Speaker
Arlie Belliveau, York University
Title
Digging Film Digitization at the Center for the History of Psychology
Abstract
This summer I found myself in an almost surreal situation, and one in which many historians can only dream to be. I was given the opportunity to live amongst and to help preserve and replicate the primary objects of my research: the film collection at the Center for the History of Psychology in Akron, Ohio. Positioned in the middle of over 5000 ageing, degrading acetate and polyester films, I took on the role of the center’s primary “film expert” – a role I am still reconciling in my mind. Researching and making decisions about care techniques, testing and creating a set of instructions particular to this collection, talking with other experts, and even collaborating with a few, I quickly came to understand why, like in the medical profession, the most important rule of film preservation is to first do no harm.
My colloquium discussion this month will consider the role reversals I experienced during my one-month student internship at CHP: from researcher to archivist, from outsider to insider, from a person working from a set of rules, to a person creating the rules for others to follow. The power and access I was given to literally cut, splice, and re-build the film archive enabled me to transform the physical and digital spaces, as well as the practices associated with its upkeep, and the access future researchers will have to the films. Reciprocally, the films also transformed me, and I developed a love-hate relationship with my objects (who seemed intent on reddening my eyes with gas, freezing me in their environment, and clogging my nose with dust).