Custom iMac with Final Cut Express

Grass Valley ADVC300 Digital Video Converter

Promise Smart stor ds4600 4 terabyte hard drive

HP Scanjet G4050

Other equipment used in the preservation process includes two Panasonic AG4800 SVHS tape decks, a Nagra tape recorder, and a Dell PC made available by Patrice and me.

The basic archiving process includes:

• importing videotaped materials from the SVHS tape decks,
• through the digital converter,
• into Final Cut Express.

In Final Cut Express, the imported files are logged, cut together, titled, digitally enhanced (adjusted for contrast, color correction, audio optimization), and exported to the 4 terabyte hard drive as digital video files. For example, the two hour camera original S-VHS tape AHC93-6 ("Phila 6 - Perk") was converted to digital files, edited in Final Cut, and exported as two hour-long digital archive files, AHC 1993 06 A.dv and AHC 1993 06 B.dv. The .dv files are then used to burn multiple DVD reference copies.

Also on the 4 terabyte hard drive are digital video files created from films and larger format videotapes such as U-matic and 1" video that we are unable to digitize in-house. We also have backup files of still photographs, and eventually we shall add audio files.

Please see Log of Materials in the Digital Archive for a progress report on this work. You can compare this log with the Log of videotapes in the Arthur Hall Collection to judge how far we have to go.

The digitalized materials in Final Cut Express and the exported .dv files can be used to produce new edited pieces for release on DVD. In October 2010, we produced AHC DVD #1, a prototype of this process.

We are seeking financial support to continue the archival and preservation process, including:

• providing a salary for me to carry this work forward over the next several years
• digitizing materials in the Arthur Hall Collection which require outside laboratory work, including 16mm films and larger format videotapes
• linking Arthur Hall Collection metadata to international databases
• ensuring preservation with duplicate digital archives at off-site institutions
• providing for long-term storage of original materials in a climate controlled facility (Northeast Historic Film)
• expanding the Arthur Hall Collection with copies of materials related to Arthur's work known to exist elsewhere
• producing DVD editions for schools, libraries, and private collectors - preservation through wide dissemination

Please contact me directly if you can offer any advice or support.

Bruce Williams, President
Ile Ife Films and the Arthur Hall Collection
754 Mount Ephraim Road
Searsport, Maine 04974
(207) 548-2445