The Summer Digitalization Project

While moving, I located an astonishing number of videotapes and audiotapes entailing both film and journalistic work that I did in the 1990s — some of which I had completely forgotten about, some of which I never got around to turning into profile pieces. Since many of these tapes are just on the cusp of deterioration, my current plan is to convert everything I can to digital. Interviews that I conducted in the ’90’s will be converted into future Segundo podcasts. And films that I made as a younger and more naive man will be converted to digital, with the edits improved, the audio remastered, and the video dropouts cleaned up. This is not a George Lucas-style revisionism. I plan to keep the same music cues (many of them are quite dated), retain the essential visual structure of these films, and avoid any AfterEffects manipulation of the visuals. But I may rerecord a few of the vocal tracks, particularly those in which the audio is somewhat muddled. And for some of the projects that I never finished, I may incorporate some newer footage to see if I can come up with some final product that is worthwhile, while attempting to adhere to the spirit in which these projects were launched.

This project will take many months. But I will offer intermittent reports on how things are progressing. I’m doing this largely because I’m dissatisfied at leaving all this work in such piss-poor shape, with much of it unfinished. I wrote a good deal of journalism during those days and much of it has now vanished. I made a number of films during those days — many of them projected on screens in San Francisco cellars for the enjoyment of many audiences — and I want to put all this in some final location. So in a sense, this preservation project will allow me to offer a better approximation of that period in my life, while likewise fueling my present energies into the future.

More as things develop.

1 Comments

  1. Ed,

    I still remember doing scenes for our filmaking class back at ARC. With my bad acting, it was clear that “production assistant” was the job for me. No comments necessary! You were fantastic though and incredibly dedicated.

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