‘Digitally preserved films may not last over seven years’
PUNE: Apart from lack of funds for preservation projects, a major concern for film archives across the world today is the lack of trained professionals with the technical knowhow on preserving digital prints of films, said Andy Maltz, director of the Hollywood-based Academy Science and Technology Council, on Monday, in a presentation at the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) here.
The members showcased their publications ‘Digital Dilemma’ and ‘Digital Dilemma 2’ to create better awareness about the risks and challenges that film preservation faces in an increasingly digital world. The Academy’s film archive is the third largest in the US, with 70,000 individual titles, along with written material.
“Think of the time when your hard disk crashed and you lost all important data. Preserving digital copies of films runs the same risk, since long-term access cannot be guaranteed. The supply of celluloid reels is also short. We are working on some guidelines to deal with the problem, but there is no possible solution yet,” Maltz said. He added that there is a dearth of efficient film curators as the subject is not part of any film school’s curriculum.
Source: Times of India
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