Appreciation Post + New Footage Coming In
Added 2024-12-05 09:24:40 +0000 UTCPatrons, my next batch of brand new footage came in, and I am currently uploading it for early viewing access. It is STS-41B onboard film as you've never seen it before. Above, I have attached a price quote for the cost of digitizing 10 reels of the next mission's film, STS-41C.
I think you are owed some explanation as to why it is so much more challenging to work in the Shuttle era than Mercury, Gemini, Apollo. With less historical interest and overall documentary projects focusing on Shuttle flights, the vast bulk of the work that has been done digitizing NASA film has focused on those early years, and it typically isn't too much trouble to find an archivist who already has very good quality scans, ready to go. With Shuttle, however -- even masters at the top of their craft don't have scans of much of what was shot. Increasingly, the reels I am requesting are "P" items -- preservation copies. No intermediates have ever been made, and it is highly likely that all of you are the first to actually see this film in a digital format. That's an exciting prospect. Together, all of us -- we are going to be seeing things that haven't been seen since they were shot in 1984. That alone makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
However, with the territory of P items, things become more expensive, and take longer to process, and that is why I am so grateful to all of you for sticking with me through this process. Your contributions absolutely make a huge difference here, and this footage belongs to all of you -- you all collectively made it happen. I am processing the new footage now. By this weekend, prepare to have your socks blown off by brand new footage in native quality!
