On the Materiality of the Audio-Visual Heritage

Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in Donostia (San Sebastián), Spain, from 28 September to 1 October and on 26 November 2021

Abstract

How has sound and image been recorded and reproduced? We will explore the various approaches that have been undertaken during the one a half past centuries and discuss why some succeeded and others did not. Understanding the original processes is the foundation not only for conservation but also for successful modern restorations.

This class is a technical history of both the sound and the moving image record and their reproduction. The acoustic, electrical, magnetic and digital era are considered for sound; the photographic, mechanical, magnetic and digital era for moving images. Not only the current archival media (radio, film, television and video) are explored, but also computers, video games and even space exploration.

Lectures

Tuesday 28^th September

• Organisation (PDF, 110 KB, MD5 = ee593a5c565f4a4338ad1d96e2718a74)
• Analogue Sound (PDF, 92 KB, MD5 = f2f8f113079749267e302438fcfedc24)
• Film Materials, Formats and Processes (PDF, 3.9 MB, MD5 = fbd8f54a0471022e94a3adeb81222bed)

Wednesday 29^th September

• Analogue Television and Video (PDF, 8.8 MB, MD5 = 4e276e0d754ef9d2d1be016cc4ba17f7)

Thursday 30^th September

• On Audio-Visual File Formats (PDF, 5.2 MB, MD5 = 0eecfa5bc477258ddd6d5fe1e130a745)
• A Quiz on Audio-Visual File Formats (PDF, 63 KB)

Friday 1^st October

• Answers to the Quiz on Audio-Visual File Formats (PDF, 51 KB)
• Production Routes (PDF, 78 KB, MD5 = ce85a5ef5939d4eff4c46eb50dc04d3f)
• Hybrid Cinema (PDF, 71 KB, MD5 = 9c5a0a057c33ca251ee6bffa374b09ef)
• Image Based Digital Restoration of Optical Soundtracks (PDF, 1.8 MB, MD5 = f16ab84f89cd39fcd5d7067e027717f4)

Friday 26^th November (poster presentation)

• Amanda Devulsky: U-matic
• Camila Fernandes Vale: SECAM
• Camila Reyes Alberti: Cellophane (Ozaphan)
• Cristina Somavilla: VHS
• Catalina Altuna: Technicolor
• Francisco Borges: Nagra
• Laura Ibañez: Recordon
• Lorena Soria: Pathé Baby (9.5 mm)
• Malen Nicholson: Sound on film
• Margaux Chalançon: Digital Betacam
• Maria Patrao: Slideshows
• Milagros Valerio: Floppy Disk
• Renata Arcos: Kodachrome
• Rocío Ortega: Video8 and Hi8
• Rodrigo Sousa: Single 8

Resources

Media Handling

• [Mick Newnham et al.]: Technical Preservation Handbook. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Canberra [s.d.]
• The Film Preservation Guide. The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. National Film Preservation Foundation, San Francisco CA 2004
• John W. C. Van Bogart: Magnetic Tape Storage and Handling. A Guide for Libraries and Archives. Commission on Preservation and Access, Washington DC; National Media Laboratory, St. Paul MN June 1995
• Fred R. Byers: Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs. A Guide for Librarians and Archivists. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD 2003

Film Identification

• Alfonso del Amo García: Classificar para preservar, Filmoteca Española, Madrid 2006
• Brian R. Pritchard: Identifying 16 mm Films. Staffs 2013
• Brian R. Pritchard: Identifying 35 mm Films. Staffs 2011 and 2013
• Brian R. Pritchard: Identifying Motion Picture Film Sound Tracks. Staffs 2021
• Kodak Edge Codes by Code, PDF, 327 KB (MD5 = 5493b48d6fbcf44bf7e51987f9557ab5)
• Kodak and Dupont Edge Codes by Year, PDF, 97 KB (MD5 = 3934a05a933c4e42846e0bbdd8109492)
• Kodak Edge Codes for 8 mm and 16 mm, PDF, 33 KB (MD5 = 3feb48c09cfeb5757739bf6ce08394a2)
• 16 mm and 8 mm Camera Identification, PDF, 319 KB (MD5 = dbc599c59fcd9a9bb4268f2451c65195)
• 16 mm Camera Identification, PDF, 61 KB (MD5 = 7852f83cbc53392bf75fb341558908ca)

Video Identification

• Videotape Identification and Assessment Guide. Texas Commission on the Arts, Austin TX 2004 (PDF, 12.4 MB)
• AV Artifact Atlas – A resource for identifying errors and anomalies in analog and digital video.

Media Storage

• Peter Z. Adelstein: IPI Media Storage Quick Reference. 2^nd Edition. Image Permanence Institute, Rochester NY 2009 (PDF, 2.0 MB)
• Dew Point Calculator. Image Permanence Institute, Rochester NY [2008]

Bibliography

• Paul Read: “A Short History of Cinema Film Post-Production”, in Joachim Polzer (ed.): Zur Geschichte des Kopierwerks (= Weltwunder der Kinematographie, n. 8), 2006, p. 41–132
• Diana Weynand and Vance Piccin with Marcus Weise: How Video Works. From Broadcast to the Cloud. Third Edition, Focal Press, New York NY and Oxon 2016
• Ray Edmondson: Audiovisual Archiving: Philosophy and Principles. 3^rd Edition, Unesco, Paris 2016
• Agathe Jarczyk, Reto Kromer, Yves Niederhäuser and David Pfluger: Digital Archiving of Film and Video: Principles and Guidance, Version 1.2, Memoriav, Bern 2019
• Reto Kromer: “On the Bright Side of Data Migrations”, in IASA Journal, n. 49 (December 2018)
• Reto Kromer: “Matroska and FFV1: One File Format for Film and Video Archiving?”, in Journal of Film Preservation, n. 96 (April 2017)

2023-05-26