The entertainment industry has a long, storied history dating back to the 19th century. With no shortage of historical events and technical advancements, there are a multitude of important roles that go into the filming and careful handling of a project. With films holding such value, preserving as much as possible for future generations makes sense. As filming evolves so do the methods in which we can use to keep these pieces of media in good condition. Examining previous film reels and the methods used to preserve them allows us insight and inspiration on the more recent methods.

Film Reels and Tapes

There are many reasons older films would decay within years if not properly stored including Nitrate Degradation and Color Dye Fading. As of now only 20% of U.S. feature films from the 1910-20s survive in their complete form. Thankfully, there are several archive organizations devoted to preserving films and have developed several methods of keeping these historically significant works in good condition. One of these helping hands is the National Film Preservation Foundation, a nonprofit organization that’s been operating since 1997. The NFPF has collaborated with many organizations including the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board.

A unique method preserving some of the oldest forms of film storing the film reels in cold and moderate humidity environments. The materials that film was made from, Nitrate, acetate, and color materials require cold and long-term storage. This is one of the main reasons films are stored in a metal container within salt mines.

Digital Archive

In the year 2000, films started using digital cameras, and as the technology grew it had become the norm by 2013. Today the majority of film productions use digital cameras which have led to many more advancements. One of these achievements is being able to have a vase digital archive for entertainment and historical means. Eventually, this led to multiple fundamentals for preserving digital files and media known as Refresh, Migrate, or Emulate. An article by Margot Note, basically explains these processes are moving the data to different means to keep it from being obsolete.

But as media starts being made digitally, where does that leave the media made with original filming methods? Fortunately, the development of film scanners allows film reels to be converted into a digital format. Unfortunately, this is a very costly process, roughly around $300 or more when looking through the whole process.

Closing thoughts

There is much more work to be done in the process of preserving media from film reels to digital archives. Not only with several organizations devoted to it but the significance of archiving media. We must do our best to archive as much as our filming history, not only for entertainment but for education. Including science/historical documentaries, past films have taught us so much, including progress. Learning from past films shows how we progressed as a society and our technological growth. As we look back on past achievements that have been preserved, let’s also look forward to what can be done in the future.

Works Cited

Adams, Buzz. “Thousands of Priceless Movie Reels are Kept in a Salt Mine in MO.” 95.5 KLAQ, 29 July 2020, https://klaq.com/thousands-of-priceless-movie-reels-are-kept-in-a-salt-mine-in-mo/. Accessed 15 October 2024.

“Converting Home Movies to Digital.” Progressive, https://www.progressive.com/lifelanes/how-to-convert-home-movies-to-digital/. Accessed 16 October 2024.

Edison, Thomas. “About the NFPF.” National Film Preservation Foundation, https://www.filmpreservation.org/about/about-the-nfpf. Accessed 15 October 2024.

Hays, Lauren. “Three Fundamental Digital Preservation Strategies.” Lucidea, 30 April 2018, https://lucidea.com/blog/three-fundamental-digital-preservation-strategies/. Accessed 16 October 2024.