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Rochester
Motion Picture Dept at George Eastman House

School of Film and Video Preservation


Enrollments are now open for a one year training course in Motion Picture Preservation, to be held in the Academic Year 1997-1998. The program of classes, workshops and practicum (now in its second year of activity) will begin on September 9, 1997. Funded through a major grant from the Louis B. Mayer Foundation, and based at the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, the program is designed to provide a comprehensive knowledge of the theory, methods and practices of archival work in its basic aspects, ranging from documentation and cataloguing to the physical treatment of moving images artifacts, their conservation, restoration and public access.

The program will be taught by archivists, scholars, and experts in the field who will be invited to give lectures, seminars and entire courses throughout the academic year. Instructors are selected among specialists from several FIAF and non-FIAF institutions worldwide. Students, archivists at the early stages of their career, and people willing to enter the field of film preservation are invited to enroll, regardless of their current professional status. Applications from the United States and abroad are equally encouraged, particularly from developing countries.

The program is structured into the following quarters

1. Core (September through November 1997). Two ten-session courses covering the theory of film preservation and the basics of photographic conservation, with practicum experience aimed at orientation to institutional functions of the Motion Picture and Conservation Departments.

2. Workshop (December 1997 through February 1998). A sequence of intensive workshops taught by professional specialists working in varied areas of the preservation of the photographic image, tied to practicum applications within the institutional archival operations.

3. Advanced Practicum(March through May 1998). A directed project involving film handling, condition analysis, preservation planning and laboratory process.

4. A fourth, optional summer quarter of practicum(July-August 1998) can be arranged to complete special projects.

Additional courses are also offered in the Museum's Certificate Program in Photographic Preservation and Archival Practice.

The core quarter may be taken alone, and is necessary for access to the other quarter offerings. Tuition fee is $ 1,200 per quarter. A Certificate of Training is issued at the satisfactory completion of at least three quarters.

Enrollment is limited to 10 students. Applicants must hold at least an undergraduate degree, and be able to demonstrate aptitude for the program through academic or practical experience. Submissions of curriculum vitae and two letters of recommendation should be sent by August 1st 1997, to the Motion Picture Department, George Eastman House, 900 East Avenue, Rochester NY 14607.

Please note: at this time, the 1996-1997 course is already under way.
No further applications are accepted for the current year.