- 1. What is the best way to store my films and videotapes?
- 2. I would like to digitise, for archiving purposes, some 16mm films with old black & white documentary footage from our archives to Digital Betacam, and for access purposes to DVD. Is this a good choice
- 3. I still have some old video works that are not stored on video cassettes but on open reel videotapes. Can I still view those works, and if so, where?
- 4. Years ago I bought some artist videos for my private collection, and I wish to show them now in an exhibition. The works are on VHS and ¾” U-matic tapes. How do I deal with this?
- 5. I want to have my films digitised. Where can I go?
- 6. I would like to create a catalogue file of my film/video collection. What information should I include in this?
- 7. I wish to document my installations. Where can I find a model for this?
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What is the best way to store my films and videotapes?
According to ANSI / ISO (American National Standards Institute / International Organization for Standardization), the optimal circumstances for long term preservation are:
• for black and white film:
maximum temperature of 21°C and relative humidity level of 20%-30%
• for color film:
maximum temperature of 2°C and relative humidity level of 20%-30%;
maximum temperature of -3°C and relative humidity level of 20%-40%;
maximum temperature of -10°C and relative humidity of 20%-50%.
• for videotape:
Maximum temperature of 20°C and relative humidity level of 20%-30%;
Maximum temperature of 15°C and relative humidity level of 20%-40%;
Maximum temperature of 10°C and relative humidity level of 20%-50%.
The TAPE-project (Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe) suggests the following circumstances for video preservation:
- maximum temperature of 8-10° C with a possible fluctuation of 1°C
- relative humidity level of 25-30% with a possible fluctuation of 5%
It is important for the preservation of all audiovisual carriers that temperature as well as the relative humidity level remains stable.
Choosing the specific values for temperature and humidity is in real life always a compromise between the accessibility, the comfort for the personnel and the price.
It is important NOT to keep film copies and videotapes as following:
- in basements (they often have a high humidity level) or on the floor;
- in attics (hot in summer and changing temperatures during the year);
- in direct sunlight or near a window;
- near heating devices, radiators or sprinklers;
- near chemicals, paint or engine gasses;
- for film copies with a magnetic sound tape and magnetic videotapes: storage near magnetic fields such as heavy electric wires, electric devices and transformators is discouraged.
In case of a higher relative humidity level (for example starting at 70%), growth of mould is possible. Mould can grow on almost every image carrier and will eventually render it very difficult – or even impossible – to play the carriers. A high temperature can have a physical influence on the carrier in many ways. Most carriers will widen or stretch at high temperature and shrink at lower temperature. For videotapes with a PVC- and acetate substrate, this widening and shrinking occurs in the length of the tape; for videotapes with a polyester substrate this process happens in the width of the tape. A higher temperature can also have a increasing influence on the push-through effect of a signal to the underlying layers in magnetic tapes. A high temperature also has a chemical influence. Although different materials react in different ways to different temperatures, it can be generally stated that a higher temperature speeds up the chemical process. This will eventually result in aging and deterioration of the material.
Concerning the storage location, one should prefer a location that is situated in the centre of the building, slightly above the ground floor. This way the different environmental factors can be controlled the best. The storage location should be fireproof and thermic isolated and protected against the leaking of water. Today, there is a preference for metal shelves; those made out of wood are less used because of the fact that their chemical treatment could influence on the stored image carriers.
The film reels need to be stored in a flat or horizontal way. The choice of which type of film box to choose (cardboard, plastic or metal) depends on the circumstances of preservation. Store the films in a box on a core or on a reel.
Videotapes (cassettes and open reels) on the contrary need to be storage in a vertical way (like you would storage books). This to avoid creasing the edge of the videotape because of pressure and weight of the tape. It is suggested to wind the videotapes once a year. This way, the tension is spread evenly over the tape again, and you avoid the videotape from getting sticky after a while. There is some controversy about this winding and it is not done by everyone (especially since it costs time and thus money).
It is important to pay attention to the circumstances in which the material can be consulted. Sometimes the films or videos that are stored at a lower temperature are needed for consultation or preservation work. When one brings films and videos from of a cold or frozen environment to room temperature, one must avoid condensation. This can be done in two ways;
- by controlling the temperature and humidity level in the consultation room in such a way that no condensation will take place;
- by placing the film or video in a waterproof container before taking the material from its cold environment; condensation will only occur on the outside of the container instead of on the actual tape or video.
The time it takes to get a film up to room temperature depends on the mass of film or videotape. Ideal circumstances for consulting video material, as suggested by the TAPE-project (Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe), are;
- maximum temperature of 20°C with a possible fluctuation of 3°C,
- a relative humidity level of 40% with a possible fluctuation of 5%.
The storage of image carriers is still being complicated by the ongoing discussion on whether one should try to preserve an object as long as possible, or just long enough to migrate it to another format in order to avoid obsolescence. In more and more archives, the classic preservation paradigm – suggesting that the original object should be preserved - gets abandoned. All audiovisual carriers are subject to deterioration and all audiovisual playback and display equipment is threatened by obsolescence. An increasing number of archives belief that they should focus on the content and that it can only be preserved by migrating it from one system to the next. Whilst this migration in the analogue world still implied a loss of quality, this is – due to adequate precaution measures– no longer the case in the digital world.
This new preserving paradigm has in the meantime been accepted by the sector of televison archives and a number of other archives is following this trend. It has become an important model for the long term preservation of video. Not all institutions strictly follow the abovementioned maximum temperature because they belief that the tapes should only be preserved long enough to migrate to another and newer format after 8 or 9 years (the guaranteed lifetime of videotapes as communicated by their manufacturers). Especially for artworks it can however be important to try to preserve the work as long as possible in its original format and on its original carrier. Long term storage is also an acceptable preservation strategy for archives and libraries that do not have the necessary means to reformat their videotapes – at least as long as the necessary playback technology remains available.
In case you are not able to provide for proper storage conditions, try to deposit your film copies and videotapes in professional institutions who can provide a good storage environment.
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I would like to digitise, for archiving purposes, some 16mm films with old black & white documentary footage from our archives to Digital Betacam, and for access purposes to DVD. Is this a good choice
Film is a very good carrier for preservation purposes, especially when it is stored correctly (at a constant low temperature and a constant low relative humidity). Film is a more stable carrier than videotape. Furthermore, the definition of a 16mm image is higher than that of Standard Definition Video.
But the problem is that the equipment for 16mm film is currently becoming more and more obsolete due to the technological evolution (e.g. the arrival of digitisation in the production and the screening of films). If such equipment disappears, it will become more and more difficult to screen or to digitise even well conserved 16mm film copies. Which is one of the reasons why film archives are increasingly considering digital archiving. Your decision to digitise the 16mm film copies with documentary footage is a wise decision – especially because the digitisation will make the access to the material easier.
But the next question is how and where to digitise? It is recommended to contact several labs to ask them for an estimation, as well as digitisation tests. More information can be found here.
The Digital Betacam tapes can serve as your Standard Definition Video masters. Digital Betacam is a stable and high quality format that is widely used in the professional world and that is suitable for the archiving of Standard Definition Video because new Digital Betacam copies can be made from it without a loss of quality. If you wish to digitise to High Definition Video, Digital Betacam is not suitable as a format, nor as a carrier. But it is not sure whether digitisation to High Definition is desirable or necessary in this case (16mm film with old black & white documentary footage). A proper answer can only be given if you take into account the proposed goal, the character and quality of the footage and the financial budget available.
In any case it would be unwise to destroy the 16 mm film copies immediately after the transfer to Digital Betacam because this would make it impossible, for example, to transfer the films later on to High Definition Video. It would be wiser to store the film copies for at least a couple more years under good conditions, and wait to see how the technology evolves further.
Digital Betacam tapes are appropriate for archiving purposes, but are in most cases too awkward to handle, too expensive and too vulnerable for access purposes. It is wise to consider the Digital Betacam tapes as video masters, and immediately use lossy compression to make MPEG-2 files from them. These MPEG-2 files can be stored on a hard disk, and subsequently be burnt onto a DVD or viewed on a computer.
Television and video archives are also currently doing more and more research on tapeless archiving. You could also consider skipping the intermediate stage of the Digital Betacam tapes, and transferring the film footage directly to a tapeless archiving format: an uncompressed video file (used in the art world) or a video file with a lossy compression of 50 Mb/s (used in television a.o.). This kind of tapeless archiving creates new challenges. If you don’t have a good and safe storage infrastructure (e.g. server with LTO- back up), it is probably better to store the video masters over the next few years on Digital Betacam tapes.
Information on the recommended extended-term storage conditions can found here.
We recommend you contact the Royal Film Archive of Belgium in order to find out whether they can store your 16mm film material. They possess the necessary know-how and infrastructure for the storage of film material. If you have a Digital Betacam master, a MPEG-2 master file and DVD copies, you will always have immediate access to the material.
To conclude we would like to add the following remarks:
• the videotape manufacturers usually only guarantee a storage life of 8-9 years (although in reality they often last longer if stored well);
• in the near future Digital Betacam playback equipment and therefore also the tapes will probably become more and more obsolete, and this will force a (new) transfer to tapeless formats (uncompressed or compressed);
• tapeless archiving formats will also need to be regularly migrated to new formats, e.g. because the used codecs become obsolete.
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I still have some old video works that are not stored on video cassettes but on open reel videotapes. Can I still view those works, and if so, where?
From the 1950s until the 1980s some videotape formats were produced that were then stored on open reels: the so-called open reel videotapes. Open reels videotape formats exist alongside the more familiar videocassette formats.
Several open reel video formats exist. All have become obsolete and it can be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to play and view them again. The most important reasons for this are that:
- the necessary display equipment has become hard to find;
- the video signal that has to be displayed is stored on magnetic videotape which may be in a bad condition due, for example, to chemical deterioration – which can hinder the playback. In order to determine what equipment one can play the tapes on, one should first try to find out what format they are.
A first important distinction that can be made in relation to open reel formats concerns the width of the videotape. Open reel systems exist in four different bandwidths:
- ¼ inch (6.35 mm)
- ½ inch (12.7 mm)
- 1 inch (25.4 mm)
- 2 inch (50.8 mm)
Tapes stored on reels with a diameter that can vary greatly.
Even within one bandwidth, different types exist which are, in addition, sometimes brand related. Tapes are also recorded according to PAL, SECAM or NTSC-systems, and can only be played back again with the original system. It is therefore important to check if there is any information mentioned on the box or on the reel itself: brand, type and video system are especially important, but also the year of production, colour, duration, … might be useful. This information can often help in determining the exact type.
There are also some websites containing useful tools to identify open reel systems:
- Videotape Identification and Assessment Guide (Texas Commission on the Arts), see: www.arts.state.tx.us/video/
- Video Format Identification Guide (Sarah Stauderman & Paul Messier - Video Preservation Website), see: videopreservation.stanford.edu/vid_id/index.html
- The Little Reference Guide for Small Video Collections (Barry Van der Sluis - The Little Archives of the World), see: www.little-archives.net/guide/
- Memoriav – Préserver le patrimoine audiovisuel / Memoriav – Audiovisuelle Kulturgüter erhalten, see: de.memoriav.ch/video/recommandations/format/format.aspx or fr.memoriav.ch/video/recommandations/format/format.aspx
On these websites you will find text information and photographs that will make it possible to identify the most common ¼ inch, ½ inch, 1 inch and 2 inch tape formats.
You can also send a clear digital image of both the box and the reel with videotape to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). PACKED will then try to identify the tape format or type for you.
As soon as you have determined the tape format/type, you can start to look for the equipment necessary for the playback of the tape. In many cases this will result in a difficult search because the equipment has become obsolete over the years and has become more and more rare. In some cases one will even have to contact the company archive of the tape manufacturer in order to determine for which type of video player the open reel tapes were made.
There are some other specialised video labs (especially abroad) that still have the necessary equipment for the playback of old tapes. Because several open reel tape formats / types exist, and not all labs possess the necessary display equipment for all existing formats / types, we suggest that you send the information on the tape (and if possible, a photograph of the box and the reel) to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). PACKED will then try to find a lab that can play your open reel tapes.
Because this concerns old tapes and old display equipment, caution is mandatory. Wrong handling can result in tape and equipment damage. In many cases the tapes also need to be expertly treated (e.g. cleaned) before playback.
Because the playback of your open reel videotapes will become increasingly difficult in the future, we advise you to migrate them as soon as possible and without loss of quality to a contemporary and stable video format.
Below you will find, as an example, a photograph of a Philips VPL 8 in. IC 1800 ft open reel tape with box.
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Years ago I bought some artist videos for my private collection, and I wish to show them now in an exhibition. The works are on VHS and ¾” U-matic tapes. How do I deal with this?
VHS and ¾” U-matic are aged analogue video formats that are problematic for both the preservation and the exhibition of the videos from you collection.
VHS and ¾” U-matic tapes are produced to be played several hundreds of times without a big loss of quality, but this is only possible when the playback equipment is in a perfect condition – which is certainly not always the case in exhibitions. Old or poorly maintained equipment may damage (or even destroy) tapes. But also well maintained equipment can unexpectedly break down and damage (or destroy) the tapes. Thus if you play your tapes repeatedly in an exhibition, this can result in a severe loss of quality (and even a loss of the tapes). Especially when these are your unique copies, you may not risk this kind of loss (of quality). Furthermore, it will probably become difficult to find good playback equipment for the exhibition. ¾” U-matic players, and to less extent VHS players, have become obsolete during the last couple of years.
If the purchase agreement allows you to copy the tapes and the inherent deterioration of the original tapes is not the intention of the artist, it would be best to digitise the works for the purpose of their preservation. Before getting started, it is recommended that the artist or his (or her) representative be contacted. It is possible that the works have, in the meantime, already been digitised by the artist himself. If the artist has not yet digitised his works himself, he or his representative can maybe tell you which museum or collector has already done so. If the works have already been well digitised by the artist, a museum or a collector, you can possibly make a digital clone of this new digital master. For the purpose of preservation your best choice would be Digital Betacam or an uncompressed file format for the clone copy.
If the works have not yet been digitised, the artist, a museum or other collector may have an analogue master copy that is of better quality than yours. This analogue (master)copy would then form a better starting point for digitisation than your own copies. As before, your best choice would be Digital Betacam or an uncompressed file format for the preservation copy.
If there is no new master copy or better analogue (master) copy available, it is worth digitising your own tapes. For preservation purposes you best choice would be Digital Betacam or an uncompressed file format.
Make sure that after digitisation you store the new digital preservation copy under appropriate conditions, and keep a back-up. It is also recommended that one keeps the analogue VHS or ¾” U-matic-tapes after digitisation.
Together with the new digital preservation copy, you can also have a MPEG-2 copy made for exhibition purposes. The MPEG-2 file can be used as a master for the production of screening copies. When creating this MPEG-2 copy, the lab may possibly make some adjustments on contrast and colour, and noise reduction, … MPEG-2 copies can afterwards be burnt onto a DVD or be played from a hard disk.
You can have your videotapes digitised in several labs in Belgium and the Netherlands. An institute with a lot of experience in digitising video art on obsolete formats is:
Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst / Montevideo/Time Based Arts
Keizersgracht 264
1016 EV Amsterdam
the Netherlands
T ++31 (0)20 6237101
F ++31 (0)20 6244423
E info[at]nimk.nl
contact: Ramon Coelho
For more info on NIMk digitisation services, please read PACKED's interview with Ramon Coelho (English version still under construction. For Dutch: see here deel 1 en deel 2).
If you have the time and necessary resources, it is sometimes preferable to have a digitisation test done in different labs in order to compare the quality. You could combine this with requesting estimates from the different labs. Experience shows that there can be considerable differences in price and quality between labs. If you wish to safeguard the works for the future, it is recommended that you choose the best quality available. This way you will diminish the chance that the digitisation process will have to be repeated in the future.
For some works (in which the characteristics of the analogue image are essential or whereby the analogue playback equipment is an intrinsic part – e.g. some installations) it may be worth producing an analogue preservation master and a new analogue display copy in addition to the digital preservation master.
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I want to have my films digitised. Where can I go?
In Belgium and the Netherlands there are several labs where you can go to transfer your film material to digital video.
Try contacting several different labs, and compare their estimates and service specifications carefully. Provide the labs with as much information as possible: format, type of audio track (optical/magnetic), length and condition of each film copy.
If you have the time and necessary resources, also try doing digitisation tests in advance at different labs. You will be able to compare the quality of their services. This particularly recommended when you want to migrate a large quantity of film material and when the digital video copies have to be preserved (the quality should therefore be particularly good).
Some labs providing services for the digitisation of film material:
Color by DeJonghe
Diksmuidekaai 4
B-8500 Kortrijk
Belgium
PHONE: ++32 (0)56 350 710
FAX: ++32 (0)56 350 780
E-MAIL: info[at]color-by-dejonghe.com
Website
Studio l'Equipe
Mommaertslaan, 6-8
1140 Brussel
Belgium
PHONE: ++32 (0)2 745 48 00
FAX: ++32 (0)2 745 48 29
E-MAIL: info[at]studio-equipe.be
Website
ACE digital house
Schiphollaan 2
1140 Brussel
Belgium
PHONE: ++32 (0)2 735 60 20
FAX: ++32 (0)2 734 09 63
E-MAIL: info[at]ace-postproduction.com
Website
Cineco B.V.
Postbus 94764
1090 GT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
PHONE: ++31 (0)20 56 85 442
E-MAIL: C.OpdenKamp[at]cineco.nl
Website
SuperSens B.V.
Boomerangcasa
Wilgenweg 6
1031 HV Amsterdam (noord)
The Netherlands
PHONE: ++31(0)20 6187425
E-MAIL: info[at]supersens.nl
Website
The labs mentioned above are able to digitise 16 and 35 mm film. SuperSens is also specialised in the digitisation of 8 and 9.5 mm films.
Before contacting a lab, it would be best to already have an answer to the following questions:
• What is the purpose of digitising the film material?
• Preservation, distribution, access, production/editing, … ?
• What are the overall end uses envisioned for the digital video copy/copies?
• Preservation master, access copy, …?
• What are the parameters and criteria that you will use to judge the final product?
• What is your desired level of involvement in the project?
• Are there any existing organizational infrastructures and policies to which you must align your digitisation project or that may affect your choices? If so, how will they affect your ability to maintain quality control, use of destination format, and support and service for the end user?
• What is the total amount of film material to be digitised?
• What is the extent of the total collection/preservation effort? For example, is this a one-time project, a pilot, phase one of three?
• What is the priority schedule?
• What is the funding available for the digitisation project?
• Are the funds available now or are they slated for release in the future?
• What are the available resources for managing the digital video copies and the original film copies?
The answer to these questions will be of importance for outlining the digitisation trajectory. Keep in mind that with respect to preservation it is still recommended at the present day to make a new film copy of 35 mm films, instead of a video copy. The reason for this is that modern film strip is a very stable carrier if preserved under good conditions, and that the 35 mm playback equipment (as opposed to the equipment for e.g. 16 mm, 8 mm and a lot of tape-based formats) is as yet not threatened by obsolescence. 35mm image resolution is also higher in comparison with the resolution of Standard and High Definition video. For certain forms of access however, a digital video copy of a 35 mm can be useful. In certain cases one could also consider, for 16 and 35 mm, digitising onto High Definition instead of Standard Definition video.
Keep in mind that for the preservation of digital video hardly any standards exist. If you have your films digitised to Standard Definition Video for the purpose of preservation, it is recommended that they are migrated to digital Betacam, a stable and professional format. If you opt for a digital video file (Standard Definition Video or High Definition Video) that is not stored on video tape but on a hard disk or data tape, it is recommended that you choose an uncompressed format (the norm in the art sector) or an uncompressed format with lossy compression of 50 Mb/s (the norm in the television sector).
Try to gather as much information as possible from the candidate video labs. Examples of questions can be found in the handbook on the IMAP Preservation Guide website, section ‘Vendor Questionnaire’.
Don’t throw the film material away after digitisation, but try to store it in good conditions for a least a couple more years. The digital video technology evolves rapidly and you might want to digitise the film material to a high definition or different format in the future.
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I would like to create a catalogue file of my film/video collection. What information should I include in this?
When you create a simple catalogue file of your films/videos yourself, in the form of a database, but also on paper or as a spreadsheet, it is best to make sure that the following elements are included:
• a unique identification number
• the title
• the name of the maker of the film/video
• a description of the content of the film/video
• the country of production
• the date of production
• the format
• the colour system (for video)
• colour or black and white
• sound or silent (and if possible the sound system: mono, stereo, …)
• the duration
• a statement on whether or not the work is part of a larger whole or series
• the number of film- or video reels, videocassettes, video files
• the creation date of the copies
• the generation (e.g. answer print, master, …)
• the physical condition of the film or video copy
• the type of film strip (especially important for old nitrate films) or videotape (especially important for old ½” and 1” video tapes)
• the notes that are written on the videocassette, on the box, on the reel, or on a paper that was found inside the box
• the storage location of the film or video copy
• the storage history of the film or video copy, if known
If you encounter problems identifying the format of your videos, you can take a look at this overview, created by the Texas Commission On the Arts.
In 2008 another overview was created by Little Archives of the World Foundation as part of the TAPE project (Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe), that was coordinated by the European Commission on Preservation and Access (ECPA).
A user-friendly template for a database is the IMAP Cataloging Template. You can find the template, along with a complete manual on the IMAP website.
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I wish to document my installations. Where can I find a model for this?
A convenient model for the description of installations has been developed by Matters in Media Art, a research project by the New Arts Trust, MoMA, SFMOMA and Tate. In its Installation Template nearly every thinkable parameter is discussed. It addresses almost any conceivable variable, including the nature of the exhibition space, the artist's statement, electrical and maintenance requirements, and even health and safety concerns. Although the Installation Template was designed for exhibition purposes, it is also valuable for recording preservation information. You can download the Installation Template free of charge as a Word document.
An example (in German) of a complete description of an installation can be found on the website of AktiveArchive, a project of the Hochschule der Künste Bern HKB and Schweizerischen Instituts für Kunstwissenschaft SIK-ISEA. The example is a description that was made in 2006 by Irene Müller and Marc Egger of the video installation T.V.-Lüster (1993) by Pipilotti Rist. The description can be consulted on or downloaded from the AktiveArchive website. (LINK)
An example (in English) of a description by an artist himself (and his collaborators) can be found in the IMAP Preservation Guide. It is a description of the installation Anima (2000) by the American artist Bill Viola, and can be viewed here.
Also on our own PACKED website you can find some documentation of film and video works (in English). This documentation was made by the artist Manon De Boer and is about her own work:
- Robert, June 1996 - September 2007 (Manon de Boer, 1996-2007)
- Laurien, June 1996 - September 2001 – October 2007 (Manon de Boer, 1996-2007)
- Sylvia Kristel - Paris (Manon de Boer, 2003)
- Resonating Surfaces (Manon de Boer, 2005)
- Presto, Perfect Sound (Manon de Boer, 2006)
- Two Times 4'33" (Manon de Boer, 2008)
- Attica (Manon de Boer, 2008)