Trade test colour films
Trade test colour films were broadcast by the television network BBC Two in the early days of colour television during intervals when no regular programming had been scheduled. The goal of the trade test colour transmissions was to provide colour broadcasting in these intervals for use by television shops and engineers (the 'Trade') to adjust their television sets, etc.. The earliest such transmission was made as early as 1956 (on the then sole BBC channel) but regular all day long films ran from the Autumn of 1967; the last transmission was in August 1973. In all, 158 different films were broadcast; on average, each film was shown 90 times.[1]
The frequent broadcasting of the trade test colour films made these films well known to television viewers of the time. The most frequently shown film was The Captive River (1960), which was shown 525 times. The short film Giuseppina (1959), which had won an Academy Award, was shown 158 times and became the last trade test colour transmission on August 24, 1973. Other frequently broadcast films included The Home Made Car (1963), The North Sea Quest (1967), Overhaul (1957), Crown of Glass (1967), Roads to Roam (1967), The Small Propeller (1967), The Cattle Carters (1962), Prospect for Plastics (1962), A Journey into the Weald of Kent (1959), Evoluon (1968) and Cantagallo [1]. [2] A number of these films were produced by the oil company BP. Other films included; Paint (produced by Shell), Study in Steel (produced by British Steel), Algerian Pipeline, The Captive River (Shell), Ride The White Horses (BP), Something Nice To Eat (the Gas Council), It's The Tube That Makes The Colour (Mullard), On The Safe Side (1967, UKAEA), Oil Underground (1960, Shell) and Transport Ability (UKAEA).
The trade test colour films are among the subjects of interest of the Test Card Circle, which is an organization devoted to studying and preserving the test cards used by television broadcasters. The static test cards are typically transmitted for periods before and after regular programming, originally to permit viewers to adjust their television sets.
References
- ^ Keys, Andrew (2007). "The Statistician's Guide to Trade Test Colour Films", webpage of the "Test Card Circle" website archived at WebCite from this original URL 2008-06-18.
- ^ "A to Z Of BBC2 Trade Test Colour Films", this original URL 2008-06-18.
External links
- The Test Card Circle Details of the UK's Trade Test Transmissions including the history of the BBC and ITA Test Cards, a look at the music used and full details about the Trade Test Colour Films shown from the late fifties to 1973.
- The BP Video Library The BP Video Library has 22 of the BBC Colour Trade Test films available to view on their website and to purchase on DVD, including Guiseppina, The Home Made Car and Cattle Carters.