Introduction

For the viewer, colour in British television consists of a screen image composed of thousands of dots. In colour, this means three groups of dots carry red, green and blue signals. In recent times, the British 625 horizontal lines scan 25 times a second so that in 12 seconds the picture changes 300 times using two fields per picture. This system, used by British television, is called PAL (Phase Alteration Line System).

There are different systems for different parts of the world. In America, the NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) system is used, operating at 30 frames per second which works with their 60 cycles per second in electrical alternating current. This results in fewer lines, only 525. Although a group of scientists met in 1950, to represent countries throughout the world, they failed to agree on a universal transmition standard, and now there are three systems, PAL, NTSC, and SECAM (Sequential colour with memory, used by France and the Former Soviet Union).

The BBC makes use of colour separation overlays (CSO) so that they can use more than one television camera to make a combination picture. This involves very creative applications of graphic design at many levels so that set designers can work with them very closely, leading to exciting and adventurous new opportunities in the future. A small illustration or a model can give rise to a colour scheme for a complete studio and a digital paint system can bring about a fantastic number of different scenarios. For the colour separation overlays, ITV uses the trade names of Chromakey and Ultimatte. A studio can be one single colour, usually blue, which reflects less on flesh tints. Then, it needs only one camera to view the action while another records a caption or photograph.

The three colour, or trichromatic, colour mixing systems give an acceptable rendering of the colours of life generally. Few people, however, notice that the system is extremely weak when it comes to the projection of the turquoise band of colours. In fact, when colour television first came in it was impossible to achieve pure black until it was realised that turquoise performed like black and was very difficult to pick up. Announcers who wore dinner suits looked as if they were wearing the colour of gun metal. On screen they actually became dressed in pure black when, in fact, wearing suits of dark turquoise. Designers have to be aware of two colour rules in designing for television:

1. Colour that distracts can be bad colour. Generally speaking, colours have to be played down, under emphasised, or they become obtrusive. A small coloured item in the background can be eyecatching and disturb the action. When a girl crosses her legs her kneecaps can give glowing pools of light unless they have been carefully made up beforehand. Hands used to need a foundation to stop them looking greenish. This happened once to Morecambe and Wise when they went to the lavatory and washed their hands after they had been made up.

2. The designer can set the mood of each scene. For example, his colour may be minimal in which case he is concentrating on the colour of the main features, whether objects or people; and the colour of his background becomes virtually subliminal. On the other hand, he may actually want to break up the picture by using some kind of optical or psychedelic colour. In documentaries, however, the need is to pinpoint the appropriate focus of information. Alternatively, the designer may want to impress with the grandeur of the situation and to achieve something of the richness of Baroque colouring. The creator of the scene has limitless possibilities at his fingertips, from bringing about the subtlety in colour of a Japanese print to the rumbustious textures of the post-Impressionists.

Bibliography:

BAGGALEY, J.P. and DUCK, S. (1976) Dynamics of Television. Farnborough: Saxon House. Investigates the psychological impact of TV, identifying both its positive and negative influences on the viewer.
GARDNER, L. (1965) Colour is Coming. London: Daily Telegraph. An article interesting for its description of colour problems before colour television came about in the UK.
MERRIT, D. (1987) Television Graphics. London: Trefoil. A sound introductory book for the graphic designer.
PRITCHETT, O. (1967) Aunti BBC¹s New Colour Scheme. London: Observer. 3/12/1967 Interesting from the point of view of the makeup artist.

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