In anticipation of our upcoming Pop-up Memory Lab at Pen and Brush, we are providing digitization tutorials from our staff. We’ll provide guidance on process, tips on equipment, and for those who can’t attend our Memory Lab, we’ll give locations of other memory labs across the country.
Thanks for this post! It couldn't come at a better time, as I keep watching series (and films) which feature videotapes at the center of there stories. There's a brief scene of videotapes used for surveillance in The Cat Returns, a recent episode of The Ghost and Molly McGee is set in a video store, the protagonist of The Watermelon Woman (a wonderful film by the way) works at a video rental store (where she watches old 1930s movies), and videotapes are a major part of the story in Steven Universe! Ensuring that videotapes (and magnetic media more generally) is preserved correctly is vitally important. I've heard that videotapes are some of the worst media for preservation (in that, they breakdown easily). I'm not sure if CDs or DVDs are better, as I think their lifespan is even shorter. Even so, digitizing them is important, as it allows for more access, especially since not everyone has a VHS player anymore (unless you are Steven in Steven Universe, apparently), although my local library still lets people borrow VHS tapes. So, I read this post excerpt with interest, and will definitely read the full post on your website as well.
Thanks for this post! It couldn't come at a better time, as I keep watching series (and films) which feature videotapes at the center of there stories. There's a brief scene of videotapes used for surveillance in The Cat Returns, a recent episode of The Ghost and Molly McGee is set in a video store, the protagonist of The Watermelon Woman (a wonderful film by the way) works at a video rental store (where she watches old 1930s movies), and videotapes are a major part of the story in Steven Universe! Ensuring that videotapes (and magnetic media more generally) is preserved correctly is vitally important. I've heard that videotapes are some of the worst media for preservation (in that, they breakdown easily). I'm not sure if CDs or DVDs are better, as I think their lifespan is even shorter. Even so, digitizing them is important, as it allows for more access, especially since not everyone has a VHS player anymore (unless you are Steven in Steven Universe, apparently), although my local library still lets people borrow VHS tapes. So, I read this post excerpt with interest, and will definitely read the full post on your website as well.