though i'm far from an expert in these areas, i'm reasonably certain that in silent films color stock was often used to suggest the mood of a scene or sequence . . .   there was a code for what color was appropriate for what kind of scene; i don't recall the details but i think blue was for a scene at night, red for action sequences, and so on 

in any case the changes in color were there by design, and are not a function of aging film stock

i'm sure that other screen-L'ers can provide a lot more specific detail

mike   

-----Original Message-----
From: Film and TV Studies Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Norman Holland
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 10:09 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SCREEN-L] Tinting in silents?

Hi,

Recently, I've taken to watching silents streamed from Netflix.  Often, the
film willl change from a sepia color to blue or even red.  Are these color
changes intentional?  If so, what do they signify?  If not, are they an
artifact of preservation or what?

                      --With warm regards,

                                   Norm
Norm Holland

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