Power and Authority in Film Preservation

In Chapter 8 of her book Film Preservation: Competing Definitions of Value, Use, and Practice, Karen Gracy discusses four major elements that guide preservation practices within film preservation:

1. Evaluation of the condition of objects in a film archive

2. Collaborating/Co-existing with the laboratory that is digitizing your film

3. Selecting specific films for preservation

4. Establishing a national agenda for preservation

The first section on film inspection gave a good overall look at how an actual film repository handles that preservation aspect. It was interesting to note that although this particular archive used FIAF's standards as a starting point, they also had to incorporate their own standards that were practical given their real world limitations. It was a healthy reminder that "best practices" are generally written for "best possible conditions." Unfortunately in the real world there are concessions that have to be made regarding money, expertise, manpower and time. 

The second section was on the archivist and the laboratory. I didn't realize that most archives use a separate lab for the digitization process (although it was later noted in the chapter that this is slowly changing due to a decrease of up and coming experts in the field) it was interesting to note that the two are indeed establishing a very important relationship. The part I found the most intriguing was when the author quoted "Carl" from the studied archive as saying 'Do not let them control you....Eventually, if an archivist develops a long-term relationship with a laboratory, he or she along with the lab begins to have a "distinct look"'  (pg. 181). The author did in fact note the importance of the role of "observer" that the archivist plays, but just the same I found it fascinating that one could be so skilled in the field that they would be able to discern which films came from which lab and even who was in charge when that film was digitized.  I also thought "Tom's" comment that, "We have to introduce young people into this hybrid industry, now. It's a hybrid industry: it's both chemical and it's digital. You can't dismiss either one," was very poignant. It is disconcerting to think of how rapidly the number of qualified preservationists and specialists is declining with the onslaught of new technologies.  

In the section on the politics of selection I was happy to note that user demand plays a key role in objects becoming a priority for digitization. At my current corporate library the requests of the users was the biggest factor in collection development, which I think was vital in creating repeat patrons and helping employees get their jobs done to the best of their abilities. I didn't realize that committees were sometimes appointed to assist with the selection process when large scale grants are awarded to certain institutions. I can only imagine the nightmare of butting heads between a seasoned archivist and someone outside the field. I thought "Kent" made a good point that it may be excessive to have a committee when the collection itself was already carefully selected, so all the material is relevant and the decisions can be made more quickly than one outside the profession may think. It was also interesting to get the perspective of "Jon" who was able to speak more positively on the fresh historical perspectives that the committee members were able to bring to the table so that collaboration could produce a better finished product. 

The final section on establishing national agendas for preservation was both enlightening yet not surprising information at the same time. It was interesting to learn about National Film Preservation Act in 1996. Although a good initiative it contained some holes regarding what defined an "orphan" film and what copyrighted material preservationists/archivists could seek funding to digitize. The film industry is obviously a capitol driven market and unfortunately some films (although they are significant in terms of American heritage) are not cash cows and therefore will not be digitized on the part of the film corporations. Although the problem is still being dealt with, the passage of the Preservation of Orphan Works Act is helping to redefine what constitutes and "orphan" film and in turn open the door for some important footage to be preserved digitally. 

Film Digital Collections

The University of Maryland Digital Collection:

I was not able to access any of the video footage on this website. The site indicated that only people with a university directory account can access the footage from off site. I looked over the directions for constituents to access the videos from off site, and it looks like a complete pain. I can imagine this probably is a huge road block for a lot of users and lowers the number of people using these resources. Looking over the metadata was interesting though. It was simple and easy to understand and I liked that there was an identifier listed in case you wanted to cite the video. I also liked that they kept the initial information seen by the user simple so as not to overwhelm the average user with superfluous information. I didn't find a lot of information about the digitization process itself, just some general information on digitization overall. The search feature seemed to be pretty good, and turned up lots of relevant results on a few broad keywords that I tried.

The Internet Movie Archive Collection:

I loved this site! I liked that there are subject headings at the top of the page to direct you to your area of interest. I watched Merrie Melodies, a Tale of Two Kitties and the quality was actually pretty good. The picture looked good and what I was really impressed with was the sound. The history of the organization provided is good, and the FAQ's page was fairly thorough and included a whole section on how they digitize their films. I liked the options on the advanced search feature and I also like that it was streaming video.

The Library of Congress American Memory Motion Pictures:

I was suprised by how clunky this website was. Actually I take that back, I'm not suprised because I've looked at enough LC stuff that I've seen a pattern of subpar quality user interfaces, but I'm still amazed given the prestige of their orgranization. On the page we were directed to, there were only 16 collections. Getting to the point where you actually finally got to see the film footage took as may as 8 clicks in some cases and it was incredibly frustrating. The search feature was okay... I watched two videos from the burlesque (variety stage) collection. The 1st video of a female perfomer getting ready was terrible. Her head was 1/4 cut off the entire video and it was very shaky. The other video was pretty good however (a burlesque/trapeze artist disrobing). It was a clear picture, pretty steady and a good pace. With this difference in quality it's hard to say if the problem was the film itself or the person in charge of digitizing it. It would have been nice to just watch if from the website itself, but the MPEG 4 opened fairly easily in my windows media player.

Technicolor

What is "Technicolor?"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technicolor)

• Technicolor is the "trademark" for a progression of color film processing that was pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation which is now a division of Thomson SA. (The Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation was founded in Boston, MA in 1915 by Herbert Kalmus, Daniel Frost Comstock, and W. Burton Wescott)

The name "Technicolor" actually has 4 usages:

1. Technicolor process/format - the several image origination systems used in film production which eventually became the "three-strip" process. (1922-1954)
   
2. Technicolor dye imbibition printing (also referred to as dye transfer) - a photolithographic system used for the creation of color prints, originally created for the Technicolor format but was also discovered to be compatible with standard mompack film. (1928-2002)
   
3. Technicolor labs - film laboratories across the world owned and run by Technicolor for post-production services. This is why film credits may say "Color by Technicolor" even though the actual technicolor process was not used on the film. (1922 to present)
4. Technicolor - the umbrella company encompassing all the above as well as the other services provided by the company. (1915 to present). (Check out Technicolor's website)
   

• This was the 2nd major color film process, after Britian's Kinemacolor and ended up being the most widely used process in Hollywood between 1922 and 1952.
• It is known for being "hyper-realistic" with very saturated levels of color.
  
• Some of the most memorable/popular films that took advantage of this processing include: The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, Joan of Arc and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (animated).

How does it work and how has the system progressed?
(http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/technicolor1.htm)

Process 1: Additive Color (1917-1922)

• Technicolor originally existed in a two-color red and green system.
  
• Process 1 used a prism beam-splitter behind the camera lens exposed to adjacent frames of a single strip of black and white negative film simultaneously, one behind a red filter, the other behind a green filter.
• Because two frames were being exposed at the same time, the film had to be photographed and projected at twice the normal speed.The first and only camera made for this process can be seen below:
  





• Exhibition required a special projector with two apertures (one with a red filter and the other with a green filter), two lenses, and an adjustable prism that aligned the two images on the screen. Technicolor itself produced the only movie made in Process 1, The Gulf Between. The near-constant need for a technician to adjust the projection alignment doomed this process. The following images display how both the camera and projector were able to accomplish process 1 technicolor:
  

System 2: Subtractive 2 color system print (1922-1927)

• The camera used in system 2 (and later system 3) was updated and its film negative results were different than the camera used in the first system. The newly built camera can be seen below:
  

• However, the real change came from the new subtractive color process.
• As discussed above, the earlier additive system which used black and white images projected through color filters (which could result in the loss of light absorbed by the filters). In contrast, this new system carried the color information in the image itself with no need for colored filters. The picture registered on screen as good as the original film maker was able to create and the new system also allowed the colors to be reproduced a bit more accurately.
• The camera negative carries both the red and blue-green records of the originally filmed scene. Both prints were made on half thickness matrix films. The blue-green was upside down and mirror image compared to the red so that they could be placed back to back after the color dying process.
• The film used was much like the normal black and white film of that day with light sensitive silver halides and a gelatin layer. When the film was developed and the silver was removed in the processing, the gelatin remained as a "contour map" of the image. Using system 2, when the matrices were developed they were then floated on a dye bath of a color complimentary to the original color record.
• The two film strips were then cemented together for the projection print.
  
• This system was not without it's deficiencies. The think film cause a great deal of grief in the projection machines and splicing the film was very problematic.
• The first feature film made using this process was Toll of the Sea:

Technicolor Process 3 (1928)

• Process three is VERY similar to process two; however there was a update called dye-imbibition used in the final stages of film processing. After the two strips of film were processed and dyed with their complimentary colors, they were then placed with a third blank strip of film (coated with a substance to absorb the color/image) and the dye was transferred to the new film strip.
  
• This made the finished product much less bulky and made for less incidents with projection of the film.
  

Technicolor Process 4 (1932-1955)

• The magic of Process four is the new three-strip camera built by Technicolor. The camera $30,000 in a day when the average wage was 50 cents per hour.





• The camera now captured three different strips recorded in the primary colors red, blue, and green. During processing the strips were again dyed with their complimentary colors. The red with cyan, the green with magenta and the blue with yellow.



• After each strip of film was prepared with was transferred to the receiver strip using high pressure. The depth of the gelatin impression was exaggerated for illustration.
• Even though he had already started filming, Walt Disney decided to take advantage of the new 3-strip process for his movie Flowers and Trees. The film turned out to be a hit and a 5 year contract was made between Disney and Technicolor for the use of the new system on animated films. This soon became a one-year process when Kalmus was pressured by other studios who refused to use the 2-color system process.
  
  

Preserving Television and News

In their article "Preserving Digital Local News," Robert B. Allen and Kirsten A. Johnson find that there is currently no large scale effort to preserve local television and newspaper news stories. Preserving audio and visual media is hugely problematic, but factoring in an industry that pumps out new material on a daily and even hourly basis, then the problem is even further compounded.

The BBC does have a website devoted to discussion dealing with the preservation of their archive. "We've got about 4 million physical items for TV and radio. That's equivalent to 600,000 hours of TV content and about 350,000 hours of radio. So we're getting very close now to a million hours of material. We also now have a New Media archive, which is keeping a record of the content that goes out on the BBC's websites. We also have large sheet-music collections, we have commercial music collections. We have press cuttings going back 40 years as well. So it's a very large-scale operation." At least we know that large entities such as these are trying to preserve the objects as best as possible until they can digitize them and make them available. However trying to access the online video interviews with their professionals raises yet another problem with video preservation, it's not accessible to everyone! If you dig around on the web at all, you'll find that video from sites made in the U.K. are not generally available outside of the U.K. Alas, we cannot learn from their professionals, but at least we know their onboard with trying to tackle the contents of their archive.

The Library of Congress is of course collecting all things television, and have the largest audiovisual archive in the world. Although initially stored in several different locations, the archive is now being consolidated and a massive, round the clock digitization project is under way.
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/library/challenge/packard.html
http://www.davidconnell.net/fact/loc.html

One great thing we are seeing more and more of though, is education available to the public on how to digitize and preserve their own audiovisual materials. (Example) With the widespread use of this knowledge, we're seeing more and more television clips popping up from personal files on sites such as youtube. Although this may be a copyright issue, it demonstrates that there is a need to preserve this material and puts pressure on entities to move forward quickly with their digitization efforts.

METS

What is METS? (Good question, not sure I completely understand yet!)

"The METS schema is a standard for encoding the descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata of digital objects, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Cornsortium. The standard is maintained in the Network Development and MARC Standards Office of the Library of Congress, and is being developed as an initiative of the Digital Library Federation." http://dlib.nyu.edu/metstools/

From: Using metada standards in digital libraries

• METS is an application that records the structure of digital objects -- the names, locations of the files and the associated metadata
• It is a container for metadata and file pointers
• It could be a unit of storage or a transmission format
• It uses the XML schema facility for combining vocabularies from different Namespaces
• It is extensible using "wrappers" or "sockets" in such a way that other schemas can be plugged in

Blu-Ray!

What is Blu-Ray?: The next generation optical disc format

• Also known as Blu-Ray Disc (BD)
• Developed by the Blu-Ray Disc Association (BDA) -- this is a group of the world's leading consumer electronics including: Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic Pioneer, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK, and Tomson
• Developed to enable recording, rewriting, and playback of high definition video
• Has five times the storage capacity of a traditional DVD -- can hold up to 25GB on a single layer disc and 50GB on a dual layer disc (Side note: recent development by Pioneer has pushed this to 500GB on a single disc by using 20 layers)
  
• Advanced audio and video codecs create a better HD experience
• This new format uses a blue-violet laser (CDs and DVDs use a red laser)
  
• "The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD. This together with the change of numerical aperture to 0.85 is what enables Blu-ray Discs to hold 25GB/50GB."
• It however is still backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit
• There was a "format war" in which BD was competing with the HD DVD format. Toshiba announced (Feb. 19, 2008) it would no longer develop or manufacture HD DVD players and recorders essentially ending the war. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc)

Blu-Ray FAQ's
How a Blu-Ray Disc Works

Assignment #6 -- Betamax

What is Betamax? A type of home videocassette tape recording format. It is now considered obsolete.

Some facts about Betamax:

• Developed by Sony
• Released on May 10, 1975
• Contain 1/2 inch wide tape -- similar to the U-matic videocassette format
• The Betamax name had two references -- "Beta" came from the Japanese word used to describe the way the signals were recorded onto the tape, and from the fact that when the tape ran through the transport it looked like a B. The "Max" came from maximum.
• Betamax recorders were sold by major companies and department stores such as: Toshiba, Pioneer, Aiwa, Sears, and Radioshack
• Betamax used the format to also develop a camcorder called the Betamovie. The camcorder was rather large and lacked features such as rewinding or playing back its own tape and had an optical rather than an electrical viewfinder.
  
• Most people remember Betamax due to the fact that it was forced out of the marked by VHS products made by JVC. This has become a classic marketing case study.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betamax