The Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation Culpeper, Virginia
Question: Is the preservation of motion picture films dependent upon the survival of new motion picture film stock? Answer: No - we can t let it be because motion picture film is going away. Specifically new film products. Laboratory specialty films that are formulated for making duplicates from other film elements are significantly endangered. Even if camera original stock remains and this is questionable.
What is Film? What we often refer to simply as motion picture film as actually a complex chain of processes and events. Like any chain, if a link is broken the entire works supported by the chain can fail. Lets look at some of the links.
Long rolls of light sensitized materials - Will only be made as long as it can be made and sold at a profit. Manufacturing costs are dependent upon certain economies of scale Costs dependent not just upon volume, but also inordinately influenced by secondary sources. Precious metal prices can you say Hunt brothers? Environmental issues Kodak Park is a Superfund site Search Kodak park superfund site for references, and pay attention to cleanup issues
Limited manufacturers Kodak (16mm & 35mm) Color & B&W portfolio is shrinking Large batch factory model ORWO (16mm & 35mm) B&W only currently Formerly made color print, inter-negative, inter-positive, and camera negative. May be willing to make color print. Fuji 35mm laser recording stock only (B&W process) Others? Film Ferrania (s8mm & 16mm reversal original, based upon 3M reversal products maybe) Repeat: Will only be made as long as it can be profitable
Good news: some chemicals come in a food grade Bad news: some chemicals are used almost exclusively as photographic developing agents Metol (aka Elon) Hydroquinone other uses now primary ECN & ECP kits only available through Kodak Recipes are published in Kodak H-24, so can be made from scratch Complicated and expensive Proper mix QC requires high tech gear to insure proper quality. ICP unit: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
2014: Technicolor and Deluxe exit the film processing business. FotoKem remains the only large Hollywood area lab still in operation for the processing of color motion picture film. Kodak website shows a number of processing labs that may still be open worldwide not up to date. Virtually all remaining labs are impacted by changing environmental regulations
North American commercial cinema theaters will be 100% digital projection by the end of 2014 per Kodak research Europe and Asia not far behind. South America is the last major market for film prints, and they are switching over rapidly as well. Kinoton exited the film projector business March of 2014 spare parts available as long as existing supplies last. LC film loans program is getting regular requests for DCP s from other archives, festivals, and museums.
Small batch film production Cost Problems noted in the previous slides Data, data, data Data tapes, spinning disk, SSD DOTS, Piql Something else? Holographic
Look up table (LUT) used to simulate film stock response/ look
Grain vs. Digital Noise
Film prep Machine dependent Time consuming, extensive Timing/grading Printing Picture and sound may be separate Developing QC Repeat as necessary for access/preservation copy
Film prep Machine dependent Typically less demanding than film to film prep Scan D-min & D-max set, then go Color Correction Finalize, create derivatives for viewing, etc.
Film to film preservation copies Masters for long term preservation Scan preservation masters access or restoration Access files are smaller, compressed If restoration project, can then produce film out if desired Born digital materials Long term storage on film?
What is the original gauge? What generation is the material to be digitized? How can you estimate the inherent resolution of the original? http://videopreservation.conservationus.org/library/estimating_historic_image_resolution_v9.pdf Many other references, search estimating the resolution of images
Consultation with all stakeholders is critical Technical - media specific Curatorial IT Funding/Management
Ken Weissman Supervisor, Motion Picture Preservation Lab Library of Congress Packard Campus 19053 Mt. Pony Road Culpeper, Va. 22701 202-707-0572 kwei@loc.gov