Resources of the Technical Commission (TC)

Introduction to the FIAF TC resources

Here you will find documents have been reviewed, verified or created by FIAF TC over the years, which may be useful or interesting to the FIAF community. The most recent verification date is shown behind the link. The links are sorted by category: digital, photochemical, collection management, and additional resources. Recently published documents are also shown in “Latest Publications”. If resources are available in other languages, those links are indicated as well with the language abbreviation (ES) (PT) (FR).

Latest publications

The Digital Statement

• The Digital Statement Part I: Recommendations for digitization, restoration, digital preservation and access published 2019 (verified September 2023) (PT)

• The Digital Statement Part II: Digital Reproduction: Scanning for Preservation, published May 2022

• The Digital Statement Part III: Image Restoration, Manipulation, Treatment, and Ethics, published April 2021 (verified September 2023)

• The Digital Statement Part IV: Sound (forthcoming)

• The Digital Statement Part V: Survey on Long-term Digital Storage and Preservation, Authors published April 2019 (verified September 2023)

(See also the Digital Statement menu page)

Digital Film Technology

• Digital Preservation Principles. The basic principles underpinning a trustworthy digital repository, based on the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) (verified September 2023)

• Recommendation on the deposit and acquisition of D-cinema elements for long term preservation and access, FIAF Technical Commission, 2010. (FR) (ES) The FIAF TC recommendations for the acquisition of digital cinema elements.
  

• Film Scanners Forum (members only), updated regularly by the TC, please send updates or new scanner developments to the TC to be included. 
  

• Choosing a Film Scanner, David Walsh for FIAF Technical Commission, 2021.  Some thoughts on film scanner technology for film archives (verified September 2023)

• Film Digitization in Practice, David Walsh for FIAF Technical Commission, 2021. A practical and easy to follow basic description of film digitization issues. (verified September 2023)

• Setting up a digitisation workflow, Anne Gant & Giovanna Fossati, 2012. (verified September 2023) Advice from EYE Filmmuseum for setting up scanning workflows. (FR) (ES)

• Digital Cinema Technology and DCPs, how DCPs work, by Arne Nowak 2012.  Basic introduction to the technologies and processes that are associated with the DCI / SMPTE digital cinema system. (verified September 2023)
  

• Digital Cinema Equipment FAQs, Torkell Sætervadet, 2012. FAQs on Digital Cinema answered by Torkell Sætervadet to accompany his publication Digital Archival Projection – an extension to The Advanced Projection Manual (FIAF/Norwegian Film institute, Brussels/Oslo 2006).

• https://academydigitalpreservationforum.org/  Site devoted to digital film preservation with informative videos and a community forum (verified September 2023).

Photochemical Film Technology

• List of All Photochemical Film Labs Operating in the World Today. FIAF's list of photochemical labs, including those no longer active (being updated September 2023)

• Currently operating film labs (photochem and digital). A link to IU’s database which Rachel is updating. (External link, verified September 2023)

• The Madrid Project database, 1999 research. Database of documents related to the manufacture and processing of cinema film stock, PDFs, accessible to members only. (verified in September 2023)

• Small-Gauge Film Materials Scanning Protocol, prepared by the Cinemateca Portuguesa and Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola, English translation funded by FIAF (verified June 2023) (PT)

Collection Management

• https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/education/publications.html

• FIAF Film Preservation Guidance, FIAF Training and Outreach 2020. The aim of this guidance document is to examine ways of preserving primary masters, and principles of storage. (September 2023) 

• Sustainable Film Store Design, FIAF Training and Outreach 2020. The aim of this guidance document is to discuss the major principles regarding heat flows, and hence energy use, and not to give direct design guidance. (September 2023) 

• Some practical aspects of cold storage for films, FIAF Training and Outreach 2022.
  

Additional Resources

• The Glossary of Technical Terms (full list and search engine)

• Terms and Methods for Technical Archiving of Audiovisual Materials.  FIAF/K.G. Saur, 1992. This archive scan of a book, published in association with FIAF in 1992, contains translations of terms in English, French, German, Spanish and Russian. (verified September 2023)

• Online Resources, a list of over 100 useful links to technical resources

• FFV1 and Matroska Reading List (2018) (verified September 2023)