Kinemacolor publicity frequently drew the attention of the viewer to the quality of the colour blue in the films, but this was misleading. Kinemacolor was filmed through red and green filters because using the three primary colours, red-green-blue, had proven to be impractical. The colour blue was therefore missing. The use of a green/cyan filter, replicated in this digital restoration, helped imply elements of blue, but essentially Kinemacolor worked more through the power of suggestion. Audiences saw a blue sky because that is what they expected to see. Academicians and the Academy are references to the Royal Academy of Arts, home of the classical art tradition in Britain.

Luke McKernan