Interes'ng Recent Developments in Film Archiving & Preserva'on: From Classics to Ephemeral Works Howard Besser Moving Image Archiving & Preserva<on New York University Interes<ng Recent Developments in Film Archiving & Preserva<on: From Classics to Ephemeral Works Background: What role have Film Archivists tradi<onally played? How has film archiving changed over the past decade, and is there some rela<on to changes in Cinema Studies? 1 2 What do Film Archivists do? History Skillsets Prac<ces Who is this man? 3 4 Henri Langlois Langlois known to squirrel away films anywhere he could 5 6 1
Langlois influence well known Langlois eclec<c programming con<nues 7 8 Film Archivists do Restora<on Work 2:30 6:20 Star Wars restora<on "The new technologies give Lucas the freedom to make the movie the way he wanted it," he added. The new scenes, he said, did change the movie. In one of the new scenes in Star Wars: Special Edi<on, Greedo, the bounty hunter, fires first before Solo kills him. "Han Solo's character is definitely changed by the new scenes. In the original, Solo is seen as a dark character, when he shoots the bounty hunter without provoca<on, he doesn't seem like such a nice guy," Trimble said. Michael Miller, New scenes, restora<on draw more people to theaters to explore the Force of Star Wars, Digital Collegian (Penn State U), Feb 21, 1997 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 9 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 10 Star Wars restora<on The Empire Strikes Back 1980, Emperor voice by Clive Revill 2004, Emperor voice by Ian McDiarmid hhp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_changes_in_Star_Wars_re releasess Star Wars restora<on Return of Jedi In Darth Vader's final scene, when he is not wearing his helmet, the eyebrows of actor Sebas<an Shaw have been digitally removed, indica<ng what happens to Anakin's eyebrows when he gets burned on Mustafar (shortly aler a duel with Obi Wan) in Revenge of the Sith. His eyes have also been changed to blue and minor cosme<c altera<ons have been made to his face to beher resemble the Anakin portrayed by Hayden Christensen in the prequel trilogy. In the final scene where the spirits of Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Yoda appear to Luke, Anakin is now played by Hayden Christensen rather than Sebas<an Shaw. hhp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_changes_in_star_wars_re releasess Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 11 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 12 2
Some<mes even the Director wants to go back and change their original film Star Wars 1977 vs 2004 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 13 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 14 In Restora<on, Film Archivists worry about Versioning 0 2:13 Restaura<on before & aler Archives used in Produc<on Granito: How to nail a Dictator Pamela Yates, 2011 0:40 1:20 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 15 16 We also worry about guaranteeing the integrity of a work Is this ok? 17 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 18 3
Colorizing if Director wanted it? Pan and Scan example 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Stanley Donen, MGM, 1954 from hhp:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pan_and_scan Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 19 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 20 Commercial Reformapng Issues: PR at 1967 re issue of GWTW Spherical Blow Up In the Splendor of 70mm. Wide screen and full stereophonic sound! For the thousands who remember its unparalleled drama, ac<on and romance! For the new thousands to whom the wonders will be revealed for the first <me! Breathtaking spectacle, inspired ac<ng by the greatest cast ever assembled! The screen's most exci<ng love story! The most talked about picture ever made! hhp://www.imdb.com/<tle/h0031381/taglines But most people didn t know that 70mm widescreen is different shape than 35mm normal Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 21 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 22 Change in Aspect Ra<o forces cupng This meant elimina<ng part of the frame Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 23 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 24 4
Elimina<ng even in famous scenes But the re release wasn t governed by ar<s<c concerns Intellectual Property is owned by MGM, not by Fleming or Selznick MGM is mo<vated maximizing profit, not in maintaining ar<s<c integrity Bigger is always beher Not radically different than another blow to ar<s<c integrity/originality in Atlanta 20 years later Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 25 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 26 Someone needs to maintain the integrity of ar<s<c works This means preserving original versions even when commercial interests want to replace the older version with something new and fancy even when the ar<st wants to use more recent technological developments to improve their work Film Archivists Preserve original works Provide access to older versions Maintain the integrity of the original in any restora<on process Champion works that do not have commercial en<<es pushing for their preserva<on and distribu<on Try to make sure that works are viewed within their original context Besser Memory in World Cinema, 2011 27 Besser Memory in World Cinema, 2011 28 How did one become a film Preserva<onist Learning through appren<ceships Each ins<tu<on does things their own way Professionalism is a rela<vely recent idea 1990s studies recommending offering MAs to help standardize good prac<ces and professionalize the field Na<onal Report: Moving Image Preserva<on Educa<on is cri<cal Important to Create a systema<c graduate program for educa<ng new film preserva<on professionals and con<nuing educa<on opportuni<es for those already in the field ad hoc instruc<on is no longer adequate The Na<onal Film Preserva<on Board will work toward the crea<on of a master's degree program in film preserva<on at an American university and invite curriculum discussions with per<nent professional organiza<ons. Redefining Film Preserva<on: A Na<onal Plan (Recommenda<ons of the Librarian of Congress in consulta<on with the Na<onal Film Preserva<on Board) Library of Congress Washington, D.C. August 1994 29 30 5
3 US Educa<onal Programs established around turn of century Jeffrey Selznick School (orig 1 year, no academic degree; new academic degree with Univ of Rochester) UCLA (2 years, Masters degree) NYU (2 years, Masters degree) Film Archivists also are Historians, Archeologists, and Detec<ves All but one of the remaining examples involve my students or former students 31 Besser-Memory in World Cinema, 2011 32 Metropolis found in Museo del Cine (1/2) 2.5 hour film when released in 1927 Didn t do well enough, so distributor re cut it to 90 min Mar<n Koerber s 2001 defini<ve restora<on restored all but 25 minutes that scholars worldwide deemed forever lost Félix Didier became Museo del Cine Director in 2008 Metropolis found in Museo del Cine (2/2) w/fernando Peña, began looking through the collec<on of film cri<c Manuel Peña Rodriguez given to govt in 1971, to Museo in 1992 knew that running <me was too long Compared to 2001 restora<on Film was in bad shape In early 1970s, govt had converted the 35mm nitrate print to a 16mm nega<ve w/o first cleaning 33 34 Metropolis can Metropolis clip 35 36 6
New Breed of Archivists not like old Museo del Cine Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:53:36 0300 From: Paula Félix Didier I just came back from a very nice cheese and wine dinner with Herr M Koerber, in his Berlin apartment. A German magazine brought me here as part of the story they are publishing next week on our Metropolis finding. I arrived here two days ago and I went directly from the airport to the Kinemathek to show my DVD to Koerber, Reiner Rotha, and the people form the Murnau Founda<on. Yesterday, I went to Munich and showed it to Patalas. A few jaws dropped and everybbody is very excited, but this is not why I'm wri<ng to you. The thing is that throughout the whole business people kept complimen<ng me on my generosity, and how great and rare it is that I decided to share this so openly, bah, blah, blah. And I couldn't see why this was such a big deal. For me, it came naturally, and it was the obvious thing to do. And I couldn't help thinking that (although I do have some merit in this, I'm not being falsely modest), the fact that I had no doubts about what to do comes directly from my MIAP upbringing. You and Mona ingrained in our archivists' DNA that there's no preserva<on without access, and that sharing is the only way to go. So I just wanted to let you know that you are sending good seeds out to the archiving world, and that we are making a difference and people are no<cing it. I just felt I needed to tell you this and give credit where credit is due. Other than that, everything is going well, except that I'm star<ng to deal with the Murnau founda<on. They didn't believe me at first (probably thought I didn't know what I was talking about), but now that they have proof, they are gepng proprietary and are claiming copyright on the new images I have. This is very annoying and disappoin<ng, but I'll have to learn how to nego<ate something for my lihle museum. 37 38 Museo del Cine Museo del Cine 39 40 Museo del Cine Museo del Cine staff & building 41 42 7
Museo del Cine NYU work crew New Breed of film archivists Museo del Cine NYU crew brings equipment 43 44 Museo del Cine daily mee<ngs btwn NYU crew & staff Museo del Cine color <n<ng guides 45 46 Museo del Cine color <n<ng guides Museo del Cine staff with NYU crew 47 48 8
And the New Breed of Archivists show great interest in films outside the Classics 49 La Venganza Felix and Edmundo Padilla i<nerant exhibitors Screened in border region 1925 1937 Constantly inter cut and re edited previously exis<ng films and footage to meet audience taste Shot no footage of their own (Venganza is from half dozen films made in 1910s and early 1920s) w/bilingual <tle cards 50 Padillas Reinactment Cast & Crew 51 52 53 54 9
Gregorio Rocha 55 56 1936 Olympics No#ciario de Laya No. 3 (1937), Generalitat de Catalunya 57 58 Laya #3 thought lost Another Spanish Civil War film found in NYU Tamiment Collec<on :00 :20, 0:52 on 59 60 10
Historically, Film Archives primarily preserved narra<ve feature films Types of ephemeral films that were neglected: Amateur films, Home movies Industrial films Educa<onal films Anthropological footage Shorts Adver<sements S<ll neglected, but perhaps not so ephemeral: Newsreels, Documentaries, avant garde What we call Orphan Films 61 Even when Archives collected Orphans, they gave them low priority Some people say that Film Archives are like Prisons, where some types of films disappear forever 62 Orphans Orphans Films 63 64 Orphans Orphans 65 66 11
Orphans Mexico s Archivo Memoria 67 68 Rescatar esos filmes olvidados que se encuentran en los closets y las bodegas, para dar cuenta de épocas, sucesos y lugares clave para nuestra historia, será uno de los principales propósitos del proyecto Archivo Memoria, cuya primera muestra se llevará a cabo el 26 y 27 de agosto en la Sala 4 de la Cineteca Nacional. 69 Aug 2011 Archivo Memoria Event 70 Audrey Young s prepara<on room Home Movie Day 71 72 12
Home Movie Day Began in a few ci<es August 2003 Has grown exponen<ally HMD now throughout North America 73 74 HMD now also Worldwide HMD has made inroads with tradi<onal film preserva<onists Saving our film heritage should not be limited only to commercially produced films. Home movies do not just capture the important private moments of our family's lives, but they are historical and cultural documents as well. Consider Abraham Zapruder's 8mm film that recorded the assassina<on of President Kennedy or Nickolas Muray's famously vibrant color footage of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera shot with his 16mm camera. Imagine how different our view of history would be without these precious films. Home Movie Day is a celebra<on of these films and the people who shot them. I urge anyone with an interest in learning more about how to care for and preserve their own personal memories to join in the fes<vi<es being offered in their community... Mar<n Scorsese 75 76 DVD from Home Movie Day Formed Center for Home Movies Office at Library of Congress Na<onal Audiovisual Conserva<on Center Non profit fundraising organiza<on hhp://www.centerforhomemovies.org/ 77 78 13
NYU s MIAP: A curriculum for studying Moving Image Archiving & Preserva<on Film History/Historiography and Film Style Conserva<on, Preserva<on, Storage, and Management Legal Issues and Copyright Laboratory Techniques Moving Image Cataloging Curatorial Work and Museum Studies Programming New Media and other Digital Technologies Access to Archival Holdings 79 Interdisciplinary; students need to learn the context in which each of these cultural ar<facts were made know the history of changing formats need to be scien<sts and technologists who understand: the process of color changes how certain stocks become too brihle to provide a flat focus for copying how magne<c par<cles are laid on videotape and what causes the various types of deteriora<on how different computer files link and interact, (and how certain compression algorithms cause various types of loss) so that they can an<cipate preserva<on problems of compressed and hyper linked digital works strong organiza<onal and classifica<on skills so that they can manage these collec<ons and help others find things they want in them. administra<ve skills to manage these large preserva<on repositories (whether they be film, video, digital, or others). understand that preserva<on does not exist in a vacuum, and that they may have to become ac<vists to prevent outside poli<cal forces from inadvertently trampling on our ability to preserve 80 Competencies Handling film, video, new media, and understanding how these ar<facts are made Collec<ons assessment, risk assessment Selec<on & appraisal Collec<on management (labeling, storage, cataloging) Repair and transfer Naviga<ng through different ins<tu<onal cultures Programming and exhibi<on Budge<ng, jus<fying projects, and grant wri<ng Donor rela<ons and intellectual property Research & access Scholarship Historical Research Ethics Readings touching on ethics and values in both our domain (Philosophy of A/V Archiving) and related domains (Enola Gay) Examina<on of daily occurances for ethical and value based responses (news ar<cles, wardrobe malfunc<ons, Lucas restora<on of THX, sound restora<on ) Extensive discussions on contemporary incidents, and the role that the professional community should play in these Screensound Australia BFI 81 82 Skip to #106 if short on #me Sponsored Films 300,000 Industrial & ins<tu<onal films were commissioned by businesses, chari<es, educa<onal ins<tu<ons, and advocacy groups Interest in these developed through stock footage, Prelinger Films, Ephemeral Films, Interest grew much wider when 1,000 from Prelinger collec<on were put onto archives.org More intense interest from Orphans Film Symposium More scholarly interest 83 84 14
Field Guide Field Guide Scholarly 85 86 Prelinger Collec<on Prelinger sub collec<ons 87 88 Prelinger Tag Cloud Prelinger Archive Mash ups 244 films What happens when you make close to 2,000 ephemeral public domain films freely available on the Web? People make art and more films are born! Here s a sample of films created with Prelinger Archives footage and uploaded to the Internet Archive. However, Rick Prelinger suspects thousands more are uploaded on other video sites. 89 90 15
Prelinger Assembled (mash up) prelinger assembled.mp4 prelinger assembled Auteurs Social Networking site for quality films ( classic masterpieces, wonderful new cinema, visionsary films, ) Over 750 films available (from several different collec<ons) Films stream via $5 rentals, but some are free Forums where viewers engage in online discussions about the films Viewers post their preferences (playlists) Sharing, networking, commen<ng, and viewing Goal of broadening demand for theatrical distribu<on 91 92 Partnering with World Cinema Founda<on (WCF) The World Cinema Founda<on is being created to help developing countries preserve their cinema<c treasures. We want to help strengthen and support the work of interna<onal archives, and provide a resource for those countries lacking the archival and technical facili<es to do the work themselves. Mar<n Scorsese, Chairman 93 94 Cannes 2009 Press Conference Co Opera<ve Agreement announced at Cannes 2009 Scorsese, WCF s Kent Jones, Auteurs Efe Cakarel, B Side distributor Chris Hyams, & Criterion Films restored by WCF would play at Cannes Classics sidebar, and simultaneous stream at The Auteurs Then distributed to Universi<es via B Side Then Special Edi<on DVD releases by Criterion 95 96 16
WCF 2009 Cannes 1 st try 97 4 WCF films posted on The Auteurs (day of press conference) Within 2 days, 1,000 viewings (each view >10 minutes) Appears that there s a resul<ng audience for theatrical release These films are meant to be watched on the big screen if there s more awareness, there are more theatrical opportuni<es Auteurs founder Efe Cakarel in Eric Kohn s Partners in Cinema, Movie Maker, Summer 2009, Issue 82, Vol 16, page 26 98 in Eric 1,000 views of 4 Cannes Classics Films (The Housemaid, Touki Bouki, Dry Summer and Transes) Within 2 Days 1 View = More Than 10 Minutes Accidental Archives Many of our most valuable archival collec<ons only became archival by accident Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) started out as distribu<on for Bill Viola and other ar<sts (also Paper Tiger) Russian consulates had some of the best remaining prints of revolu<onary era cinema NYPL Donnell Library & NYU A/V circula<ng collec<ons are now the only remaining copies of works now out of print Footage collec<ons become only copies of material later recognized as valuable (Prelinger) 99 100 These may all be Archives, but they re not real preserva<on Is YouTube an Archive? 101 102 17
Youtomb YouTomb monitoring 435,900 YouTube videos 23,712 videos taken down for alleged copyright viola<on 109,428 videos taken down for other reasons hhp://youtomb.mit.edu/ 103 104 Copyright is a Serious Issue We can t see the one <me stream of restored Metropolis at this very moment Our new genera<on of Film Archivists Have strong Ethics Believe strongly in coopera<on Feel there s no preserva<on w/o access Regard cinema as much more expansive than narra<ve feature films 105 106 Interes<ng Recent Developments in Film Archiving & Preserva<on: From Classics to Ephemeral Works hhp://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/howard/talks hhp://www.nyu.edu/<sch/preserva<on/ hhp://www.nyu.edu/orphanfilm/ hhp://www.centerforhomemovies.org/ hhp://www.homemovieday.com/ hhp://www.ccaaa.org/ 107 18