(no subject)

[laughingrat]

Emerging fungal threat to historical film archives:

Cinematographic film has a layer of gelatin on its surface. This emulsion layer is where the image is formed but also provides ideal food for fungi like Aspergillus and Penicillium.

If the fungus forms a layer of mould on a film it produces enzymes which allow it to use the film as food and to grow.

So the damage it can cause is irreversible as the mould "eats" the image stored on the film's surface.

...

"It's getting worse. It's a kind of newish thing. I've been here (NWFA) for 23 years. This has really only taken up over the last eight to ten years. What might have been perfect six years ago has now been affected by mould."

Especially poignant to me, as someone invested in early movies. It seems like every year brings new discoveries of things once considered completely lost; it's hard to hear that some things might be lost again if proper steps aren't taken.

Comments

[trouble]

Shit. Some of those films are important historical artifacts, like the ones from Gallaudet! :( :( :(

[laughingrat]

Unsurprisingly I am totally ignorant of Gallaudet! Is this the pioneer in Deaf studies, or someone else? Like you, I had a movie or two in mind when I read this, namely the Mitchell & Kenyon stuff. I got to see some transfers of those when they toured the US and it was just amazing.

[trouble]

Oh, sorry! I live in this world where everyone can sort out exactly what I mean simply by my willing it to be true. :)

Gallaudet University produced a series of Deaf films in the early 1920s. Sadly, I don't have the link to any handy, woe.

[laughingrat]

Oh! Yes, so it is related, yay! :-D MY GUGL-FU IS STRONG

[klia]

How awful! As if preservationists didn't already have enough issues to deal with!

[laughingrat]

Inorite? It's so ironic that these films should be found and restored--in some cases, after having been at the bottom of a barrel in attic for 100 years, and wasn't there a recent find that was literally covered with pigeon crap?--and now be in danger from this.

I cracked up a little reading the article, purely for personal reasons, when the phrase "cold and dry" came up. Our preservation prof used to repeat that endlessly, it seems. I guess it's best for movies AND books. :)

[klia]

I hadn't heard about the pigeon crap! To save film from THAT only to lose it to mold must be heartbreaking.

Dry makes sense, but cold seems almost counter-intuitive to me. I would've thought that would make it brittle, but I guess not.

[laughingrat]

I can't remember the temperature range, but I think it's still above freezing, so that might be why it works?