ABS-CBN Film Archives
The ABS-CBN Film Archives (also called ABS-CBN Archives) is a state-of-the-art film archive in the Philippines located at the basement of ELJ Communications Center in Eugenio Lopez Drive, Diliman, Quezon City.[1] ABS-CBN Film Archives is a member of the Southeast Asia-Pacific Audio-Visual Archive Association and the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (Sofia). At present, ABS-CBN Film Archives holds about 2,400 films from Star Cinema, LVN Pictures, Regal Films, VIVA Films, Seiko Films, Cinema Artists, Sampaguita Pictures, OctoArts Films, Imus Productions, RVQ Productions, Cine Suerte, NV Productions along with the cinema libraries of Dolphy, Nora Aunor, Fernando Poe Jr., Rudy Fernandez, Ramon Revilla, Armida Siguion-Reyna among others.[2][3] ABS-CBN Film Archives boasts the biggest film collection in the country.[4] It is currently headed by Leo Katigbak.
Facility
The film storage facility is constructed with insulated walls covering around 500 square meters. It is divided into two parts: the medium-term vault and the long-term vault. The medium term vault holds betacam tapes, U-matic, 16mm prints, and some 35mm prints while the long-term vault holds the 35mm master prints. The facility is also protected with a specialized fire suppression system. Acclimatization rooms are located between the vaults and the exit. Before a film could be taken out from the vault, it has to stay in the first acclimatization room for 24 hours and in the second acclimatization room for another 24 hours to prevent damage caused by condensation due to rapid temperature change. The temperature in the long-term vault is maintained between 8 and 10 °C with 31 to 35 percent relative humidity while in the medium-term vault, the temperature is maintained between 15 and 20 °C with 35 to 50 percent relative humidity. The air-conditioning system of the facility operates 24 hours a day. The facility is accessible to visitors for academic and research purposes.
ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project
ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project is a digital film restoration project of ABS-CBN Film Archives in partnership with Central Digital Lab, Inc. The aim of the project is to digitally restore and remaster over 2,400 films in the archives of ABS-CBN. The process includes a digital audio and video restoration and remastering process in 1080p pixel resolution at 24 frames per second. The first film that has been restored was Ishmael Bernal's 1982 film Himala which was screened at the 69th Venice International Film Festival as part of its 30th year anniversary. It was followed by Peque Gallaga's 1982 film Oro, Plata, Mata. Followed by Olivia Lamasan's Maalaala Mo Kaya and Madrasta, Laurice Guillen's Tanging Yaman, Rory Quintos' Anak, Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Bagong Buwan, and Chito S. Roño's Dekada '70.[5] As of 2015, the project has restored and remastered over 100 films with restoration cost ranging anywhere from two hundred thousand pesos to ten million pesos for each film. The film processed has been released in wide array of platforms such as limited theatrical runs, film festivals, free-to-air TV and cable television, DVDs, and other over-the-top content platforms such as iTunes.
References
- ↑ "The storage and preservation of Philippine films in the ABS-CBN Film Archives and the MOWELFUND Audiovisual Archive / Joseph Angelo E. Cruzado. -- 2012". UP School of Library and Studies. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ San Diego Jr., Bayani (12 September 2010). "Inside the Kapamilya film vaults". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ del Mundo Jr., Clodualdo (26 January 2011). "Continuing the dream for a national audio-visual archive". PinoyFilm.com. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ Atienza, Josephine. "Audio-visual archiving". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
- ↑ San Diego Jr., Bayani (5 August 2012). "Restoring Himala". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 29 October 2012.