The Birth of the Robot, 1936

The Birth of the Robot, 1936, 7 mins

This experiment with colourful animated puppets was a “prestige advertisement” for Shell Motor Oil. After using the Dufaycolor process for his previous two films, Lye now tried Gasparcolor, another new type of colour film. Making colour films was still a complex process (involving three separate film strips), but Lye succeeded in creating vivid sequences of movement and a storm scene that critics praised as “proof that the colour film has entered a new stage.” Film-maker Humphrey Jennings was an important member of Lye’s team. The music is an abbreviated version of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” suite.