One of my first internships while at UT Austin was with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI). I loved working hands-on with film again and learned so much about preservation and digitization. I would be assigned a bin of 8mm, Super 8mm or 16mm film (typically a family from Texas wanting digital copies of their films on a DVD) and I’d clean it, check for tears, scratches, or note any other preservation concerns. I’d splice new leader and sometimes repair edits as well. I’d digitize each film and watch for quality control – checking brightness and that the film was running through the projector without damage – and also quick descriptions like “1965 Christmas” or “Disneyland” (there was a lot of both!) I eventually moved on to digitize video as well, working with U-Matic 3/4” and VHS tapes. I really enjoyed my time with TAMI and learned so much about film from technical director, Afsheen Nomai, and of course Caroline Frick, Founder/Executive Director and President of AMIA!
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- Splicing new leader onto Super 8mm home movies
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- The digitized film…that cute baby grew up to be my husband!
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- Cleaning the film and checking for tears or other damage
