Portfolio Center Blog: Interactive Arts

An Introduction to Archiving Your Work

What are Archives?

Archives refer to any collection of records, as well as the location of the collection. In order to truly keep an archive, copies of records are kept in separate location. This is known as redundancy. Duplicates protect the original record in event of a disaster, technical or natural, destroys an original. Most copies are in a digital format, which usually is used for the web, allowing a greater audience to access the records.

Why do I need to keep an archive of my work?

For you, the important part of this is to keep a copy of your work in a digital format, and to make sure that copy is stored in a separate location. This way, if something happens to the original, you will have a copy. The digital copy of your work will also help you as you graduate, and produce a final portfolio or reel reflecting your own body of work. Many seniors use these files for their professional web sites or DVDs that they construct with the help of the Portfolio Center.

Storing Original Work

Since work by students at Columbia College Chicago is varied, we will not address specifics of how to archive a painting, sculpture, or other three dimensional materials. We will, however, give you some general ideas for storing work. Most people find that the room with the greatest storage capacity is a basement storage area. These places can be the worst for keeping work, as there is generally a high level of moisture. Over a relatively short period of time, damage can become noticeable through yellowing of pages, fading of colors, and even growth of mildew.

The location you choose should be relatively dry, free from excessive dust and dirt, and out of any direct sunlight. This means that typically a shelf in a closet will work for you. Avoid floors, or bookshelves near a bright window. If possible, purchase an acid-free storage container. Most of these are available at art supply stores. These are perfect for keeping smaller paintings, and most sizes of photographs and documents. What is acid-free? Many plastic products and glues that are used contain acid. Even over a relatively short time, this can affect the integrity of what is stored next to it. The words ‘Archival’ and/or ‘Acid Free’ are typically displayed prominently on these items. The cost difference between non-archival and archival material is usually nominal. Books or larger items may be best stored in plastic sleeves, which also can be purchased at art supply stores.

More information regarding preservation of physical work can be found on the Columbia College Chicago's Library Archive site.

Documenting Work

Making physical copies of paintings, sculptures, or clothing you created may be nearly impossible. In this digital age, the best option is to make a digital copy of whatever you have. If you work in a digital format, this isn’t that difficult. Videotape is the obvious choice for any time-based art form, but still images can show details that can enhance your documentation. So you want to copy your work, but you don’t have access to a still or video camera. If you are a senior, you can contact the Portfolio Center for assistance with documenting your work. Find more information about Portfolio Production (pdf) from the Portfolio Center’s website.

If you are not a senior, you may want to review the guidelines on our site (in some instances, you may qualify if you aren’t a senior). Some departments may provide resources for photographing or videotaping your work, providing facilities or giving demonstrations on how to do this. Another way to find someone to help is by posting flyers in the Photography, Film, or Television Departments. Dorms are a great place to meet fellow students who may have the skill to assist you in documenting your work. Many students are looking to assist other students in this area. Providing compensation is the best way to ensure that work gets done. You could offer monetary rewards, or trade some of your work to pay for the services.

When you find a student to assist you, make sure that you do not turn over your original work. The best practice would be to meet with the individual at the time they would do any photographing. This not only creates less of an opportunity for your work to be lost or damaged, but will let you in on how the process works.

Documenting your work is not the time to be artistic. If you are doing still photography of the work, you want to have even lighting, usually from the side to avoid any glare. Framing should center on the object. You want to be as straightforward with your images as possible. This will let the work stand on its own strength.

Storing Digital Copies

Once you have your work documented, or if your work is already in a digital format, you need to store the digital files. Many students make the mistake of only saving the files on a CD or DVD. The problem with this method is that many CDs or DVDs have a life of only 5 years. Glues that hold the recorded layer to the plastic can give out, especially the inexpensive spindles you purchase at office supply stores. Markers that most people use to write on the discs contain acids that can speed up this process.

CD-RW and DVD-RWs create a new set of problems, as the more you re-record on these discs, the more chances your files may corrupt. These discs also fail to hold the integrity of the original file, and you may experience a loss of resolution.

It is important to understand that a CD or DVD should only be considered a method of delivering your files, not a method of storage. The best way to store digital files is on a hard drive. Some people store all of their images on their computer. This is problematic when your hard drive crashes, as you may lose all of your files. File sizes can also eat up your storage space.

The ideal method of storing your digital files is to purchase a hard drive that is dedicated to storage. Many affordable options are available these days, most under $300. Of course, if you are storing movie files, you will need a much larger drive. For this ideal method, your storage drive will be backed up either on your computer or a second drive. This may become cost prohibitive to many, so we will outline the next best method.

The second best method is to store your files on the storage drive, and make CD or DVD back ups. If you do this, make sure you purchase metal discs, as the glue is much better. These discs can have a life of up to 10 years. Silver discs are the most affordable and readily available. The cost difference between these discs and the budget discs is not drastic. For labeling your discs, purchase an acid-free marker, available in many camera stores. If the hard drive purchase is out of the question, let’s look into the budget solution to storing digital files.

The third best method of storing files is on CDs and DVDs. We already mentioned why this isn’t the ideal method, but if you are on a tight budget, this is the way to go. Remember though, only by metal discs, no rewritables, and make sure you use an acid-free marker. This will work for you until you can purchase a storage drive for your computer.

A few words about file formats

The most common formats for saving image files are JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), and BMP (bit mapped). For movie files, MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group), and audio files MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio). All of these formats are considered lossy, which is a fancy term meaning resolution is lost when saving in this format. What happens in the creation of these files is that your computer runs an algorithm, also known as a codec (for compression/decompression), to compress the information into a usable size. While this helps with storage space, you risk losing important information. Unless your original image is in one of these formats, you may want to choose storing your images in one of the following formats. These are generally considered lossless, meaning there is little or no resolution lost.

Preferred Storage Formats for Digital Files

This list is intended to give you a starting point for file saving. There are many more options, but these are good places to start.

Note that when storing your files in one of the above formats, the file size can become very large. You may not be able to store these files without an external storage drive. If you need to keep a smaller version of your file, make sure compression is at a minimum.

Movie Files

Movie files will no doubt rapidly take over your hard drive. A five-minute movie, uncompressed, could be as large as 20 gigabytes. A solution to this is to record a copy of your movie on a DV tape (Digital Video). This records a digital version of your file on a tape. The only drawback to this is unless you have a DV player, you won’t be able to watch the movie again. Here are a couple of ways to back up your movies.

Best-case scenario is to save an uncompressed version on a storage drive, and make a back up on a DV tape. This allows you to have two copies, uncompressed.

Second best scenario is to record a copy to DV tape, and save a compressed copy on either your hard drive or a DVD-ROM. A DVD-ROM can store up to 4.7 gigabytes, which may work for a compressed movie.

Some people are under the impression that an authored DVD is the same as a DVD-ROM. This is not true: An authored DVD is one that is playable in a DVD player and usually has a menu. All files on this type of DVD are compressed, and while it is convenient for delivery of your files (viewing), it is not the best way to store your files.

A DVD-ROM is more like a CD-ROM. They can be the same blank disc as a regular DVD, but you use them like a CD. Drag and drop your files, then burn the disc. Note that you must have a DVD burner on your computer in order to create DVD-ROM discs.

Digital File Naming Conventions

The way you name your files can have a drastic effect on compatibility between computers and the integrity of the file. Below are a few guidelines for you to follow.

Following the above conventions can assure compatibility with multiple platforms and older software programs.

What not to archive

Many classes give you footage from existing movies or images from existing advertisements to work with. For example, a Television student may have footage from the British Television Show Brightwolf; a Film student may have used Law and Order: SVU for an editing project; or an Advertising Art student may have pulled images off the internet for a class ad campaign. While you may want to save copies of these until you create more advanced work, you typically want to avoid using copyrighted material in your final reel or portfolio. For more information regarding this, check with your instructor or our website to find a Portfolio Advisor in your area.

Your next step

Review the work you have and determine which you would like to archive. If you need assistance with this, review your options with an instructor, or an Industry Expert through the Portfolio Center. Once you have choices made, document what you can into a digital format. As you save your work, subscribe to the Portfolio Center blog to get the latest announcements on other workshops about archiving. When you are a senior, sign up for Portfolio Production, and we can help you put it all together. Once you have your work packaged in a professional manner, sign up for Show Off events to show your work to visiting professionals. And don’t forget, the Portfolio Center Archive is always looking for submissions. Students, alumni, instructors, and employers view the online Archive. Now go out and start saving your work.

Dirk Matthews is the Assistant Director of the Portfolio Center and an adjunct faculty member in the Film/Video Department of Columbia College Chicago.

May 19, 2007