Projected as black and white records on film through filters, thus recomposing color on the screen.
Subtractive: Color is printed on the film and projected as such.
Lenticular (additive): Color which is registered on a specialized film through thousands of minute "lenses" embedded into the base, opposite the emulsion.

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Process: The name of the process as advertised by the company (alternate names in the "notes" section
Year: Earliest known year of completion (based on patents, general announcements, film premieres).
Projection method: falls into four, distinct categories, as well as how many primary colors were represented in the process:
Additive: Projected as black and white records on film through filters, thus recomposing color on the screen.
Subtractive: Color is printed on the film and projected as such.
Lenticular (additive): Color which is registered on a specialized film through thousands of minute "lenses" embedded into the base, opposite the emulsion. Film was shot and projected through a tri-color banded filter.
Mosaic (additive): An embossed screen is used to separate colors into "fields" on a black and white film stock. While either added directly on the film or on a lens, the projection is additive through a screen of the same embossment.
Inventor: or inventors of the process.
Introductory film: the first known public showing of the color process.

Process	Year	Projection method	Inventor(s)	Introductory film
Joly Color Screen Joly Color Screen The Joly Color process is an early additive color photography process devised by Dublin physicist John Joly in 1894.-Description:Based on a method proposed in 1869 by Louis Ducos du Hauron in Les Couleurs en Photographie - Solution du Probleme, the Joly Color process used a glass photographic plate...	1895	Mosaic	Sir John Joly	N/A (Experimental)
Utocolor Utocolor Utocolor was a color photography system, particularly designed for motion picture color, invented by Dr. J.H. Smith in 1895. It was a three-color subtractive transfer process using the bleach-out/dye destruction method for making a color print by printing from a color transparency. It depends...	1895	Subtractive (3 color)	Dr. J.H. Smith	N/A (Experimental)
Lee-Turner Color	1898	Additive (3 color)	Frederick Marshall Lee Raymond Turner	N/A (Experimental)
Kromoscope	1900	Additive (3 color)	Frederick E. Ives	Unknown
Kinemacolor Kinemacolor Kinemacolor was the first successful colour motion picture process, used commercially from 1908 to 1914. It was invented by George Albert Smith of Brighton, England in 1906, and launched by Charles Urban's Urban Trading Co. of London in 1908. From 1909 on, the process was known as Kinemacolor...	1906	Additive (2 color)	Edward R. Turner George Albert Smith George Albert Smith (inventor) George Albert Smith was an inventor, a stage hypnotist, psychic, astronomer and magic lantern lecturer and one of the pioneers of British cinema....	A Visit to the Seaside A Visit to the Seaside A Visit to the Seaside was the first successful film in natural color and the film was filmed with Kinemacolor. It is an 8 minute short film of Brighton that shows people doing activities. It was directed by George Albert Smith. It is ranked high historical importance.... (1908)
Warner-Powrie	1906	Mosaic	John Hutchison Powrie	Untitled film (1928)
Biocolour	1908	Additive (3 color)	William Friese-Greene William Friese-Greene William Friese-Greene was a portrait photographer and prolific inventor. He is principally known as a pioneer in the field of motion pictures and is credited by some as the inventor of cinematography.-Career:William Edward Green was born on September 7, 1855, in Bristol...	The Earl of Camelot (1914)
Keller-Dorian	1908	Lenticular	Albert Keller-Dorian Franzosen Rodolphe Berthon	Unknown
Cinecolorgraph	1912	Subtractive (2 color)	A. Hernandez-Mejia	Unknown
Brewster Color	1913	Subtractive (2 color)	Percy Douglas Brewster	Unknown
Chronochrome aka: Gaumont Color	1913	Additive (3 color)	Leon Gaumont Léon Gaumont Léon Gaumont was a French inventor, engineer, and industrialist who was a pioneer of the motion picture industry....	Victory Parade in Paris (1919)
Prizma Prizma The Prizma Color system was a technique of color motion picture photography, invented in 1913 by William Van Doren Kelley and Charles Raleigh. Initially, it was a two-color additive color system, similar to its predecessor, Kinemacolor... (I)	1913	Additive (2 color)	William van Doren Kelley	Our Navy (1917)
Cinechrome	1914	Additive (3 color)	Colin Bennett	Prince of Wales in India (1921)
Kodachrome Kodachrome Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009. Kodachrome was the first successfully mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive method, in contrast to earlier additive "screenplate" methods such as... (I)	1916	Subtractive (2 color)	John G. Capstaff Eastman-Kodak	Concerning $1,000
Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA. Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood... (I)	1916	Additive (2 color)	Daniel F. Comstock Herbert Kalmus Herbert Kalmus Herbert Thomas Kalmus was an American scientist and engineer who played a key role in developing color motion picture film. Kalmus was the co-founder and president of the The Technicolor Corporation.... W. Burton Wescott	The Gulf Between (1917)
Douglass Color	1918	Additive (2 color)	Leon Forrest Douglass	Nature Scenes (1918) and Cupid Angling Cupid Angling Cupid Angling is a 1918 silent film, filmed in color. It was produced by Leon F. Douglass's National Color Film Company in Marin County, California. It was made in the Douglass Natural Color process and was the only color film the company made. Douglass was also a partner in the founding of the... (1918)
Kesdacolor	1918	Subtractive (2 color)	William van Doren Kelley Carroll H. Dunning	American Flag (1918)
Prizma Prizma The Prizma Color system was a technique of color motion picture photography, invented in 1913 by William Van Doren Kelley and Charles Raleigh. Initially, it was a two-color additive color system, similar to its predecessor, Kinemacolor... (II)	1918	Subtractive (2 color)	William van Doren Kelley	The Glorious Adventure (1921)
Zoechrome	1920	Subtractive (3 color)	T.A. Mills	Unknown
ColorCraft	1921	Subtractive (2 color)	W.H. Peck	Unknown
Polychromide	1922	Additive (2 color)	Aron Hamburger	Unknown
Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA. Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood... (II)	1922	Subtractive (2 color)	Daniel F. Comstock Joseph A. Ball Leonard T. Troland Jarvis M. Andrews	The Toll of the Sea The Toll of the Sea The Toll of the Sea is a motion picture produced by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, and released by Metro Pictures in 1922, featuring Anna May Wong in her first leading role... (1922)
Kelleycolor	1926	Subtractive (2 color)	William van Doren Kelley Max Handschiegl	Unknown
Busch Color	1928	Additive (2 color)		Unknown
Harriscolor	1928	Subtractive (2 color)	William Van Doren Kelley	Unknown
Kodacolor	1928	Lenticular	Franzosen Rodolphe Berthon	N/A (16mm only)
Raycol	1928	Additive (2 color)	Maurice Elvey	The Skipper of the Osprey (1933)
Splendicolor	1928	Subtractive (3 color)		Unknown
Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA. Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood... (III)	1928	Subtractive (2 color)	Daniel F. Comstock	The Viking The Viking (1928 film) The Viking was the first feature-length Technicolor film in an improved process which used dye-imbibition to achieve a more vibrant color. It was the second color feature with a soundtrack , being released only a day after The Cavalier which had been the first color sound feature... (1928)
Finlay Color (I)	1929	Mosaic	Clare Finlay	Unknown
Horst Color	1929	Additive (3 color)	L. Horst	Unknown
Multicolor Multicolor Multicolor is a subtractive natural color process for motion pictures. Multicolor, introduced to the motion picture industry in 1929, was based on the earlier Prizma Color process, and was the forerunner of Cinecolor....	1929	Subtractive (2 color)	William T. Crespinel	Unknown
Cinechrome	1930	Unknown	Cinecolor Ltd.	Unknown
Cineoptichrome	1930	Additive (2 color)	Lucien Roux Armand Roux	Unknown
Dascolor	1930	Subtractive (2 color)	M. L. F. Dassonville	Unknown
Harmonicolor	1930	Additive (2 color)	Maurice Combs	Unknown
Hirlicolor	1930	Subtractive (2 color)	George A. Hirliman	Unknown
Photocolor	1930	Subtractive (2 color)		Unknown
Pilney Color	1930	Subtractive (2 color)		Unknown
Sennettcolor	1930	Subtractive (2 color)	Mack Sennett (financier)	Unknown
Sirius Color	1930	Subtractive (2 color)	L. Horst	Unknown
UFAcolor aka: Chemicolor, Spectracolor	1930	Unknown	UFA Studios	Pagliacci (1930)
Vitacolor	1930	Additive (2 color)	William Van Doren Kelley Max B. Du Pont (financier)	Unknown
Chimicolor	1931	Subtractive (3 color)	Syndicate de la Cinematographe des Couleurs	Unknown
Dufaycolor Dufaycolor Dufaycolor is an early French and British additive colour photographic film process for motion pictures and stills photography. It was based on a four-colour screen photographic process invented in 1908 by Frenchman Louis Dufay...	1931	Mosaic	Louis Dufay Dufay-Chromex Co.	Unknown
DuPack	1931	Subtractive (2 color)	DuPont Co.	Unknown
Finlay Color (II) aka: Finlaychrome	1931	Mosaic	Clare Finlay	Unknown
AGFAcolor Agfacolor Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany. It was originally introduced in 1932 as a 'screen plate' version, similar to the Autochrome process, but in late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor-Neu transparency film. This technique is based on the patent no. 253335... (I)	1932	Lenticular	AGFA	N/A (16mm only)
Cinecolor Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M... (I)	1932	Subtractive (2 color)	William T. Crispinel Alan M. Gundelfinger	Unknown Island (1948)
Technicolor Technicolor Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA. Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood... (IV)	1932	Subtractive (3 color)	Joseph A. Ball	Flowers and Trees Flowers and Trees Flowers and Trees is a 1932 Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by Burt Gillett, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 30, 1932... (1932)
Morgana Color	1932	Additive (2 color)	Bell and Howell Lady Juliet Williams	N/A (16mm only)
Gasparcolor Gasparcolor Gasparcolor was a colour film system, developed in 1933 by the Hungarian chemist Dr. Bela Gaspar. It used a subtractive 3-color process on a single film strip, one of the earliest to do so....	1933	Subtractive (3 color)	Bela Gaspar	Kreise (1933) and Muratti Greift Ein (1934)
Francita Process aka: Opticolor (UK)	1935	Additive (2 color)	British Realita Syndica, Ltd.	Unknown (July 1935, Paris, France)
Kodachrome Kodachrome Kodachrome is the trademarked brand name of a type of color reversal film that was manufactured by Eastman Kodak from 1935 to 2009. Kodachrome was the first successfully mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive method, in contrast to earlier additive "screenplate" methods such as... (II)	1935	Subtractive (3 color)	Eastman-Kodak	N/A (16mm only)
Telco-Color	1936	Subtractive (3 color)		Cavalcade of Texas (1938)
Unknown Soviet Process	1936	Subtractive (2 color)	Unknown	Nightingale (1936)
Dunningcolor	1937	Subtractive (3 color)	Carroll H. Dunning Dodge Dunning	Tehauntepec (1937)
AGFAColor (II) Agfacolor Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany. It was originally introduced in 1932 as a 'screen plate' version, similar to the Autochrome process, but in late 1936 Agfa introduced Agfacolor-Neu transparency film. This technique is based on the patent no. 253335... aka: Sovcolor, Chrome Color Art Chrome Color	1939	Subtractive (3 color)	I.G. Farben	Frauen sind doch bessere Diplomaten (1939-41)
Cosmocolor	1940	Subtractive (2 color)	Otto C. Gilmore	Isle of Destiny (1940)
Thomascolor	1942	Additive (3 color)	Richard Thomas	Unknown
Cinefotocolor	1947	Additive (2 color)		Unknown
Fullcolor	1947	Subtractive (3 color)		The Goldwyn Follies (1947 reissue)
Rouxcolor	1947	Additive (3 color)	Lucien Roux Armand Roux	The Miller's Daughter (1948)
Cinecolor Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M... (II) aka: SuperCineColor	1948	Subtractive (3 color)	Alan M. Gundelfinger	The Sword of Monte Cristo (1951)
Konicolor	1948	Subtractive (3 color)	Konishi Roku
Magicolor	1948	Subtractive (3 color)		The Magic Horse (1948)
Polacolor Polacolor Polacolor was a post-World War II motion picture color process developed by the Polaroid Corporation. It used a three-color dye coupler on a single photographic emulsion....	1948	Subtractive (3 color)	Polaroid Corp.	Unknown
Technichrome	1948	Subtractive (2 Color)	Technicolor Company of England	The Olympic Games of 1948
Trucolor Trucolor Trucolor was a process used and owned by Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. Trucolor was originally a two-strip process based on the earlier work of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma color process. It later became a three-color process.Republic used Trucolor mostly for its... (II)	1948	Subtractive (3 color)	Republic Pictures Consolidated Film Industries	This Is Korea! (1951)
Eastman Color	1950	Subtractive (3 color)	Eastman Kodak	Royal Journey (1952)
Ansco Color	1952	Subtractive (3 color)	General Aniline and Film Corp.	Climbing the Matterhorn (1948)
Dugromacolor	1952	Additive (3 color)	Dumas, Grosset, and Marx	Unknown
Ferraniacolor	1952	Subtractive (3 color)		Toto A Colori (1952)
Fox Lenticular Film	1953	Lenticular	Twentieth Century-Fox	N/A (experimental)
Fujicolor	1953	Subtractive (3 color)		Adventure of Natsuko (1953)