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In our efforts to convert that film, we find that something in the vicinity of 60 percent of the outtakes meet our criteria for retention and for copying.
The 13 million feet should be reduced by a factor of perhaps 40 percent which leaves us with roughly 7 million feet to convert.
]Mr. Preyer. Is that the amount that you estimate you could complete converting in 2 years if you had sufficient funds ?
Dr. Rhoads. Yes, sir. We are going to complete converting that in 2 years whether we are given additional money or not. We have repro^ramed funds from other activities so we can get that problem behmd us.
The motion picture conversion, we are confident, will be completed by the fall of 1980.
We still have a substantial amount of nitrate aerial photography that remains, however.
Mr. Preyer. If you had unlimited funds — let us dream a little bit — could you complete it in a much quicker time than 2 years, or is that amount of time necessary because of the techniques?
Dr. Rhoads. Because of the techniques involved, I am inclined to think that we would not be able to do a great deal better than the 2-year conversion period.
Mr. Preyer. George Stevens suggested all old newsreels that are now privately held in the country should be turned over to you.
Do you have a horseback estimate as to how large a volume that would be ?
Dr. Rhoads. I have read the same reports that Mr. Stevens referred to. I do not have any independent opinion as to whether that is the right figure or not.
Mr. Preyer. Would you accept that material if he was able to gather it together for you? Let us say it is another 14 million feet.
Dr. Rhoads. I think that these films, or at least certain portions of them are undoubtedly worthy of preservation. The National Archives probably more than any institution in this country, is a recognized center for storage of newsreel film.
However, I must say that I would be very reluctant to accept it without a clear and firm indication that we had sufficient resources to convert it in a very short period of time.
Mr. Preyer. Incidently, in that connection, I understand when you accepted this film from Universal Pictures, that it was agreed they would install a deluge sprinkler system ; am I right ?
Dr. Rhoads. You are correct, sir, yes.
Mr. Preyer. Why was that never done ?
Dr. Rhoads. Perhaps one of my colleagues can supplement what I have to say on that, Mr. Chairman, but I think we were under the impression that the sprinkler system which was installed did meet the specifications that were implied in the gift.
Mr. Landers. I think that is correct, Mr. Chairman. My understanding was that the sprinkler system that had been installed was, in fact, a deluge system ; but it was not, obviously.
Mr. Preyer. As I understand it, it was described as a deluge system. It had some aspects of a deluge system, but in fact it had the closed valves.
Dr. Rhoads. It had the wrong kind of heads, yes.