What measures are we taking to preserve media?

forlornjackalope
Lost Media Veteran

I just wanted to be Steve McQueen, with my horses of English racing green.

Posts: 1,062

What measures are we taking to preserve media? Aug 29, 2021 17:22:11 GMT

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Post by forlornjackalope on Aug 29, 2021 17:22:11 GMT

Aug 28, 2021 8:28:48 GMT benklesc said:

Absolutely. Shamelessly over the past five years have probably spent way too much on my setup but worth it. I'm motivated by the fact that time is ticking on how little time we have left to save anything analog that is left from the last century. We are probably he last generation who will able to do it. #AdoptAFilm

I have a dehumidifier and two air conditioners running 24/7 to keep perfect climate. Whenever I can afford to I buy up people's family home movies, VHS collection, 8mm film, Hi8, and my audio archives for reel to reel. I also scour the internet for unreleased garage bands on cassettes and reel to reel.

For my 8mm and 16mm film I keep them vacuum sealed in a dedicated chest freezer in my basement until I can afford to finish building my 4K res scanning setup. No museum would care about saving these historic footage so it is up to people like us. My films and audio date from around 1930s to 1980s. A mix of home movies, television news LPP prints, lost television shows, unsigned bands, concert bootlegs. My goal is to start in about 2-3 years from now when I save up some Benjamins. When I finish I am willing to take on anyone's major collection free of charge and archive anything for anyone. Sort of like a nonprofit to save home movies and lost material.

All together I have become overwhelmed by 40,000 feet of film, 60 hours of video tape, and 200 hours of audio tape of unreleased material. I have archived zero of it as of yet until I can afford to complete the setup to make this possible. It would simply be too much money to pay someone else to do it for me. I refuse to give them away and have a major company or museum slap a giant watermark across them and charge people to view stock footage. I want to share them to the archive for everyone to use. I'm so glad I found this forum where there are like minded people who care just as much as I do about saving history from around the world. My friends think I'm crazy.

Equipment I have so far...
Panasonic AG7350 (to archive VHS soundtracks (superior to Blue Ray)
Betacam SP 2800 (Usually television commercials and college projects)
Teac V800 (for Hi8 transfers)
BV10 TBC (early model for VHS)
Framemeister (for upscaling videotape material)
MCI JH110 (For my 15IPS speed tapes / heads relapped by JRF Magnetics)
Teac 7030GSL (for my 4 track stereo tapes / heads replaced by JRF Magnetics + new motor bearings)
Kenwood KX-1030 (cassette transfers w/ adjustable azimuth)
Genex GX9048 (for DSD audio capture of music material)
Pace PPS-200 (Desoldering station w/ new gun)

What I need...
Variable speed 8mm, Super8, and 16mm projector
Z CAM E2-S6 (for film capture)
Recapped Panasonic AG1980 (need line TBC)
JBC CA-2QE (Automatic solder feed station)
*Need to recap Pan VCR + MCI JH110

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Damn, dude. You're upstaging all of us over here with all that equipment and content you got there!

Do you check out places like eBay for sold as blank tapes or suspicious film reels? With how you have a good system running, I'm kind of tempted to send you one of my most prized tapes. It might be 98% of a kid's show, but it's packed with peak early 90s material and stuff made and supported by my hometown and our local PBS affiliate. I don't think any of the ads or bumpers have been seen anywhere else in close to 30 years, which makes me feel mega old.

benklesc
Lost Media Beginner

Posts: 13

What measures are we taking to preserve media? Sept 2, 2021 14:02:25 GMT extremewreck2000 likes this

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Post by benklesc on Sept 2, 2021 14:02:25 GMT

Aug 29, 2021 17:22:11 GMT forlornjackalope said:

Do you check out places like eBay for sold as blank tapes or suspicious film reels? With how you have a good system running, I'm kind of tempted to send you one of my most prized tapes. It might be 98% of a kid's show, but it's packed with peak early 90s material and stuff made and supported by my hometown and our local PBS affiliate. I don't think any of the ads or bumpers have been seen anywhere else in close to 30 years, which makes me feel mega old.

The saddest part is collectors placing monetary value on history. I imagine among many in here, one of the most frustrating parts of this hobby is the cost associated with trying to preserve when it appears that no one else either cares or wants to help make preservation a reality. It's absolutely heartbreaking the amount footage I've had to pass up because someone wanted outrageous prices, or the amount of archives I've witnessed tossed in dumpsters. The reality is in about two decades from now, most of the film and tape footage that is over 40 years old is not going to survive much longer.

It started like many of us with my parents collection of home movies. I figured there were many that would be able to help. Then I found out that the average price a professional transfer house charges are 40-50 cents per foot if I wanted a decent quality 16mm scan in 4K or 2K, or if I simply wanted an audio recording from a reel to reel. Then it dawned on me why there is so much history being thrown away. The average person can't afford to pay someone else to archive large quantities of material. So often times they sit around until someone passes away, and then it shows up at an estate auction and resellers try and make a quick dollar. Advice to maintain this equipment has to come from old books and long lost forums because the shops that used to service all of them are long gone. It's very much learning to do everything yourself.

Whenever and if ever I get a working setup, I legit want to offer up all services free of charge at no expenses sparred. I realized if you and me don't do it then no one else will. Just the idea that you could have a part in stopping something from disappearing forever is what I feel drives many in the hobby. Instead of spending paychecks on material objects this stuff is priceless. Cost can get annoying which unfortunately can slow things down. I would say I'm probably a few years away from getting a really good and efficient workflow to be able to take on projects. I'm about half way done building the studio.

forlornjackalope
Lost Media Veteran

I just wanted to be Steve McQueen, with my horses of English racing green.

Posts: 1,062

What measures are we taking to preserve media? Sept 3, 2021 16:34:56 GMT extremewreck2000 likes this

Quote

Post by forlornjackalope on Sept 3, 2021 16:34:56 GMT

Sept 2, 2021 14:02:25 GMT benklesc said:

Aug 29, 2021 17:22:11 GMT forlornjackalope said:

Do you check out places like eBay for sold as blank tapes or suspicious film reels? With how you have a good system running, I'm kind of tempted to send you one of my most prized tapes. It might be 98% of a kid's show, but it's packed with peak early 90s material and stuff made and supported by my hometown and our local PBS affiliate. I don't think any of the ads or bumpers have been seen anywhere else in close to 30 years, which makes me feel mega old.

The saddest part is collectors placing monetary value on history. I imagine among many in here, one of the most frustrating parts of this hobby is the cost associated with trying to preserve when it appears that no one else either cares or wants to help make preservation a reality. It's absolutely heartbreaking the amount footage I've had to pass up because someone wanted outrageous prices, or the amount of archives I've witnessed tossed in dumpsters. The reality is in about two decades from now, most of the film and tape footage that is over 40 years old is not going to survive much longer.

It started like many of us with my parents collection of home movies. I figured there were many that would be able to help. Then I found out that the average price a professional transfer house charges are 40-50 cents per foot if I wanted a decent quality 16mm scan in 4K or 2K, or if I simply wanted an audio recording from a reel to reel. Then it dawned on me why there is so much history being thrown away. The average person can't afford to pay someone else to archive large quantities of material. So often times they sit around until someone passes away, and then it shows up at an estate auction and resellers try and make a quick dollar. Advice to maintain this equipment has to come from old books and long lost forums because the shops that used to service all of them are long gone. It's very much learning to do everything yourself.

Whenever and if ever I get a working setup, I legit want to offer up all services free of charge at no expenses sparred. I realized if you and me don't do it then no one else will. Just the idea that you could have a part in stopping something from disappearing forever is what I feel drives many in the hobby. Instead of spending paychecks on material objects this stuff is priceless. Cost can get annoying which unfortunately can slow things down. I would say I'm probably a few years away from getting a really good and efficient workflow to be able to take on projects. I'm about half way done building the studio.

I admire the dedication you and other collectors do, like Oddity Archive who has shelves of material and equipment that's being put to outstanding use to archive history. I think Archive also has the VHS collection of a woman who has been taping whatever she can for the last 40 or so years, which is incredible that they're trying to log it all - if the rumor is true. I salute you for your efforts and what you aspire to do since it's super kind. We don't have a lot of video production and rental shops around here anymore and I think the ones that did offered physical transfer services before they kind of fizzled out, which is a real shame. I agree that it's tragic how much footage is probably completely lost now that it's been discarded.

Post by forlornjackalope on Aug 29, 2021 17:22:11 GMT

Post by benklesc on Sept 2, 2021 14:02:25 GMT

Post by forlornjackalope on Sept 3, 2021 16:34:56 GMT

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