Hunter Living Histories

GLAMx AV DIGITISATION LAB

Projects, Goals and tasks for 2020

NOTE: DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL
DIGITISATION OF NBN TELEVISION ARCHIVES
WILL CEASE ON 1 JUNE 2021.

Any individual, business or organisation wishing to support all or any part of these initiatives is very welcome to donate to the Vera Deacon Regional History Fund. Background on the Fund and its great work is here. Help us reach Deadline 2025.

Some Digitised sources from the NBN Television Archive are available to VIEW HERE   

MISSION: To preserve, document, digitise and make accessible the Hunter Region’s Audio-Visual heritage in collaboration with NBN Television, City of Newcastle Public Library, National Film & Sound Archive and the Hunter Regional Community.

• OBJECTIVE 1: DIGITISATION OF THE NBN TELEVISION ARCHIVE
  • • NBN LOCAL TELEVISION PROGRAM DIGITISATION PROJECT
    • NBN FILM NEWS STORY DIGITISATION PROJECT
    • NBN VIDEOTAPE NEWS STORY DIGITISATION PROJECT
    • OUR REGIONAL WORLD 50 YEARS AGO
    • THE NBN TELEVISION STORY

• OBJECTIVE 2: REHOUSING & DIGITISATION OF UONCC AV ARCHIVES
• OBJECTIVE 3: DOCUMENT & DEVELOP GLAMX AV LAB CAPABILITIES
• OBJECTIVE 4: PUBLIC ACCESS

 

OBJECTIVE 1:
DIGITISATION OF THE NBN TELEVISION ARCHIVE
Preservation, Digitisation, Documentation and Public Access of the crucial elements of the NBN Film Archive from 1962 – Present.

Consisting of:

• NBN LOCAL TELEVISION PROGRAM DIGITISATION PROJECT – To digitise all surviving NBN Local television programs and segments from the years 1962 to 2020.
  
  Project Status: This undertaking is largely complete; and 830 tapes have been digitised. This material forms the backbone of the NBN Television Archive. The remaining outstanding program consists of 150 videotapes of “Today Extra”. 30 tapes tapes have so far been digitised.
  Staff: Michael Sherriff (V)2020 Goal: Continue digitisation of remaining 120 videotapes.

 

• NBN FILM NEWS STORY DIGITISATION PROJECT – Preparation, Conservation, Documentation and Digitisation of approximately 2145 x 16mm film reels containing News and Roving Eye stories from the years 1962 – 1982.
  
  Project Status: To Jan 2020, 84 of the 2145x 16mm reels have been digitised; 11 of 71 months of News Scripts have been completed; 5 of 51 months of Roving Eye Scripts have been completed.
  
  Staff: Phillip Lloyd (V), Barry Nancarrow (V)
  
  2020 Goal: Digitise remaining 2061 x 16mm reels; 60 remaining NBN Scripts; 46 Roving Eye Scripts.

 

 

• NBN VIDEOTAPE NEWS STORY DIGITISATION PROJECT – To digitise the NBN News stories from 1982-2020. These stories reside on a mixture of BVU, Betacam and DVCam videotapes.
  
  Project Status: The BVU group contains 1213 videotapes and have all been digitised; the Betacam group contains 2100 tapes of which 1600 have been digitised. These two tape groupings cover the years 1982 – 2000. The digitisation of 1100 DVcam tapes is not yet begun. They cover the remaining years 2000 – 2020.
  
  Staff: Gary Magnay (V), Stephen Legge (V), Sarah Xenos (V).
  
  2020 Goals:
  – Continue capture of 500 remaining Betacam news story tapes including preparation of excel cue sheets lists
  – Complete all unfinished excel Cue sheet lists from 1982 to 1988 including both BVU and Betacam.

 

 

• OUR REGIONAL WORLD 50 YEARS AGO – WIL Collaborative project to remake the News and Roving Eye film stories from 1970.
  
  Project Status: This will entail using provided material from the NBN Film Digitisation Project, scanned original scripts, V/O narrations and story introductions with ex-News reader Ray Dineen (V) in front of a news backdrop of the era, and a selection of appropriate background music. WIL students will assemble the stories from these components to remake the stories the way they were originally presented. This will form part of their course requirements.Completed: UONCC YouTube Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkmNKCgS_V3ZNGWfhgM3hkbqIqbHOYqSb
  
  NBN New Story Broadcast 2/4/2020: Original News Reports Digitised by University
  https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2020/04/02/original-news-reports-digitised-by-university/Staff: Phillip Lloyd (V), Fran Shepherd (V), Linda Magnay (V), Deborah Wardell (V), Dr Ann Hardy Mr Ed Redden and .
  
  2020 Goal(s):
  – Prepare materials for Students project to remake the news stories from January and February 1970 (Total of 11 days) including Make and print separate story script PDFs (1 day per month of stories); Record Ray Dineen on camera intros and story V/Os (1 day’s shoot per month of stories); Prepare each story intro and V/O as a separate MP4 file (1 day per month of stories);Prepare each story intro and V/O as a separate MP4 file (1 day per month of stories); Extract each story vision separately from the film reel captures (2 days per month of stories); Organise equal work level of files for each student (1 day)
  – Prepare the remaining months of 1970 to allow continuation of project by students if they would like a placement in the lab (or volunteering) to remake more stories. Also, to allow any other volunteers the same options.

• THE NBN TELEVISION STORY– Arrange, list and document a collection of four (4) boxes of archival photographs, video, documents, press clippings and digital only copies of material that provide insights into the local television station NBN from its inception to today.
  
  Staff: Phillip Lloyd (V), Jan Welsman (V)
  
  2020 Goal:
  Continue adding metadata to NBN photos and images and restructuring all NBN textual material

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OBJECTIVE 2:
REHOUSING & DIGITISATION OF UONCC AV ARCHIVES
Digitisation and Rehousing of University and wider regional Community audio-visual materials dating from 1920s.

STATUS: Thus far 32 of 16mm film reels have been digitised and rehoused.

Staff: Any of those above.

2020 Goals:  Digitise and make accessible AV material of wider community research interest

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OBJECTIVE 3:
DOCUMENT & DEVELOP GLAMX AV LAB CAPABILITIES
Development of systems and protocols for digitisation. Installation, maintenance and repair of equipment used in the AV Digitisation lab.  

Staff: Phillip Lloyd (V) and NBN Television technicians (V)

2020 Tasks:

• • Complete development of 8 mm digital capture system
  • Prepare instruction “How Tos” documents for all videotape, film and NBN Archive processes.
    • Prepare Films for digitisation and preliminary Cue sheet,
    • Digitise film from projector, Process captured film File,
    • Make MP4 files of the master file,
    • Prepare Film Cue sheets and do Timings from file,
    • The content Structure, and placement of files in the NBN Archive,
    • Digitisation of Betacam videotapes in isolation,
    • Digitisation of all videotape types using video rack system

• • Continue transportation of videotapes, film boxes and script boxes from Newcastle Public Region Library to UON
  • Locate missing card file Collections 1974 – 1980, 1986, 1988 – 1991. Also continue to explore ways of accessing the digital news file system from 1991 onwards
  • Review previous attempts to capture AV digitisation processes e.g. Student Interviews etc

Current capabilities:

The GLAMx AV Digitisaton Lab at the University of Newcastle has the capacity to digitise the following materials and formats:

Audio Formats

Format	Date
¼” reel to reel	1945>
16mm Fullcoat	1960>
Audio cassette	1963>
Mini cassette	1969>
CD	1982>

Video Formats

Format	Date
Low Band Umatic	1971>
Betamax	1975>
BVU	1976>
VHS	1977>
Betacam	1982>
Betacam SP	1986>
S-VHS	1986>
BVU SP	1986>
Digital Betacam	1993>
Video CD	1993>
DV	1995>
Betacam SX	1996>
DVcam	1996>
Video CD	1993>
DVD	1996>

Film Formats

Format	Date
16mm silent	1923>
8mm (coming soon)	1932>
16mm Optical sound	1935>
16mm Magnetic sound	1965>
Super8 (coming soon)	1965>

 

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OBJECTIVE 4:
PUBLIC ACCESS
Uploading digitised content from all of above to our digital platform Living Histories @ UON and UONCC YouTube Channel

STATUS: In 2019 we were able to employ Joshua to prepare a number of video collections for public access, including the Country Report and Valleys People. See: https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/79228

Staff: Joshua Curley (V) and any other persons

2020 Goals: Continue uploading digitised material to our digital platforms

And finally, a recently penned poem by Barry Nancarrow.

 

It’s in the Background

Like me they are old these black and white images. Seldom at their best, talk back to me now through technology as mesmerising as that from which first they sprang. Historic confluence Some images are mine Created with youthful endeavour, naivety and optimism Poor frames of reference for future’s purpose Admonished now in laptop’s view I confront and acknowledge work past. Privileged perspective Centre subjects obscure the richness in backgrounds thus ignored Their chance to tell now a second story of change no less profound to buildings, streets of place where once I stood in time. Contextual frame Colourless they may be yet through monochrome I do sift and find departed memories secured now in history’s place. Good fortune has gifted reprise Quiet purpose with reflection does frame Autumn years Barry 2019

Barry Nancarrow – It’s in the Background (Poem) 2019 (PDF Version)

 

Gionni Di Gravio
University Archivist & Chair, HLH