Atlas Obscura has a very thorough and well-researched tribute to the so-called leader-ladies or “China Girls” that appeared at the head of film reels in order to help projectionists and developers calibrate the colour saturation and contrast. Each laboratory, studio and cinema had their own signature but unbilled matinee idols that were never mean to be seen by the audience. With the transition from analogue to digital, of course (read about the development of the JPEG format here), this custom is falling out of practise but one archivist with the Chicago Film Society has become their champion with a big gallery of these unsung and mostly unknown models. There’s no consensus on the etymology of the term, however.
Atlas Obscura hat eine sehr gründliche und gut recherchierte Hommage an die sogenannten Leaderdamen oder
China Girls, die an der Spitze der Filmrollen erschienen, um Projektoren und Entwicklern dabei zu helfen, die Farbsättigung und den Kontrast zu kalibrieren. Jedes Labor, Studio und Kino hatten ihre eigene Signatur, aber nicht berechnete Matinee-Idole, die niemals vom Publikum gesehen werden sollten. Mit dem Übergang von analog zu digital, natürlich (gelesen über die Entwicklung des JPEG-Format
hier), dieser Brauch ist aus der Praxis, aber ein Archivar mit der Chicago Film Society hat sich ihre Champion mit einer großen Galerie dieser ungesund und vor allem Unbekannte Modelle.
Es gibt jedoch keinen Konsens über die Etymologie des Begriffs.
Atlas Obscura has a very thorough and well-researched tribute to the so-called leader-ladies or “China Girls” that appeared at the head of film reels in order to help projectionists and developers calibrate the colour saturation and contrast. Each laboratory, studio and cinema had their own signature but unbilled matinee idols that were never mean to be seen by the audience. With the transition from analogue to digital, of course (read about the development of the JPEG format here), this custom is falling out of practise but one archivist with the Chicago Film Society has become their champion with a big gallery of these unsung and mostly unknown models. There’s no consensus on the etymology of the term, however.
