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Independent Media Arts Preservation (IMAP) presents
Introduction to Media Preservation Workshops
Offered in Long Island City/Queens and the Bronx
At PS1/MOMA - March 4, 2008 and the Bronx Museum - April 11, 2008
12:00 - 4:00 PM
When videotape was introduced in 1956, the magnetic recording of a TV signal was a technological marvel. More than five decades (and 60 analog and digital formats) later, videotapes have recorded historic events, served as a means of artistic expression, and become priceless personal documents. Unfortunately, videotape has proven to be an unstable medium, and its recorded images will eventually require careful attention and well-planned action in order to survive.
This half-day workshop will serve as an introduction to the issues and strategies necessary to tackle the challenges of videotape preservation. Designed to meet the needs of those with or without technical experience in video production, this workshop is geared to media makers and arts professionals, archivists, conservators, artists and other caretakers of media collections.
The workshop will cover the following topics:
* A brief overview of videotape's development and evolution
* The basics of magnetic recording technology
* Discussion of the many videotape formats that have been used over the years - both obsolete and current - and their strengths and weaknesses
* The various factors causing videotape deterioration, and how they can be mitigated
* How to assess the overall risks to a collection
* Handling and inspection of individual videotapes
* Prioritizing preservation work and developing a preservation plan
* Best practices for storage
* In-house reformatting vs. outsourcing
* Pros and cons of DVDs
* How to work with vendors doing your video transfer work
* Digitization: how to determine file formats, codecs, compression, etc.
Introduction to Media Preservation Workshops
Instructor: Jeff Martin
A graduate of New York University's MA program in Moving Image Preservation, Jeff Martin has been working with archival moving images for more than a decade, as a television producer, researcher, and archivist. He has taught workshops in media preservation in Chicago under the auspices of Midwest Media Archives Alliance and developed the content for IMAP's new online preservation resource guide (http://www.eai.org/resourceguide/preservation). He is presently a Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, assessing their media collections.
Two workshop locations:
Tuesday, March 4
12- 4 p.m.
PS 1/MOMA
46-01 21st Street
(Enter through the 21st Street entrance, between 46th Ave. and 46th Drive, across from the post office)
Long Island City
Directions: www.ps1.org/ps1_site/content/view/14/47/
Friday, April 11
12- 4 p.m.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts
1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street
Bronx
Directions: http://www.bronxmuseum.org/info/directions.html
Workshop fee:
$50
$40 IMAP members
$25 Students with valid ID
(cash or check only)
RSVP: Reservations required; space is limited.
IMAP c/o EAI, 535 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011