AMIA 2024

Film was the best and only choice shooting, finishing, exhibition, and archiving of theatrical motion pictures for over a century, and has been eclipsed in the past 25 years by digital technologies. However, in spite of the near-obliteration of film infrastructure at every step of the process, that long history has led many to believe that film remains that best choice for long-term archiving, This paper will detail the “before” (the starting points of restorations and contemporary movies) and the “after” (what deliverables will be needed in 100 years). Focus will also be given to three often-overlooked factors: the long-term cost of film and its migration problems; the inability of film to archive sound; and the reliability of digital archiving, including how common mistakes can be avoided. The goal remains to make, finish, and archive motion pictures in a truly future-proof, and not a past-proof, manner.