Colortran Trivia

[philhaney]

How did Colortran get its name?

Yes, not only did I work there, but I've seen how the company got its name (big hint).

Oldtimers like Steveterry, Derekleffew, et al, are prohibited (or at least respectfully requested) from answering until Monday, October 6th. I'll post the answer if no one else has next Thursday, or at least confirm someone else's correct answer.

[derekleffew]

ColorTran Industries appears to have been founded ~1955.

Academy Awards® Awards for 1964
Class III (Citation)
* Milton Forman (ColorTran Industries)
Richard B. Glickman (ColorTran Industries)
Daniel J. Pearlman (ColorTran Industries)
For advancements in the design and application to motion picture photography of lighting units using quartz iodine lamps. Source.

Interesting that "quartz iodine" (T/H, Tungsten-Halogen) lamps began in film studios, but weren't widely accepted on the stage until mid-1970s or later.

As a company, Colortran didn't get involved in theatre until the hiring of Joe Tawil in 1969, who later founded The Great American Market (GAM Products) in 1975.

edit: Once the question has been answered, this thread will be moved into the Theatre History - ControlBooth forum.

[Pip]

So... what's the answer? I'm very curious!

[philhaney]

Ok Folks,

The question "How did Colortran get its name?" is now open for anyone to respond to.

I'll post the answer on Thursday, the 16th of October.

Big Hint #2: When I worked there the name was "Colortran" (ok, "Lee Colortran" actually, but that's a different story), but when the company was founded the name was "ColorTran."

Thanks are due to derekleffew for pointing out our 1964 Academy Award for advancements in the design and application to motion picture photography of lighting units using quartz iodine lamps.

In 1986, one year before I was hired, we got our second Academy Award for developing a flicker-free HMI lighting system. Since we were owned by the Lee brothers at that time (we were Lee Colortran then) the award went to Lee Electric (Lighting) Ltd. Here's the source. Scroll down the list on the left side of your screen and click on 1986.

[philhaney]

Ok, the answer is contained in a black cube approximately nine inches on a side. There is a six foot ac cord with Edison plug coming out the back, that plugs into your wall outlet. There is an Edison receptacle on the front that you plug your instrument into. The top has a big black knob with a tick mark on it, and it rotates around a scale graduated in degrees Kelvin.

Built for the still photographic industry, the Color Transformer allowed a photographer to vary the color temperature of his floods.

When the company was formed, the name was shortened to ColorTran. And the rest, as they say, is history.....

[Pip]

Ahhh... Awesome! Thanks for the info

[STEVETERRY]

Originally Posted by philhaney

Ok, the answer is contained in a black cube approximately nine inches on a side. There is a six foot ac cord with Edison plug coming out the back, that plugs into your wall outlet. There is an Edison receptacle on the front that you plug your instrument into. The top has a big black knob with a tick mark on it, and it rotates around a scale graduated in degrees Kelvin.

Built for the still photographic industry, the Color Transformer allowed a photographer to vary the color temperature of his floods.

When the company was formed, the name was shortened to ColorTran. And the rest, as they say, is history.....

Now, the next question for all of you: how did the box regulate the color temperature of the lamp?

ST

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by STEVETERRY

Now, the next question for all of you: how did the box regulate the color temperature of the lamp?

Various densities of Color Temperature Orange and/or Color Temperature Blue correction media? (I'm just not sure how the box held them in front of the light.)

[STEVETERRY]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Various densities of Color Temperature Orange and/or Color Temperature Blue correction media? (I'm just not sure how the box held them in front of the light.)

Err..nice try...and actually, perhaps a better idea!!!

It was an autotransformer in the box that raised and lowered the voltage to the fixture by a few volts, with a corresponding increase or decrease in Color Temperature.

Discussion of lamp life was conveniently omitted.

Seems kinda dumb now, but it got them an award!

ST

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by STEVETERRY

...Seems kinda dumb now, but it got them an award!

I don't think ColorTran Industries won any awards for that, but it did launch the company.

The collaborative Article http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/c...-lighting.html lists the formula: coltemp/COLTEMP = (volts/VOLTS)^0.42.

Given a lamp with a color temperature of 3200K at 120V,
at 108V (~90%), CT will be ~3061K,
at 132V (~110%), CT will be ~3331K.

One might assume the original ColorTran(sformer) box was calibrated around 2900K, the most common color temperature of an incandescent stage/studio lamp.