Traditional vs. Digital Film Preservation

In high school, I worked at a movie theater and my favorite part of my job was threading new reels of film. There was something so nostalgic and "Hollywood-esque" about threading the film myself and working with the projector. I was incredibly frustrated when digital projectors were implemented because all movies were pre programmed to a flash drive. Never did I think the Library of Congress would have issues with the digitization of film as well!  I stumbled across an article in the September 2014 issue of the Washingtonian titled, Unhappy Medium:  The Challenges With Archiving Digital Video.  This article addresses how movies are now "born digital," meaning shot on digital cameras and no longer using Celluloid film.

 I consider myself very tech savvy and like the quality of digital film, but agree with this article when it states that digital film is not an equivalent to traditional film.  Archivists are able to make repairs, copy original film onto safety film stock, and place it in cold storage to keep film lasting centuries.  This system ensures archivists that the film's quality will be as good in a few hundred years as it was when printed.  As digital film grows more popular, traditional reel collection will become harder to come by.  Companies like Kodak, which is one of the Library's top suppliers of film, are going bankrupt.  Thankfully, the article confirms that the company has no intention of getting rid of traditional motion-picture film.  Fujifilm has already ended production of traditional film and the Library has had to count on a German distributor (ORWO) to access classic black-and-white film.

One of the main issues the Library of Congress has noticed is the copyright regulations on film.  To register a copyright, the filmmakers submit work to the Library and is stored for 123 years.  These regulations will need to be rewritten as the Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) that are sent to theaters already have anti-piracy technology encrypted.  This technology prevents anyone who is authorized to show these films from playing beyond the specific times and periods already installed in the DCPs. This limits the control the Library of Congress has over preserving the movie.  Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) is being offered as an alternative to DCP, but prevents the Library of Congress from adding closed captioning and subtitles to film.  

Archivists at the Library of Congress have been working together to preserve and accommodate digital format.  Meetings of professional organizations are done regularly to discuss the future of film and digital preservation efforts.  Criss Kovac, supervisor of the National Archives' Motion Picture Preservation Lab, states in the article that there needs to be more cooperation, but is hopeful as problems arise archivists will band together.

I know technology is the future, but I truly hope the traditional way movies are filmed can be continued and preserved as long as possible!