Restoration Essentials for Small Archives and Non-Profits (Series)

This three part workshop + one hour office hours session equips small archives and non-profit organizations with the skills to perform high-quality film restorations using low-cost, accessible software. Participants will learn techniques such as color correction, stabilization, deflicker, automatic and manual dirt removal, degraining, and frame repair. A brief introduction to machine learning workflows will also be covered. Attendees should have experience with non-linear video editing or DaVinci Resolve (Studio version preferred, but the free version works). For those interested in the machine learning section, NukeX non-commercial is recommended.

Introduction to DaVinci Restoration Tools

An overview of basic tools to get you started on your way in Davinci Resolve, from project setup, importing material, basic editing and basic deliveries.

Legacy Equipment: CRT Basic Maintenance & Repair

Repair and maintenance of obsolete analog CRTs (television monitors with cathode ray tubes) is complex technical work involving highly specialized knowledge and incredibly rare calibration equipment that is no longer manufactured. For these reasons, few vendors still offer this type of technical service to specifications that meet preservation standards. Due to the limited vendor options, unaffordable shipping costs to send heavy CRTs to the few vendors available, and fragile physical condition of the equipment, this workshop wishes to foster greater proficiency for basic in-house maintenance and repair of CRTs used for the preservation of collection materials and in the exhibition of time-based media artworks. Attendees of this workshop will have an extremely rare opportunity to gain highly valued skills and knowledge that are no longer taught in higher education programs or internships due to the dwindling number of specialists still working.

Introducción a la Preservación Audiovisual

Introducción a la preservación audiovisual está pensado para quienes recién comienzan en el área o ya trabajan con colecciones audiovisuales. A lo largo de las sesiones, quienes participen aprenderán a reconocer e identificar los principales formatos analógicos, comprender factores de riesgo y medidas básicas de conservación, y adquirir conocimientos fundamentales sobre preservación digital, combinando contexto histórico, técnico y consejos proveniente de la experiencia de los instructores. No se requieren conocimientos previos. Se recomienda contar con ejemplos propios de materiales audiovisuales para relacionarlos con las sesiones.

Part I: Identificación de Formatos Audiovisuales.
Part II: Evaluación y Planificación con Colecciones Audiovisuales
Part III: Introducción a la Preservación Digital

INTRODUCTION TO WHISPER AI

This workshop will guide users through installing and using Whisper on Mac and PC hardware, editing Whisper output using the CADET software, and assessing accuracy. Specific topics include software dependencies, configuration settings to optimize Whisper’s performance, alternatives to the default Whisper software, and known strengths and weaknesses of Whisper. No prior command line knowledge is needed. By the end of the session, attendees will have the basic tools to use Whisper and an understanding of issues to consider in its implementation. Instructions will be provided in advance for setting up some software needed for the workshop.

INTRODUCTION TO VRECORD

This session will provide an overview of vrecord, an open source video digitization and transfer tool. Attendees will learn how to run vrecord, select appropriate settings, and understand the tool’s output. The session will demonstrate vrecord’s role in an end-to-end digitization workflow through a basic video capture station. Attendees do not need to be familiar with vrecord, but will find knowledge of video signal chains and the command line helpful.

INTRODUCTION TO FFMPEG

FFmpeg is a command-line tool for creating and modifying and audiovisual files. Attendees will learn about how FFmpeg is used in archival production workflows, and get an introduction to the basics of using the tool. Please attend this webinar via a laptop/desktop computer in order to participate (e.g. it will be difficult to follow along on a tablet or phone). Having FFmpeg installed on your computer is not required for this workshop. Some experience with the command line is helpful. Files, commands, and resources will be provided.

INTRODUCTION TO AIRTABLE
Two Sessions

Airtable is an affordable platform for building and sharing relational databases: a user-friendly mix between Excel and Filemaker. In this workshop, attendees will learn more about this cloud-based platform and how to utilize it for metadata, project management, budgeting, and reporting.

After this introductory course, you will be more familiar with how to create and organize your bases and tables, link them together, format data to be best imported and exported, and conduct basic formulas and reporting. A basic understanding of spreadsheet software is required, and attendees will need to create a free account with Airtable for the workshop

ORAL HISTORY WORKSHOP

Doing Oral History Workshop – Part I
Doing Oral History Workshop – Part II
Panel: How We Did It: Capturing Changing Technologies in Oral Interviews

The Oral History Workshop series offers training in each of the core areas of this important documentation method. In addition, a roundtable of five audiovisual archivists will present on oral history interviews they have each conducted with practitioners of increasing obsolete media formats and technologies.

CATALOGACION AUDIOVISUAL CON PBCORE

Parte I: Introducción: Conceptos de metadatos audiovisuales
Parte 2: Catalogación Audiovisual con PBCore
Parte 3: Vocabularios Controlados de PBCore

Catalogación Audiovisual con PBCore es una serie de cursos online, desarrollados con fondos del National Endowment for the Humanities y diseñados para otorgarle a los usuarios un entendimiento práctico del esquema de metadatos PBCore y sus usos en la catalogación de materiales audiovisuales. En español.

INTRODUCTION TO PBCORE

This workshop provides a deep dive on PBCore metadata as used for audiovisual cataloging and the tools available to support use of the standard. Attendees will get an overview of the building blocks of PBCore before participating in cataloging activities that will build their comfort level in describing audiovisual materials and explore some of the thought process and decision-making involved in setting institutional standards around audiovisual metadata. .

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

INTRODUCTION TO MARC AND BIBFRAME
THREE PART SERIES

Intro to MARC Part I
Intro to MARC Part II
Intro to BIBFRAME

MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloging) is a computer file format that allows for the description of bibliographic resources in any media format, e.g. books, serials, audio, video, computer files, etc. The sessions describe principles established in envisioning MARC as a Linked Data format and how the MARC formats conform to a Linked Data model and how BIBFRAME enables integration with other Linked Data based systems.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $20 discount.

INTRODUCTION TO DVRESCUE

A training workshop to assist in audiovisual processing and quality control procedures for DV videotape formats at archival institutions. The workshop shall include a focus on capturing methods for DV, quality control of the result, and DV format particularities for packaging and access. Participants will gain hands-on experience learning how to use the DVRescue toolkit for capture, quality control analysis, resolving artifacts, packaging videos for long term preservation, as well as other general best practices for working with DV.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

INTRODUCTION TO VRECORD

This session will provide an overview of vrecord, an open source video digitization and transfer tool. Attendees will learn how to run vrecord, select appropriate settings, and understand the tool’s output. The session will demonstrate vrecord’s role in an end-to-end digitization workflow.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

INTRODUCTION TO PBCORE

This workshop provides a deep dive on PBCore metadata as used for audiovisual cataloging and the tools available to support use of the standard. Attendees will get an overview of the building blocks of PBCore before participating in cataloging activities that will build their comfort level in describing audiovisual materials and explore some of the thought process and decision-making involved in setting institutional standards around audiovisual metadata. .

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

INTRODUCTION TO DACS AND EAD WORKSHOP

Geared toward the audiovisual archivist with little or no background with DACS or EAD or experience with manuscript processing principles, this workshop will contain interactive lectures to introduce concepts and clarify terminology, and will focus specifically on how these standards can be successfully applied to audiovisual and mixed material collections. Through the use of examples and the application of a comprehensive case study, participants will work on exercises to understand concepts of appraisal, assessment, levels of processing, arrangement, and description at the item, series, and collection level.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $20 discount.

Using RAWcooked for DPX Encoding

An introduction to issues and workflows for using RAWcooked to handle your institution’s unwieldy DPX sequences. This webinar will introduce basic issues and setup, workflows for both small and large-scale processing, and errors and challenges that users may encounter in the process of implementing RAWcooked in the context of DPX encoding.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

FADGI’s embARC: Extending Embedded Metadata Support and Validation for DPX and MXF Files

embARC (“metadata embedded for archival content”) was first introduced in 2019 by the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI), AVP and PortalMedia as a free, open source software application that enables users to audit and correct embedded metadata to comply with FADGI guidelines. Recent development in 2020-2021 has expanded the scope of embARC to meet the evolving user needs and workflows of the audiovisual preservation community.

AMIA members use AMIA-M discount code for $10 discount.

Manager Training Series I:
Skills Development for New & Aspiring Managers

Everyone knows that moving into a management role means overseeing people, projects and teams, which require soft skills like time management and good communication. However, not everyone is prepared with the wide range of practical skills that are essential when you’re the one giving orders, setting priorities, or signing checks. New managers may feel bewildered by big questions about how to do what they’re supposed to do: What is strategic planning, and why is it important? How do I create a budget? How can I make sure my operating unit gets the resources it needs? This is the first in the Manager Training series.

Manager Training Series II:
Soft Skills Development for New & Aspiring Managers

Job descriptions often emphasize functional skills—such as the ability to handle, inspect, and repair audiovisual media; perform appraisal and collection management tasks; write grants; apply metadata schemas; or use open source digital tools. However, these “hard” skills are only part of what’s needed for success on the job. Soft skills like interpersonal communication, emotional intelligence, and the ability to work effectively in teams are crucial for the problem solving, advocacy, and management of people and projects that managers do on a daily basis. Fine-tuning those soft skills is increasingly important for those moving away from hands-on work with collections and into more strategic leadership and supervisory roles.

A DIY Approach to Data Recovery from Damaged 5.25” Floppy Disks

At RAND’s Corporate Archive, work is ongoing to recover data from a collection of damaged 5.25” floppy disks. The fragility of the medium itself poses unique challenges during the capturing process, and the end result is often that files are captured with minor or significant corruption. A single disk is captured 3 times in order to control for the variations in the capture process, but further preservation tasks on these files are inhibited due to the quality of some captures. This presentation will lay out the hardware and software tools, along with the cleaning methods for disks and drives, that I have found result in the most successful captures, while still being an affordable in-house DIY workflow. The presentation will also describe the ongoing work to “merge” the successfully captured information within files together into a “modified master” copy.

Implementation and Application of
AV Cataloging Standards in the Wild

In this session, archivists and practitioners with expertise in a variety of metadata standards—including CEN 15907, PBCore, Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT), BIBFRAME, Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), and PREMIS—will discuss the key features of those standards and their applicability in audiovisual archival settings. Each panelist will introduce themselves with a five-minute presentation to either discuss a standard or present a real-world metadata use case. After the presentations, speakers will engage in a moderated discussion around questions such as managing metadata updates, making recommendations for a project, and what metadata standards might look like in the future.

From a Distance: Hands-On Introduction to Videotape Capture Station Setup

This eight hour workshop is a condensed version of the videotape capture station hands-on training developed for the AAPB Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship Immersion Week. Attendees will be able to explain the concepts of signal flow and sync and identify the various equipment needed to digitize analog video.

Intro to Digital Preservation & Formats

When a reel of film or videotape breaks, we can examine the reel, diagnose the problem, and repair it. What about when digital files degrade? This webinar will provide an introduction to digital files—their structure, specifications, history, identification, and uses—and will explore potential fixes to “broken” files. Attendees will learn about the organization of data in common audiovisual storage formats, how to recognize those formats, and how to look closer at a file.