Unborn but (not) Forgotten : Digitizing Korea's Cinematic Past

Rob Cagle, PhDCinema Specialist, University of Illinois LibrariesJaEun Ku, PhDWeb Application Developer, University of Illinois Extension

Scope of the presentation

Film Poster/Stills (not films) Values Digitization issues (not copyright issues) Current status quo Implication

Research value

multi-disciplinary, not limited to only one field: film studies, advertising, history, arts, anthropology, sociology, literature, East Asian studies – Cultural diversity– Movie as text for historical research– Market analysis (US vs Korean)

Examples

Shiri poster no one regret happiness a man went to mars

Collection value

share the image from the initial stage at individual computer to release

variation of small details in graphic is interesting focus in movie posters

change of poster image according to production/marketing stage : availability of press kit and its release (ex: Han cinema-> photo gallery)

Scarcity – hard to get

Why digitize?

Accessibility – too big size Preservation – often fragile Scarcity Difficulty of acquisition- it can be available

only during the release, not all the time Collection consistency

Bench marking

Koran Film Archive Poster collection (government funded org)

Colorado University Library, International Poster Collection (educational institution)

Han cinema/Show box (commercial) Hollywood

Korean Film Poster collections

KOrean Film Archive (KOFA) poster collection

As of 12.31, 2008 Data from Soyon Cho,

Master thesis, 2009

poster cataloging 4,224

Image scan 3,729

Still cataloging 122,035

Image scan 57,241

KOFA - Implication I

seems to have lack of curatoral process (from Hanna Montana to old Korean movie posters)

organization of collection is important specialization of the collection is also important direction of collection development is important. filling the gap is important. Search is available only in Korean

International Poster Collection

Colorado University Library Image display Description/Cataloging Example:

12th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival

Poster Description I

Title:12th Puchon International Fantastic Film FestivalPoster No.:2009-131bArtist: Son, Pyong-il, 1958-Artist Information: For artist information, go to (will open new browser window):

http://lib.colostate.edu/posters/results-artists.php?id=371Country: South KoreaLanguage: English, KoreanDescription: PiFan2008 ... 12th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival ... ;

Part 2 of 2Image:Silhouetted person covered in feathered wingsDate:2008Prepress Media:Printing Process:Subject: Persons ; Wings ; Film festivals ; Posters--Korean ; Motion picture

posters ; Cultural posters

Poster Description II

Purpose:Award:CSU Exhibition Year: Exhibited 2009Exhibition: Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition (16th :

2009 : Fort Collins, Colo.)Reference: Sixteenth Colorado International Invitational Poster

Exhibition. Fort Collins: Dept. of Art, Colorado State University, 2009.Dimensions:99 x 70 cm.Condition: acid-free; no label; pencil writing on back; slight scuff marks

on back; tape on backRights: http://lib.colostate.edu/posters/copyright.htmlPublisher: Colorado State University LibrariesPublisher Place: Fort Collins, Colo.Date Available:20091005

Closings

Recognition of film poster values Collection criteria (what to collect or not to

collect) Digitization Searchability/Quality of Image

Reference

– 조소연 , 디지털 시대의 영상 아카이브 발전 방안 연구 , 중앙대 첨단영상대학원석사학위논문 , 2009.8

– 오성지 , 필름아카이브이야기 (series of the film archive)

– 영화필름 보존가이드 - 아카이브 , 도서관 그리고 박물관을 위한 기초안내서

– 남인영 , 문화다양성의 측면에서 본 한국영화 아카이빙의 현안 , 영화연구 29 호

– Gary D. Rhodes, The origin and development of the American moving picture poster, Film History, Volume 19, pp. 228–246, 2007. Copyright © John Libbey Publishing

– Mary Beth Haralovich, “Advertising the heterosexuality: MARY BETH HARALOVICH EXAMINES CHANGING COURTSHIPS IN FILM POSTERS OF THE THIRTIES AND FORTIES”

– The National Film Preservation Foundation,  The Film Preservation Guide-The Basics For Archives, Libraries, and Museum, 2004

– Patricia J. Rettig, A Web of posters: the international poster collection at Colorado State University Libraries, Colorado Libraries 27 no3 Fall 2001