But while an artist can opt for surgeries or injections to maintain a youthful appearance, for films it is more difficult because at some point their original, truly prosaic components begin to disintegrate.
“Film base is actually wood pulp and acetic acid in its simplest form,” explains Tim Knapp of Pro-Tek Vaults, a California company specializing in film preservation.
“After a certain time, the acetic acid produces what is known as ‘vinegar syndrome’ that degrades the base of the tape (…) and prevents it from being used,” he details.
And no star cine He wants an ending like that.
Cinema has evolved as directors looked for a way to immortalize their protagonists.
When the film industry was born at the beginning of the 20th century, pioneers such as comedians Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin were immortalized on nitrate film, a format capable of capturing deep blacks, infinite shadows and sharp lines.
But the studies were quick to notice an important drawback: the nitrate film is highly flammable.
The screening rooms had to be fireproof, a measure to prevent fires that in the 1920s killed dozens of moviegoers.
Even when not in use, nitrate film is dangerous: huge tape archive fires in 1914 charred much of the early history of American film.
Acetate
The introduction of acetate film in the 1950s was celebrated among industry executives and movie theaters. The material allowed directors to capture images in real resolution without the danger of being easily incinerated.
The main problem is that it did not age in an acceptable way, and without proper care, in just 15 years it could become a useless plastic cartridge with the smell of vinegar.
It’s not a happy ending for a movie company that spends tens or hundreds of millions of dollars making a movie.
Keeping films in a proper environment ensures their longevity,” said Pro-Tek Vaults CEO Doug Sylvester.
“That allows you to have a pristine copy, sometimes original, that can be used to print additional and digital copies for a longer time.”
Television and film companies are turning to their catalogs as sources of income, whether to approve the use of clips in commercials, to re-release pieces in new formats – just look at the number of times “Star Wars” has been released – or sell a title to a streaming platform.
While many movies and television shows are now shot in digital format, renowned directors such as Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino still insist on the use of film, whose 12K resolution continues to outperform the best digital reproduction.
Old and new tapes have to be stored with the utmost care and under rigorous security measures.
Preservacin
About a million Hollywood history tapes are stored in metal cans under secret temperature and humidity control settings in warehouses in Burbank and Thousand Oaks, outside Los Angeles.
Huge mobile shelves are packed to the ceiling with tens of thousands of hours of movie magic, along with legendary television shows, footage from presidential libraries and music videos.
Closed-circuit cameras monitor an area of almost half a million kilometers of films to avoid surprises during their projection and prevent the disappearance of the original negative of a title, for example.
Sylvester’s company is cautious and does not provide details of the titles that are under its care, but a part can be seen on movie posters such as “Love Without Barriers”, “Back to the Future Part II” or “The Strange World of Jack” , by Tim Burton, that cover the walls of the premises.
“Our clients are very specific about commenting on the titles we hold. For security reasons, they prefer that we not give details,” Sylvester said.
The businessman stressed: “I can say that there are some classics. If you look at (…) the American Film Institute’s 100 best movies of all time, you will see many of them here, in our inventory.”
The company also works on creating catalogs and digitizing material that production companies sometimes don’t even know they have in their inventories.
This includes work such as a project with the record company Universal Music Group, whose ownership, for example, was rescued, unseen images of a rare concert by the rock band Guns N’Roses and classic videos of the country icon Johnny Cash, or of the groups Bon Jovi and The Cranberries.
Sylvester says discovering hidden gems like these and working to keep them safe is rewarding.
“It is part of our cultural history and we love to help preserve it for the future,” he remarked.
FUENTE: AFP
