Trade test colour films were broadcast by the

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

network

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

in the early days of

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

television in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

during the long periods of the daytime when no regular programming was scheduled, with the exception of '' Play School''. The goal of these transmissions was to provide colour broadcasting in these intervals for use by television shops and engineers (the 'trade') to install, adjust and demonstrate their television sets. The earliest such transmission was made in 1956 (on the then sole BBC channel) but regular all-day-long films ran from autumn 1967 until 24 August 1973. In all, 158 different films were broadcast; on average, each film was shown 90 times. The colour films provided moving colour images to allow tv dealers to demonstrate sets to customers. The decision to stop showing them followed the extension of broadcasting hours on BBC1 and ITV. This, together with the gradual move of schools programmes into colour, meant there was less need to provide moving pictures during trade tests simply to demonstrate sets. The frequent broadcasting of the films made them well known to some viewers of the time. The one most frequently shown was ''The Captive River'' (1960), which was shown 525 times. The short film '' Giuseppina'' (1959), which had won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, was shown 158 times and became the last trade test colour transmission on August 24, 1973. Other frequently broadcast films included '' The Home Made Car'' (1963), ''The North Sea Quest'' (BP, 1967), ''Overhaul'' (1957), ''Crown of Glass'' (1967), ''Roads to Roam'' (1967), ''The Small Propeller'' (BP, 1967), ''The Cattle Carters'' (BP, 1962) – with a theme song sung by Frank Ifield, ''Prospect for Plastics'' (1962), '' Evoluon'' (1968) and '' Cantagallo''. A number of these films were produced by the oil company BP, including ''We've Come a Long Way'' (1951), ''The Shadow of Progress'', ''Newspaper Run'', and ''Skyhook''. Other films included ''Paint'' (produced by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

), ''Study in Steel'' (produced by British Steel Corporation), ''Algerian Pipeline'' ( Constructors John Brown Ltd), ''The Captive River'' (Shell), ''Ride the White Horses'' ( Ford Film Unit), ''Something Nice To Eat'' (the Gas Council), ''It's The Tube That Makes The Colour'' (

Mullard Mullard Limited was a British manufacturer of electronics, electronic components. The Mullard Radio Valve Co. Ltd. of Southfields, London, was founded in 1920 by Captain Stanley R. Mullard, who had previously designed thermionic valves (US ...

), ''On the Safe Side'' (1967, UKAEA), ''Oil Underground'' (1960, Shell) and ''Transport Ability'' (UKAEA). Another film, ''Birth of a Rainbow'' (1967), about

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

farms, was made by the New Zealand National Film Unit, while ''Network'' (1962) was made by the AEI, and ''No Claim Bonus'' (1963) was made by the COI. ''The Gold Miners'' was made by Films of Africa, and ''A Journey into the Weald of Kent'' (1959) and ''Beauty in Trust'' were made by the

National Benzole National Benzole was a petroleum brand used in the United Kingdom from 1919 to the 1990s. In 1957, the National Benzole Co. became wholly owned by Shell-Mex & BP (through British Petroleum) but continued its separate trading identity. In the e ...

Company with narrations by Sir John Betjeman. The trade test colour films are among the subjects of interest of the ''Test Card Circle'', an organization devoted to studying and preserving the

test card A test card, also known as a test pattern or start-up/closedown test, is a television test signal, typically broadcast at times when the transmitter is active but no program is being broadcast (often at sign-on and sign-off). Used since the ear ...

s used by television broadcasters. The static test cards were typically transmitted for periods before and after regular programming, originally to permit viewers to adjust their television sets.

BBC2 daily schedule

According to the BBC Written Archive Centre, the following is an example of a typical day on BBC 2 in the late 1960s when the only scheduled programme during the day was ''Play School'' at 11 am:
:09.00 Colour Testcard F :10.00 Service Information For The Television Trade :10.03 Colour Testcard F :10.30 The Colour Receiver Installation Film :10.43 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :11.00 ''Play School'' followed by Colour Testcard F :11.30 Service Information For The Television Trade :11.33 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :12.10 The Colour Receiver Installation Film :12.23 Colour Testcard F :2.30 Service Information For The Television Trade :2.33 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :3.10 The Colour Receiver Installation Film :3.23 Colour Testcard F :3.30 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :4.30 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :5.30 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F :6.30 TRADE TEST COLOUR FILM followed by Colour Testcard F

References

{{reflist

External links

The BP Video Library
The BP Video Library has 22 of the BBC Colour Trade Test films available to view on their website and to purchase on DVD, including ''Guiseppina'', ''The Home Made Car'', and ''Cattle Carters''.
The Test Card Circle
Details of the UK's Trade Test Transmissions including the history of the BBC and ITA Test Cards, a look at the music used and full details about the Trade Test Colour Films shown from the late fifties to 1973.

BBC Sponsored films 1960s in British television 1970s in British television Interstitial television shows