By Vanessa Obioha
To address the issues surrounding digital preservation of motion pictures and offer sustainable solutions, the Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) — the organising committee of the Oscars — has launched the Academy Digital Preservation Forum (ADPF), a global online gathering place dedicated to the cause.
The forum which is an initiative of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council will host original content and resources and will serve as an ongoing discussion place for stakeholders and practitioners within the field and those interested in learning more.
“Preserving motion pictures – whether film or digital – is an imperative from both cultural and commercial perspectives,” said Andy Maltz, Senior Vice President, Science and Technology Council. “As long as digital motion picture technologies evolve, there will be a need for collaboration between archivists, technologists and filmmakers. The ADPF provides a foundation for productive communication and problem-solving to ensure future generations can access the movies we enjoy today and those yet to come.”
ADPF intends to bring online community members, including Academy members, filmmakers, studio executives, archivists, operations professionals, technologists and other practitioners to reinforce the importance of digital preservation to modern filmmaking and help shape the future of this work.
It will be followed by the publications of ‘The Digital Dilemma’ in 2007 and ‘The Digital Dilemma 2’ in 2012, the Council’s two groundbreaking reports on the long-term preservation of digital motion picture materials.
