Challenges Faced by Film Archives
Generally, archive face several challenges in trying to increase accessibility, such as encouraging users to advocate for their existence and increasing access to a greater volume of material. Beyond the usual challenges, film archives face unique challenges due to various costs related to preservation, availability of storage and lab space, as well as how archivists respond to the lack of durability of different film materials and sources of funding. The main challenge faced by media archives is how to handle different film formats, especially in the face of constantly fluctuating film technologies. The most common analog film materials are nitrate and safety film. Nitrate film is very durable, but its flammability still is still a present-day concern. Safety film is not as flammable, but it is also not as durable as other materials. There are also more current materials to be concerned about, such as video tape, which degrades faster than film, color film, which is prone to losing its dye pigmentation, and born-digital materials, which will be a discussion topic later in this paper[1]. Because these types of materials were never made with preservation in mind, it is difficult to slow the process of decay and impossible to prevent it.
Other film materials also have advantages and disadvantages outside of digital materials. In the 1980s, Betacam formats were used for a short period of time, and this has lately become a major issue for archives. There are two main disadvantages when it comes to archives’ acquiring Betacam footage: it has a shorter lifespan than VHS tapes, the playback equipment is obsolete and many archives do not have the equipment (or the ability to obtain the equipment due to lack of resources or inability to find an adequate machine) to play Betacam formats. VHS tape has been a common duplication material because it is relatively inexpensive and is often sufficient for researchers looking into the content of a film, but it’s disadvantage is that it’s audio and image quality is substandard and the playback equipment for VHS is on its way to becoming obsolete. Another option is to duplicate the film in both film and VHS and/or DVD formats. While this does help preservation in that it creates a film copy of the master to use for copying purposes when the VHS/DVD copies wear out, it is expensive to do for all films in a large collection[2]. However, for smaller collections that have adequate storage for the original copy and resources to copy the material onto film, VHS, and DVD, this could potentially be the best preservation measure. However, the needs of one archive do not transfer over to all archives, and the individual needs of each collection need to be taken into account to ensure best practices. At present, polyester-based films are considered the best type of preservation material, though there is still significant cost associated with this[3].
Click the links below to read about other challenges that film archives face:
Notes
[1] Slide 2000:105
[2] Film Preservation Guide 2004:42
[3] "Deterioration of Film and Electronic Media: Polyester Film." Preservation 101. Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2006. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://unfacilitated.preservation101.org/session3/expl_iv_fb-polyester.asp>.
Generally, archive face several challenges in trying to increase accessibility, such as encouraging users to advocate for their existence and increasing access to a greater volume of material. Beyond the usual challenges, film archives face unique challenges due to various costs related to preservation, availability of storage and lab space, as well as how archivists respond to the lack of durability of different film materials and sources of funding. The main challenge faced by media archives is how to handle different film formats, especially in the face of constantly fluctuating film technologies. The most common analog film materials are nitrate and safety film. Nitrate film is very durable, but its flammability still is still a present-day concern. Safety film is not as flammable, but it is also not as durable as other materials. There are also more current materials to be concerned about, such as video tape, which degrades faster than film, color film, which is prone to losing its dye pigmentation, and born-digital materials, which will be a discussion topic later in this paper[1]. Because these types of materials were never made with preservation in mind, it is difficult to slow the process of decay and impossible to prevent it.
Other film materials also have advantages and disadvantages outside of digital materials. In the 1980s, Betacam formats were used for a short period of time, and this has lately become a major issue for archives. There are two main disadvantages when it comes to archives’ acquiring Betacam footage: it has a shorter lifespan than VHS tapes, the playback equipment is obsolete and many archives do not have the equipment (or the ability to obtain the equipment due to lack of resources or inability to find an adequate machine) to play Betacam formats. VHS tape has been a common duplication material because it is relatively inexpensive and is often sufficient for researchers looking into the content of a film, but it’s disadvantage is that it’s audio and image quality is substandard and the playback equipment for VHS is on its way to becoming obsolete. Another option is to duplicate the film in both film and VHS and/or DVD formats. While this does help preservation in that it creates a film copy of the master to use for copying purposes when the VHS/DVD copies wear out, it is expensive to do for all films in a large collection[2]. However, for smaller collections that have adequate storage for the original copy and resources to copy the material onto film, VHS, and DVD, this could potentially be the best preservation measure. However, the needs of one archive do not transfer over to all archives, and the individual needs of each collection need to be taken into account to ensure best practices. At present, polyester-based films are considered the best type of preservation material, though there is still significant cost associated with this[3].
Click the links below to read about other challenges that film archives face:
Notes
[1] Slide 2000:105
[2] Film Preservation Guide 2004:42
[3] "Deterioration of Film and Electronic Media: Polyester Film." Preservation 101. Northeast Document Conservation Center, 2006. Web. 07 Dec. 2014. <http://unfacilitated.preservation101.org/session3/expl_iv_fb-polyester.asp>.