“Off-Lining to Tape Is Not Archiving: Why We Need Real Archiving to Support Media Archaeology and Ensure Our Visual Effects Legacy Thrives” by Samaras and Johnson
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Title:
- Off-Lining to Tape Is Not Archiving: Why We Need Real Archiving to Support Media Archaeology and Ensure Our Visual Effects Legacy Thrives
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Abstract:
This paper examines digital asset archiving and preservation practice in the visual effects (VFX) industry. The authors briefly summarize media archaeology theory and provide an overview of how VFX studios presently archive project assets and records, based on case study and interview research conducted with expert VFX practitioners from leading international studios. In addition, the authors propose that current practice could be improved by adopting archival science methods, including digital preservation practices. Doing so will support media archaeology studies of digital cultures over time and ensure that the legacy of VFX creative and technical production thrives for future generations.
References:
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11. This form of grounded theory was selected as it recognizes that theory is not derived objectively from the data but can be shaped by shared experiences and relationships with participants and other data sources (such as literature). See K. Charmaz, “Grounded Theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods” in The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research, N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln, eds., 2nd Ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2000) pp. 509–536 and B.G. Glaser and A.L. Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research (New Brunswick, NJ: AldineTransaction, 1967) for general information about grounded theory.
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17. Australian archivist Frank Upward established the Records Continuum theory in the 1990s at Monash University. It is a postmodern model that supports digital archiving and recordkeeping. See F. Upward, “Modelling the Continuum as Paradigm Shift in Recordkeeping and Archiving Processes, and Beyond—a Personal Reflection,” Records Management Journal10, No. 3, 115–139 (2005).
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21. See R. Bettivia, “Where Does Significance Lie: Locating the Significant Properties of Video Games in Preserving Virtual Worlds II Data,” International Journal of Digital Curation11, No. 1, 17–32 (2016) and J. McDonough and R. Olendorf, “Saving Second Life: Issues in Archiving a Complex, Multi-User Virtual World,” International Journal of Digital Curation 6, No. 2, 89–108 (2011).
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31. E. Samaras and A. Johnston, “Fleeting Film: Using Story to Seek Archival Permanence in the Transitory and Globalized Digital Visual Effects Industry,” Preservation, Digital Technology and Culture 47, No. 1, 12–22 (2018) p. 18.
32. ICA, Universal Declaration on Archives (Paris: UNESCO, 2011) p. 1.
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