"How to Take Care of Community AV Collections: Digitization, Preservation, Copyright” June-September, 2023

For decades, grassroots media creators in Philly have experimented with video to tell stories about the city, its people, and our struggles. However, many of these important stories were recorded in formats that deteriorate with time and have not received the necessary preservation treatment. This hands-on series of workshops will guide you through the essential elements of taking care of your audiovisual materials over the long term. Together, we will design effective preservation strategies to suit your needs and tackle the ins-and-outs  of digitization, metadata, copyright, and fair use. 

Workshop dates between June - September, 2023. See full descriptions of all workshops and register at peoplesmediarecord.com/2023-workshop-series

Hosted in collaboration with the People’s Media Record and PhillyCAM. All workshops are free of charge. 

Digitize It! Part 1: Preparing for AV Digitization 

This workshop will offer participants a general overview of the process of digitizing, migrating, and preserving your audiovisual collections. We will focus on media that are particularly at risk: analog video tapes (VHS, U-matic, Hi8), digital video tapes (MiniDV), and optical disc media (DVDs and CDs). You will learn the essential steps that are needed to digitize and migrate these media effectively, including: How to appropriately identify media for digitization, how to select preservation file formats, how to identify and use the necessary software and hardware for digitization and migration, and how to implement file management and digital preservation practices in order to ensure the successful preservation of your materials. 

By the end of this course, participants should have a clear understanding of the fundamental concepts of digitizing, migrating, and preserving audiovisual media. Participants will also be prepared for the second course, which focuses on the hands-on processes of digitizing and migrating audiovisual media.