The standardisation of 16mm film in 1923 opened up the world of filmmaking for the first time to non-professionals. Eastman Kodak first developed this film format and pioneered accessible and affordable film technology during the early 20th century. Kodak had vastly improved the safety of its products too, with new-fire resistant rolls of film meaning that amateur filmmakers could enjoy a cigarette whilst projecting their home movies without fear of causing an inferno. By the mid-1930s, a...

The standardisation of 16mm film in 1923 opened up the world of filmmaking for the first time to non-professionals. Eastman Kodak first developed this film format and pioneered accessible and affordable film technology during the early 20th century. Kodak had vastly improved the safety of its products too, with new-fire resistant rolls of film meaning that amateur filmmakers could enjoy a cigarette whilst projecting their home movies without fear of causing an inferno. By the mid-1930s, a German observer estimated that the British amateur cine scene had around 250,000 hobby filmmakers and about 3000 to 4000 of those people was a member of an amateur cine club; the home movie craze had taken hold of Britain.

This short film was photographed by S. J. Rosslyn Smith in association with the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA) which has been making cine stories and capturing the north east on film for nearly a century. It is the sole survivor of the five original ACA organisations in Britain, first set up in 1927. Newcastle & District ACA were storytellers, entertainers and documentarians – recording simple or sophisticated drama and comedies, travelogues and home movies, of which this is a charming example.

This film captures the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon as King and Queen of the United Kingdom on 12 May 1937. A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. In 1937, 11 year old Princess Elizabeth, future Queen Elizabeth II watched her father, King George VI, crowned in the elaborate ceremony at Westminster Abbey where they have been held for 900 years since 1066. Before the Abbey was built, Coronations were carried out wherever was convenient, taking place in Bath, Oxford and Canterbury. (5)

Described by an American newspaper as “the greatest day of splendour England ever saw,” the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was the most extravagant coronation in British history. Following the controversy and shock after the abdication of Edward VIII in December 1936, who gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, no expense was spared to ensure the respectable image of the monarchy.

Special trains were laid on to take Britons from all corners of the country to London to witness the special day. Thousands of people, including the many who slept overnight in the parks and streets of London to secure a prime position along the six-mile route, cheered the procession in the pouring May rain on its way to Buckingham Palace after the service.

This coronation was a significant moment for both radio and television history as it was the first to be broadcast live on radio, as well as the procession being shown live on television (for the very few people who could afford a television in those days). It was also the first true outside broadcast, using a mobile control van, from the fledgling BBC Television Service which had only been established the previous November. (6) The television pictures captured the smiling king and queen as the famous gold carriage passed by the cameras,  inspiring the press to declare it "the supreme triumph of television to date". (7) While this coronation was the first to be captured live on the streets, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of 1953 was also ground-breaking as it was the first time the coronation ceremony was televised, being watched by 27 million people in the UK alone and millions more audiences around the world. (5)

George VI also became the first monarch to address his people live on radio immediately following a coronation. Speaking slowly because of his stutter, George declared, “It is with a very full heart that I speak to you tonight. Never before has a newly crowned King been able to talk to all his people in their own homes on the day of his coronation. Never has the ceremony itself had so wide a significance. For the dominions are now free and equal partners with this ancient kingdom.” (6)

Across the country street parties were held to celebrate the coronation, with food and drink galore and patriotic decorations of bunting and Union Jack flags proudly displayed. Street parties in the UK date back to 1919, then known as 'Peace Teas' as a treat for children who had suffered during the First World War. Street parties were organised by residents on a mass basis for the first time to bring some joy in times of such hardship and distress, Traditionally these events were formal sit down affairs, which is why photographs and film typically capture children sat around long tables enjoying sweet treats and tea. After 1919, this uniquely British tradition developed as residents continued to organise street parties on all major national days of celebration. Today, street parties continue to be held for local and national days of celebrations. Bristol is the UK's street party capital with 150 parties held each year. (8) People did not know it at the time, but the 1937 coronation would be the last national celebration in Britain for eight years as just two years later the Second World War began. (6)

This short film was printed on the first type of Kodachrome cine film sold on the market. This type of film had a tendency to fade, which was unfortunately the case with this film which had faded to pink hues by the time it arrived at the archive and required correction in our lab.

In 1928 Kodak introduced their Kodacolor process which occasionally amateurs used for their own for experimentation and distinction from commercial cinema, which was still predominantly photographed in black and white. From the late 1920s to the late 1930s, amateur filmmakers used Kodacolor, then towards the end of the 1930s, the much-improved Kodachrome process which was introduced in 1935, initially on 16mm movie film. (1) Invented by Leopold D. Mannes and Leopold Godowsky for Eastman Kodak, they concentrated on methods of processing multilayer films.

For the Kodachrome process, they pioneered a method whereby three very thin emulsion layers were coated on film base, the emulsions being sensitised with non-wandering dyes to red, green and blue light, the red-sensitive layer being at the bottom. To counteract blue sensitivity of the red and green layers, a yellow filter layer was provided below the top coating and above the bottom two. A single exposure therefore produced a record of the red, green and blue content of the scene in the three layers and the exposed film was first developed to give a negative silver image in the three layers. (2)

This process underwent a lot of fine-tuning from its inception in 1935, particularly in the US where the technology was pioneered, which inevitably had a bias towards the capturing of white skin tones. The inherent racism of early colour photography has been widely written about, specifically the Kodak-issued ‘Shirley’ cards which were used as a standard gauge to calibrate colour in photography and film processing quality control. Named after the first model who posed for these cards, Shirley Page, all subsequent models became known as Shirleys; a Caucasian woman usually wearing black and white against a grey background with red, yellow and blue pillows behind her. This image was considered the norm for skin tone and was the desired outcome for processing. As photo technician Jersson Garcia told NPR, "whenever we printed anything, we had to pull Shirley in. If Shirley looked good, everything else was OK. If Shirley didn't look so hot that day, we had to tweak something — something was wrong." TV crews also often use live Shirley models, white women also known as “colour girls,” to ensure the picture was correct for broadcast. (3)

The issue with this standard was that early colour film was not sensitive enough to correctly reflect the tones of darker-skinned people, particularly when the scene had brighter, whiter elements. This issue was particularly problematic in group portraiture if a white person was photographed next to a black person, the black person would be rendered invisible except for the white of their eyes and teeth. Strangely, photographers and filmmakers of the time did not complain about the technology but blamed themselves for not being able to capture a diversity of skin tones in a single shot. It was French New Wave filmmaker Jean Luc Godard who was the first to declare Kodachrome as racist when he refused to use it when commissioned to make a film about Mozambique. (3)

It was the economic pressures of wood manufacturing and confectionary companies which complained to Kodak that their colour film was not able to differentiate between different shades of brown wood and chocolate respectively in advertising. This kick-started a scientific investigation into rendering different shades of dark brown, which resulted in 1986 of the release of the Kodacolor VR-G line of film, referred to as being able to “photograph the details of a dark horse in low light,” later to be rebranded Kodacolor Gold. In the 1990s, racially integrated Shirley cards began to appear but the invention of digital photography saw the beginning of the demise of photo processing, so the cards were on their way out. (3) (4)

Related NEFA films:

The Coronation: Newcastle Celebrations 1937

References:

(1) Kodachrome and amateur filmmakers - https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1277/#/infobox/1277-46

(2) Kodachrome - https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1277/#/

(3) How Photography Was Optimized for White Skin Color - https://priceonomics.com/how-photography-was-optimized-for-white-skin/

(4) Color film was built for white people. Here's what it did to dark skin. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d16LNHIEJzs

(5) 50 facts about The Queen's Coronation - https://www.royal.uk/50-facts-about-queens-coronation-0

(6) The memorable coronation of King George VI and its mishaps - https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/803577/coronation-king-george-vi-memorable-80-years-ago

(7) Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, 12 May 1937 - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0208j0g

(8) History of Street Parties - http://www.streetparty.org.uk/history.aspx