Costs
Concern for escalating costs elicited the creation of The Film Preservation Guide by the National Film Preservation Foundation, and used by archivists around the country. It is useful in that it provides extensive information on how to deal with these materials in a standardized and cost efficient way, detailing situations for both the archivist who has many resources to those who have very few. Another potential cost for many film archives is that of labor. Not only must they pay archive staff, but often these archives do not employ full-time conservators, so they must rely on specialized laboratories for the restoration and reproduction of much of their collection[4]. There is also the question of having understaffed institutions who do not have time to respond to the proliferation of materials that have been coming into archives recently – not only do they not have the money to preserve these materials, they very often do not have the time. There are not only costs associated with storage and labor, but with also preserving the actual film materials. Commercial films are extremely expensive to preserve at approximately $20,000 to $70,000 per film, whereas the average amount of funding provided to films by the National Endowment for the Arts is about $100,000[5]. This makes it difficult for archivists to decide what might be “worth” preserving, which is an impossible decision. However, even non-commercial films have difficulties in terms of cost of preservation and reproduction. In 2003, it was estimated that it costs between $1,550 and $2,800 to reproduce a 1,000 foot 16mm black and white film.[6] Although there is plenty of information provided on how to be cost efficient when it comes to film preservation and restoration, oftentimes it is still difficult to meet these needs when it comes to film reproduction for the purposes of preservation. All of this emphasizes the need for public awareness and advocacy to support conservation efforts financial and continued efforts to standardize and improve efficiency to reduce cost.
Notes
[4] The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. San Francisco, CA: National Film Preservation Foundation, 2004:46. Print.
[5] Slide 2000:104
[6] Film Preservation Guide 2004:42
Concern for escalating costs elicited the creation of The Film Preservation Guide by the National Film Preservation Foundation, and used by archivists around the country. It is useful in that it provides extensive information on how to deal with these materials in a standardized and cost efficient way, detailing situations for both the archivist who has many resources to those who have very few. Another potential cost for many film archives is that of labor. Not only must they pay archive staff, but often these archives do not employ full-time conservators, so they must rely on specialized laboratories for the restoration and reproduction of much of their collection[4]. There is also the question of having understaffed institutions who do not have time to respond to the proliferation of materials that have been coming into archives recently – not only do they not have the money to preserve these materials, they very often do not have the time. There are not only costs associated with storage and labor, but with also preserving the actual film materials. Commercial films are extremely expensive to preserve at approximately $20,000 to $70,000 per film, whereas the average amount of funding provided to films by the National Endowment for the Arts is about $100,000[5]. This makes it difficult for archivists to decide what might be “worth” preserving, which is an impossible decision. However, even non-commercial films have difficulties in terms of cost of preservation and reproduction. In 2003, it was estimated that it costs between $1,550 and $2,800 to reproduce a 1,000 foot 16mm black and white film.[6] Although there is plenty of information provided on how to be cost efficient when it comes to film preservation and restoration, oftentimes it is still difficult to meet these needs when it comes to film reproduction for the purposes of preservation. All of this emphasizes the need for public awareness and advocacy to support conservation efforts financial and continued efforts to standardize and improve efficiency to reduce cost.
Notes
[4] The Film Preservation Guide: The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. San Francisco, CA: National Film Preservation Foundation, 2004:46. Print.
[5] Slide 2000:104
[6] Film Preservation Guide 2004:42