This is topic The work of the BFI in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.


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Posted by Robert Crewdson (Member # 3790) on July 13, 2013, 07:08 AM:
 
Came across this video about the race to preserve the massive collection of films held at the BFI. Thought it might be of interest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiCB6BWbd2k
 
Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on July 13, 2013, 09:54 AM:
 
I liked the way it ended: they reprinted to film. (I was bracing for the digitizing!)

This is ongoing work: there is a Derann 200 footer called "Historic Film" which shows the BFI doing the exact same thing 40 years ago.

(One of my favorite genres of film: films about films.)
 
Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on July 13, 2013, 10:55 AM:
 
Some years ago I was given a tour of the BFI National Film Archive at Berkhamsted. Thousands of cans of mainly 35mm stacked up to the high ceiling (hard hats to be worn), all at a nice cool controlled temperature.

A lot of their collection did not have the films complete, but quite often they were able to make up a good print by including some sections from 16mm.

But perhaps the most fascinating was the restoration of 35mm nitrate, I watched as a section of torn perfs was repaired by applying a whole new narrow section of good perfs from a scrap film, applied by the good old film cement. Remember the smell?

I was told that their preview theatre was the only one in the country to have a licence to run nitrate, the Kalee projectors still having their original fire trap arrangements.

Nitrate was stored outside in small units about the size of a telephone box, their lids being fairly loose, this was to allow for a film fire explosion which would only shoot the roof off, rather that the whole unit exploding like a large bomb.

Good to know! But I would not have liked to be around when that happened!
 
Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on July 13, 2013, 01:29 PM:
 
The Licences & Censors in this country have a lot to answer for
as regards fillm. No wonder that there are so many
versions of film, and to lost scenes thanks to the censors in the
UK, and then chopped to bits for the USA!
 


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