This week I will be spending my time exploring the impressive collection storage  held by the NFSA.

Materials in the collection are vast and include many areas of both film and television. This includes such items as: costumes (including the wedding dress worn by Toni Collette in the film “Muriel’s Wedding”), televisions, projectors, motion picture film, various video formats,  disks, wax cylanders, DVD’s, glass slides, production stills, film posters, film props and my personal favorite: a ‘clap-o-meter’ from a television studio.

The Archive holds it’s materials in four separate locations which can basically be put into these categories: 1). Preservation materials; 2.)Access copies; 3.) Paper and registration (document) materials; 4.) Nitrate collection.  This week I will be given a tour of these separate areas and a brief study of how they are stored.

One such area is involves the audio recording on disks.  Currently, the archive is working on a risk management project of ‘disk flipping;’ that is, taking recorded sound disks and flipping them in their vertical preservation storage containers.  This is to help prevent the the disks own weight from bending and damaging the disks.  This may sound rather odd, but image a disk sitting in the same position for 20 years.  Gravity could take a toll on such material. 

Other areas I will be reviewing include the film and video collection.  Stay tuned for more information!

One of the highlights for my trip to the NFSA is to visit the ARC , where I can sit in the dark and enjoy some of Australia’s wonderful cinematic offerings!

Trevor Anderson and Reece Black gave me a wonderful tour of the ARC Cinema and projection booths, including the lens collection they have for the Kineton projectors.  They also showed me a time a time captured video of the building of the cinema. It was fascinating to watch as the seats were built into a already existing space. 

I also got a glimpse of the HVAC system for the theatre.  It is truly remarkable, with a diffused system to allow an even exchange of air throughout the theatre.  This give all patrons the benefit of a comfortable environment, and greatly reduces the noise of  heaters and air conditioners turning on and off throughout the film.

Taken from the NFSA website :

Arc’s projection booth is where the magic begins. The cinema is fitted with cutting-edge 35/16 mm changeover projection, using a pair of custom-designed Kinoton projectors chosen for their adaptability as well as for their precision technology. Arc’s Kinotons are amongst a handful of projection systems in Australia capable of screening all manner of historic and contemporary images in a wide range of aspect ratios, with the ability to run silent films at correct speeds.

Arc’s innovative sound system can present many different audio formats, from the earliest days of sound on film to state-of-the-art digital audio. Sound reinforcement for live accompaniment to silent film is also supported, paving the way for ground-breaking silent cinema events.

Arc’s state-of-the-art archival film projection system means that the NFSA will be able to screen rare prints not only from its own collection but from other libraries and archives around the world, opening up access to films rarely seen in Australia.

To read more about this wonderful venue, and see current film listings,  please visit http://www.nfsa.gov.au/whats_on/arc/index.html

Today, September 1st, is the first day of Spring! Now that I have adjusted to the time change, I can begin to explore my new surroundings.

Canberra (pronounced CAN-bra, with emphasis on the CAN) is Australia’s only completely planned city, designed around 1911. It is the home to approximately 320,000 Australians, most of whom are civil servants. It is also the home of some amazing museums!
On my first day of walking around the city I briefly passed some of these great sights. This included a view of Black Mountain Tower, which provides magnificent 260 degree views of the city and surrounding country.

The National Museum of Australia is the place to go to learn about the history of Australian settlement. It is on my list of places to visit on the weekends!
http://www.nma.gov.au/index.html

Across Lake Burley Griffin is the National Library of Australia. The folks at the Archive tell me it is worth a look, expecially the Ballet Russes exhibit currently on display.

Welcome to Canberra!

Greetings!

For the next four weeks I will be writing from Canberra, Australia, where I will be working at the National Film and Sound Archive. These blog posts will give you chance to follow along as I meet the staff of the archive, as well as take a closer look at their film collection.

Please join me on my journey through this great collection of Australian Heritage!