dk nkf - Nordisk Konservatorforbund Danmark

Problematic issues
Collection and registration
Today no overall registration of Danish produced
sponsored film exists. Some companies have
deposited at the Danish Film Archive, others have
not. In the Film Archive the film may be registered,
but not necessarily identified as a sponsored film.
One of the problematic issues of preserving
sponsored films is to locate originals. In many cases
no original negatives or reversal [2] films exist, and a
used screening copy might be the only material left.
Sometimes the screening copy was only produced in
a limited number, which makes the chance of survival
even lesser.
Especially in the case of sponsored films, the
originals were often located within the company
itself. Many companies do not see their film
production as important cultural heritage, and there
is a big risk that the materials are thrown away or
forgotten in the basement.
Analog acetate films on 16 or 35 mm can survive
many years in a loft or in a cellar, but a much bigger
problem is the survival of the new sponsored films
which are only digitally produced. They might be
stored on an old computer or on an out-dated tape
format.
In Denmark only some companies or institutions
have deposited with the Danish Film Institute, and
even so it is mostly the oldest material, the nitrate
films, which is being deposited.
Besides the collection of originals, some materials
and different formats cause particular problems in
long-term preservation.
In order to understand the problematic materials
and film formats, it is necessary first to describe the
preservation methods:
Preservation methods
Analog printing: analog printing is traditional
photochemical printing, where an image is exposed
from one film to another. Typically, a 16 or 35
mm film, either made of nitrate or acetate, will be
printed on new polyester film. Analog printing is
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the only preservation method which is considered
the “correct method” from a conservation point of
view. This is because it is the only method where
we know for sure that the new film materials can be
preserved for more than a hundred years.
Digital scan: transfer of the film stock into digital
files of very high resolution, such as 2K or 4K (2K
is approx. 2048×1536 pixels and 4K is approx.
4096×3072 pixels per frame). The file can either
be saved on a hard disc or on a digital tape. At the
Danish Film Archive digital tapes, such as Digital
Betacam or HDcam-SR are used. Digital Betacam
tapes have an expected lifetime of 10-15 years.
Nitrate film
Cellulose nitrate was the main film material used
for all cinema films until 1950. Due to fire risk it
was replaced by cellulose acetate. Nitrate films are
also called celluloid films.
When a nitrate film degrades, the process is irreversible
and devastating [3]. It is therefore important to print
the film before the degradation begins. We do not have
any “early warning” to tell us when it is time to print
a nitrate film, and it is normal practice to make new
polyester prints or negatives of all nitrate films. Since
the 1960s an ongoing printing of the nitrate films has
been taking place at the Danish Film Archive. This
printing effort was for many years concentrated on
Danish feature films. Sponsored films on cellulose
nitrate have been printed over the years as well, but
the amount is small and selection was made without
a general policy on the subject.
Considering that the registration of the sponsored
films is not complete and that the golden-age of the
sponsored films (1940s and 1950s) was during the
nitrate period, there may still be many non-preserved
sponsored films only existing on cellulose nitrate
material in the Danish Film Archive.
A & B rolls
In the 1970s a particular method, the A & B rolls,
was used when printing 16 mm negatives or reversal
films, which, however, gives technical problems
today.