Training and Evaluation

Things have been rolling along nicely with our pilot project this week! Before I get into the details let me tell you a little bit about the initial process that was started a few weeks ago.

 A small glimpse at our stack of boxes!

As part of our initial assessment of the material provided for testing, which was over 20 boxes of various film reels and ephemera, the first step taken was the create a condition recording data sheet. This sheet was used to record any information we could see on the physical reels of film in each canister. The majority of film was in good condition, and luckily, there was no immediate evidence of the dreaded Vinegar Syndrome. During the condition reporting process, AD Test Strips were also placed within each reel of film, and left for a week or more to detect any evidence of acid fumes that may have snuck past our initial assessment. At this current time, no evidence of any major fume release has been detected. Yay!

Sample of test strip placement within the canister

We still have over 250 canisters to check next week, so any new discoveries will be posted to the blog. Although most of the film itself appears to be in good condition, there are a few issues that need to be addressed. The first is that some canisters, particularly the larger ones, are displaying severe rusting on the outside of the case. Luckily it does not seem to have transferred to the inner section of the canister, so it is not currently affecting the film, however we have recommended that new canister be provided as soon as possible so no damage comes to the film, or the conservator handling the cases.

 Sample of heavily rusted canister

Another concern, which is potentially a major one for the future digitization of this collection, is the splices within the reels themselves. During the initial assessment, it was noted that a lot of the lead tape splices were quite brittle and cracking, in some instances they were so brittle they fell straight off upon removing the film from the canister. After discussion, it was determined that re-splicing would need to take place, however it was impossible at the time to determine the extent of this process and what exactly was needed. Being already informed that the reels were going to be transported to Sydney for digitization, re-winding the reels that had been flagged for prioritization would be necessary for digitization. However, none of us had any experience or mechanical means to do this. Enter Pat O'Connor from the NFSA!

Pat checking the film for clues!

Pat kindly came down from Canberra to give us a day of extremely valid training, which involved spotting the differences between different kinds of film, the importance of wound tension during the transport of film, how to properly splice, how to wind onto a reel and a core,  how to spot dye loss and what it means to your film as well a boat load of more information that was so fantastic and extremely helpful to our project. 

Pat making it look super easy. It is definitely NOT easy!

Throughout the day everyone had a go at splicing and winding, and by the end of the training I think the confidence levels of everyone was much higher than when we started! Alison Raaymakers from the Racing Museum and Naomi Bernard from TVN were also there to learn a few new skills, as well as fine tune the projected outcomes and expectations of the project. All in all this was a great learning experience and we are heading into the winding part of the project with much optimism. Onward and Upward!

Kelly putting her new found winding skills to the test!