Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

formato. Podría digitalizar las
películas y difundirlas por la red, en
forma de casettes, de DVDs y al
mismo tiempo mantener la
experiencia fílmica en una sala de
cine equipada a tal efecto.
El laboratorio del futuro también sería
un híbrido y deberá adaptarse a las
transformaciones a medida que se
vaya pasando de la tecnología
fotoquímica a la digital. Apenas sea
más o menos rentable, también habrá
transformaciones en las técnicas de
proyección. Y los laboratorios de cine
también adoptarán procedimientos
de la tecnología digital, limitando la
práctica de las duplicaciones
fotoquímicas a unas pocas boutiques
especializadas. Finalmente surgirán
nuevos cuestionamientos de ética,
nuevas situaciones en el campo de la
tecnología y la economía. No
obstante, sintetiza el autor,
mantienen su validez los criterios de
admisión a la FIAF enunciados por
Roger Smither tal como quedaron
definidos en el código de ética de la
FIAF.
archives that take the purist or hybrid approach to their role will spend
more and more time and money on maintenance and repair. The print
will therefore need to be protected in the same way as the master. It
cannot be lent to colleague institutions unless their projection
equipment is very well maintained and their projectionists appreciate
the importance of treating the prints with respect. The art of projection
has all but disappeared and film archivists will have to train a new
breed of archival projectionists who have the same attitude to their
profession as fine art restorers. Films will only be projected to
appreciative audiences. Others will have to view alternative carriers.
Although the loss less transfer of 35mm film to the digital environment
is still a dream for most film archives, storage and repository costs will
continue to fall. As we have seen already from the titles preserved
digitally on behalf of archives by Sony, one can repair damaged frames
that can never be retrieved optically One also produces same quality
master and multiple copies for little additional expenditure – a great
attraction for archives who want to show the world’s accepted film
classics to their national constituency. However as I have already stated
the security of the digital environment is still untried – a digital loss is
total whereas analog deterioration is usually gradual - and the
experience of seeing a digital copy is definitely different to that of
seeing a film copy even if they are projected on the same screen in the
same auditorium. Archives must be prepared to monitor developments
in digital technology and not be opposed to it in principle as a future
method of at least film content preservation but they need to let the
industry solve all the problems before they embark on its widespread
use for preservation. The hybrid approach proposed at the beginning of
this paper allows archives to play the waiting game.
As an aide-memoire for thinking about the future of film archiving, I
will end by quoting Roger Smither’s proposed criteria for membership
of FIAF.
Be committed to the preservation of a film collection, at least part of
which consists of material not held elsewhere
Preserve the unique part of your collection to the best possible
standard’s in the original format or the closest possible
approximation
Cooperate with other archives in the preservation of material which
is not unique
Improve knowledge of the collection by preparing an accurate
catalogue
Without compromising the archival integrity of the collection, make
it accessible in a range of activities that will include correct
presentation of the film on its premises.
The purpose of a film archive is to preserve film: other activities are
secondary. However one should encourage documentation centres,
cinema museums, film studies departments at universities, film
schools and any organization that supports the archive’s cultural
work.
23 Journal of Film Preservation / 65 / 2002