Were any non-CGI movies shot in their entirety though a colored lens/filter?
This is a 2-part question:
Is it technically possible to shoot a movie though a colored lens/filter? (as opposed to changing the image color AFTER the movie is shot, via CGI or earlier effects)
If possible, was there ever any mainstream (e.g. not an indie) movie shot in its entirety 100% through a color lens or filter?
Best Answer
It is possible. According to this article, Alexander Sokurov's Faust (2011) was filmed entirely through a "color filter that lends it a faded tone, tending towards blues and greys and very, very stark whites." The film won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. The film may have been changed further through CGI, but this example answers the first part of your question.
http://zapadnik.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/alexander-sokurovs-faust/
I have seen some references to the move Safe House being shot with colored filters, but I have not been able to confirm with an authoritative source.
Pictures about "Were any non-CGI movies shot in their entirety though a colored lens/filter?"
Why are modern movies so blue?
The cinematographer on the film has said, \u201cThey wanted it to look like an old hand-tinted picture, with the intensity of colors dictated by the scene and natural skin tones that were all shades of the rainbow.\u201dWhat was the first movie with color?
The first commercially produced film in natural color was A Visit to the Seaside (1908). The eight-minute British short film used the Kinemacolor process to capture a series of shots of the Brighton Southern England seafront.10 Movies That Changed CGI This Decade | Movies Insider
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Answer 2
It's not just possible, it's mandatory!
If you've shopped for light bulbs lately, you know there are different color temperatures. LEDs used to be infamously blue, but now, they're available in any color you want. So when you make a production, you pick a color temperature to shoot in so all your stuff matches.
Say your production standard is you shoot 4000K color temperature. Your shooting lights are that, and for scenes involving indigenous desk lamps or chandeliers, you have screw-in bulbs that are 4000K. Everything matches.
But it's a cloudy day, and you are being overwhelmed by 6000k natural light just pouring in a window. You also need your own lighting on the actors. So you either have to use 6000K lights, or gel your lights to 6000K, or else you'll get this.
So yeah. You correct that, at the camera, with a filter that corrects 6000K to 4000K.
Of course, that wouldn't really be noticeable; the entire point is not to be noticeable.
Answer 3
The 1958 film South Pacific made extensive use of colored filters and the result was so irritating that it probably scared other filmmakers away from the technique for decades.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_(film)
The article is ambiguous but I believe the filters were applied in post-production.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Kyle Loftus, Kyle Loftus, Nicholas Garman, Sharad Bhat