2007 AMIA Conference

The 2007 conference of the Association for Moving Image Archivists was held this autumn in Rochester NY, the home of Kodak, the George Eastman House, and RIT's Image Permanence Institute. This was my first time attending AMIA. I was impressed by the diverse array of professionals who had gathered, including technicians, administrators, students, archivists, educators, artists, librarians, footage providers, vendors, and, of course, the great many who wear several of these hats simultaneously. I wasn't able to be there for the whole conference, but the sessions I attended clearly reflected a shared passion for and commitment to the restoration and preservation of the artifacts of our visual culture. Highlights for me included:

• an excellent presentation from three NYU students on their "Continually Unwinding Project: A Story of Research and Recovery of a Series of 1930’s New Jersey Local Films." This presentation underscored the importance of returning an orphaned film to the local site of production and the challenges of finding an archival home for such films.
• a fun screening of Scopitones, "Jukebox Films From the 60’s." Lovely babes, ludicrous dance routines, and glorious Technicolor. The very thought of the interior mechanics of the Scopitone jukebox is at once alarming and exhilarating.
• a discussion on "Simplifying Licensing in the Digital Era" in which a panel of mostly ACSIL members presented their proposal for a sane licensing model that focuses more on audience than on format.