Dusting Off that Old Projector: Preservation through Projection

Abstract

“Dusting Off that Old Projector: Preservation through Projection” makes the case that institutions that hold film prints and projectors—especially rarities, one-offs, and nonstandard gauges—should consider projecting films in an effort to preserve and perpetuate knowledge about the history of film technology. The authors use the success of Home Movie Day as a model for considering preservation through projection and to question absolutist protective strategies. Their aim is to expand the way that archivists, scholars, and the general public think about the significance of unusual film formats and equipment in relation to film history.