\"I Love Lucy\" (BIG PICS) Hello everyone! While on my honeymoon I encountered a most unexpected surprise ~ an exhibit in photos, video, costume, and rendering in tribute to Lucille Ball and the "I Love Lucy" show. Both my background in theater production and vintage clothing/accessories made this a fascinating stop along the way for me. I thought I pretty much could recognize the "Lucy" look, and of course had seen many episodes in the past, but I learned a few things. Firstly, the set - furniture (including upholstery), decor (including wallpaper, carpeting, etc), and many set dressing elements were not only filmed in black and white, but they were also ACTUALLY in various shades of black white and gray. Actually, there was very little white or a lot of "just a hair on the side of gray white" This was a revolutionary idea to absolutely control the contrast of what you saw on the screen. The use of white in the theater, especially in textiles is verboten on the stage, as the lighting causes the wearer to have a lunminous glow and it can completely distract whatever else is going on, and the whites you believe you are seeing are actually "dyed down". They may be ever so slightly,(usually) gray,(sometimes) tan, or (on rar occassion) pink depending on the lighting plot. It never really crossed my mind in relationship to technical application in classic television As you can guess, you probably know what I am going to say next - that not all, but a large portion of the costumes that were worn on "I Love Lucy" were shades of gray as well! A prime example of this is featured in the following photo. This costume actually did double duty. It appeared in Lucy and Desi's earlier vaudeville review as well as appearing in the 1953 episode of "Lucy" entitled "The Diet". P.S. ...i wanted to steal the shoes : ) The following is a frock that more typically embodies the "Lucy Look" I hope you all enjoyed this brief glimpse into the exhibit. There was also a riding costume from her appearence in "Mame" but for some reason the photo did not come out. The collection of memorabilia and interesting facts is not the largest in the word, but it definitely is very educational. If you happen to be planning a trip to Universal Studios in Florida, and are a Lucy fan, vintage clothing (which i think we all are!), or just like to absorb trivia...it is a must see. Chris
How Cool!! I never knew that about the lack of color. Thanks for letting us know. I loved that scene when she couldn't sit down!! ( I am thinking of the right one aren't I ?) That was one great dress Thank you for sharing this
Chris that is fascinating about the colour and tv at the time. How interesting this exhibit must've been. I love stuff like this. Thanks for sharing the 'trivia' and the pics Sue
And now you know why beauty pageant contestants do choose white... This place is just a wealth of information.
Oh, I saw that exhibit at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles. It was soo cool. I am glad you took pictures because I didn't. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the nuptials!:D Marie
Thanks for sharing. That was my favorite show. Have an old VCR tape of Lucy's Lost Episodes. Those are really, really "Lucy" dresses!
Oh...for the Miss America pageants they are more prepared for it lighting-wise, that is for sure. but also remember that there is such things as diamond white, etc, which you would swear was stark white until you put it up to a bright white piece of copy paper. it;s not even considered an off-white its so darn white. i never knew it existed myself until 3 or 4 months ago. its really the closest thing without actually being white. but white is not nearly as tricky as anything with a moire pattern or a small pattern that the camera can't read and comes out as moire...that's a camera operator/lighting designer's worst nightmare. Black and white film and color behave a little differently as well. As any old film buffs know, and photographers know that color can save a poor picture, but you can't hide poor composition, etc, etc, in a black and white. Costume designers take great care in constructing color palettes for their productions and characters both for film and theater, and it is very important to work as a whole with the production designers, lighting, etc as well. however, in my opinion, selecting for black and white was more difficult as it could all look fabulous to the eye, but all turn out a mess on print. vibrant colors can all look like a monotonous soup, sometimes even more so or equally so as if everything was a variation on pale beige. The actual intensity or two different reds or blues could be undetactable or subjective to the human eye, but are very blatant on black and white film. I remember watching black and white films as a child and admiring some of the subtelties, and that with the true master cinematographers, even though there was no colors, your brain could fill in from the subtle variation in hues the differences between a blonde actor/actress, lightish brown and redheads. anyhow...i had a good time.... oh,,,and thanks on the congrats....i am not quite recovered from relatives yet! chris
