Reversal film transparencies and their colours: examining the medium of an era
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23738/CCSJ.160106Keywords:
slides, transparencies, colour, images, semiotics, social interactionAbstract
Colour reversal film transparencies (slides) are a medium that seems to have, almost, disappeared. They gained their prominence mostly between the 1950s to 1970s, as a preferable photographic choice, since their vibrant colours gave them an edge over negative film photographs, not only as a professional option but also as a means of recording family moments. Slide showing became a social activity. The gathering of people, cinema-like conditions and interaction made them quite popular. The question which we will concentrate on is about their colours and how this is consistent with the colour palette of their era. In the current study source material, from a family collection, is utilised and an empirical approach and analysis is applied. The study concludes that the medium employs the colours of their times, and how this helps with the preservation of these items, not only as family archives but as cultural objects enriched with semiotic elements.
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