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Moving images have the unique ability to capture historical information not intended by the original producer or subjects, like background cultural information, events and social behaviors unique to the time they are recorded. Thomas Edison’s early documentaries of everyday life that captured factory workers or the bird’s eye view of San Francisco from a hot air balloon provide a unique snapshot of the community and its people.

Until recently, the prohibitive cost of video production meant that the cultural record was narrow in scope – only preserving the lives and events of the affluent cultural majority. This has resulted in a form of permanent disenfranchisement because minority culture is absent or misrepresented in the “official” societal record. For example, one of the first moving images displayed to the public by film pioneer Thomas Edison was “Buffalo Dance” – a convoluted and contrived performance in which the “dancers” can be seen looking off-camera for direction, presumably from Edison. Clearly, the identification of these images as evidence of Native American culture would be recklessly malicious.

Digital filmmaking is the great emancipator of cinema, providing low-cost access to produce and distribute films outside the industry system. Independent filmmakers rarely have access to preservation vaults and digital repositories with professional staff to assess and provide necessary interventions. The advent of digital technology has provided an opportunity for anyone to take up the camera and record their own story, and to describe moving images in terms that are culturally appropriate. An adaptable strategy that focuses preservation efforts on the information or artistic content of a digital film acknowledges and respects the contributions of all filmmakers to the societal record.

Collaboration with archives and adoption of personal digital archiving practices is critical to preserving these precious images for the future. Please reach out to audiovisual archivists for guidance -- we are here to help!