Introduction

There are some specific issues in the archival appraisal of sound recordings and moving images:

Most literature on archival appraisal does not adequately address sound recordings and moving images.
Sound recordings and moving images are usually appraised at the item level.
There is often a lack of relationships between an audiovisual item and other audiovisual items. Notable exceptions include, but are not limited to:
1. Audio tapes that form a series (e.g., tapes from oral history projects or radio programs)
2. Master sound recordings from a session in a recording studio
3. Camera negatives from a film production
4. Video tapes from a video production
Sound recordings and moving images can have significant informational and historical value, but they do not typically have significant fiscal value.
Age of the work should be considered during the archival appraisal of sound recordings and moving images. The earliest works created on a given format or medium should be acquired as the earliest examples of how a new format or distribution method (e.g., broadcast television) was used.
Aesthetics should be considered, even though it is extremely subjective and can be difficult to appraise the aesthetics of a sound recording or moving image.
The archival value of camera negatives/tapes from fiction films depend on the significance of the production. Normally, camera negatives/tapes should not be selected if material such as storyboards, shooting scripts, shot lists, and editing logs are available.
Camera negatives/tapes from documentary films typically include interviews and live footage that should be selected for permanent retention.
High-fidelity digital video files are unusually large and can easily overwhelm a repository. See Appendix C of the Digital Collections Handbook for information on disk space requirements for digital video files.
The preservation format and storage requirements must be considered. High-fidelity uncompressed video formats are required for material that has potential to be remastered or exhibited, especially for works of art or recordings of performances. Video recordings of routine events such as meetings can be compressed without compromising the information. Video recordings of some events, such as lectures, may or may not require high-fidelity uncompressed formats depending on the significance and circumstances of the event.
Lossy compression should be avoided for all sound recordings. High-fidelity uncompressed sound recordings are not unusually large and can be preserved, shared, and managed in most repository environments.

Film

Always keep the masters.
Attempt to keep the elements needed to remaster the complete work, especially for works of significant interest at the time of the appraisal.
If certain elements are missing, then other elements become more important.
Selection of film elements require a basic understanding of the film making process. Use the follow table as a guide:

Element	Description	Appraisal decision
Master	The original recording of a finished program. The master is the best source from which duplicates or intermediates can be obtained. In film, the master is the final negative, reversal positive, and/or intermediate or inter-negative film from which subsequent generations are made.	Select all masters but prioritize release versions over other versions prepared for distribution (e.g., broadcast, closed caption, internationa, etc.).
A roll	In traditional film editing, A/B rolling is a technique to hide splices. The A roll starts with the first segment of film. It is the first roll to be printed onto raw film stock.	Select all A rolls.
B roll	In traditional film editing, A/B rolling is a technique to hide splices. The B roll starts with the second segment of film. It is the second roll to be printed onto raw film stock	Select all B rolls.
Soundtrack	In traditional film editing, A/B rolling is a technique to hide splices. The soundtrack roll includes the final audio to be overlaid onto raw film stock after the A roll and B roll are printed. When all three rolls have been printed, the film stock can be processed into the final film reel for projection and distribution.	Select all sountrack rolls.
Inter-positive print	Any positive duplicate of a film used for further printing. Colour positives are made for duplicating purposes to protect the negative. In a two-stage duplication of a negative the first copy is made on a positive film and is called an inter-positive. The copy negative can be made from the inter-positive.	Select inter-positive prints if A/B rolls are not available.
Inter-negative print	A colour negative made from a colour positive. In a two-stage duplication of a print, the first copy is made on a negative film and is called an inter-negative.	Select inter-negative prints if A/B rolls are not available.
Release print		Select release print over answer print.
Answer print		Select answer print only if the release print is not available.
Dailies	Also known as “rushes.” In film, dailies are untimed prints made without regard to colour balance, from which the action is checked and the best takes selected.	Do not select dailies unless they are the only elements available.
Transfer	The resulting artifact from conveying or transmitting content from one medium to another (e.g, an image from a nitrate based film to a safety based film)	Do not select transfers unless they are the only elements available.

University Archives Manual

Archival appraisal of sound recordings and moving images

Introduction

Film

Further reading