Posted: November 4th, 2015

NFL Films colorizes old black-and-white photos and film for the upcoming documentary on NFL Network.

By: Neil Zender

“There’s a reason the football’s brown.”



Brown is usually thought of as a drab, dull color. Nobody gets excited about earth tones. But, Paul Brown was the most colorful coach in football history, inventing much of what modern football is today: The “Playbook,” scientific film study, the “Draw” play, the “Pocket,” calling plays from the sidelines, a communications network linking the head coach to an assistant in the press box, the modern face mask, and the helmet radio. Paul Brown also created the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals.

For “Paul Brown: A Football Life,” NFL Films has brought the legend to life, painstakingly colorizing his epic career. Talented artists here at NFL Films spent weeks enhancing the old black-and-white photos and film with some movie magic (and, digital painting).

Below is a sample of some still photos before and after their colorization. Tune into the show on Friday to see the colorized versions of moving images from his career and our archives.

“Paul Brown: A Football Life” premieres this Friday night at 9:00 pm/ET, only on NFL Network.

Click here to watch the official trailer