Film Preservation in Metro Archives: Films Through the Loupe

January 25, 2019

Welcome to the seventh post in Nashville Metro Archives’ Audiovisual Conservation Center’s film preservation mini-series. In this series we’re telling the story of our project to conserve and identify hundreds of previously hidden gems in our film collection. These works document the history and culture of the South and range in date from the 1920’s to the 1990’s.

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Before we begin, here’s a quick note:  If you love history and want to know what goes on behind-the-scenes in an archive, you’ll want to pop over to our first post here and start our series from the beginning! If you prefer to browse, please dive right in below!

The purpose of today’s post is to give you a sneak peek of some of the films we have uncovered through this project. Each of these photos was shot through a magnifying lens that we use to identify what is actually on our archival film. This is what the archivist sees every day in her work.

Animation and illustrations from a 16mm motion picture film circa 1965 titled "Terminals and Techniques"

Animation and illustrations from a 16mm motion picture film circa 1965 titled "Terminals and Techniques"

Animation and illustrations from a 16mm motion picture film circa 1965 titled "Terminals and Techniques"

16mm motion picture film circa 1978. The film is titled "Aviation Department"

Welcome to Nashville sign at the airport from a 16mm motion picture film circa 1978. The film is titled "Aviation Department"
Film frame featuring the Nashville airport from a 16mm motion picture film circa 1978. The film is titled "Aviation Department"
Tiny puppet penguins on film from a Tom Tichenor 16mm motion picture film production circa 1961. The program featured penguins, a giraffe, a lamb, and a skunk puppet.
The Nashville skyline featured in a 16mm motion picture film titled "Nashville '86"
Another shot of the Nashville skyline at sunset featured in a 16mm motion picture film titled "Nashville '86"
Fireworks caught on 16mm motion picture film featured in "Nashville '86"

Thanks for joining us! This is my final post about film preservation in this series, and I'll miss updating you with our progress. But you’ll want to stay tuned for future posts as we wrap up this project-- AND announce exciting news in the next few months. See you on the blog!

The Film Preservation Project is generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance for Smaller Institutions Grant.

The AVCC is generously funded by the Nashville Public Library Foundation and is located at the Nashville Public Library in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.

 

 
melanie

Melanie

Melanie is an audiovisual archivist with a passion for cats, books, palindromes, coffee and equal access to information. She has worked in the Audiovisual Conservation Center since February 2018. On the weekends you can find her singing all of your favorite dad rock hits at karaoke.

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