On Tuesday, April 25th, Simmons AMIA Vice President Adam Schutzman curated and presented a film program of 16mm and Super8mm films. The program selection was based on films held in the Simmons College Archives and supplemented with films from Adam’s own collection. Covering roughly the first thirty years of cinema’s history, the program displayed progressions in narrative structures, color processes, and editing techniques. Click the thumbnails below to check out some pictures of the event. Thanks to all those who attended, and a big thank you to Adam for not only curating the event but also running the projectors! We hope to have another screening early next semester.

The program:

1. Lumière Brothers Compilation (1895)
2. The Great Train Robbery (1903, Edwin S. Porter)
3. A Trip to the Moon (1902, Georges Méliès)
4. Down in the Deep aka The Pearl Fisher (1907, Ferdinand Zecca)
5. Red Spectre (1907, Segundo de Chomón)
6. 3 Films by Émile Cohl (1908-1912)
7. The Immigrant (1917, Charlie Chaplin)
8. Cops (1922, Buster Keaton)
9. It’s a Gift (1923, Hugh Fay)

On Saturday, March 18th, Simmons AMIA hosted a film handling workshop with 10 SLIS students. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce students to film-specific preservation issues and explain different film gauges through hands-on experience. Below are a few pictures from the event, and please check our Resources page for more educational materials.

Inspections abound!

Adam projecting

Friends that spin together, win together

Checking out some 16mm

Looking for clues in 35mm

Greetings and happy new year! AMIA has recently posted materials from some of their 2015 conference presentations. We are proud to say that these materials include presentations by our President, Bryce Roe, and our Communications and Events Officer, Lily Troia!

Check out their and other presentations on AMIA’s Conference Presentations page.

Whether you’re a film enthusiast, working with audiovisual materials in your job or internship, or have seen AV archiving skills listed in job postings, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we can’t ignore analog and digital moving image formats as archivists. Preserving and providing access to these materials can be incredibly interesting, fun and rewarding.

This AMIA chapter creates opportunities for LIS students to engage in the study and preservation of moving images through workshops, seminars, symposiums, screenings, and other educational events and forms of programming. The city of Boston is renowned internationally as a center of arts, culture, and history, of which moving image materials have played a vital role, and we intend to partner with various organizations in the region to arrange field trips, lectures, and other projects aimed at enhancing students’ exposure and understanding of moving image archival theories and practice.