German Expressionism
1920–1927Extreme shadows, angular sets, psychological terror. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis.
Orthochromatic film stock. Painted shadows on sets. Extreme lighting angles. No color — pure tonal drama.
German
Films by Wiene, Murnau, Lang — distorted reality through shadow and angle.
Orthochromatic stock rendered blue as white and red as black, producing extreme tonal contrasts.
Caligari shadow
Painted shadows on studio walls — absolute black.
Material: Set paint + underexposure on ortho stock
RGB(13, 8, 8)
Projection white
Maximum white on silver nitrate projection — warm, not cold.
Material: Peak highlight on silver nitrate print
RGB(216, 212, 200)
Nosferatu grey
Mid-grey of stone walls and vampire skin.
Material: Mid-density on ortho negative
RGB(93, 90, 88)
Angular dark
Dark grey of distorted architecture.
Material: Shadow area on high-contrast ortho stock
RGB(42, 40, 40)
Iris vignette
Dark edge of iris shots — focus narrowing to a circle.
Material: Iris mask on camera lens
RGB(26, 24, 24)
Orthochromatic skin
Skin rendered grey-pink due to ortho stock's red insensitivity.
Material: Caucasian skin on orthochromatic film
RGB(168, 160, 160)
Pigments: Silver
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