I have a question for Leo, or any one else who might know:

The background "flashing" (or flickering of light-darker-lighter...) 
seems ubiquitous in silent films as we see them today, even when well 
remastered.  Is this an artifact of the originals, deterioration of the 
film stock, producing copies, ...?

Did, for instance, a pristine, Ist class film of say, 1905 or 1915, 
have this effect?  Is it a product of the nitrate film being used, so 
that these tonal variations are in the original film frames, or did 
they develop later?

Thanks, Jesse Kalin
Vassar College

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