Museum Offers Free Film Digitization for Black Families

The National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C, is offering African American families free digitization services so that they can bring analog media into the digital age.

As part of The Great Migration Home Movie Project, the NMAAHC wants to partner “with individuals and organizations across the United States to preserve their important analog audiovisual media.”

16mm, Super 8, and Regular 8mm film can be digitized and then made searchable in the museum’s archives. Audio recordings and videotapes in Hi-8/8mm, MiniDV, 3/4″ U-matic, VHS, Betacam, 1″ open reel video, and 1/2″ open reel video formats will also be available for digitization.

“While major motion picture film and television historically lacked diverse representation, black history was instinctively being preserved in everyday home movies,” says the NMAAHC on its website. “Today, these personal narratives serve as an invaluable tool for understanding and re-framing black moving image history, and provide a much-needed visualization of African American history and culture.”

The digitized media will become part of the Community Curation Program and be immortalized in the museum’s archives of African American history. Lifehacker reports that select materials will eventually become part of the Family History Center exhibition at the museum.

To start the digitization process, you’ll need to contact the museum and register a time for a consultation.

(via NMAAHC via Lifehacker)