| Film & Video Preservation Tips |
| Film Preservation Methods |
| AMIPA
regularly receives grants to fund preservation of films in its collections. What is meant
by the term "preservation"? For film, this means making new film negatives and
prints, and that can be a very expensive process. To begin with, we test all of the reels
for signs of chemical decay, then put the films onto new cores and into new archival cans,
made of special plastics that allow air to flow through the can, which keeps decay gases
from building up and damaging the film. The film reels are then put back into storage in
cabinets in our climate-controlled vault. They
are then transferred to professional-quality Betacam SP videotape for easier access to the
images, then VHS duplicates are made of the Betacam SP tapes for use as viewing copies. |
The rules for preserving films in archives also hold true for the
home movies you might have stored in your closets or basements. Chemically speaking, the
two worst enemies of motion picture film are heat and water, because the combination of
the two is what causes the dreaded "vinegar syndrome," so-named because of the
distinct odor which degrading film gives off. Despite all of the advances in film and
video technology in recent years, the most important step in film preservation is also the
most basic: keeping them in a cool and dry place (this is good news for those of us in
Alaska, of course). If you haven't watched
your films in a while (and most people haven't) running them through an old projector
could do some irreparable harm to the films. Since VHS copies are generally easier to use
for most home viewings, you might consider transferring your home movie films to video and
keeping your films in storage, or consider donating them to AMIPA. |
| Video Tape Is Not Forever... |
| In fact, the oxides that coat the
plastic ribbons inside those home video cassettes you buy may start to flake off in as
little as five years. Even professional quality video tape stored in perfect conditions
can begin showing signs of deterioration in ten years, and by 15-20 years you are at the
outside edge of their ability to deliver an image without disintegrating. In fact, you may
have only one playback pass left by that
point! So, what is a home movie director to do? |
| Control the Temperature |
| Store your tapes in the coolest
part of the house- 55 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal. Even if you do not have a place that
cool, the most important thing to remember is that the tapes should be stored at a
constant temperature with as little fluctuation as possible. Avoid storing near heaters,
windows, or any place in the house that warms up to 75 degrees or more. |
| Avoid Dust and Dirt |
| Keep your cassettes in a cover.
Plastic is best, but cardboard works too. Dust and debris can gunk up a tape quickly, not
to mention what it does to your VCR. |
| Avoid Humidity |
This is
rarely an issue for most Alaskans because it is drier here. In general, a level of
50-percent humidity or lower, is acceptable. Of course, you want to keep your films and
tapes away from any place where they could get wet. |
| Store Video Vertically, Film Horizontally |
| Laying a video cassette on its
long, flat side will eventually cause the bottom side of the tape to warp. Film, on the
other hand, should be stored on reels and in cans and laid horizontally. |
| Rewind Your Tapes |
Don't eject
your tapes in the middle. VCR’s occasionally damage tapes during the loading and
unloading process, as arms reach in and pull the tape around the heads of the VCR. Wind to
either the beginning or end of the tape prior to ejecting. Before recording a tape, fast
wind once through the tape and rewind to get a good, even "pack." |
| Transfer One of a Kind Tapes |
| As tapes age, they
must be copied onto new media, or "migrated", just as ageing
film must. This is an
important step in the future life of your valuable tapes.
AMIPA can recommend the best solution for your needs and budget. |
| Transfer Your Home Movies to Video... |
..but don't
throw them away! Having home video copies of your 8mm or Super 8 films made will allow you
to watch them without running them through a projector and possibly damaging them. Chances
are, though, that the original film reels will last longer than your video copy. |