Moving images, whether on film, video, or digital media, are fragile. Fifty percent of American films made prior to 1950 have been lost. Only 10% of pre-1929 films survive.
Preservation is expensive. In 2002 making a new master and viewing print of a black-and-white 7,000-foot silent feature cost about $32,000, assuming that no special restoration work was required. Preserving a sound or color feature costs far more. In major American archives alone, more than 100 million feet of film are in need of preservation.
You can make a financial contribution to the preservation effort by contacting
The Film Foundation,
The National Film Preservation Foundation,or
The National Television & Video Preservation Foundation.
MIC resources are gathered and created by moving image archivists and interested experts through the working groups of the MIC Education and Outreach Committee. We are always looking for new and better resources of use to archivists, educators, collectors, students, filmmakers, stock footage users, researchers, exhibitors, and the general public.
If you know of something we’ve missed, or would like us to provide more information on a particular topic, please let us know.
Beginning in late 2004 we will begin registering additional archives to participate in the MIC Union Catalog. If you would like to contribute your organization’s records, please contact the MIC Project Manager, Jane D. Johnson.
More about the MIC Union Catalog.
The MIC Archive Directory is the world’s first international online directory of moving image repositories. Whether your organization is a moving image archive, or simply holds a few film titles as part of a larger general collection, we encourage you to
enter it in the Directory. By doing so, you join a groundbreaking initiative to provide access to moving images worldwide, and contribute to further collaboration, research, and mentoring in the archival moving image community.
More about the MIC Archive Directory.
MIC is still in development. We invite you to review the site and let us know what you think.
Updated: February 28, 2005
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