THE
NEW MILLENNIUM:
ASPECTS OF THE TECHNICAL FUTURE
A Vision for the Region’s Technological Future
by Mary Del Pilar
Chair, SEAPAVAA Technical Committee
Introduction
Before SEAPAVAA, there were fragmented efforts in audiovisual archiving in the region - each country pursuing its own objectives and dissipating its meager resources in isolated activities or perhaps even conflicting endeavors that diminished the region’s opportunity for growth and lessened the chances for our audiovisual collections to survive.
At the time, there was a great sense of urgency for the region to carry out a more substantial united action. We felt the need to assume a common responsibility to solve mutual concerns in audiovisual archiving in our own way. This was the inspiration that paved the way for the formation of SEAPAVAA. It is remarkable what we have achieved so far in so short a time. We are now a recognized community in the region - a shining example of how working together towards a common goal and aspiration can achieve. And in all our activities, the spirit of cooperation prevailed.
Recent Technical Cooperation Projects in the Region
In terms of technological cooperation, we have heard about "Giliw Ko" , the 1939 Filipino film classic, whose restoration and duplication was a joint venture between two SEAPAVAA member-institutions - the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia and the Philippine Information Agency. This project is an ideal model of how archive institutions could cooperate, share available resources, exchange knowledge and information - simply working together to achieve a common goal. The premiere of the film speaks for itself - it was a phenomenal success!!!
Also last year, the SEAPAVAA Technical and Training Committees, held a very successful SEAPAVAA and UNESCO sponsored advanced training seminar in the treatment of vinegar syndrome and mould affected films at the Vietnam Film Institute in Hanoi, Vietnam. The resource persons were from the Vietnam Film Institute, the National Film and Sound Archive and the Philippine Information Agency. This seminar was attended by delegates from audiovisual archive institutions in Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. And for the first time, the Pacific countries, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, were represented
Again, the spirit of cooperation prevailed wherein neither ideological differences nor diverse cultures interfered in our efforts to work together, learn from each other, share ideas and experiences and discuss possible solutions and directions to deal with common issues and concerns facing our audiovisual collections. As Mr. Robert Gwamuwe, the delegate from Papua New Guinea remarked, "the training seminar was a major breakthrough for being able to bring together delegates from Asia and the Pacific which is the true meaning of SEAPAVAA". Mick Newnham, the resource person from the NFSA, was thrilled watching delegates from Laos, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines all working together on a mould damaged Lao film. These are very vivid pictures of working together to help each other.
A Vision for the Future: "Bridging the Gap"
Now we ask ourselves -What does our region’s technical future hold?
Over the years, as our activities and involvements widened in scope and intensified, there is no doubt that we have evolved to such an extent that we can now respond more precisely to the technological needs of the region. We have lain the basic foundations of working together - the first stages of cooperation - and in the process have formed friendships and have become familiarized with one another. We can now face the new millennium with confidence to pursue higher goals and a shared vision for our technological future.
SEAPAVAA comprises of institutions at different levels of technological development. As we move to a new millennium, there is now a call for a parallel development in technological capabilities within the region. The objective is to address the imbalance in the regional distribution of technical expertise and capabilities. The vision is a regional environment in which there is a reduced difference in technical advancement among the countries in the region - a future in which those archive institutions at lower levels of development will have less difficulties in carrying out their tasks.
While discussing this vision with a colleague, I was told that technological advancement can never be equal in all aspects. That is the practical reality - the more advanced and prosperous countries will keep on advancing technologically while the less developed countries will always be left behind. Faced with this reality - how then could we achieve this vision or even come near to its objective? This is a point of discussion that I would like to present to this Symposium.
Strategies for Future Technological Development
To start off, we can consider the following strategies on how we can achieve this vision for our technological future :
We should complement this with programs that would enable the less developed institutions in the region to have access to much needed technical facilities and equipment. Oftentimes these institutions have very minimal resources to do any technical work to preserve their AV collections. Because we understand the economic situation of these institutions, one recommendation to address this problem is by sharing available technological resources among the AV archive institutions in the region.
Another strategy is to put up a regional technical audiovisual center for the region that will be supported by the association to provide the restoration and preservation services required. The cheapest way to achieve this is to identify the institution with existing technical facilities and capabilities to serve this purpose.
We are aware of the problems that some of our colleagues have with internet access but we are looking forward to a future when these problems will be solved and it would not be difficult to ask help from archives in other countries just as well as in the same country. The information exchange will be quicker as more archives gain access to the global network working side by side with the usual communication facilities like fax, mail, books, videos,etc.
Activities such as these annual regional conferences and symposiums give us the opportunity to hear about the latest technical developments from outside and within the region. For this session, we are fortunate to hear from audiovisual experts who have developed their unique techniques in addressing the problems we encounter in our efforts to preserve our audiovisual heritage.
Mr. Morten Jacobsen is from Denmark who heads a company that has developed a method of assessing vinegar syndrome in film. Dr. Chong Man Nang is from our region and he has developed Revival: a digital Motion Picture Software. We shall also hear from Ms. Ediyami Bondan Andoko, who together with her colleague Misbash Yusa Biran, has prepared a paper on the new Sinematek Indonesia building.
I am also proud to say that in our Technical Committee, we have among our members a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise that could serve us in our future projects and activities. These members are authorities who can contribute intellectually and scientifically to resolving the varied technical problems we have in the region.
The SEAPAVAA Technical Committee is confident that by working together towards greater interaction and integration, we can achieve sustainable and equitable technological development. SEAPAVAA’s strong foundation and remarkable achievements will serve us as we move to the dawn of a new millennium.