Heinz Center Week of June 1st

I got to handle some film today. I started doing film inspections. The inspections were based on the form in the Moving Image Archive book put out by SAA. Theresa and I were checking films for condition, and identifying key characteristics such as the date of release, color or b&w, and silent or soundtrack. I have not got into the part that I would like to do my research project on yet (ie policy), but the experience has been very rewarding thus far. I worked for about 2 hours doing the film inspections, during this time Theresa and I finished 3 films. We switched checking and writing duties. I think that this really sped up the process, and may be ideal, especially for handling large collections like the one we are working with.

Another part of the internship, which may be useful to my research, and is very helpful for professional experience is equipment pricing. The History Center has not been known for its film collection, but happened to inherit this collection through a merger. They have very little equipment for handling and processing film, but David is interested in purchasing more. Theresa and I spent a little time on our own finding some vendors for film equipment. We were pricing a splicer and tape, leader, and generally trying to get a feel for who sells these materials and what their prices are. It is great to be part of an institution during a change because I will be able to see how other employees react to these issues.

I think that for my research I want to examine how a facility that does not have policies for handling film creates and implements the policies, and how it affects the institution.