In answer to Alison's question about the National Film Registry:
 As you recall, the bruhaha several years ago over colorization resulted in
Congressional Hearings.  As a result Congress passed the "Film Preservation
Act," an attempt at protecting artists from rampant colorization of their
films.  The Act established a Preservation Board made up of archivists,
directors, studio heads, etc. who vote annually on the 25 films.  Essentially
what the Act does for these films is stipulate that if they are ever altered
( a narrow definition which translates to colorized) they must be given the
equivalent of a warning label which states that the director, writer, etc.
were not consulted.
 
They are not funded for preservation, although the Library of Congress tries to
acquire archival materials (i.e. original negatives, pristine projection
prints) of each title, but this is not a mandate of the Act -- the L.C. has
made it their internal policy.
 
When the Act came up for renewal in 91 or 92, I don't remember exactly,
Congress passed it again and gave it a bit more substance.  It asked the
L.C. to come up with a National Preservation Plan.  The first part of this
plan is completed. It is an impressive document bothof quality and of sheer
bulk called  "Film Preservation 1993:  A Study of the Current State of American
Film Preservation."  It outlines issues such as funding, storage,
studio archives, etc.  Of interest to me, and perhaps this discussion group,
was a critical statement in the document:  that access is part of preservation.
Without educational and commercial access to archival holdings, there is no
reason to preserve.
 
 
The second part of the Preservation Plan is currently under way.  A series
of task forces are addressing the issues brought up in the document.  The
task forces focus on education, funding, etc.  If you want more specific info
Alison, I have lots of fun stuff in my office.
 
The fact that Film Preservation, which is a term which is becoming less easy to
define is being given this kind of recognition is important.  As we move into
the dreamy digitized future, educational access to film and video will get comp
licated.  This Act is a link for archivists and scholars who care about
 these issues.      If anyone has concerns or further interest, please let me
know.
 
 
       Andrea Kalas        Archive Research and Study Center
       UCLA Film and Television Archive  [log in to unmask]