Polavision, Polachrome and Polapan
Encyclopedia
Polavision was an instant movie camera
system launched by Polaroid
in 1977.
Unlike other motion-picture film stock
of the time, Polavision generated color using an additive
process. It consisted of (essentially) a black-and-white film base and three-color filter layer. In this sense, it was somewhat similar to the much earlier Dufaycolor
process.
The Polavision cartridge was a small rectangular box with the film reels self-contained, along with a small lens and prism for projection at an open gate. Unless viewed in a Polavision viewer, the only way that developed films can be viewed was by destroying the cartridge and projecting in a super 8mm projector, a super 8mm telecine
system, or other transferring procedures. The film format was similar to the Super 8mm format.
The Polavision system was a major commercial failure, and was discontinued in 1979. However, the underlying technology was improved and used as the basis for the Polachrome instant color transparency system in 1985.
) and the resulting footage was much denser than with other processes. As a result, Polaroid designed a standalone table-top projector/viewer, which was intended to reduce the problems inherent in projecting such dense film. The viewer used a translucent screen, projecting the image from behind, but critics from publications like Consumer Reports
called the images "murky and dark." Despite this, the format was used by artists, including Charles Eames, Ray Eames, and Andy Warhol
.
One market niche Polaroid promoted was the field of industrial testing, where the camera would record, for example, the destruction of a pipe under pressure. This type of use was moderately price insensitive, with the ability to get the images quickly (thus reducing wasted crew time) a very positive selling feature.
In addition to the density problems, the process was late to market and had to compete with upcoming videocassette-based systems like Betamax
and VHS
. Unlike videotape, Polavision films, once developed, could not be reused nor played on a television, nor did it have sound. Polavision proved to be an expensive failure, and most of the manufactured equipment was sold off in 1979 as a job lot at a loss of $68.5 million. In the wake of those losses, Polaroid chairman and founder Edwin H. Land
resigned the chief executive position in 1980 and left the company two years later.
Former Polaroid freelancer Paul Giambarba
remarks
There were several types of film. Polachrome was an "instant" 35mm colour transparency film. It was descended from the Polavision system and used the same additive colour (filter) process. One difference was that with Polavision, the negative layer remained as part of the film after processing. It was intended to turn transparent after a short while, but the process was reportedly imperfect , reducing contrast. With Polachrome, the black negative layer was discarded after processing. Polapan was a monochrome instant slide film PolaPan is a portmanteau of Polaroid and Panchromatic and it was additionally used in connection with Polaroid picture roll print films Type 42 PolaPan 200 (200 ASA film speed) (also Type 32) and Type 44 PolaPan 400 (400 ASA film speed in Daylight). Polagraph was a high-contrast colour transparency film intended to reproduce subjects like graphs or diagrams. Polaroid also produced PolaScope film Type 410 10,000 ASA high contrast specifically for photographing oscilloscope ("scope") traces. Polaroid AutoProcess slides could be viewed or projected in the same way as 35mm slides made with conventional films.
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
system launched by Polaroid
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February...
in 1977.
Unlike other motion-picture film stock
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
of the time, Polavision generated color using an additive
Additive color
An additive color model involves light emitted directly from a source or illuminant of some sort. The additive reproduction process usually uses red, green and blue light to produce the other colors. Combining one of these additive primary colors with another in equal amounts produces the...
process. It consisted of (essentially) a black-and-white film base and three-color filter layer. In this sense, it was somewhat similar to the much earlier Dufaycolor
Dufaycolor
Dufaycolor is an early French and British additive color photographic film process for motion pictures and stills photography. It was based on a four-color screen photographic process invented in 1908 by Frenchman Louis Dufay...
process.
The Polavision cartridge was a small rectangular box with the film reels self-contained, along with a small lens and prism for projection at an open gate. Unless viewed in a Polavision viewer, the only way that developed films can be viewed was by destroying the cartridge and projecting in a super 8mm projector, a super 8mm telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
system, or other transferring procedures. The film format was similar to the Super 8mm format.
The Polavision system was a major commercial failure, and was discontinued in 1979. However, the underlying technology was improved and used as the basis for the Polachrome instant color transparency system in 1985.
Problems and commercial failure
Due to the light-loss caused by the filtering layer (only one of red, green or blue was let through for a given portion of film), the resulting film had relatively low light sensitivity (40 ASAFilm speed
Film speed is the measure of a photographic film's sensitivity to light, determined by sensitometry and measured on various numerical scales, the most recent being the ISO system....
) and the resulting footage was much denser than with other processes. As a result, Polaroid designed a standalone table-top projector/viewer, which was intended to reduce the problems inherent in projecting such dense film. The viewer used a translucent screen, projecting the image from behind, but critics from publications like Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...
called the images "murky and dark." Despite this, the format was used by artists, including Charles Eames, Ray Eames, and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
One market niche Polaroid promoted was the field of industrial testing, where the camera would record, for example, the destruction of a pipe under pressure. This type of use was moderately price insensitive, with the ability to get the images quickly (thus reducing wasted crew time) a very positive selling feature.
In addition to the density problems, the process was late to market and had to compete with upcoming videocassette-based systems like Betamax
Betamax
Betamax was a consumer-level analog videocassette magnetic tape recording format developed by Sony, released on May 10, 1975. The cassettes contain -wide videotape in a design similar to the earlier, professional wide, U-matic format...
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. Unlike videotape, Polavision films, once developed, could not be reused nor played on a television, nor did it have sound. Polavision proved to be an expensive failure, and most of the manufactured equipment was sold off in 1979 as a job lot at a loss of $68.5 million. In the wake of those losses, Polaroid chairman and founder Edwin H. Land
Edwin H. Land
Edwin Herbert Land was an American scientist and inventor, best known as the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation. Among other things, he invented inexpensive filters for polarizing light, a practical system of in-camera instant photography, and his retinex theory of color vision...
resigned the chief executive position in 1980 and left the company two years later.
Former Polaroid freelancer Paul Giambarba
Paul Giambarba
Paul Giambarba is an American graphic designer, cartoonist, writer and illustrator.Giambarba's most recent work was introduced at the International Center of Photography in New York City on 18 December 2009, a collection of 15 film and 3 camera packages for the Paul Giambarba Edition of Polaroid...
remarks
- "I tried using the product but it was obviously a turkey compared to anything I was using that Kodak offered [..] Instant movie film was an engineering achievement but it's precisely what separated Polaroid techies from Polaroid pragmatists. There just weren't enough customers out there on whom to work the magic."
Polavision screenings
Polavision film is rarely screened in public, but it has happened, at such venues as Anthology Film Archives (in 1998 and 2007), the Blinding Light! in Vancouver, and the Robert Beck Memorial Cinema at Collective: Unconscious. Video transfers of Andy Warhol's footage have been shown at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, and at the San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in 2001.Polaroid AutoProcess films (Polachrome and Polapan)
In 1983 Polaroid introduced an "instant" transparency system for still photography. The unexposed 35mm films came with their own processing pack. The films were processed within a dedicated, hand-powered, mechanical-cranked processing machine called an "AutoProcessor", into which an exposed film and its processing pack had to be loaded. The time to get from an exposed undeveloped film to a fully developed film ready for mounting varied from between two and five minutes, depending on the type of film.There were several types of film. Polachrome was an "instant" 35mm colour transparency film. It was descended from the Polavision system and used the same additive colour (filter) process. One difference was that with Polavision, the negative layer remained as part of the film after processing. It was intended to turn transparent after a short while, but the process was reportedly imperfect , reducing contrast. With Polachrome, the black negative layer was discarded after processing. Polapan was a monochrome instant slide film PolaPan is a portmanteau of Polaroid and Panchromatic and it was additionally used in connection with Polaroid picture roll print films Type 42 PolaPan 200 (200 ASA film speed) (also Type 32) and Type 44 PolaPan 400 (400 ASA film speed in Daylight). Polagraph was a high-contrast colour transparency film intended to reproduce subjects like graphs or diagrams. Polaroid also produced PolaScope film Type 410 10,000 ASA high contrast specifically for photographing oscilloscope ("scope") traces. Polaroid AutoProcess slides could be viewed or projected in the same way as 35mm slides made with conventional films.
External links
- "The Last Hurrah – Polavision, 1977" by Paul Giambarba.
- Polaroid Picture Rolls
- "Era Ends as Land Leaves Polaroid", The New York Times, July 28, 1982.