Many silent films were tinted to suggest different times of day (yellow for exterior daytime, blue for exterior night time) or different locations (a color might be associated with a particular room or even country). I think some films used these tints for characters, as I seem to remember seeing a print of Broken Blossoms in which some shots with "Asian" characters were dyed yellow. DO Deron Overpeck, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Radio, Television and Film Program Department of Communication and Journalism Auburn University Director, Jay Sanders Film Festival >>> Norman Holland <[log in to unmask]> 3/23/2010 9:08 AM >>> 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 ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html ---- Learn to speak like a film/TV professor! Listen to the ScreenLex podcast: http://www.screenlex.org