thedissolve:thedissolve:“In the analog world, most of the...

thedissolve:

thedissolve:

“In the analog world, most of the cost of preservation is paid when the archival print is created. But for a digitally preserved film, the cost of migration shows up every five years. Postponing it is going to be tempting, especially during buyouts, changes in management, or any of the near-constant corporate turmoil that puts huge short-term pressure on cost-cutting. Films that continue to make money are probably safe, but for bombs—whether they were genuinely terrible or interesting failures—the incentives are all wrong. Putting a significant part of our cultural heritage in a system where a five-year gap in funding means catastrophic, irrevocable loss seems to guarantee we’ll lose some of it.”

Think film preservation is a simple matter in the digital age? Matthew Dessem’s fascinating look at the perilous state of digital archiving explains why that is not the case. [Read more…]