Steps In Preserving The Artifact
Importance Of Documenting The Film Preservation Process
Preservation is often viewed synonymously with duplication, while restoration refers to the more complex task of re-creating a film to match its original achievement. However, the two terms are often interchanged and confused with one another. To complicate matters further, there is not universal agreement within the moving image archive community precisely what these two terms should mean. For purposes of simplification to outline the process, the term preservation is used as a catchall to describe the general activities involved in selecting a film for intervention to the final stage of providing access.
One of the most common misconceptions about film preservation is that the process is complete once damaged or deteriorating film is copied onto another medium, such as the process of transferring potentially flammable nitrate onto safety stock.
Transferring nitrate to safety and then destroying the nitrate source became common practice after the widespread industry acceptance of safety stock in 1950. It has been determined in recent years, however, that if nitrate stock is stored under optimal low-humidity, cold storage conditions, it will last as long as the so-called “safety.” So-called in the sense that acetate and even polyester stock is subject to chemical deterioration if improperly stored.
Currently, no form of preservation exists that is capable of restoring that lost information (including those methods afforded by digital). Thus, film preservationists have become better aware of the importance of saving original materials and working from the earliest possible generation of film elements as the key to image quality. Through inspection, diagnosis, repair, comparison of elements and higher standards in laboratory work, a higher standard of preservation is expected and regularly achieved. These results are attained when the best available source material is used, and when an intricate knowledge of the archaeology and history of the medium is brought to bear on the process.
The goal of a moving image archive when preserving a film is to match the original achievement as closely as possible. The original achievement is generally defined as the version that was distributed in theaters during a film’s initial run. However, this definition isn’t that clear-cut. What if the film was released in two or more versions, as often happened? Should the film be updated using the best modern technology even if that means improving upon the original? Should material not included in the original either because of censorship or for some other reason be included? Should a film be manipulated to satisfy the director’s original intent if that means changing the film substantially from its original release version? With these issues in mind, it is important to document the history of the film at hand not only to record how many versions exist, but to better understand the film in its original social, cultural and historical context.
Below are a number of the circumstances that a film preservationist may encounter:
Films may have been deliberately cut for censorship purposes at one or more points in its history. The film may have been censored by the studio before its release to conform to the Production Code, MPAA ratings requirements or other reasons.
Films may be shortened or altered on release, or re-release, as a result of critic's reviews or the comments of preview audiences. Pre-view prints may vary substantially from final release versions. Road show versions were regularly shortened for broad release.
Films are regularly altered for sexual situations, violence, racism or other content deemed objectionable for television distribution. Films for television may be modified to mask or eliminate product or trademark identification. Films may also be altered when certain licenses are not obtained (especially music licenses).
A film may be altered or lengthened to present a “restored” or “director’s cut,” especially for DVD release.
Films may be re-released in a different manifestation, such as a colorized version, to appeal to a new generation.
A film may be incomplete through accidental loss or damage, or, in the case of early film, due to physical deterioration in the film stock.
A film may have pieces cut from the original for re-sale or re-use in other compilations.
Material from a private collector may have suffered damage purposefully, such as attempting to conceal a film's identity by removal of parts of the film, such as the main titles, when its acquisition by that collector had not been legal.
Traditionally moving image archives have focused on the process of preserving the film medium itself. Accompanying documentation or artifacts that may provide essential clues regarding a particular film's context, exhibition history, or cast and crew are intellectually or physically stored separately, usually at different institutions. An examination of all stages of a film's creative development is desirable, as the process will provide insight as to how the film was originally constructed. This costs additional time and resources during the process of film preservation, as research must be conducted at various and often remote locations.
Forms of related documentation may include:
In the case of home movies and amateur films, such formal physical documentation probably does not exist. Instead, film preservationists rely on written notes and verbal conversations with the donor to gain knowledge of the content and context of the film. External historical research of a given time and place is also useful in fully understanding the film’s context.
The sheer number of films that require intervention suggests that archives struggle endlessly with securing funding that ultimately supports the preservation of only a small percentage of an archive's total inventory. However, it is important to note that not all film deserves or needs to be preserved. While archives are not encouraged to destroy or allow the deterioration of media artifacts, it is important for each archive to recognize the curatorial responsibilities imposed by their mission statements, and to evolve an intelligent preservation policy that focuses on core needs. De-accessioning films to other archives may well represent a facet of such a policy.
Despite the fact that decisions made during the preservation process are complex and can be highly subjective, the outline below can be referred to as a method of summarizing many of the generalities involved.
Select the film to be preserved
Significance: The most obvious reason to preserve a film is cultural or historical significance, especially films that exemplify the institution’s mission. Other selection criteria may include:
Rarity or uniqueness: Is the film a unique copy, or a significant and unique version? Are there other known copies? Has the film been preserved at another institution? Is the quality of your copy better than any of the other existing copies?
Funding: Are there funding options available (perhaps it is the favorite of a generous benefactor)?
Economic value: Can the film be used or licensed in commercial contexts, and is there a ready market that would produce a stream of revenue for the archive if the film were commercially available?
Condition: Is the film at risk in your collection, and will it be inaccessible to your institution if you should allow it to deteriorate? For example, some archives regularly prioritize silent films, because so many have been lost. On the other hand, a 16mm print of Casablanca may not be a priority, because this film is readily accessible from distributors and on DVD.
Secure Funding
It is generally not economically feasible for a moving image archive to preserve its entire inventory. Celluloid is deteriorating faster than archives can keep pace. Non-profit archives are dependent on public sector grant programs such as the National Film Preservation Foundation and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, and through private donors, businesses, and private foundations. An additional means of revenue is through the licensing of material where the archive holds copyright or when the film is in the public domain.
Non-profit archives are generally discouraged from applying for public sector grants for films that are the property of a commercial entity. It is generally felt that such entities should bear the cost of preservation until such time as the film, along with its copyright, is transferred into the public trust. Therefore, non-profit archives have more funding options available for “orphan films.” Orphan films are works without clearly defined owners or works that are not deemed commercially viable. As such, these types of films may exist in archives as unique or best existing copies. Under the umbrella of orphan films are documentaries, silent-era films, avant-garde works, ethnic films, home movies, and independent works. Without public support, these types of films would languish in backlogs with little means to fund their preservation.
Inspect and inventory all film elements
Inspection of a film is an activity that an archive will take on routinely for evidence of deterioration or to supplement insufficient information that was originally received on a title. When inspecting a film for a preservation project, the primary goal of inspection is to record the physical description of all extant film elements:
Other areas that should be taken under consideration are ownership, provenance, and determining the level of intervention possible based on available funding.
Prepare the film for the laboratory
After the film has been inspected and inventoried, the most complex phase of the preservation process is to prepare the film to be duplicated at the laboratory. This will require separating elements such as picture elements from sound elements.
The process will also entail:
Examining physical condition and repairing damage, including splices, edge and perforation damage, and the assessment and upgrading of previous repairs.
Cleaning the film to remove any residue, dirt, oil, etc. This may require attention to individual frames. Some films have been lacquered or coated, and such treatments may interact negatively with film cleaning fluids or immersion (wet-gate) printing liquids.
Adding printing leader to head and tail of each reel. These leaders may require sound sync marks if the film has a soundtrack.
Labeling leader with title of film, element type, and footage count of the master and other information necessary to the correct printing and handling of the film.
Send the film to the laboratory
Consulting with the lab technicians. Once elements have been separated and prepared, laboratory technicians work closely with the film preservationist to determine which printing option will achieve the best results. The film preservationist should note any physical conditions that might make it difficult to duplicate any segment (e.g. shrinkage, warping, or deterioration, physical damage), and communicates any special instructions or accommodations to be made. These consultations will normally cover the economic implications of these options, which may affect preservation choices and technical methods. The ultimate decisions in this regard should be made by the film preservationist.
Creating preservation elements. The film preservationist details what elements will be reproduced. This may be as simple as a single internegative (which might be the product of a reversal master original or a vintage print which is the only existing element on a title), but may also include interpositives, internegatives, and sometimes elements designated for printing. If the item to be preserved has a soundtrack, a rerecorded magnetic soundtrack master and optical soundtrack negative will generally be created, and, frequently, digital sound files. If the preservation work requires the use of material from different sources, the film preservationist will create a plan indicating how multiple elements (sometimes in different gauges) will be integrated into the master element. Such work may also be necessary for the soundtrack.
Review answer print with lab for sound and image quality. The answer print is the first print of preservation or printing duplicates made by the laboratory. Normally, this print includes timing or color correction and synchronized sound. The purpose of the answer print is to determine what values to incorporate into the preservation or printing element to assure that the elements being manufactured will be capable of rendering acceptable film copies of the item to be preserved, as well as to demonstrate that the sound element has been properly made and synchronized with the picture. The first answer print may be accepted if the film preservationist believes that it represents a successful or best possible rendition of the item to be preserved. However, it is usually the case that further changes are required before the preservation and printing elements can be made. The cost of answer printing is high because of the effort required to prepare a final, acceptable first print, and because reprinting is frequently necessary. The lab will reprint the negative to meet the criteria set by the film preservationist. However, laboratories will not reprint an answer print indefinitely, so it is critically important that the film preservationist communicate very clearly with the laboratory during the process of answer printing.
Ordering preservation elements and release prints. Once the sound and image quality have been established by a successful answer print, the laboratory produces the preservation element. If the original (or most original available) source element is a positive, the laboratory will produce a negative that will in turn produce prints. If the source element is a negative, the laboratory will produce a fine grain master or interpositive, and then a duplicate or internegative from which to strike prints. Copies struck from the preservation element will generally be used for projection and as reference copies. Once these copies have been created, the preservation elements are generally vaulted and protected from further use. If an archive intends to make a substantial number of prints, or to be printing or video-transfering the film regularly over the years, it is a good idea to make a printing element in addition to the preservation element. It is always cheaper to make such elements at the time of preservation than it is to go back and make them years later, so some thought should be given to access needs.
Store the master elements and access copies. Before storing the film properly, each element is separated and borrowed materials returned.
Catalog the new elements
After the preservation of the film is complete and all materials safely stored, inventory forms and preservation notes are then passed on to the catalogers to enter into the archive's database. Ideally, catalogers transform the archive’s inventory into a reference tool that guides users to material that the archive holds on a particular film, artist, corporate entity, or subject. Catalogers essentially provide a complex description of the film and all its elements, add controlled vocabularies from standardized subject and genre lists and conduct research to determine authorized forms of names.
In a perfect world, catalogers would view each film in order to document precise information as to the film’s title, cast, and credits. However, due to the increased amount of time it takes to view individual titles and the costs involved in doing so, catalogers generally work from documentation supplied by preservation staff as well as from published reference sources and Web sites such as the Internet Movie Database. It is important to note that although the physical description of individual items will be described to the fullest extent possible, descriptive information about the film may not be completely accurate depending on the reference sources available.
In addition, many institutions have adopted a group level approach to cataloging their moving images when titles of single works are ambiguous or unknown, such as a series of educational films produced by a university department, a set of outtakes from a specific film, or television commercials from a single sponsor. A group level approach may also be incorporated for moving image material that is part of a larger set of documents from a single person or corporate entity. Keeping such materials together as a cohesive collection helps maintain the contextual relationships among the individual items.
Provide access to the preserved film
Commercial archives. Once a film has been preserved, the most obvious means of access for the general public is to re-release the film in theaters or to market the film through video or DVD sales. The creation of product is generally the purview of commercial archives that hold the copyright to their material. In this context, moving images are seen as assets to be exploited for profit. As a result, few commercial archives will provide direct scholarly access to their holdings.
Non-profit archives. For non-profit archives, providing access becomes more complex due to restrictions posed by copyright laws. Non-profit archives may distribute material to which they have attained copyright or under certain circumstances when they have obtained distribution rights or when material is in the public domain. Non-profit archives occasionally sell or license material to specialty distributors such as Kino or Milestone. Many non-profit archives work with researchers on an individual basis so that the viewing of access or reference copies is controlled onsite at the institution. Other modes of access include projecting the film in the archive's theater and loaning the film to other non-profit institutions or festivals for screenings.
It is vital that moving image archives take a stronger role in documenting their preservation work and making it accessible.
Access to original moving image materials has always been problematic for researchers, particularly because of the specialized technical means of viewing. Even simple differences in length are not easy to determine, and require a footage counter to be exact. Accurate comparison of scenic and editorial differences between copies and versions demand the precision of a shot-by-shot analysis. And insofar as there are often several versions of a film created to meet different distribution requirements, without the context of verified documentation, researchers cannot be certain of what version of a work they are viewing and interpreting. In the case of unedited news footage or home movies, the significance or completeness of a body of material may be entirely dependent on collateral documentation.
As archives become more sophisticated and develop a historical dimension, the necessity of strong documentation becomes even more acute. Archivists' change jobs, forget, or retire, and it is essential that the knowledge of their practice be secured in the technical memory of an institution. And in preservation, there may be many significant developments over time that affect the status of a work and require documentation, apart from the reality that original and derivative elements may deteriorate, be lost or damaged.
It is essential to preserve a record of the genealogy of the film elements used in a preservation project. Lost elements or new sources of material that can be used to improve a restoration project may resurface, new processes or funding may become available to complete or extend the work, and significant variants of a work may come to light, necessitating exacting comparison. On a more general level, the archival curation of unedited material (especially news and documentary material) and home movies generally requires informed decisions about the relative value of footage in a preservation context, and strong documentation provides the most effective way to compare, assess and validate such decisions.
Documentation of preservation and the factual matrix surrounding a film can be effectively provided via an online database or through a Web site illustrating the processes and results of a particular preservation project. Given the ever-increasing amount of data that is generated by archival processes, these data capture and display facilities are becoming indispensable. And because so many aspects of preservation are contextual and extra-institutional, it is extremely useful to utilize standardized descriptions when creating these data resources.
The advent of digital technologies promises both ease and quality of duplication, but without explicit and accurate metadata, the world of digital clones will become a serious impediment to quality research and effective use of media resources.
For more information about film preservation, visit MIC’s Preservation Portal.