How You Should Be Storing Your Old Home Movies
Don’t let those precious recordings deteriorate. Here’s why you should preserve them and how to do it
In this new era of recording our memories on our phones and posting them to Snapchat and Instagram, many of us have left our film, tapes and VCR recordings from the past to rot in old boxes. However, there is a lot of value in your old home movies, not only for you and your family, but also for the general public, as home movies provide a raw peek into the past. Learning to value your home movies is the first step toward preserving your memories for longer than the next decade.
Home Movie Formats You Might Find
There are many formats that people have used for amateur filmmaking and home movies. Below are the most common that you will find in a home movie archive, including your own.
9.5mm film: Introduced in 1922, this is an amateur film format introduced by Pathé Frères as part of the Pathé Baby amateur film system. It was used to provide inexpensive copies of commercially made films to home users and was popular in Europe.
16mm film: It was introduced in 1923, and during the 1920s the format was considered substandard film by professionals. Initially, it was directed toward the amateur market. During World War II, it was used extensively for education, and for TV production in countries where 35mm was too expensive.
Regular 8mm film: Also known as Standard 8 or Normal 8, Eastman Kodak introduced this format in 1932, during the Great Depression, as a home movie format that was less expensive than 16mm. The film spools contain 16mm film with twice as many perforations along each edge.
Super 8mm film: Introduced in 1965 by Eastman Kodak, it was more advanced than Regular 8. It featured a better quality image and came in a convenient cartridge, making it easier to load.
Videotape and Disc Formats:
There are many formats that people have used for amateur filmmaking and home movies. Below are the most common that you will find in a home movie archive, including your own.
9.5mm film: Introduced in 1922, this is an amateur film format introduced by Pathé Frères as part of the Pathé Baby amateur film system. It was used to provide inexpensive copies of commercially made films to home users and was popular in Europe.
16mm film: It was introduced in 1923, and during the 1920s the format was considered substandard film by professionals. Initially, it was directed toward the amateur market. During World War II, it was used extensively for education, and for TV production in countries where 35mm was too expensive.
Regular 8mm film: Also known as Standard 8 or Normal 8, Eastman Kodak introduced this format in 1932, during the Great Depression, as a home movie format that was less expensive than 16mm. The film spools contain 16mm film with twice as many perforations along each edge.
Super 8mm film: Introduced in 1965 by Eastman Kodak, it was more advanced than Regular 8. It featured a better quality image and came in a convenient cartridge, making it easier to load.
Videotape and Disc Formats:
- VHS: Introduced by JVC in the 1970s
- Betamax: Introduced by Sony in the 1970s
- 8mm video: Introduced in the 1980s
- Hi8: Introduced in the 1980s
- MiniDV: Introduced in the 1990s
- DVD: Introduced in the 1990s by Sony and Philips
- Blu-ray Disc: Introduced in the 2000s
How to Store Your Home Movies
Now that I’ve tried to convince you of the value of your home movies and listed what formats you might find, the next step is to preserve the physical copies of your home movies.
If you are still storing old rolls of film in boxes, they are in danger not only from the elements, but also the ravages of time. Videotapes are especially in danger if older than 15 years, as they can break down over time.
What to store it in: The goal is to digitize your film, yet you should always keep the original film as long as you can. First, store your film in individual archival polyethylene bags, then place them in an acid-free, archival storage box separated by special index cards that allow you to write important information such as events, dates, locations and names of people in the films. Archival boxes are sturdy and are made of materials that have no chemicals or any harmful additives that can cause damage to precious genealogical records or artifacts. A great resource for the purchase of boxes and other organizational items is Archival Methods.
Where to store: Make sure you store the film in a place where the temperature is steady without high humidity, which means no attics, basements or garages. Film stored at room temperature can last up to 50 years before decomposition occurs.
Your memories are important and deserve to be shared as the years go by. The sooner you recognize this and decide to preserve your film, the sooner you can save your memories.
Next time: How to digitize your old home movies
Your turn: When was the last time you watched your home movies? Tell us in the Comments.
More
How to Save Your Family Photo Albums
Great Home Project: How to Organize All Those Paper Photos
How to Finally Organize Your Family Keepsakes
Shop plastic storage bins
Now that I’ve tried to convince you of the value of your home movies and listed what formats you might find, the next step is to preserve the physical copies of your home movies.
If you are still storing old rolls of film in boxes, they are in danger not only from the elements, but also the ravages of time. Videotapes are especially in danger if older than 15 years, as they can break down over time.
What to store it in: The goal is to digitize your film, yet you should always keep the original film as long as you can. First, store your film in individual archival polyethylene bags, then place them in an acid-free, archival storage box separated by special index cards that allow you to write important information such as events, dates, locations and names of people in the films. Archival boxes are sturdy and are made of materials that have no chemicals or any harmful additives that can cause damage to precious genealogical records or artifacts. A great resource for the purchase of boxes and other organizational items is Archival Methods.
Where to store: Make sure you store the film in a place where the temperature is steady without high humidity, which means no attics, basements or garages. Film stored at room temperature can last up to 50 years before decomposition occurs.
Your memories are important and deserve to be shared as the years go by. The sooner you recognize this and decide to preserve your film, the sooner you can save your memories.
Next time: How to digitize your old home movies
Your turn: When was the last time you watched your home movies? Tell us in the Comments.
More
How to Save Your Family Photo Albums
Great Home Project: How to Organize All Those Paper Photos
How to Finally Organize Your Family Keepsakes
Shop plastic storage bins
Home movies are a direct link to our past, and peeling back the layers of our family histories in the present day may provide us with fresh perspectives. Rhonda Vigeant, vice president of marketing and home movie expert of Pro8mm, attests to this. She has built her career on helping ordinary families and celebrities alike access their old home movies and digitizing their memories for future generations to enjoy.
She also has stood next to clients while they watched home movies of their childhoods for the first time with adult eyes. “People are really fearful to look into the past. It can force you to shift everything you believe about your family or your past relationships,” she says. “We are acquiring new evidence. Home movies are like a time machine.”
Clients often leave Vigeant’s office after many tears have rolled down their cheeks, because as they viewed the films for the first time in decades, they found something they didn’t even know they were looking for.
But home movies may have more than personal significance. “There are things to be unearthed in your movies that could appeal to a larger audience,” Vigeant says. “What did [your family member] shoot in the world that has historical significance?”
So if you think that only family members care about viewing your home movies, think again. Vigeant has come across footage of John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley and Jane Goodall in old films, and some of this footage later was used by professional documentary filmmakers. Some people may believe that their lives don’t matter, but there could be a huge interest in even the simplest events we record, such as birthday parties and barbecues.