Webinars
The project is made possible by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), with funds provided by the National Film Preservation Board.
June 29, 2022 – 10:00am – 11:30am (Pacific)
Considering the history and use of film technology by independent filmmakers, this workshop will provide a better understanding of commonly used analog film formats and strategies for their long-term preservation. The workshop will provide a brief overview of topics such as: common film stocks and formats; decomposition and image fading; the identification and inspection of film elements; film storage; working with film labs; liquid gate printing and scanning; and analog, digital, and hybrid film restoration. The workshop will include a dedicated time for Q&As and discussion among the participants and instructor.
John Klacsmann Bio: John Klacsmann is an Archivist at Anthology Film Archives in New York City where he preserves artists’ cinema and experimental film. Klacsmann holds a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis and is a graduate of the George Eastman Museum’s L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation. Before joining Anthology in 2012, he worked as a preservation specialist and optical printing technician at Colorlab, a film laboratory in Maryland. He co-edited two volumes of The Collections of Harry Smith: Catalogue Raisonné and Manuel DeLanda: ISM ISM. He is a contributing editor of INCITE: Journal of Experimental Media.
July 12, 2022 – 10:00am – 11:30am (Pacific)
This workshop will discuss approaches to safeguard your own legacy as digital filmmakers. Do you know where your digital files are now? Do you know what the best copies are? What if someone wanted to use them in 30 years? We will talk about what archives can, and cannot do, for you, and how to prepare your files for someone else to take care of them. We’ll talk about what the big Hollywood studios do, as well as some small affordable DIY actions you can take today. After giving you some tips and tricks, we’ll leave a lot of room for questions, sharing stories among yourselves, troubleshooting and feedback on your own experience as filmmakers and “accidental archivists”.
Anne Gant is head of Film Conservation and Digital Access at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, and is currently head of the FIAF Technical Commission. She has a masters degree from the Preservation and Presentation program at the University of Amsterdam. She previously worked in New York City for various digital and cultural endeavors, including Women Make Movies, which inspired her to help filmmakers protect their work
Tuesday, July 19, 1-2:30 PM EDT
This workshop will provide an overview of U.S. Copyright Law from the point of view of filmmakers of feature or documentary films interested in questions regarding the production, distribution and financing of films (or television programs). The workshop will cover topics including: ownership (work for hire/joint authorship), rights, licensing and enforcement of rights for filmmakers. It will also include a summary of fair use considerations, including for example, the use of materials incorporated into films, and the basics of licensing materials into feature or documentary films. Ample time will be set aside for Q&A from the workshop participants.
Filmmakers Nancy Savoca and Rich Guay will provide real world case study examples.
Eric J. Schwartz is a partner at Mitchell Silberberg Knupp LLP. He has over 30 years of experience as a copyright attorney providing counseling on U.S. and foreign copyright laws – including rights, licensing, exceptions, ownership and enforcement issues – for film, music, music publishing, book publishing, and entertainment and business software. He also provides production counsel and transactional advice for the financing, production and distribution of feature and documentary films. He was chief production counsel and received a producer credit for the Grammy and Emmy- nominated eight-part documentary series “Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music” which aired on PBS in 2016, and was Executive Produced by Sir George Martin. Eric is an expert on film and recorded music archival legal and preservation issues. He is Founding Director and Vice Chair of the National Film Preservation Foundation (since 1996), Pro Bono Counsel for the Library of Congress’ National Film Preservation Board (since 1988), and a Board Member on the Library of Congress’ National Recording Preservation Board (since 2003). He has been an AMIA member for several decades. Prior to his work in private practice, Eric served as Acting General Counsel of the U.S. Copyright Office (1994), Senior Legal and Policy Advisor to the Register of Copyrights (1988-1994).
Tuesday, August 2, 1-2:30 PM EDT
Addressing the relationship between filmmakers, moving image archives, and film labs, this workshop will offer avenues and resources for filmmakers to reunite with their “lost” films. The widespread closure of film labs led to a fraught situation for many filmmakers trying to locate, share, and monetize their films. This workshop will provide an overview of how film labs ended up storing films, what happened when they closed, and approaches and networks you might explore in pursuing your own film elements. The history and critical role of moving image archives for filmmakers will also be covered to help foster the filmmaker/archive relationship. There is a vast network of moving image archives able and willing to assist filmmakers, not only in finding their films, but offering homes for them and ensuring their preservation and relevance long into the future.
Rachael Stoeltje Bio: Rachael Stoeltje founded and serves as the Director of the Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive. She served on the FIAF Executive Committee (2013-2019) and was part of the FIAF Training and Outreach Program Team. She served on the CCAAA (Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archival Associations) (2015-2020). She co-edited the Joint Technical Symposium (JTS) 2016 proceedings and co-organized the JTS 2019 conference in Amsterdam. She currently serves on the Advancement Committee for AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists) and the Editorial board for AMIA’s The Moving Image Journal. Most recently, she concluded her role as the Director of the mass digitization for film project at Indiana University that wrapped up in June 2021 resulting in 23,803 digitized film reels. She participates in local and international training and outreach events and initiatives, dedicates herself to mentoring burgeoning archivists in the field and works to bridge the global archival communities in an effort to address our shared challenges.
Rick Prelinger Bio: Rick Prelinger is an archivist, filmmaker, writer and educator. He began collecting “ephemeral films” (films made for specific purposes at specific times, such as advertising, educational and industrial films) in 1983. His collection of 60,000 films was acquired by the Library of Congress in 2002. Beginning in 2000, he partnered with Internet Archive to make a subset of the Prelinger Collection (now over 8,500 films) available online for free viewing, downloading and reuse. His archival feature Panorama Ephemera (2004) played in venues around the world, and his feature project No More Road Trips? received a Creative Capital grant in 2012. His 26 Lost Landscapes participatory urban history projects have played to many thousands of viewers in San Francisco, Detroit, Oakland, Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere. He is a board member of Internet Archive and frequently writes and speaks on the future of archives. With Megan Prelinger, he co-founded Prelinger Library in 2004. He is currently Chair and Professor of Film and Digital Media at University of California, Santa Cruz.