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Preservation
and Restoration
One of the most famous CBC news broadcasts
of the first half of the 20th Century was J. Frank Willis's
coverage of the Moose River, Nova Scotia mine disaster in
1936. His marathon series of hourly reports ran just short
of three days. It was broadcast on 58 Canadian and 650 US
radio stations.
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Poor storage conditions -- such
as vertical shelving, tall stacks of cans close to the ceiling,
uncontrolled humidity, uncontrolled temperature and loose
cans lying about -- are the biggest causes of deteriorating
film.
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Yet by the time staff in CBC Radio Archives
were able to attempt to catalogue and copy the sound from the original
transcription disc, it was barely audible over clicks, hiss and
other surface noise. Today? You can pull a small Digital Audio Tape
(DAT) from the Radio Archives and listen to a restored clear, clean
version of Willis's award-winning broadcasts (you can also listen
to the original, unrestored version which is preserved on a separate
channel).
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| The film stored haphazardly in this area is in
danger of being damaged or lost. Note the lack of organization,
an occasional loose reel without a film can and the height the
cans are stacked. [Click photo to enlarge.] |
Such restoration and preservation miracles havelong
been the core functions of CBC Archives. However, within the past
decade, as people's appreciation for the archives has grown, so
too has the amount of emphasis and activity in preservation and
restoration. Several key projects began in 1994, and the efforts
expanded greatly with the start of the Archives
Project in 1998. While there is still more catching up to do,
the CBC Archives have never been in better shape.
Preservation and restoration are separate, but
closely related, acts. Preservation work ensures that archival materials
are captured as they are created, that they are accurately and thoroughly
catalogued and filed, and that they are stored in conditions that
prevent deterioration while keeping them accessible and within reach.
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Restauration
effects
This clip shows restored
and original images on a
split screen.
Duration:
56 s
Size: 2.19 MB
You
will need the Windows
Media Player plug-in.
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Restoration work deals chiefly with original,
one-of-a-kind materials that have been neglected or damaged or are
simply growing old. The goal is to return them as close to their
original condition as possible. If that's not possible, they are
restored to a point where, in the case of video, film and audio,
the originals can at least be copied to new formats where they live
on and can be used and appreciated for many years to come.
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