Memoirs: The Great War

It's hard to believe that World War One happened almost one hundred years ago. It has faded more and more into memory. Last I checked there are only three veterans from the conflict still alive.

I was recently reading Mr. Punch's History of the Great War (and it's here on google books as well) and then came across an article about photos of the Gallipoli campaign that were saved from the trash heap in, of all places, Vancouver. To quote the article:

He said the fortuitous find is a reminder of how important it is to ensure historic images are properly archived.

The Great War is well archived of course. There are any number of memoirs and accounts that help give the perspectives of the combatants on all sides. firstworldwar.com has diaries and memoirs among other information. Heritage of the Great War is a site in English and Dutch that is filled with stories, histories, and accounts. It has a large section on Great Writings of the Great War which links to novels, memoirs, and other books from the Great War and about the Great War. You could get lost in those links for days.

Even though the war started almost a century ago it still holds some surprises. One of the biggest for me is the number of colour photos that were taken during the war. Yes... colour. While Heritage of the Great War has some of these, the best collection I've found is the aptly named World War I Color Photos. Even in the small number of colour photos that survive there are surprises. Among the pictures that you'd expect there are pictures of the African soldiers who fought on the Western Front. We don't expect to see Senegalese or Algerians soldiers.

Men who lived through the war took the time to explain what they went through. To tell us what they thought was important and to share what they experienced. Usually with the hope no one else would have to go through the same experiences again. If we want to learn from them we better start paying attention to what they were trying to tell us.

Reading their words is the first step.

History: It Only Looks Like Monopoly Money

Americans like to say that Canadian money looks like Monopoly money because it isn't as drab and dreary as their own currency. In this case it turns out that Americans are behind the times and not being modern for regardless of the continuous forward march of progress Americans don't want to give up plain green money.

Even the newly announced 100 dollar bill is no improvement. Almost all the added colour is just on specific anti-counterfeiting measures. So far the biggest online controversy about the new bill is related to typography. Yes... people are complaining about helvetica on the money.

The rest of the world is leaving America in the dust when it comes to currency design. Don't just use colour to prevent counterfeiting. Why not use colour to great effect? I suppose since it is the still the de facto currency of the world America wants the dollar to seem solid, old, and unchanging. I wonder if the designs will change more radically if the Euro becomes the new currency of world trade?

Americans don't get to see too much international currency every day of course. Most of us see only our own currency. As America's biggest trading partner it's not surprising that Canadian currency is the foreign currency most often encountered by Americans. That's why only the Canadian dollar gets the nickname of Monopoly money.

Turns out the Canadian dollar hasn't always been that colourful. The Bank of Canada has a free book on the History of the Canadian Dollar. It touches on the history of currency in Canada, the history of the Bank of Canada, and the ever changing link between the Canadian dollar and other currencies. Foreign exchange and monetary issues are covered in summary throughout the book. This isn't a photo history of Canadian currency. It's a more general history.

What's interesting is how something as seemingly simple as the history of one country's money has to involve everything from world affairs, wars, and politics. Whether greenbacks, monopoly money, the yen, or the Euro it's all interrelated and interconnected.

No one has a monopoly on money anymore.

The Senses: Revising Nonsensical Colour Theory

Put yourself in the shoes of a scientist trained in the rigors of research. Someone who is not only knowledgeable in your field (research psychology for example) but also someone who keeps abreast of other scientific disciplines such as astronomy and biology.

If it helps... imagine yourself wearing a lab coat. Though I'm not sure research psychologists wear lab coats.

Now picture yourself taking up a hobby. Let's pick watercolour painting. You wouldn't do it half way would you? You'd embrace it completely. Getting good enough to be able to sell your own work. You'd end up exploring the field of watercolours in depth. You're a researcher so you'd end up learning all you can about everything from brushes to techniques to the books that teach watercolours. If you had the bent you'd end up creating a website that takes a slightly "rational" approach to all things watercolourish wouldn't you?

This isn't a hypothetical situation. Let me introduce you to Bruce MacEvoy's watercolors site. Where discussions of paint isn't just recommendations and suggestions but details on how paints are made. Where the artistic and the technical meet.

Now put yourself in his place again. Imagine that as you start trying to understand the colour theory behind painting you come to realize that it's not based on rigorous science or psychology but on "18th century nonsense". What would you do? First you'd start learning more. Then, since you've already created a web site on watercolours, you'd create a definitive online work on color vision. And that's what Bruce did.

He starts with the nature of light and the nature of the eye. Goes into details on the makeup of the eye and its light receptors. Goes on to look at how we see and understand colour. He writes about colour theory that isn't 18th century nonsense but is instead rooted in reality. He goes into detail on how color is represented and explained technically. Talks about other parts of vision that alter our perception suck as how much detail we can actually see and how we see edges. There are discussions on building colour wheels and groups of colours for the artist.

color vision is not a short work. It is not even book length. It's larger than that. It's an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to understand colour and colour vision and it's still being written and expanded. A short browse will reveal the depth and complexity of how we perceive the world through our eyes. Thankfully for us a research psychologist decided to take up watercolours.

The Senses: The New Colours of Summer?

Something is wrong with the look of new Hollywood movies. I don't think I can blame my eyes. I may need stronger glasses but I can still see pretty clearly. Action films started to look different. Now it seems the problem is spreading.


Do you have a collection of older movies on VHS? Maybe some old DVDs of movies before they were re-mastered and re-released? If you get the chance go and watch some of them. From blockbuster action movies through to romantic comedies have a blast watching some old movies. In particular look at the colours. At the skin tones and the differences between indoor and outdoor scenes.


Notice that skin can look greyish indoors and pale in the light? How the wash of colour from the sky reflects on to all the objects in a scene? There were methods to change the look of a film after it was shot but much of the work was done in situ. Film faithfully captured the light.


The year 2000 was the beginning of a revolution in film making. The Coen Brothers were the the first with O Brother, Where Art Thou?. It was filmed in Mississippi at a time of year when the leaves and grass were green. Which was a problem. In certain parts of the movie The Coen Brothers wanted to give the film a dusty sepia-tinted feel. Instead of waiting for a drought or another season they turned instead to the power of computers.


The entire movie was scanned into a computer and digitally colour corrected. Green grass was made to look like it had suffered a prolonged dry spell. Whole scenes weren't just tinted but adjusted. Instead the colour of the movie was tweaked. The look of the entire film was altered and changed to fit the Coen Brothers' vision.


Digital colour correction had been done in Hollywood before but never to an entire film. Computer hardware and software had reached a point where it was practical to change the look of a complete movie. Since then the technology has become less expensive and the tools more pervasive.


The result? The modern blockbuster movie's distinct look. The problem? Well let me turn you over to Todd Miro's rant Teal and Orange - Hollywood, Please Stop the Madness.


Now don't get distracted by the fact that Hollywood made a movie called Hot Tub Time Machine. I'm sure it's bound to be a classic along the lines of Back to the Future or Peggy Sue Got Married.


The issue isn't so much that colours can be changed. It's that the tool isn't being used to add artistic value but to push the pallet in one direction all the time. As soon as you see the new colour problem in film you'll end up seeing it everywhere. It's not a problem only on Michael Bay's blockbusters.


Todd points to filmmaker Stu Maschwitz to see how this is done. Stu has a wonderful post about Memory Colors that shows how colour correcting can enhance a shot and points out the power of certain colours in certain situations. These memory colours help the audience establish a sense of place. The example still taken of a scene set in New York shows how this can work effectively. He's collected a few examples of colour correction where you can compare before and after.


The real fun happens when Stu demonstrates the techniques involved in colour correcting. The video at the top of Got Me a Side Job is a product demo Stu created as a new Creative Director for Red Giant Software's Magic Bullet line.


Yes... I'm pointing you towards an extended product demo. No... I don't want you to go out and by software to alter your videos. No... I'm not affiliated with Red Giant or anyone else in this post.


Look, the long web isn't just essays and fiction. It's writing and video and presentations and brochures and demos and much more. The long web isn't just what amateurs create on their own time even if that's a big part of it. It can be corporate, governmental, or homegrown. It can be created for love and it can be created for money. The Longer Web is about exploring larger pieces of the web regardless of origin.


As product demos go this one has the advantage of being pointed, funny, and over the top. This isn't about how to subtly change a video. This is about how you can recreate the look of blockbusters. Get past the intro and in no time you'll see what's happening on the desks of movie colourists as we speak. Even if you don't watch the whole thing you'll quickly get a flavour of what's possible.


Brace yourselves. Movie screens will only become more orange and teal. If something is good enough for the blockbusters and easy to do as well... then... orange and teal may be around for a while. The two programs used in the demo cost $600 and other similar products are in the same price range. It won't just be Hollywood. Now everyone is able to make any video clip's colours look like a moving commercial for Florida Oranges or a sports franchise.