This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab. Sometimes you just never know what you’re going to find in a can, or in this case, four cans. What I did know is that it wasn’t going to be good, at least physically, because I could smell … Continue reading Record of a Homecoming: Preserving Interviews with Doug Clower and John McCain
Before the Super Bowl became the showcase for ambitious advertisements that would be seen and enjoyed by millions, we had the World’s Fair. At World’s Fairs, industry could show off its wares in increasingly elaborate displays. Symphony in F, part of the Ford Collection, fits into this category of advertainment. https://youtu.be/5RBU3Uz66uc Symphony in F (Local … Continue reading Symphony in F: An Industrial Fantasia for the World of Tomorrow
Earlier we wrote about an Oscar-nominated film preserved at the National Archives (NARA) called Jenny is a Good Thing. It was produced in 1969 by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, but for a long time we didn’t know where the original film reels were stored. In 2007, NARA archivists rescued over 3,000 government … Continue reading Film Preservation 201: Exploring A&B Rolls with “Jenny is a Good Thing”
Oscar season is always a special time of year for the National Archives’ Motion Picture Preservation Lab. It’s a chance for us to reflect on the numerous Oscar-winning films we preserve for the American people and to remember our own brush with Oscars glory (2013 Academy Award of Merit, accepted on behalf of all film … Continue reading Nutrition for Body and Mind: “Jenny is a Good Thing” and the Head Start Program
This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss Kovac is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It’s not uncommon for NARA to receive less-than-perfect material for films created by federal agencies. One of the types of elements we sometimes receive is called a workprint. Workprints … Continue reading When a Workprint is the Only Print
by Judy Luis-Watson, Manager of Volunteer and Education Programs at the National Archives at College Park, MD The inclusion of a teacher, who would become the first private citizen in space, made the Space Shuttle Challenger mission especially exciting. This was the U.S. Government’s twenty-fifth space shuttle mission, twenty-four of which had been completed successfully. … Continue reading The Challenger’s Teacher in Space Project: Photos and Video
Film Preservation 101 is an occasional series in which we answer our most frequently asked questions. Please submit your burning questions about film preservation in the comments below! What is Color Fading? Why are old films sometimes pink? The simple answer is color fading. This might seem a little confusing, since it looks like the film … Continue reading Film Preservation 101: Why are old films sometimes pink?
This post was written by Criss Kovac. Criss Kovac is the supervisor of the Motion Picture Preservation Lab. On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation in the 153rd State of the Union Address. Known more popularly as the “Four Freedoms Speech,” he proposed four fundamental freedoms that all people should have … Continue reading FDR’s “Four Freedoms” Speech
This Christmas Eve, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will have tracked Santa Claus's journey around the world for 60 years. Colonel Harry Shoup began the tradition in 1955, after receiving a phone call from a child expecting to reach Santa Claus. The misdirected call was the result of the child reversing two numbers of a Santa … Continue reading Vintage Footage Reveals How NORAD Tracks Santa
It’s the time of year when fireplace mantles are filling up with holiday cards and brown-wrapped parcels are delivered to doorsteps. The packages, letters, and cards we drop into mail-slots across the country contribute to an annual crescendo in the activities of the United States Postal Service (USPS). In the 2015 holiday season, the USPS … Continue reading Holiday Mail Call! A Package’s Path to You
