# A Colour Box

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***A Colour Box*** is a 1935 British [experimental](/source/Experimental_film) [animated film](/source/Animated_film) by [Len Lye](/source/Len_Lye). Commissioned to promote the [General Post Office](/source/General_Post_Office), it was Lye's first [direct animation](/source/Direct_animation) to receive a public release.[1]

## Production

In mid 1935, Lye struck a deal with [John Grierson](/source/John_Grierson) to make a [direct animation](/source/Direct_animation) for the [GPO Film Unit](/source/GPO_Film_Unit). Lye was paid £30, with his materials paid for by the GPO.[2]

Lye and sound editor [Jack Ellitt](/source/Jack_Ellitt) went through hundreds of records looking for music to use as the soundtrack. They selected a [beguine](/source/Beguine_(dance)) called "The Belle Creole" by Don Barreto and his Cuban Orchestra. After the music was transferred to film, Lye made cue marks on the sound track, which he used as a guide as he painted on the image track.[2]

Lye painted long, continuous patterns on the [35 mm](/source/35_mm_movie_film) film stock, without [frame lines](/source/Frame_line) to separate individual [film frames](/source/Film_frame) and with few [splices](/source/Film_splicer) used. He used combs or sticks to create linear patterns on the [film stock](/source/Film_stock).[3] It took him five days to finish most of the film. Before settling on the title *A Colour Box*, Lye used the titles *Cheaper Parcel Post* and *La Belle Creole*.[2]

## Release

*A Colour Box* was first shown to critics and journalists on 6 September 1935. Cinema owners were hesitant to screen the work because of its experimental approach and promotional nature. The [Granada Theatre](/source/Granada_plc) and the Tatler Cinema were among the first to screen it.[2]

The film had its international premiere in October 1935 at the International Cinema Festival in Brussels. The jury created a special "fantasy film" category so that they could award *A Colour Box* with a Medal of Honour. The film was later screened at the 1936 [Venice Film Festival](/source/Venice_Film_Festival), where [Nazi](/source/Nazi) viewers labeled it [degenerate art](/source/Degenerate_art) and protested the film. They stomped their feet loudly, leading to the three-minute film being stopped before its completion.[4]

## Reception

Contemporary reactions to *A Colour Box* were polarised. Many critics recognised its originality but viewed it as little more than a novelty. [Robert Herring](/source/Robert_Herring_(poet)) called it "the first ballet in film". One review in *[Sight & Sound](/source/Sight_%26_Sound)* said that Lye had "stirred the abstract film to a new vitality."[2]

Canadian animator [Norman McLaren](/source/Norman_McLaren) carefully studied the film, inspired by Lye's "technical inventiveness". It became a major influence on his own direct filmmaking practices.[2]

## References

1. Horrocks, Roger (1991). *Composing Motion: Len Lye and Experimental Film-Making*. [National Art Gallery of New Zealand](/source/National_Art_Gallery_of_New_Zealand). p. 9. ISBN 978-0-908843-06-0.

1. Horrocks, Roger (2001). *Len Lye: A Biography*. [Auckland University Press](/source/Auckland_University_Press). pp. 136–145. ISBN 978-1-86940-247-1.

1. Burke, Gregory & Cann, Tyler (2014). *Len Lye: Motion Sketch*. [Drawing Center](/source/Drawing_Center). p. 28. ISBN 978-0-942324-85-3.

1. Smythe, Luke (2013). "Len Lye: The Vital Body of Cinema". *[October](/source/October_(journal))*. **144**: 73–91. [doi:10.1162/OCTO_a_00141](https://doi.org/10.1162/OCTO_a_00141). [S2CID 57560298](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:57560298)

## External links

- [*A Colour Box*](http://www.lenlyefoundation.com/films/a-colour-box/21/) at the Len Lye Foundation
- Watch [*A Colour Box*](https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/F9061/) at [Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision](/source/Ng%C4%81_Taonga_Sound_%26_Vision)
- [A Colour Box](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026226/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [A Colour Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Colour_Box) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Colour_Box?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.