[BC] Indian Head Test Pattern

[Jeffrey Kopp]

>[Larry Bloomfield:]  I'm looking ... as to why they chose an Indian head as opposed to something else.

My guess is that an intuitively recognizable figure (a face) was needed, and the Indian design chosen because the headdress offered rich detail and (as drawn) very functional geometry. It's essentially a greater-bandwidth version of the Felix the Cat camera-test doll. It was originally used full-screen and later integrated into the monoscope test pattern alongside the mechanical parts of the image (the circles and bars). It was also a visage very familiar to the US population of the day (coins, movies), or a meme, if you will.

If one analyzes the progressive curving of the feathers, their radial arrangement and circular perimeter, and the left to right progression of detail from fine to bold, in light of the dynamic range, ghosting and linearity problems inherent in television of the day, I think the technical aspects of the design for testing will be appreciated. On Chuck's scan of the artwork, one can see additional shading detail (where the fading ink doesn't match the rest of the image) apparently added later to the feathers, headband, and cheek, probably after initial tests.

I therefore don't think the selection back in 1938 of what has become regarded as an offensive stereotype today was at all whimsical nor arbitrary, but rather very carefully designed solely to meet engineering requirements.