Moving image review (1988]-)

The Value of Home Movies by Liz Coffey A graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, Coffey is a veteran of Northeast Historic Film and is now working with television newsfilm at Rhode Island Historical Society. Home movie making gained popularity in the 1 920s, which means there is amateur moving image documentation of people, places, and events for most of the 20th century. Starting as a rich person's toy, home movie equipment in time became cheaper and more accessible to the average American, which in turn led to a more diverse visual record of die century. Many home movies are in color, made at a time when photographs, newsreels, and television programs were generally black and white. Although a rich resource, home movies are often overlooked by people who would benefit by their use. Increased use of home movie by scholars faces two main obstacles: people who should watch them don't and institutions that should collect them are not. It's All About Education The main issue is one of education. Using home movies as an historical resource is a relatively new idea, one few researchers have considered. Social historians investigating styles, social mores, and details of family life, historians researching a particular region, and film historians in general would all benefit immensely by using home movies. Why are home movies not in die historical canon along with photographs? Motion picture film is certainly younger than photography, by about 50 years, but the two are not so different. Home movies are very much like moving snapshots. The relative awkwardness of film viewing when compared with looking at photographs has certainly contributed to the non-use of film in many historical institutions. Guardians of historical data (archivists, librarians, etc.) have also not had training in caring for and promoting the use of film. Until regional film archives like Northeast Historic Film spring up in all corners of the country (and researchers know to visit them), historical societies and regional (non-film) archives should be collecting home movies. Too Intimate Records? Historical societies that rely on donations to make up their collections find people seldom donate photographs of family members who are still alive or easily identifiable. The last half of the 20th century is often die weakest portion of a collection. However, with home movies, if the family had a video or DVD copy of their film made, they would be more likely to donate the original. Without publicity promoting donations, home movie holders may not think to donate. Another problem presented to institutions when it comes to collecting home movies is that these records are intimate— perhaps considered by many people to be very personal and therefore not of any interest to collecting institutions nor researchers. The main problems facing non-film archives with film collections are storage conditions, education, and that allpervasive enemy of progress, funding. Proper storage for film requires low temperatures and low relative humidity, conditions which are not quite die same needed for paper and photographs, and therefore scarce at these paper-heavy institutions. Curators, archivists, conservators and historians employed by these repositories often have had no experience widi film. This makes them less likely to want to engage. Providing Access Is Expensive Probably die biggest problem facing film in non-film archives and historical societies is that of access. Many archivists want to avoid providing access to original material, fearing damage. This requires that films be transferred for patron access, preferably to VHS or DVD, which are convenient for public use. This is expensive work for a large collection, and since there is not currently a lot of demand for home movie viewing, it is generally a low priority. If the institution decides to allow the original material to be accessed, equipment is needed to view the film. Tabletop viewers like Moviscops give limited image quality and are rarely at the right speed when hand-cranked. Flatbed viewers such as Steenbecks are expensive and take up a lot of space. There is potential for damage to the original material with this equipment. Invisible to the public, home movies are ignored. Without demand for their use, the funding for home movie projects will remain low. Needed: More Regional Moving Image Archives! One solution to the problem of home movie collections and access is for regional film archives like NHF to pop up all over. Aggressive collecting, outreach, and liberal access policies are important building blocks for this plan. The films need to be handled by experienced film archivists, stored in vaults under proper conditions, and focused on as valuable historical artifacts. Those of us who care about home movies and wish to see them looked after need to promote their use. Without people who want to watch them, their future is uncertain. Education needs to start at the top. People in library schools and other professional programs need to start learning not only how to handle film, but how to use it as a historical resource. A new generation of historical research assistants schooled in the art of film handling will help ensure the future of home movies. B For more on home movies, visit our Website: www.oldfilm.org