Preserving a Century of Science Education on Film
by Gregory Raml on
Film preservation used to be considered merely duplication, meaning transferring the original film image to a more stable film medium, such as a duplicate negative, but now the concept has evolved to include conservation, proper storage, and access too. In fact, duplication is an expensive process that requires expertise and specialized equipment and we must be highly selective when we decide if a film warrants the additional funding needed for duplication. Fortunately, proper handling and storage can extend the life of some film indefinitely, which helps mitigate the need for collection-wide duplication other than for access, keeping costs down in the long run.
The generous NFPF preservation grants allow for full preservation of a film and stipulate that we create two access copies, in addition to the duplication of the original, which includes one access print (to enable the experience of screening a copy of the original film as closely as possible) and one digital file for far-reaching and convenient distribution. We are grateful for the digital’s reach, as knowledge of the film increases the chance the access print will be requested for screening, and we agree that there is no point to preserve something if few will ever get to see it again! Finally, we strive to store our films according to best practice and to the best of our ability; on cores (not reels) in archival cans in the Library’s cold storage.
In case you do not associate the Museum with film, think of the iconic scene of Roy Chapman Andrews discovering dinosaur eggs on the Third Central Asiatic Expedition in 1925, staged by Roy in the photo above. Equally compelling is the 1926 footage of Komodo dragons in Malaysia shot on film during the Burden East Indian Expedition, the expedition that supposedly inspired the film King Kong.
By the 1920s, films were a popular educational tool at the museum. Nearly every expedition sent a crew member along to document their journey, a tradition that continues to this day on the Museum’s YouTube channel and in the historic giant-screened LeFrak Theater.
Does the picture below look familiar? Even before the Museum promoted moving images, the Museum's founder, Albert Bickmore, was famous for his science lectures that projected gigantic lantern slide images across the blank wall behind him. Although they are very different mediums, it’s hard not to humor the notion of the lantern slide as last century's IMAX.
As you can see, the AMNH has a film tradition going back to the early days of the Museum. The first clip I'd like to show you is from Men of Science (1938). We recently preserved this film with NFPF support. Men of Science is a 40-plus minute tour of the Museum showcasing departments, scientists, artists, exhibits, and expeditions. The AMNH screened this promotional film, along with several dioramas, at the 1939-1940 World's Fair in New York City.
The scene here is narrated by Charles Russell, curator of the Department of Education. We see invertebrate zoologist Roy W. Miner in the Bahamas, wearing a metal diving helmet underwater, collecting coral for the Andros Coral Reef diorama in the Hall of Ocean Life. This extraordinary underwater footage may be the first of its kind and is best seen for oneself. The clip is an excellent example of footage filmed in the Museum (including rare, early color footage) combined with that made on expedition.
Christine Gennetti, an intern from NYU’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation (MIAP) graduate program who was working on Ornithology films at the Museum, helped me locate the “lost” color segments among the many reels of Men of Science outtakes and unused footage from departments across the Museum (a potential goldmine of material for future projects).
I would like to leave you with one last film, Gull Island, N.Y. (1949). This film surveys Great Gull Island the year it was acquired by the Museum in 1949. Great Gull Island is home to some of the world’s largest colonies of Common Terns and endangered Roseate Terns. In 1969, under the direction of AMNH ornithologist Helen Hays, the island became an AMNH field station and birding observatory. This short, silent document pans through images of the abandoned Fort Michie U.S. Army base founded in 1897. Gull Island, N.Y. consists of one reel and was preserved by NFPF in 2014 along with two other Great Gull Island films, Tern Watch and Ducks.
Gull Island, N.Y. (complete film)
I cannot discuss preserving film without also thanking NYU's MIAP for their generous help with the collection over the years providing highly skilled interns on various projects. Particularly Alyosha Nowlin, for his invaluable contribution preparing the latest NFPF grant submission and for his work on the Ornithology film collection. Lastly, I would like to thank Dale Dancis, who helped research our Great Gull Island films when we applied for support back in 2014.
While the Library’s archival Film Collection only grows when films are discovered in the Museum’s scientific departments, working with film requires specialized skills and the preservation process is costly. There are still many more films in need of attention and as each is identified, preserved and made available digitally, future audiences will become aware of this rich and fascinating resource.
This is the eighth post in a series about how the Library's staff is working remotely and enriching its digital collections to enhance access to researchers and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. This entry was written by Gregory Raml, Special Collections Librarian.