National Endowment for the Humanities - Preservation Assistance Grant Application

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1 ABSTRACT: National Endowment for the Humanities - Preservation Assistance Grant Application Prepared by John Schooley and Griffin Brown for: The American Genre Film Archive INF392G Management of Preservation Programs Instructor: Rebecca Elder Spring Semester, 2012 University of Texas at Austin, School of Information The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) is the largest archive of its kind in the world, containing approximately 1500 prints of 35 mm films,primarily from the 1960s-1980s. The focus of the collection is genre and exploitation cinema, an area undocumented by most film archives. Styles such as martial arts, action, crime, blaxploitation, science fiction, and horror are represented in the collection. The importance and influence of these films as artistic and cultural artifacts is increasingly being recognized, by both scholars and the public.a needs assessment performed in the spring of 2012 determined that, while AGFA has saved many rare and unique prints from destruction, the collection is still endangered under current storage conditions. Recommendations from the needs assessment were: to upgrade basic storage conditions for the collection, and to purchase environmental monitoring equipment. NARRATIVE: What activities would the grant support? This grant would support the purchase of horizontal shelving and preservation supplies needed to fulfill recommendations made in a needs assessment of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), executed in This project would improve the storage conditions for AGFA s films, and provide basic environmental monitoring equipment to both improve current storage conditions, and document the need for future improvements. AGFA films are currently stored in the projection area of an active multiplex in the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain. The films have been temporarily saved from destruction, but AGFA must take additional measures to prevent further deterioration of the prints. What are the content and size of the humanities collections that are the focus of the project? The AGFA collection contains approximately 1,500 films, focusing on the exploitation era of independent genre cinema, including examples of martial arts, action, crime, blaxploitation, science fiction, and horror. Productions range from large-scale period martial arts dramas, to low-budget feminist women in prison movies by pioneering female directors, to groundbreaking early African- American cinema. The bulk of the collected films date from the early 1960s-1980s, with some films from as recently as the 1990s also present. Some of the prints are rare or exist nowhere else, and include American and foreign films that are seldom screened for audiences. Most of these titles are unavailable to the public on consumer formats such as DVD, Blu-ray, or VHS, and are likely to remain so. Collections in AGFA s vault include: 1

2 Shaw Brothers Collection Shaw Brothers was the largest movie studio to operate out of Hong Kong, and the most significant film production company in the history of Hong Kong Cinema. Boasting a large staff of technicians and performers, Shaw Brothers maintained many sound stages and standing sets, operating in the style of the large American movie studios of Hollywood s Golden Era. The films produced by Shaw Brothers are among the best work ever created in the martial arts genre. In 2009 Dan Halsted, a friend of the AGFA board, located a large depository of films from the Shaw Brothers studio. The films were found in a defunct movie theater, and the new owner of the building was eager to dispose of them. As one of the few organizations dedicated to the preservation of films of this kind, Halstead contacted AGFA, who appraised and subsequently purchased the films, preventing their disposal. Tai Seng Collection Tai Seng was the premiere distributor of Chinese language cinema in the U.S. Through contacts in the film collector community, AGFA became aware that Tai Seng planned to dispose of all of their 35mm film stock. AGFA contacted Tai Seng, and after explaining the nature of the archive and AGFA s interest in the films, Tai Seng donated the prints outright to AGFA. When AGFA representatives arrived to pick up the prints, they found that many were not labeled in English, and the pictographs present did not lend themselves to literal translation. The titles could only be identified by using the combination of a decades-old shelf listing, shipping manifests, and a multilingual volunteer. The acquisition ultimately consisted of well over 600 prints, among them classics of Hong Kong's fertile genre film explosion of the 1990 s, many unseen since their original release dates. The prints in the AGFA collection have been out of circulation for some time, and AGFA has been honored to make them available to theaters and institutions for theatrical play. AGFA is committed to making these films available for public screenings, in many cases for the first time since their original theatrical release. AGFA films have also been screened at festivals across the country, adding to the growing scholarship and public interest in exploitation cinema. AGFA screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse are frequently accompanied by introductions from AGFA staff, placing the films in a cultural and historic context, and explaining the provenance of the prints being screened. As genre cinema is largely undocumented by film historians, the tacit knowledge held by AGFA staff, learned through personal research and connections in the film collector community, is sometimes the only source of information on many films. What is the nature and mission of your institution? The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) is the largest archive of its kind in the world. Founded in 2009 by an international group of film enthusiasts, AFGA s mission is to raise awareness of the merits of genre cinema through collections, conservation, distribution, and interpretation. The types of films represented in the collection have been largely ignored by traditional film archives. AGFA believes that these films warrant preservation as artistic and cultural artifacts, and the importance and influence of genre cinema is being increasingly recognized by scholars and the public.agfa s vision is a world in which the artistic and socio-cultural merits of genre cinema are appreciated and understood by critics, historians, and audiences alike. Has your institution ever had a preservation or conservation assessment or consultation? A preservation assessment of the AGFA collection was completed in February The assessment was conducted by John Schooley and Griffin Brown, graduate students in archives and preservation at 2

3 the University of Texas at Austin, with the assistance of Adjunct Preservation Field Services Officer with Amigos Library Services, Rebecca Elder. This grant application isto fulfill recommendations outlined in the assessment report. What is the importance of this project to the institution? This project is necessary as a first step to improve the storage conditions of the AGFA film collection, and to accumulate data that will demonstrate the need for future improvements. The collection is currently stored in the upstairs area of the Village location of the of the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain, in Austin TX, an active four-screen multiplex. The film reels are housed in cardboard boxes, which are stored on wooden shelves along the walls or in any remaining available space. As the collection has outgrown the existing shelves, many recent acquisitions are stacked on the floor and in the walkway between these shelves. Many prints have damaged film leader, which requires repair before the prints can be screened. The shipping containers used to send the films out for screenings are worn and in need of replacement. The films are stored on metal reels inside the cardboard boxes. Some of the reels show signs of corrosion or fall damage. Unwinding the reels and storing prints on cores is not practical, as it is a timeconsuming process, and AGFA lacks the staff to transfer the films from cores to reels and back again each time the prints are screened. The report recommends replacing the metal reels with plastic reels, which would be less likely to damage the prints while still allowing them to be screened without transfer from cores. There are multiple problems with the current storage conditions ofthe AGFA collection. The cardboard boxes housing the prints put the films at increased risk of damage from leakage. A hole in the roof or leaking pipe, all-too-common occurrences in most archives, would cause significant problems. Transferring the reels to plastic cans would greatly reduce the danger to the prints from water damage. Cardboard boxes are more likely to harbor pests, and to expose the films to more dust. Plastic film cans would also provide greater protection from falls and during transport. The wooden shelves used in the AGFA storage area are susceptible to many of the same problems. Wooden shelves are more likely to be damaged by water, and would likely require replacement should any leakage occur. They are harder to clean and more prone to dust, and more likely to harbor pests. Wood also contains the same lignin that deteriorates and releases acids and causes deterioration in paper materials, and unfinished plywood may off-gas formaldehyde and other chemicals. The current shelves are also difficult to move or re-arrange, should the layout of the storage area need to be changed. Finally, the collection has simply overgrown the existing shelving. The prints currently stored on the floor would also be in danger in the event of a spill or leak, and there is no room for additional acquisitions as all current shelving is full. The recent needs assessment revealed large fluctuations in relative humidity in the storage area, and the storage temperature is higher than recommended to prevent film deterioration. AGFA could benefit from the implementation of an environmental monitoring program. Data collected via environmental monitoring could prove beneficial in multiple ways. The data collected could be used to adjust the current HVAC system in order to achieve maximum performance, and could also be used to demonstrate the necessity of improved storage conditions to potential financial donors. 3

repair, and new shipping containers. Fig.

4 This National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant would allow AGFA to purchase items recommended in the recent needs assessment, including additional horizontal shelving, additional 35mm archival cans and reels, film leader for film repair, and new shipping containers. Fig. 1 - AGFA films are stored in the free space surrounding the projection equipment for the Alamo Village location. Fig. 2 - A view of the AGFA storage area. Note the wooden shelves, and some overflow with boxes stacked on the floor. 4

Fig. 3 - With no room left on existing shelves, overflow from a recent acquisition is stored on the floor. What are the names and qualifications of the consultant/staff involved in the project?

5 Fig. 3 - With no room left on existing shelves, overflow from a recent acquisition is stored on the floor. What are the names and qualifications of the consultant/staff involved in the project? [To be added by AGFA] Lars Nilsen - AGFA Staff Zack Carlson - AGFA Staff Sebastian DeCastillo - AGFA Staff Rebecca Elder - Consultant/Advisor on Preservation Needs Assessment Ms. Elder is adjunct faculty at the University of Texas-Austin School of Information, and Field Services Officer with Amigos Library Services. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia, and an MSIS with a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Conservation of Library and Archival Materials from UT- Austin in 2003, completing a conservation internship at Harvard College Libraries. She teaches Treatment Techniques for Bound Materials and Management of Preservation Programs at the UT-Austin School of Information, and provides consultation and training on preservation and long-term collection care. John Schooley - Consultant, Preservation Needs Assessment Mr. Schooley is an administrator at the Austin History Center, the historical archives for the city of Austin, and Travis County, Texas, and a graduate student at the School of Information at the University of Texas-Austin, specializing in the preservation of audio-visual materials. Griffin Brown - Consultant, Preservation Needs Assessment 5

6 Mr. Brown is currently enrolled in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to working with AGFA, Griffin worked in archives in Ohio, West Virginia, and at the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. The majority of his work has been the preservation of film in the form of photograph negatives, and manuscript preservation. What are plan of work and timetable for the project? Month one and two Research current pricing for shelves, cans and reels, and data loggers (Carlson, De Castillo, Nilsen) Plan for placement of new shelving and transfer of films (Carlson, De Castillo, Nilsen) Order shelving, cans and reels, and data loggers(carlson, De Castillo, Nilsen) Month three and four Install shelving and arrange films and tapes on new shelving to be stored and processed as time allows. (Carlson, De Castillo, Nilsen) Month five twelve Re-reel and re-can 35mm films as they are screened, or loaned out for screenings (Carlson, De Castillo, Nilsen) 6

7 BUDGET: Applicant Organization: The American Genre Film Archive Consultant Fees: Not applicable. The project will be completed by AGFA staff. Supplies, materials, and equipment fees. Item: WW-X5S sliding shelf system from Gaylord Brothers catalog at $ plus shipping. Total: $ Item: ft Plastic film reels from Cinevision Corp contact at $3.00 each plus shipping Total: $ Item: 1000ft of clear film leader with marked frames at $48.00 and 1000ft of black film leader with marked frames at $ from Christy s Editorial catalog plus shipping Total: $ Item: Two HOBO U-12 Data Loggers and software from Onset Computer Corporation catalog at $ with included shipping Total: $ Item: Two shipping cases from Bragley Case Co Inc. via company contact at $92.00 each plus shipping Total: $ Total Project Cost $ Total Request $

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