REPORT OF THE
FOURTH CONFERENCE AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE SOUTH EAST ASIA-PACIFIC
AUDIO VISUAL ARCHIVE ASSOCIATION
Kuala Lumpur, 19-24 April 1999
INTRODUCTION
OPENING CEREMONY
CONFERENCE SYMPOSIUM
INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC
What Does Working Together Really Mean
Mr. Kamal Yan Yahya from the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relation, Malaysia, presented his view on how working together can be achieved successfully by projecting the impact of globalization. As globalization is now the current phenomena in the international scene, one country cannot stand on its own in order to achieve major success, but must also depend to others who possess the resources. This is where the need to work together in pursuing mutual benefits must be obtained.
Successful working together can be seen in the establishment of the United Nation, ASEAN and also SEAPAVAA. People with common interest and need, sit together in an established body, regardless of their background, work hand in hand seeking to achieve common objectives that they wish to pursue. In Malaysia, Mr. Kamal Yan projected examples from the success of Malaysia Incorporated and Smart Partnership Programme.
Mr. Kamal Yan proposed his views on how working together can be achieved i.e. through sharing experiences; establishing contacts and encouraging constructive dialogues; as well as carrying out exchange of visits. Through these, not only people with common interest can work together, but also work closely and cohesively. In the end, objectives can be achieved and the world can be a better place for us and our future generation.
SEAPAVAA: "From Idea to Reality" – An Assessment of SEAPAVAA’s First Three Years of Evolution
Mr. Ray Edmondson reviewed the beginnings of the idea that inspired the formation of SEAPAVAA. He cited the association’s development from 1996 when it was formally established up to the present time and outlined the essential nature of the association as stated in its Constitution, using SEAPAVAA’s objectives as benchmark. Mr. Edmondson summarized the association’s achievements in the last 3 years.
Mr. Edmondson expressed his personal opinion that SEAPAVAA’s major achievement was its survival and that the key to SEAPAVAA’s staying power was its ability to meet the needs specific to the region and to the nature of the audiovisual heritage. Further, Mr. Edmondson acknowledged several organizations that have been crucial to SEAPAVAA’s growth namely: UNESCO, ASEAN-COCI, Australian Government, Kodak, 3M, Philippine Information Agency, National Film and Sound Archive in Australia, National Library of Indonesia, Vietnam Film Institute and the National Archives of Malaysia. In closing, Mr. Edmondson looked forward to a very exciting future for SEAPAVAA.
CASE STUDIES IN COOPERATION
Singapore: Searching for History/ASEAN Oral History
Ms. Irene Lim of the National Archives of Singapore presented case studies in cooperation through her experience in ASEAN-COCI Project on Senior ASEAN Statesmen and the search of Singapore History Programme.
ASEAN-COCI Project on Senior ASEAN Statesmen is the first joint ASEAN oral history project proposed to collect and preserve, for posterity, information on the first 25 years of ASEAN’s development. This project was conducted through oral history interviews, with the organization’s government leaders and administrators from ASEAN member countries. With the cooperation and commitment of the participating countries, this project claimed its success by creating a valuable historical record of significant development and milestone event in the history of ASEAN, the Southeast Asian region and ASEAN in the context of international relations.
The search for Singapore history is an acquisition programme to acquire materials on Singapore from sources outside Singapore. The purpose of this programme is to fill the gaps in the holding of the National Archives of Singapore. Some of the major institutions approached by the National Archives of Singapore are the Public Record Office, Imperial War Museum, Australia’s National Film and Sound Archives, National Archives of Australia, National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, and National Defense Institute of Japan. Through this programme, materials collected at present are able to shed light on many aspects of Singapore history, enriching their holdings and providing rich reference sources for their researches.
Ms. Irene Lim suggested that SEAPAVAA could also play a role in assisting its member countries in their efforts to search for materials held in other countries by instituting a programme to facilitate exchange of materials, circulate accession list and do advertise calls for materials in SEAPAVAA newsletters.
Vietnam: Repatriation of Films to Laos
Dr. Ngo Hieu Chi of the Vietnam Film Institute reported on the unconditional repatriation by Vietnam of 1,192 Lao film reels to the Laos National Film Archive. The Repatriation Ceremony was held in July 6, 1998 at the Vietnam Film Institute (VFI) wherein the Laos Minister of Information and Culture, on behalf of the Laos State and Government, presented to VFI the Second Class Laos noble medal Isala in acknowledgement of the efforts of VFI in collecting, restoring and preserving the Lao films for the past 38 years.
The Lao films were processed in Vietnam in the 1960’s and 70’s when there were no available facilities in Laos. At the time, the negatives and other copies of the Lao films were left in Vietnam and only the prints were taken back to Laos. The VFI started collecting the Lao films since 1965 and the collection numbered 1000 reels by 1980. In 1985, the VFI started negotiations with the Cinema Department of the Laos Ministry of Information and Culture about the repatriation. The VFI expressed hope that the repatriation of Lao films would further strengthen the Laos and Vietnam relations and promote the SEAPAVAA spirit of "working together to preserve our heritage".
Audiovisual Archiving in Malaysia – A Survey
Ms. Leong Meng Wee presented a paper on the audiovisual archiving scene in Malaysia, with particular emphasis on the part played by 4 main agencies, viz the National Film Department, the Department of Broadcasting, the National Archives of Malaysia and the National Library of Malaysia in the keeping and preservation of audiovisual materials.
Topics highlighted in the paper included the legislation governing the acquisition and preservation of library and archival materials which also include AV materials, the storage facilities and conditions existing in the 4 departments mentioned above, the preservation capabilities presently available in the country, the restoration projects being undertaken, the research facilities available and access policy now in place to facilitate use of audiovisual archives. She also outlined the plans that have been made to improve and advance the cause of audiovisual archiving in Malaysia.
Malaysia: RTM Restoration Project
Ms. Normah Chik bt. Ahmad Nordin gave a presentation on a joint project that was set up in 1998 between the Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia (RTM) and the National Film and Sound Archives of Australia (NFSA), viz the restoration of RTM’s 2 inch Quad video tapes. This project is presented as a case study in cooperation, designed to show the benefits that come from working together.
Ms. Normah discussed the reasons for the project as well as the condition of the tapes before they were sent to NFSA. She further elaborated on the steps involved in the cleaning and restoration of the quad videotapes. A total of 274 tapes will be restored under the restoration project. The restored tapes will be copied onto Betacam SP videotapes for preservation. Results of work done on the first few tapes have been good. Portions of the videotape, in Betacam SP format, were screened to allow symposium participants to view the results and to gain further in-sight into the restoration process.
Philippines: "Giliw Ko" – A Joint Film Restoration
Ms. Belina SB. Capul, in her presentation, reported on the joint film restoration project undertaken by two members of SEAPAVAA, namely the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). This joint project is presented as a case study in cooperation.
The project involved the restoration of a 1939 film classic "Giliw Ko", as part of Australia’s Centennial gift to Philippines in connection with Philippine Centennial Celebration. The film was in such a delicate condition that it was not possible to treat and transfer the sound and image to new film stock using the standard method. In her presentation, the speaker elaborated on the restoration work done by the NFSA with the assistance of PIA technicians and the new technique used to restore the film. The process involved copying the soundtrack and image separately. PIA received the restored elements in 35mm and undertook the task of printing the access copy of the film with the assistance of an NFSA technician. The musical drama was premiered at the Cultural Center of the Philippines as part of "All the Best from Australia" Film Festival. The restoration project represents a high point in the development and promotion of AV archiving in the Asia-Pacific Region.
SEAPAVAA Film History Publication
Mr. David Hanan of Monash University reported on the progress report on proposed SEAPAVAA Publication on South East Asian Film. The aim of the publication is to provide succinct and readable account of the history of the cinema in each of the countries of South East Asia, especially from the active members of SEAPAVAA. The history of each national cinema would be written separately by a well known critic, archivist, film historian or film-maker from each country in the South East Asian region (including Australia and New Zealand), so that each cinema history is written from the point of a national, rather than, by an outsider or foreign "expert". In this way, members of SEAPAVAA will come to have some knowledge of the history of each of the national cinemas of their colleagues in SEAPAVAA, a knowledge which is informed by a perspective indigenous to that country. It is anticipated that the publication will be available by mid-year 2000.
Participating countries in this publication include Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, New Zealand, Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Australia. Some of these countries had already identified their writer while the rest will soon be identified. Mr. David Hanan, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television, Department of Visual Arts at Monash University, has been appointed as the editor for this publication.
Living in the Electronic World: Using Web Pages, Listserves and Databases
Mr. John Abbott hosted a session illustrating the electronic environment in which we now work. His presentation included websites, list serves, on-line databases and distance learning packages. Since the planned Internet connection was not available at the Conference, a "virtual Internet" was invented as a substitute and the presentation continued on that basis.
Mr. Abbott discussed his experience of working with the Net – its value as a tool for (a) unstructured research and (b) structured learning. As an illustration of the former, he invited Ms. Annella Mendoza to demonstrate the ASEAN database and its operation. For the latter, Ms. Helen Jarvis described the operation of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) graduate course in audiovisual management, a task to which her powers of description proved adequate.
The delegates patience with this virtual performance was ultimately rewarded when proper connections were established during the Closed Sessions when Mr. Ray Edmondson demonstrated the operation for the SEAPAVAA list serve; Ms. Mendoza brought the ASEAN database to life; and Ms. Jarvis and Mr. Edmondson gave a clear exposition of the UNSW graduate course.
"If I Could Shape the World" – Visions of Future Cooperation in the Future
Ms. Annella Mendoza presented a paper on behalf of the Society of Film Archivists, Philippines (SOFIA). The paper gave a brief account of the state of audiovisual archiving in the Philippines, which led to the formation of SOFIA in 1993. It further outlined the work done by SOFIA in advancing the cause of audiovisual archiving in the Philippines and in laying the groundwork for a national audiovisual archives facility.
The paper sets forth SOFIA’s vision of seeing the Southeast Asia and Pacific region emerging as the focus of an audiovisual archiving movement. It also envisions a change in the way we work and seek to explore the many possible ways of working together to preserve the audiovisual heritage. This is possible in view of the commonality in cultures, histories and climatic conditions in the Southeast Asia Pacific Region. The paper emphasized the need for effective regional cooperation so that strategies could be formulated to solve common problems.
UNESCO: "Memory of the World Program": The Asia-Pacific Strategy
Dato’ Habibah Zon of the National Archives of Malaysia deliberated on the development of the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme touching on its original and subsequent expansion, with special attention to its role in the Asia Pacific region. Launched by UNESCO in 1992, its aim was to safeguard the world’s documentary heritage. Its management constitute a three tier structure which consist of an International Advisory Committee, Regional and National Committee and a Secretariat.
The on going project carried out by the MoW includes compiling the World Register, National Register and Regional Register of documentary heritage. The criteria for the selection of materials to be included in the registers must relate to influence, time, place, people, subject, form and style and social value.
In pursuit of the program objectives for the Asia Pacific Region, eight key strategies were identified i.e. formation of National Committees, identification of documentary heritage, encouragement of nomination, promotion and awareness, fund raising, use of World Web-Site, need for the preservation of specific documentary heritage and holding a seminar.
He MoW encourages the preservation of the past heritage for the sake of the future.
Putting the "Audio" in "Audiovisual" – Are we embracing the Sound Heritage
Mr. Sven Allerstrand, in his paper, deliberated on the background of events leading to the formation of the National Archives of Recorded Sound and Moving Images (ALB) in Sweden in 1979. The speaker gave an account of the work done by the Archives, its holdings and the criteria for the selection of archival materials.
In his presentation, Mr. Allerstrand also talked about the formation of IASA, which was initially concerned with the preservation of sound archives. He highlighted the fact that in 1995, IASA extended its scope to include both sound and audiovisual materials. He further outlined the activities and projects undertaken by IASA. He also emphasized the need for IASA and SEAPAVAA to work together to actively promote the preservation of sound and audiovisual materials, as both shared similar objectives and aspirations.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT
Putting the "P" in SEAPAVAA: Developments in the Pacific
Mr. Robert Gwamuwe, the delegate from Papua New Guinea, presented the paper of Mr. Mark Nizette, Access Senior Manager of the National Film and Sound Archive, titled AV Archives Management. The paper reported on the "needs analysis" survey conducted on some major audiovisual collections in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa and reflected on common problems of storage, treatment, training and management.
Mr. Gwamuwe called attention to the dire situation of audiovisual archiving in Papua New Guinea and emphasized the need for training to ensure the preservation of their audiovisual heritage. He requested SEAPAVAA to provide the necessary assistance to address the problems facing the AV collection in his country.
Evolving a National Focus Point for Audiovisual Archiving
Ms. Belina SB. Capul stressed the need for a national focus point where all audiovisual archiving activities are centralized. The Society of Film and Video Archivist (SOFIA) is an example of a focus point that serve as a venue for exchanging knowledge and skill, as well as a mobilizer of change, and in promoting audiovisual archiving. The success in the formation and implementation of a national focus point should encompass the following criteria, i.e. clear identification of what is needed, a steerer with clear conscience and the support of reliable allies, and empowerment of the allies to carry out on the work that was started.
Forum: Brainstorming the Future – Ideas for Cooperation
The forum was led by Mr. Ray Edmondson. Mr. P.K. Nair was invited to share his experience in the audiovisual archiving field which he had gained as an ex-Director of the National Film Archives in India.
The forum then discussed the steps that could be initiated to enhance cooperation in the field of audiovisual archiving in the region. These include:
- Becoming a member of SEAPAVAA
- Subscribing to Listserves;
- Communication through the Internet,
- Participation in the Memory of the World Programme,
- Cataloguing to disseminate information about holdings,
- Advocate repatriation of audiovisual materials,
- Conduct staff exchanges or visits,
- Shared responsibilities between archivists, librarians, technicians and information professionals,
- Provision of unconditional access to audiovisual materials,
- Creation of national focus point in each country,
- Carrying out joint projects, and
- Conducting publicity to raise the profile of audiovisual archiving.
The New Millenium: Aspects of the Technical Future
Ms. Mary del Pilar, Chair of the SEAPAVAA Technical Committee, reviewed the recent technical projects implemented in the region that demonstrated the spirit of cooperation fostered by SEAPAVAA namely: the restoration of the Filipino classic film "Giliw Ko" and the SEAPAVAA-UNESCO Advanced Training Seminar on the Treatment of Vinegar Syndrome and Mould Affected Films.
For the region’s technical future, Ms. Del Pilar noted the different levels of technological development of AV institutions in the region. She stressed the need to address this imbalance in order to achieve a vision of parallel technological advancement for the region in the next millenium. She presented this concern for discussion by the symposium and proposed strategies to achieve this vision such as mutual technical assistance, development of communication channels and strengthening capabilities by bringing into the region or developing from within advanced technical expertise. In closing, Ms. Del Pilar expressed confidence in achieving sustainable and equitable technological development for the region by working together towards greater interaction and integration.
Mr. Morten Jacobsen discussed the present and new techniques of evaluating vinegar syndrome in films. His paper presented the results of his tests on seventy rolls of film selected for evaluation wherein their pH values were ascertained and compared using present and new methods of detecting vinegar syndrome. The evaluation methods used included the destructive method and 3 types of indicators namely: Danchek, AD Strip and the New Danchek.
Mr. Jacobsen stated that the onset of vinegar syndrome in film is after 35 years. He further stressed the importance of detecting the presence of vinegar syndrome in film collections and in determining the time to make a copy. He noted that the product or method for doing this should be safe to use. The method selected would depend as well on the cost, reliability and time it takes to read the results. He also stated that the revised Danchek indicator would have better light stability as it is currently undergoing light stabilizing tests for further improvement.
Digital Restoration – the "Revival System"
Dr. Chong Man Nang from the School of Applied Science at the Nanyang Technological University presented Revival, a restoration/preservation software that will not damage the original quality of the pictures. Only the noise-corrupted segments such as the scratches and blotches of the films will be restored with care.
Revival – a computerized motion picture restoration software – restores old, noise-corrupted motion pictures and transfers the restored pictures to new storage media, automatically or with operator-assistance. Revival aims to eliminate the typical artifacts found in degraded motion picture materials such as persistent scratches, dust, and bright and light blotches. A novel mathematical model is used in Revival to accurately detect, locate and restore the distorted image regions without causing distortions to other image areas. Revival has the important advantage over the existing global filtering strategies that tend to blur sharp edges or homogenize high textual regions in both the distorted and uncorrupted image regions. Revival is implemented on SGI workstation with Digital Disk-Recorder (DDR).
Magnetic Media Today and Tomorrow ("Ramblings" by Jim Lindner)
Mr. Jim Lindner discussed the issue of so many things going on and what archives should do or should not do about it. He noted that so many new technologies, ideas and products had suddenly appeared and that the money for funding preservation had come from the need to access the material. People are suddenly realizing that the content in their archives had value. The scary part, however, was that decisions were being made solely for the convenience of access, and real preservation issues were swept aside because they were issues that were not widely understood.
Mr. Lindner emphasized that things do not necessarily had to be preserved when they were put on the server and that people assumed that the mere act of digitizing them was preserving the content. He expressed apprehension that in the future there would be tremendous loss of our AV heritage by the rush to digitize. He cautioned that we should carefully consider the preservation of materials WITH the migration to server technology. Without proper preservation there would be no access for the future. His message to the audience was that the slow way sometimes would be the better way.
"A Moving Experience": Relocating the Sinematek Indonesia Collection
Ms. Ediyami Bondan Andoko presented the Annual Report of Sinematek Indonesia for the year 1999. The report discussed the move in July 1997 of Sinematek Indonesia into a new five-story building built by the Municipal Government of Jakarta. The Sinematek vault located at the building basement was maintained at a temperature of 7-8’C and relative humidity of 40-60%, but humidity remained a problem.
In terms of development, Mr. Fahmi Wardi, the Indonesian delegate to the SEAPAVAA-UNESCO Advanced Training Seminar on the Treatment of Vinegar Syndrome and Mould Affected Films held in Hanoi last year, had applied with good results the dry treatment learned from the seminar. The report also cited the cooperative arrangements between Sinematek and the National Archive as well as with the National Library, the use of MAVIS for their collection, and the awarding of the Medal of Honor to the Director of Sinematek from the President of the Republic of the Indonesia.
The report further outlined expectations and recommendations which included: continued research on film preservation; the development of a Southeast Asia Archive; and greater exchange of information among SEAPAVAA members via the Internet.
Mr. Ray Edmondson informed the symposium about the new UNESCO Publication: "A Philosophy of Audiovisual Archiving" published in late 1998, the intention of which was to descriptively codify the principles of audiovisual archiving and to respond to a growing global need among audiovisual archivists to ponder their identity, image, professional affiliations and ethics, and to face practical issues of training and accreditation.
Mr. Edmondson highlighted the topics covered in the publication such as: the definition of "audiovisual"; the kinds and characteristics of audiovisual archive; and the nature and ethics of the audiovisual media. He invited everyone to read the publication and play a part in the refinement of the professional philosophy by discussions through the newsletters and list serves.
Areas for Action: Identifying Steps for Future Cooperation in the Region
The Symposium adopted a Statement of Conclusions arising from the previous three-day discussion. The Statement covered the needs of audiovisual archivists and professionals in different countries to complement and support each other, to develop communication and the particular needs of Pacific countries were recognized. SEAPAVAA’s positioning and relationship with other association were reviewed. It was recognized that training remains a critical need across the region, and repatriation of material emerged as a key issue. The importance of embracing the audio heritage as well as the moving image heritage was recognized, as well as the need for standard professional definitions and terminology across the region.
INSTITUTIONAL VISITS
- National Archives of Malaysia
- Filem Negara Malaysia
- Astro Library
- Radio Television Malaysia
FILM SCREENINGS
- Giliw Ko (Philippines): a black and white 1 hr. and 30 min. feature film produced in 1939. This musical drama/zarzuela/operetta features a number of popular songs of that time. It was the first film produced by LVN that set the thematic basis for succeeding LVN films. This is the only extant film that shows radio at its ascendancy and presents the vast popularity of this particular medium at that time in Philippine history.
- Timeless Temiar (Malaysia): a colour 55-minute film made in 1956. The film was made in Northern Perak, Malaysia and shows the life of the aborigines of the Temiar tribe and what a civilized life they lead when they left their own environment and made full use of jungle resources for a happy existence.
TALK ON THE HISTORY OF MALAYSIA FILM INDUSTRY