Filming New York’s Finest
posted April 4, 2011
The New York City Police Museum in downtown Manhattan has artifacts dating from the city’s first settlement by Dutch pioneers, 300 years ago, to September 11 2001. It has early officer-identification forms; it has back issues of Spring 3100, a publication written by and about members of the force; and it has film and video
How Nitrate Film Burns: The State of Research
posted March 30, 2011
While archivists know all too well that nitrate film stock can catch fire, “understanding of the relationship between nitrate decomposition and combustibility remains weak.” That’s the thesis that Heather Heckman develops in “Burn After Viewing, or, Fire in the Vaults: Nitrate Decomposition and Combustibility,” an article in the Fall/ Winter issue of The American Archivist
Skip the AV Geek
posted March 30, 2011
Dear moving-image aficionado: How did you come to be one? Skip Elsheimer, who travels far and wide presenting selections from his collection of 23,000 films, describes how he entered the field, and became an “educational film archivist” and self-style “Skip the AV Geek” in a posting on Reesenews, a multimedia magazine devoted to life at
VRA Foundation Project Grant
posted March 29, 2011
The deadline for the Visual Resources Association Foundation (VRAF) Project Grant is March 31 2011. It provides up to $1,500 per grant for small or stand-alone projects or pilots, or for larger projects or components of them in the field of visual resources and image management. Collaborative projects and those proposed by groups, whether or
The Silents That Schooled Soviets
posted March 29, 2011
On Sunday, March 6 2011, National Public Radio ran a segment about 10 “lost” American silent films that were found in the Russian film archive, Gosfilmofond, which gave them to the Library of Congress. The 10 films are part of a stash of some 200 silents discovered at Gosfilmofond. “American movies were, in fact, distributed
NEH Preservation-and-Access Grants
posted March 29, 2011
The Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for grants in its Research and Development program. The grants support projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources – finding better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s
Preserving a Moving Revolution
posted March 29, 2011
Revolutions, often great times for freedom, and terrible ones of suffering, also frequently threaten cultural collections. In late February 2011, The Atlantic reported on efforts to preserve Internet content from the Egyptian revolution, including the many moving images that informed and motivated militants and other citizens.
Huck Finn the First
posted March 29, 2011
George Eastman House has announced completion of its restoration of Huckleberry Finn (William Desmond Taylor, 1920), the first feature-length film adaptation of Mark Twain’s most popular novel. As the Eastman House’s website and trailer of the restored film explains, the film hasn’t been exhibited since its initial release. The restoration was made from a nitrate
AMIA 2011
posted March 29, 2011
For the 2011 AMIA Conference in Austin, TX, the AMIA Conference Committee has invited session and workshop proposals on varied topics, cutting-edge discussions of technology, a balance of theory and practice, and new ideas and concepts that may stimulate additional interest, involvement and educational benefit. Submission deadline is May 1 2011 and a form is
Now Hiring
posted March 29, 2011
Blood Audio & Video George Blood Audio & Video, a Philadelphia company specializing in audio and video preservation digitization, is looking for a registrar, permanent, full-time registrar, to start immediately. Prior experience with A/V materials preferred. Duties include: helping clients prepare item-level object and metadata inventory and with shipping inquiries; overseeing shipping/receiving of materials and