Picturehouse Movies
Playing at select theatres beginning Dec 12
Lawrence Herbert is a name few will recognize, but for anyone in illustration, graphic design, fashion, or printing, he’s an individual widely respected. He built the system that standardized how color is described, visualized, and mixed. In doing so, he became The King of Color—which is also the title of this biograph. Normally I’d lean on Canadian spelling, but for this story, American convention feels appropriate. After all, this revolution began in the United States.
When a curious child asks a teacher why one drop of black on white differs from three, they’re told it’s a subtle gradient. And this individual was that kind of child. He was wide-eyed, fascinated, and drawn to the magic of the moving picture. His love affair with cinema began when he saw The Charge of the Light Brigade. His father worked various jobs, and when he became a projectionist, young Herbert all but lived in the theater. He wasn’t just there for the pulps; he was there to learn. Some of that spark still glows in him nearly ninety years later.
Continue reading “On How The King of Color Transformed How The Industry Saw The Rainbow”