{"id":5785,"title":"Background and History","kind":"book","url":"https://www.videohistoryproject.org/background-and-history","version":"ffb2e67cbe7de0da5ff458f7f13da181d3f28f0cfebd1122a08bbe4400787e3a","modified":"2026-09-15T17:42:26.57039+00:00","credits":[],"authorKeys":[],"subjects":[],"metadata":[{"label":"Publication type","value":"Web Article","url":null}],"citations":{"page":"\u0022Background and History.\u0022 Video History Project, Experimental Television Center, 2026. https://www.videohistoryproject.org/background-and-history.","publication":"Background and History.","risUrl":"https://www.videohistoryproject.org/citation/5785.ris"},"links":[{"label":"Video Preservation - The Basics","url":"https://www.videohistoryproject.org/video-preservation-basics","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Why Video Preservation - The Basics","url":"#jump1","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"The Video History Project","url":"#jump2","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Independent Media Arts Preservation","url":"#jump3","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Role of an Archivist","url":"#jump4","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"What Can Go Wrong with Your Tapes","url":"#jump5","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Selected Chronology of Preservation Activities","url":"#jump6","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Media Alliance","url":"https://www.mediaalliance.org/vidpres.html","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Independent Media Arts Preservation","url":"https://www.imappreserve.org","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Television and Video Preservation 1997: A Report on the Current State of American Television and Video Preservation","url":"http://lcweb.loc.gov/film/filmpres.html","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Society of American Archivists","url":"http://www.archivists.org/","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"National Media Lab\u0027s Media Stability Studies","url":"http://www.nta.org/MediaStability/","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null},{"label":"Playback 96","url":"http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/bavc/pb96/","relationship":"record body link","contentType":null}],"sections":[{"name":"body","source":"VHP record body","generated":false,"characters":18470},{"name":"summary","source":"existing VHP generated summary","generated":true,"characters":665}],"content":{"section":"body","source":"VHP record body","generated":false,"text":"Video Preservation - The Basics: contents Why Video Preservation - The Basics The Video History Project Independent Media Arts Preservation Role of an Archivist What Can Go Wrong with Your Tapes Selected Chronology of Preservation Activities Why Video Preservation - The Basics This guide is aimed at arts and cultural organizations that are relatively new to the field of moving image preservation and conservation. Since the early 1990s, there has been a growing national effort to save independent electronic media, including collections of video art, audio art, and technology-based installation art; independent documentary and narratives; community media; and documentation of arts and culture. As a participant in this effort, the Experimental Television Center recognizes that many important tapes exist outside of major institutions, in artist spaces, libraries, community organizations and with individuals. Many groups have become de facto archives of independent media; many don\u0027t have staff trained to deal with archival issues. Even larger organizations, among them many public television stations, lack the resources to begin to protect their holdings in any formal way. Individuals, focusing on production, may have even less experience with and knowledge of preservation efforts. Until recently, members of the independent media communities have had little contact with professional organizations dedicated to this work, and the voice of independent media was rarely heard in national forums on preservation. We hope this guide serves to give media groups and media-makers the information useful to them in efforts to save their collections, connect with others with similar concerns, and bring the concerns of independents to the field of electronic media preservation. Video Preservation - The Basics is an activity of the Video History Project organized by the Experimental Television Center. The Video History Project The Video History Project is an on-going research initiative documenting the early historical development of video art and community television, with particular focus on upstate New York during the period 1968-1980. The project has been conceived and executed by the Experimental Television Center. The project involves an interrelated set of activities combining research, the collection of oral histories, a World Wide Web site, and Video History: Making Connections, a conference concerning the links between the early history and contemporary practice, and held at Syracuse University in the Fall 1998. The project goals are to identify and make accessible information which describes and locates resources concerning independently created media; to facilitate partnerships for preservation of the works; to encourage the exhibition and study of these materials among curators, educators, and scholars; and to increase public awareness of and appreciation for media history throughout the State and nationally. New York State has played a unique role in the historical development of the field. Some of the earliest video art and community television media activity in the nation occurred here. The preservation area on the Media Alliance website provides descriptions of a few of these important groups. Media Alliance provided the media arts field with comprehensive information and technical assistance on all aspects of preservation, and is nationally recognized for its collaborative projects, including a Regional Cataloging Project coordinated by cataloger Jim Hubbard, and a series of preservation surveys conducted by conservator Paul Messier. Media Alliance also published Video Preservation: Securing the Future of the Past, by Deirdre Boyle, and the Magnetic Media Preservation Sourcebook, edited by Mona Jimenez and Liss Platt. Independent Media Arts Preservation Independent Media Arts Preservation A service, education, and advocacy consortium, IMAP was organized in 1999 to ensure the preservation of independent electronic media for cultural and educational use by future generations. These works are found throughout the country in museums, arts centers, artists\u0027 spaces, dance and theater companies, libraries, university departments, non-profit distributors, public television stations, and with individual artists or producers. IMAP is especially interested in supporting the preservation of works reflecting the early history of independent media, when producers first expanded the options for media production and distribution beyond commercial applications of electronic tools and traditional forms of broadcast television. IMAP is the only art service organization focused solely on issues of electronic media preservation. IMAP\u0027s primary interest is to support the preservation of works reflecting the early history of independent media, and focuses on the preservation of non-commercial productions such as video art, audio art, and technology-based installation art; independent documentary and narratives; community media; and documentation of arts and culture. IMAP was formed in part to continue the leadership formerly undertaken by the New York-based organization Media Alliance. IMAP consortium members represent a wide range of organizations and individuals including the Museum of Modern Art, the Donnell Media Center, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Jewish Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Experimental Television Center, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Paper Tiger Television, Third World Newsreel, Syracuse University, Bay Area Video Coalition, Wexner Center for the Arts, and the Video Data Bank as well as artists, curators, and educators concerned with the preservation of the independent media arts. Role of an Archivist If you have a collection of videotapes, it is important that you or your organization become involved in preservation. Videotape is not an archival medium. Because of many factors, including storage conditions and technical problems in the original manufacturing, the tapes themselves can deteriorate. In addition, many of the early formats and the equipment on which to play them are now obsolete. Jim Wheeler has outlined the functions of an archivist. His recommendations are available in Television and Video Preservation 1997: A Report on the Current State of American Television and Video Preservation, Volume 5, by William T. Murphy. Report of the Librarian of Congress. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents. To collect materials according to the policy and mission of your organization To organize the collection To safely store the materials in the collection To catalog the materials so you can access information about it easily and share that information with others To provide access to the works, if this is part of your organization\u0027s mission, by providing appropriate playback equipment To put materials onto contemporary formats The Society of American Archivists suggests \u0022The primary task of the archivist is to establish and maintain physical and intellectual control over records of enduring value. The archivist selects, arranges, describes, and ensures the long-term preservation of such records, and assists researchers who wish to use them.\u0022 See the FAQ section of the Society of American Archivists. What Can Go Wrong with Your Tapes Videotape is not an archival storage medium. Problems can arise because the tapes were not properly recorded originally or have been subsequently damaged. There are several general types of problems which are often caused by mishandling, improper storage, malfunctioning equipment or disaster. For more information see Video Terms, Care and Handling, Storage and Insurance and Disasters areas. The National Technology Alliance Online provides access to the National Media Lab\u0027s Media Stability Studies. Included is the report \u0022Information on Storage Media Longevities\u0022. The tape itself can be physically damaged by mishandling, or playing the tape on poorly maintained equipment. The edges of the tape are often damaged by a misaligned tape transport systems on the deck, and by excess or uneven tension when rewinding the tape. Tapes can also be stretched and creased. The binder on the tape can deteriorate. This may cause the video heads to clog with debris, drop out, sticking or slipping of the tape and squealing as the tape is played. It is often caused by improper storage conditions. The magnetic signals on the tape can be damaged by exposure to magnetic fields, inadvertent erasure or re-recording. The original recording may be faulty because of tracking or sync problems caused by the original recording equipment. The tapes can be damaged or destroyed by extremes of heat and humidity or by a physical disaster, such as flooding. Selected Chronology of Preservation Activities 1960s In 1965 legislation creates the National Endowment for the Arts, which establishes The American Film Institute. One of the goals of the AFI is to preserve our heritage of film and television. Representatives of moving image archives, originally known as the Film and Television Archives Advisory Committee (F/TAAC) begin to meet. 1970s The New York State Council on the Arts funds cataloging and library activities for film in the early 1970s. 1980s Under the leadership of Debby Silverfine, Director of the Electronic Media and Film Program at The New York State Council on the Arts, a support category for preservation activities is established. Electronic Arts Intermix receives one of the first grants from the New York State Council on the Arts for preservation activities. The National Endowment for the Arts assists preservation efforts in several disciplines, including media arts, folk arts and dance. Throughout the decade many organizations and individuals engage in efforts to preserve collections. Among them are the Andy Warhol Foundation, Anthology Film Archives, Bay Area Video Coalition, Downtown Community TV Center, Electronic Arts Intermix, Experimental TV Center, Intermedia Arts of Minnesota, The Kitchen, Museum of Modern Art, Pacific Film Archives, Video Data Bank, Tony Conrad, Bob Harris, Woody and Steina Vasulka and many others. 1984 The National Center for Film and Video Preservation is established by the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. Its mission includes The Film Foundation, The Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA) and the National Moving Image Database (NAMID) project which centralizes information on the film and television holdings of American archives and producers, and has assisted many organizations with the cataloging of film and video collections. 1985 Image Permanence Institute founded through the combined efforts of Rochester Institute for Technology and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology 1987 Tony Conrad publishes several articles concerning methods of reel-to-reel videotape restoration through the NY Media Decentralization Institute and Hallwalls in Buffalo. 1990 The Film and Television Archives Advisory Committee (F/TAAC) changes its name to the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA). 1991 Symposium on Video Preservation is hosted by the Museum of Modern Art and organized by Media Alliance, under the leadership of Mary Esbjornson, and by the New York State Council on the Arts. AMIA votes to formalize as an individual-based professional association. The Andy Warhol Foundation begins the preservation of its media collection under the leadership of Mirra Banks Brockman, work later completed by Dara Meyers-Kingsley. The Independent, published by the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, publishes an article by Stephen Vitiello and Leanne Mella, \u0022Facilities for Cleaning, Restoring, and Remastering Videotape\u0022 in October 1991 Ralph Hocking proposes the \u0022resurrection bus\u0022, a mobile service to clean and re-master old video. 1992 The National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture established a national Video Preservation Task Force. 1993 Publication of Deirdre ","offset":0,"nextOffset":12000,"totalCharacters":18470,"complete":false},"rightsUrl":"https://www.videohistoryproject.org/terms-service"}