Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
B E N C A R R É | P E R S P E C T I V E 2 1 mechanical or technical solutions that the story might require. Over his next six-years at Gaumont, Ben designed and collaborated on hundreds of pictures. Many of Gaumont's early films where comedies or musical shorts promoting their patented Chronophone synchronized sound system. In his unpublished memoirs, Ben describes Gaumont's 1906 biblical epic, La vie du Christ (The Birth, The Life and The Death of Christ). Adapted from a popular illustrated bible, it was directed by Alice Guy and designed by his friend Henri Ménessier. One of Ben's earliest design assignments was in 1908, La course aux potirons (The Pumpkin Race), which he attributes to director and pioneer animator Émile Cohl. For Ben, this was a real exercise in the problem-solving skills required for the making of motion pictures. A. ALICE GUY FILMS A PHONOSCENE (SYNCHRONIZED SOUND WITH FILM) CITÉ GAUMONT, PARIS 1907. B. HARRIS COLOUR WHEEL (CIRCA 1766). C. COLOUR SWATCH CHART OF COMPATIBLE COLOURS FOR BLACK-AND- WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY (CIRCA 1900S). D. HOUSE BACKDROP FOR LITTLE WOMEN (1949), PAINTED BY BEN CARRÉ IN COLOUR FOR BLACK-AND- WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY. A B C D The first film sets were very theatrical. They consisted of three wall spaces assembled from conventional theatre flats with canvas backdrops, all painted in ten shades of grey as colours were not compatible with the black-and-white film stocks of that time. It was around 1910 that Ben began to experiment with sets painted in colours that were equivalent in their hue to the standard greyscale. After many camera tests, a modified colour palette