CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Those old 8 mm, Super 8 or 16 mm home movies collecting dust in attics and basements across Champaign-Urbana could be valuable sources of history, if they were restored to first-rate condition or preserved.
Films will be offered a chance at reclaiming their part in cultural heritage at the second annual film clinic at the University of Illinois. "Home Movie Day" will take place 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 11 (Saturday) in Campbell Hall for Public Telecommunication at WILL AM-FM-TV, 300 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana. The clinic is free and open to the public.
Among the activities offered during the clinic:
• Assessment by archivists of the condition of older films;
• Advice on how to preserve and care for films and videos; also, explanations by specialists about "why transferring films to video or digital media doesn't mean they'll last forever," said Jimi Jones, project coordinator for the U. of I. Library's audiovisual self-assessment program, who can be reached at jjones7@illinois.edu;
• Continuous screenings of home movies that participants bring in and of films preserved in local archival collections;
• Discussion with a representative from the Champaign County Historical Archives on how home movies can be donated to the archives.
WILL AM-FM-TV and the U. of I. Library are event sponsors.
Home Movie Day began nationally in 2003 when a group of film archivists decided to go beyond traditional preservation methods to try to save home movies from the 20th century.