Trade test colour films were broadcast by the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

network BBC2 in the early days of

colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...

television in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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 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 ''Giuseppina'' is a 1960 short British documentary film produced by James Hill, which was filmed in 1959, in Mandriole, Emilia-Romagna, near Ravenna in the north east of Italy. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Pro ...

'' (1959), which had won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, 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 Francis Edward Ifield OAM (born 30 November 1937) is a British-Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. After living in Australia, Ifield returned to the United Kingdom in November 1959 wher ...

, ''Prospect for Plastics'' (1962), ''

Evoluon The Evoluon was built in 1966 as a science museum by the electronics and electrical company Philips. It quickly became a landmark in Eindhoven, where Philips was headquartered at the time. The museum closed in 1989 and the building reopened as a ...

'' (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 ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

), ''Study in Steel'' (produced by

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

), ''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 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 for the Admir ...

), ''On the Safe Side'' (1967,

UKAEA The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ...

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

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

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 ea ...

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 ea ...

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