The UCLA Digital Archives and Film Preservation Standards Elise Forte Professor Kate Rogge LI818XC

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Abstract Film is a great monument to our society. With digital film quickly replacing nitric film and actual film strips in making motion pictures, the conservation, preservation, and restoration of motion pictures is becoming a growing concern. The progress of technology has affected every organization from libraries to business and even the motion picture realm. Films are now being produced digitally, cutting down on cost, time, and man power. What, then, is to become of any and all films that were produced before the 1970s that were produced on rolls of film? This paper will focus on one institution that commits itself to restoring and preserving both great films of Hollywood and lesser known films. The University of CaliforniaLos Angeles (UCLA), is one of the finest establishments for motion picture preservation. The paper will first look at the history of film deterioration problems in order to better understand the standards for preservation and restoration of motion pictures. A look at a short sample of silent films restored by the UCLA archives team and made available for viewing on-line will follow. It will then conclude with a discussion of whether the sample of silent films met the organizations standards of preservation and restoration. The standards used are the ones provided by both the Association of Moving Image Archivists, (AMIA), and the National Film Preservation Foundation, (NFPF).

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Film Decomposition Motion picture has captured audiences ever since Edisons 1893 35mm perforated film (Francis, 2010). The first century of film has transformed so much with the invention of motion picture itself, to sound, to color, and now to digital and 3D film. Throughout this time viewers have been on journeys from OZ, Tara Plantation, Europe during the Great War and World War II, and Middle Earth. Even with the inventions of the VHS and DVD, movie theatres will always be popular. Before delving into the preserving of motion picture film, it is necessary to understand what film is made out of and why it deteriorates. Common sorts of film damage are shrinkage, brittleness, buckling, scratching, and perforation damage (loc.org, 2012). In addition to the above film deterioration, nitrate degradation, vinegar syndrome, and color dye fading are all complications to film preservation and restoration.

Nitrate degradation occurs in two ways: The film itself and the way it is stored. It is a slow chemical process and can easily be delayed by proper storage (filmpreservation.org, 2012). Silent films, and all films produced into the early 1950s, were made out of cellulose nitrate, a highly combustible substance. Nitrate film gives off a gas that, when sealed in a confined space such as a can, can ignite at temperatures as low as 100 Fahrenheit (loc.org, 2012).

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Vinegar syndrome occurs in acetate film. Acetate film came about in the 1940s and the 1950s and is not flammable like its predecessor Nitrate. Vinegar syndrome is caused mainly by the very chemical nature of the film itself. If not diagnosed, vinegar syndrome can lead to shrinkage, embrittlement, and buckling of the gelatin emulsion (filmpreservation.org, 2012). Unlike nitrate degradation, vinegar syndrome can be tested by the use of test strips known as A-D strips. These strips are specially treated paper that change color to indicate the severity of degradation (filmpreservation.org, 2012). Polyester based film is definitely the safest of all three varieties. The preservation concern with this film is that the polyester base does not shrink as much as the emulsion layer, which is the thinner layer that carries the photosensitive materials in a gelatin binder (The Film Preservation Guide, 2004). This leads to the separation of the emulsion layer from the polyester base, therefore destroying the film (loc.org, 2012).

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Color dye fading is the final concern of all films whether they were hand painted frame-by-frame as in Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz or with the dawn of Technicolor and MGMs golden period of the musical. Color dye fading is yet another chemical change that occurs in film over time. Fading involves a change in the dyes images used in the images of color films (filmpreservation.org, 2012). Film Preservation Standards Nothing is permanent and motion picture film is no exception. As seen with the issues above, it is no small, or affordable, feat to preserve motion picture film. Several institutions have risen to the challenge of preserving this new historical medium of American culture. Institutions such as the Library of Congress (LOC), University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF), and Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) have all made it their mission to protect current film and restore deteriorating film. All of the above institutions have agreed that motion picture film will deteriorate, and they all work together to share ideas and utilize the same standards. The National Film Preservation Foundation recommends three basic principles for good storage practices. These principles are identifying, assessing, and storing. Identifying the nature of the film materials is important. Nitrate, acetate, and color films all require very

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low temperatures for long-term storage. Assessing conditions helps organize preservation priorities and assists in determining best storage and restoration practices. Storing film properly prolongs the film life and drastically slows deterioration (www.filmpreservation.org, 2012). The Library of Congress recommends the following procedures to protect nitrate, acetate, and polyester-based films, and these procedures are used by the LOC to preserve their film collection. Nitrate Film-Temperature and humidity levels for storage should be kept constant and at a maximum of 50Fahrenheit and 50% RH. Colored film-Temperature and humidity levels for storage should be kept constant and at a maximum of 37 Fahrenheit and 20%-30% humidity. Nitrate and Acetate films should be kept separate from other films when deterioration occurs. Handle all film carefully, holding at the edges to avoid leaving finger prints on picture and sound areas. AMIA also recommends storing film at freezing or below freezing temperatures with a 20%-50% RH range ((amianet.org, 2012). UCLA restores films by researching the best surviving materials among the worlds archives and private collectors, comparing and cutting together shots and scenes from diverse sources, repairing splices and perforation, rerecording soundtracks to remove auditory

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imperfections, tinting silent films in their original colors, and restoring faded prints (www.cinema.ucla.edu, 2012). UCLA On-line Collection The University of California-Los Angeles has the second largest collection of movies, television, and news reels in the country, second only to the Library of Congress in Washington D. C. The workers at the UCLA Film and Television Archive are dedicated to preserving these materials. Available on their website are ten short films under five minutes that have been restored to their best, most original form as when they were released. These short snippets also include animation. These shorts have been viewed and have been restored according to the guidelines mentioned above. Although best-known for its restoration of feature films, UCLA Film & Television Archive has been preserving animated films for more than three decades, with over one hundred titles to its credit (UCLA film & television archive, online exhibition, 2012). Each of the short films includes commentary from the historian as well as the preservationist that worked on the individual project. The shorts that were viewed include Theatre de Hula Hula (19--), A Pool Plunge (1920), and The Enchanted Drawing (1900). It is clear that even though the film seems grainy, they were well restored and are well preserved. The ones that were in color were restored to the best of the ability of the team. Conclusion It is clear that the restoration of film is no easy feat. Even though the viewed animated shorts on the UCLA Film and Television Archive website were short in duration, the time, effort, and money put into the process is phenomenal. Film has always been an

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entertainment medium, but it is now being recognized as a historical medium for American society. Though motion pictures are not the same type of historical document that books and paintings are, does not mean that they are less worth the efforts of preserving them. Motion pictures are reflections of society. In other words, motion pictures reflect what a society holds valuable, love and friendship (Steel Magnolias, When Harry Met Sally), good versus evil, (The Lord of The Rings, Star Wars), as well as demonstrate new technologies (Avatar, The Matrix). Motion pictures capture the imagination and moments that have changed the world (Ghandi, Titanic). They are subject to degradation under poor conditions just as books and paintings are. The above methods of deterioration are able to be slowed down by proper care, handling, and storage procedures. Foundations and organizations are working together to defend and preserve early film by adhering to the same standards, and as a result are preserving a moving piece of American history.

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References National Film Preservation Foundation. (2004). The Film Preservation Guide. National Film Preservation Foundation: San Francisco, California. www.amianet.org, accessed 1 April 2012. www.cinema.ucla.edu accessed 25 March 2012. www.filmpreservation.org, accessed 25 March 2012. Francis, D. (2010). Motion picture conservation at the library of congress. www.loc.gov. Accessed 23 March 2012. www.loc.org/preservation/care/film.html, accessed 23 March 2012.

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