Bond interior colour

[LOTUSMAN33]

Just been watching 'The Spy Who Loved Me' on TV, is it just me or does that interior look dark grey?

I have noticed it every time I have seen the film but today my son said it straight away, the comment was "dad you have done your car inside the wrong colour!"

I know it is meant to be green but does seem strange that all the trees in the background are a perfect green but the interior is without doubt grey in the film? Could this be a camera trick to tone down the movie background as we all know they binned the Tartan headrests?

I do like the grey/red tartan look though, perhaps it should have been an option

Dave:)

[andydclements]

Well, the man who made the interiors for the film has passed away, but his site still exists, and his son still is in the business.

 

There was a colour clash issue with the S1 interior and a certain film star's complexion, meaning the car had to be changed

http://www.coachtrimmer.co.uk/ourwork-Esprit.aspx.

[Paul Coleman]

Yes I've noticed that as well Dave. The binnacle doesn't look light grey either so I think it's a camera thing, although having said that the interior shots are probably a mocked up car in a studio rather than the actual car?

 

Paul.

[Tony K]

Two thoughts:

 

1)  I think its looking gray is just the lighting and camera.  There is practically no green in the movie still shown -- the trees in the background don't even look very green to me.

 

2)  My guess on the in-car shots is that they used one of the running cars -- I've never heard of a mock-up, and somewhere out there in the internet I thought I once saw a production picture that had a camera mounted on the front of the car pointing at the windscreen/occupants.   Just guessing, though.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Seems like a mystery then, some of the shots are real close ups of Roger Moore's head next to dark grey along with the lovely Barbara Bach!

As you say Tony/Paul it may have been another car for close up work. I thought the binnacle looked strange, seemed almost like it was fabric covered in a suede type material?

Andy, agree it is a shame Nick is no longer with us as I'm sure he could have provided the answer, guess that leaves Roger Becker?

Dave

[andydclements]

IIRC from Nick's talk at an event, a lot of the shots involving the car interior alone (no external background) were done using a 2:3 scaled-up model.

[LOTUSMAN33]

Now just to work out how they shrunk Roger and Barbara?

Dave

[LOTUSMAN33]

Tartan is available in Black/red!

So much easier on the eye, does make you wonder??

Dave

[Loose Cannon]

Now just to work out how they shrunk Roger and Barbara?

 

 

Or enlarged Richard Hammond

 

 

Must admit that to my eyes at least there has never been the slightest trace of green in the Bond S1 interior on screen.

 

The silver and red prototypes had grey/red which looked nice

 

[LOTUSMAN33]

Excellent picture Mark, never seen that image before. I played the you tube clip in the office lunch time today and all agreed the colour was grey/black, I showed them a Fulcher interior after and all said no way. It has always played on my mind so does make me wonder if Lotus experimented with different colour options like the pics posted above?

I wish I trimmed mine in black/red now as I think it looks really smart and a bit different as all the S1's are going green/red tartan now. I have sent the picture to my Tartan supplier to see what they think.

All quite interesting stuff and do enjoy a debate !

Dave

[Loose Cannon]

That pic above is the 2nd (red) prototype which was still red/grey but by then were experimenting with that awful Nextel stuff.

 

The original silver prototype interior looked even better IMHO

 

 

In the film the facial shots all seem to be in the studio mockup. Am I correct in thinking the only time we see into the actual car is when it is introduced at the ferry port?

[LOTUSMAN33]

Think you are right Mark but if you expand that pic it also has a dark interior?

Another dark trim picture

Dave

[Tony K]

I talked with Nick both times when I visited a couple of years ago -- I don't recall him ever mentioning anything about gray or black -- just green.  (?)

 

I've seen several photos of the prototype silver car, and it's definitely green with the tartan -- not gray.   I think that particular shade of green doesn't photograph well, that's all.  Not to mention that that fabric faded so quickly.

 

As for the binnacle, I am confused about the nextel stuff.  The original tartan S1s I've seen all had a fuzzy coating on them that wore off easily (similar to on the dashboards of early Citroen-dash Maserati Meraks).  Specifically, I think there is still a trace of it on Scott Walker's former personal yellow S1, and Lyn Weschler's red Federal S1.  I used to be acquainted with the owner of 200H, and it likewise had fuzzy stuff (the owner called it "flocking") before he re-covered the binnacle.    I don't know where Nick got the idea of using Nextel -- that's the gray stuff that they have been applying to binnacles on S1 tartan cars lately?   Is that stuff supposed to "set up" and cure into a fuzzy surface like the original?   Either way, it's still too light.  I recall the original covering being a dark greenish-gray.    Were different substances used on the binnacles of Tartan cars at different times in production?   I never heard of or saw a light gray binnacle on a Tartan car until Nick began redoing S1s in the 2000s. 

Am I missing something?

[LOTUSMAN33]

Tony I am with you on the light grey paint being lighter than it should be in restored cars compared to models I saw over the years for sale or at shows with original tartan although I am to young to ever have seen one fresh from the Hethel factory.

One of those pictures above with Richard Hammond was from a factory brochure I believe and I read somewhere last night lotus experimented with materials for the S1 before settling on the green/red.

My theory is the bond cars were supplied in green/red but the colour clashed with filming, we know Nick changed the headrest to try and sort the issue but it may not have been enough for close up work. I believe that car was still driven by Roger Becker for the stunt driving work. This car is located in the Dezer collection currently and going up for sale.

As they used several Esprits I believe another was trimmed in darker material for the close up work as even at the ferry port the trim is very dark along with the beach scene. It is plain to see with the very close up work inside the car with both stars that the material is unlikely to be bright green either as at no point does that colour come through. Unfortunately no one knows what happened to the other cars involved in filming and as I understand it the one which was sold by Auction a few years back and trimmed by Nick was a fake?

Dave

[andydclements]

I talked with Nick both times when I visited a couple of years ago -- I don't recall him ever mentioning anything about gray or black -- just green.  (?)

 

I've seen several photos of the prototype silver car, and it's definitely green with the tartan -- not gray.   I think that particular shade of green doesn't photograph well, that's all.  Not to mention that that fabric faded so quickly.

 

As for the binnacle, I am confused about the nextel stuff.  The original tartan S1s I've seen all had a fuzzy coating on them that wore off easily (similar to on the dashboards of early Citroen-dash Maserati Meraks).  Specifically, I think there is still a trace of it on Scott Walker's former personal yellow S1, and Lyn Weschler's red Federal S1.  I used to be acquainted with the owner of 200H, and it likewise had fuzzy stuff (the owner called it "flocking") before he re-covered the binnacle.    I don't know where Nick got the idea of using Nextel -- that's the gray stuff that they have been applying to binnacles on S1 tartan cars lately?   Is that stuff supposed to "set up" and cure into a fuzzy surface like the original?   Either way, it's still too light.  I recall the original covering being a dark greenish-gray.    Were different substances used on the binnacles of Tartan cars at different times in production?   I never heard of or saw a light gray binnacle on a Tartan car until Nick began redoing S1s in the 2000s. 

Am I missing something?

Flocking is the application of very short fibres to an adhesive coated object. Nextel is a paint type substance that oncer applied forms that fuzzy layer all by itself. After a while the fuzzy surface wears off, and so it would either appear to be a flatt light grey paint, or be re-covered by owners.

[giorgetto]

Hello there,

 

My 1st post so don't kill me.  Been lurking for years....sorry. Don't have a car yet so didn't want to post until I had something to post about. However, I know a little bit about film and on reading this post I had to contribute.  I think the issue with the interior coming across as grey as opposed to the correct green is all down to an issue called Colour Timing. I believe this has to do with how the film negative is developed. Colour Timers are the chaps who develop the film negative in the lab. They can achieve different colour grades by measuring the length of time they dip the negative in the developing chemicals. If a the film's Director wishes a certain scene to look a little darker or a little greener or greyer this can be achieved through colour timing.

 

I'd imagine that MGM or Sony (whoever owns the rights these days?) didn't have a great positive to work with when making the transfer to DVD.  Something which they don't seem to have fixed with the Blu Ray versions either.  Ideally to achieve a correct colour version they would need to go back to the original negative (if they still have a good one) and have a new positive produced.

 

Maybe someone could send them a piece of tartan and green cloth for reference

 

Hope I ain't bored you to tears.  Here's a link to Mr. Lynch who can probably explain it a bit better.

 

On my way over to introductions.  Long over due

 

 

Gav

[Bibs]

 

[slewthy]

Hi Gavin,

You dont need a car to contribute - as demonstrated by your interesting post.

 

Welcome to the forum but do go to introductions and tell us about yourself, if you are looking or just wishing for a car etc.

 

Simon

[LOTUSMAN33]

Nice one Gav, great information and may well explain a lot

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Dave

[giorgetto]

Cheers for the welcome chaps. Nice to be on board!

 

Have wanted a car for some time and have come close on more than one occasion.  Life keeps throwing trivial stuff like mortgage payments and car loans etc in the way.........One of these days.

[calilot]

As a film enthusiast/maker and big 007 fan just my five cents to the interior color of the Bond car.

 

Obviously the studio interior scenes were shot with a green room back ground to insert later the driving and underwater scenes and back ground effects. To do that the camera can not film or pick up any other green color inside the car or it will show the back ground in these areas too.

Maybe that was the reason that they did not use or changed the interior and to  make it look more greyish toned.

 

Just a thought....

[Alex Carter]

That's an interesting point well made I like these geeky things . I'm always a suckered for continuity love how they miss things in the cut . Like the bond film in Japan where I think there driving a soft top toyota and they switch sides driving on the left and right of the car

[Fridge]

On 27/07/2014 at 06:32, calilot said:

As a film enthusiast/maker and big 007 fan just my five cents to the interior color of the Bond car.

 

Obviously the studio interior scenes were shot with a green room back ground to insert later the driving and underwater scenes and back ground effects. To do that the camera can not film or pick up any other green color inside the car or it will show the back ground in these areas too.

Maybe that was the reason that they did not use or changed the interior and to  make it look more greyish toned.

 

Just a thought....

This is the most likely explanation. As is usual a mock-up of the Esprit was used for most, if not all, of the interior shots. However, since TSWLM was shot on film, a blue screen would likely have been used. Not green. Green is used in video because of it's high response in that part of the spectrum, and away from flesh colour. Gav mentions "colour timing", which is not a term I'm familiar with, and I think refers to the post-production process of colour grading. You can't time colour, though it can be changed throughout a scene during the editing process. However, it's not the same thing really. The green interior of the Esprit in the exterior location shots will have been muted to the director's taste, and possibly to match the mocked-up car. Subsequent prints and releases will have different looks. Blu-ray being probably the best, if it has been made from a re-mastered original print of the film.

Just my penneth worth.

David Jinks, Producer/Director, Fridge Productions Ltd.

[Steve V8]

TO BE READ AS SPELT

Obvioushly the pershon who altered the interior of the OO sheven Eshprit wazh Q. The new English Bond, Jamge Bond couldn't poshibly be ecsphected to shit on hish Schottish predechessors tartan !!!  

[nello]

As a slight aside.............. I know on FYEO - they deliberately chose the Copper colour to be the most 'stand-out' amongst the snow-covered Dolomites so colour definately plays a part to consider on camera...............