The Best of Show
Documentary film has tradionally had a short active viewing life resulting in thousands of important films lying fallow.
Although more documentaries are being shot on digital or transferred to digital, most are yet stored on celluloid film which
is an impermanent medium prone to damage and deterioration. The 'Best of Show' program encourages funders to select their
prized works and subsidize the high quality digitization of that work, so as to enahance acrhivability, access, and
permanence.
The Best of Show Finalists
Best of Show Motivation: Tens of thousands of hours of documentary footage are currently stored upon traditional film,
keeping it
effectively out of reach of scholars and the general public. The composition of celluose-based film renders it an
impermanent media prone to deterioration and thus unsuitable for long-term archival purposes. Digitized versions
afford more permanent archives and multiple backups both on and off-site, as well as distribution via streaming and
physical media including DVDs and VHS. And too, digitized versions may be more easily catalogued in a searchable
database, complete with digital stills to enhance the browsing experience. Docfound, riding upon the renaissance
in Open Source Content Management Systems, offers an economical solution for digitizing, archiving, and
distributing films. From individual films to extensive film libraries, Docfound can handle it all.
Docfound's service is unique in offering a complete end-to-end package for the modernization of traditional film
archives. To start with, an institution's films are digitized with great care, and high quality video and audio
are stored on multiple hard drives as well as on offsite tape backups. The digital versions are then archived and
catalogued according to subject, genre, producer, and director, as well as other optional attributes. The
institution then chooses the method by which access to the footage is granted. Docfound is equipped to handle both
proprietary and public domain rights, and an institution can combine delivery methods including streaming, VHS, and
DVD. Docfound affords membership-based, subscription-based, and micro-payment options, and an institution may also
combine these methods of access control.
Another objective of Docfound is to celebrate the documentary art form by finding, cataloguing, and sharing
documentary film's "Best of Show." We aim to rescue forgotten footage from reels deep within archives and promote
the circulation of these hidden treasures alongside contemporary films.
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