1. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd PANIC Preservation and Archival of New media and Interactive Collections Sharmin Choudhury Jane Hunter sharminc@dstc.edu.au

2. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Outline Issues and problems involved Alternative approaches Other projects Project objectives Our proposal Work to date Conclusions Future Work References

3. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Examples Ken Goldberg - Ouija 2000 – Robot arm controlled by Internet users, moves planchette across a Ouija board Mark Napier – Net Flag – Java applet program accessed over the WWW, that provides an interface for the creation of a hypothetical flag for the Internet

4. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd The Problem Long term access to New Media Artworks Composite Multimedia objects –Digital (images, video, audio, web, programs) + Physical Act of preservation can alter fundamental characteristic of the work Highly proprietary – software & hardware dependent Random interaction with the physical world Highly fragile, and sensitive to environment Difficult to capture – boundary problem High mobility – travelling exhibitions No standards or best practice guides

5. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Issues Obsolescence of physical storage device Obsolescence of file formats Translation to new display device, playback software – may alter the “look”, “feel”, “meaning” Artist’s input is essential – need to capture/recreate key ideas, intentions, aspects, components

6. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Alternative Approaches Maintenance of obsolescent hardware/software Metadata encapsulation: digital objects stored with their metadata Emulation – mimic original software application on current environment Migration – convert format to successive sequence of new formats Reinterpretation – completely reconstruct the artwork based on specifications. Most Conservative Most radical

7. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd The two extremes Maintenance: Impractical –Costly: space and on-going maintenance –Wear and tear –Loss of expertise –Unforseen problems Re-interpretation: copyright problem –Loss of artistic integrity –Loss of intention/key message –Impossible to recreate fully or comprehensively –Some artists like dynamic re-interpretation

8. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Between the extremes Metadata encapsulation EmulationMigration AdvantagesStandards such as METS available for encapsulation Allows future access tools to be developed One emulator  lots of digital objects Data untouched Look and feel preserved Simple It works Extends the longevity Disadvantages On its own not a complete solution Difficult to know what to capture Time consuming Expensive Overkill for data archiving Cost Technical difficulties Old interface knowledge Labor intensive, time-consuming Corrupt or alter object incrementally Backwards compatibility needed

9. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Other projects General digital Object –NDIIPP –CEDARS –CAMiLEON –PANDORA Concentrating on New media artwork –Archiving the Avant Garde

10. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Outline Issues and problems involved Alternative approaches Other projects Project objectives Our proposal Work to date Conclusion Future work Reference

11. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Project Objectives Analyse and compare current preservation strategies using case studies Extend/refine current preservation strategies for new media e.g., extend METS, MPEG-21? Determine optimum canonical/standardized platform-independent formats for multimedia –TIFF, MPEG-2/MPEG-4, MP3/AIFF, SMIL Develop metadata schemas, metadata input, workflow design, software registries, automatic migration tools Recommendations, best practice guidelines

12. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Our Proposal Step 1. Conversion to standard high-quality platform-independent format –BWF, MPEG-2, TIFF, MPEG-4 –SMIL/SVG Step 2. Encapsulation of object with metadata –Descriptive, presentation, intent, preservation Step 3. Semi-automated Migration –Migration-on-Request, Typed Object Conversion –Software version Registries –Notify agents of objects requiring reformatting when new version released

13. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Our Approach Maintenance Metadata encapsulation Emulation Migration Reinterpretation Most Conservative Most radical Our approach

14. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Nam June Paik The elements (1989) Qld Art Gallery – Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 2002 http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/content/apt2002_standard.asp?name=APT_Artists_Nam_June_Paik Lacquer cabinet 6 TV monitors with Laser discs Roots, 3 silk flowers And 3 glass beakers 195x126x65 cm The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection Case Study 3

15. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Our Approach Maintenance Metadata encapsulation Emulation Migration Reinterpretation Most Conservative Most radical Our approach

16. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Metadata workflow

17. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Extended METS Schema Descriptive Metadata Section Administrative Metadata Section Technical Metadata specific to audio files, e.g., sampling frequency specific to image files, e.g., bits per pixel, color space specific to text files, e.g., character set, encoding used specific to video files, e.g., bit rate,compression codec. Rights metadata Analog source technical info specific to audio files specific to image files specific to text files specific to video files events that occurred in reformatting or migrating entities. behaviours links to files that are part of this digital object SMIL + metadata required to present and navigate this digital object

18. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd The metadata input tool Used to add most of the metadata –Descriptive, –Presentation –Intent –preservation Basis for migration tool Sets up registry notification system http://maenad.dstc.edu.au:8080/panic/panic.jsp

19. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd

24. SMIL W3C Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language Simple XML for choreographing multimedia presentations Able to define regions for video, audio, images Defined using a graphical SMIL editor: Fluition

25. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Convert to SMIL: 1 Image 6 Video Frames Image Region 6 Video regions Example – Case Study 3

26. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Our Approach Maintenance Metadata encapsulation Emulation Migration Reinterpretation Most Conservative Most radical Our approach

27. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Migration strategy

28. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Conclusions Possible to determine optimum approaches for different classes/genres of works Ancillary materials essential – interviews, plans, photos, documentary evidence, metadata Platform-independent Standards essential – MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MP3, SMIL, metadata schemas and vocabularies (METS) XML – reduces database obsolescence

29. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd Future Work Implement migration strategy Compare MPEG-21 to METS Simple software registry vs web services Platform independent formats for shockwave, flash

30. Copyright © DSTC Pty Ltd References http://metadata.net/panic/