What to do with surviving home videotapes immediately after a fire

The current wildfires in Los Angeles have created a tremendous amount of loss - of lives, homes, businesses, and cultural institutions. Front of mind for us is the tremendous sadness that comes from the loss of home movies (film, videotape, and digital), audio recordings, photographs and albums, and DVDs or CDs. It is remarkably tragic to suddenly lose the records we have of our own lives. We want to acknowledge this for so many in Altadena and the Palisades – we are so devastated and sorry.

In the following blog post, there are some resources and action items for addressing immediate first steps to prevent further damage to videotapes due to water, smoke, particulate matter, and fire damage. We are here to assist as a free resource for consultations, next steps, and assistance with more technical physical remediation efforts. Often, there is still hope for information recovery on tapes that are damaged. And if you are housing insecure, please reach out as we will do our best to help with secure storage. 

Please email us at info@tapeanalog.org with any questions or requests for assistance - we are here as a free resource. TAPE (Teach Archive Preserve Exhibit) is a non-profit in Echo Park dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of analog media, with a particular set of resources dedicated to home-made media preservation and digitization. Please let us know how we can help with salvaging personal, family, or friends heirlooms and we will do our best! 

IMMEDIATE EFFORTS SUMMARY

1. Protect your health while handling videotapes with a N95 mask and gloves.

2. Don’t throw away items, some can be saved. 

3. Never attempt to play damaged, wet or contaminated tapes.

4. If tapes are wet, they need to be dried quickly and evenly.

5. If tape shells are warped, protect insides from further damage by placing in a plastic bag.

6. Clean the outside shell gently to remove dry debris.

Keep yourself and your tapes safe when performing initial efforts. And don’t throw it away or give up. 

• Your health is a huge concern. Remember to wear protective latex gloves and an N95 mask when handling materials after a house fire. 

  Some items that look quite damaged may still be salvaged, so don’t throw away damaged film or video cassettes.

• Do not attempt to playback tapes in a VCR or camcorder because the dirt inside, the warped cassette, or fragile tape could be subjected to further damage.

• Improper handling can cause further damage. If you can, keep the tape inside the cassette shell. While performing these first steps. T.A.P.E. is here as a free resource for any questions or assistance. 

• Take photographs and separate tapes by type of damage (in order of triage) 

  1) wet  

  2) melted plastic  

  3) dry debris

Wet or waterlogged tapes DRY IT OUT

• Time is of the essence with wet tapes to prevent mold growth and the loss of the binder that adheres the magnetic particles to the tape. Short term exposure to water is not destructive and the water itself is not the destroyer of metal particulates on tape. The smaller the tape, the more vulnerable it is to damage from water because of the composition of the metal and the thinness of the tape. 

• However, do not place tapes near heat sources such as a hair dryer or a space heater. Do not leave damaged tapes outside. Never freeze tapes. And do not place wet tapes in sealed plastic containers or bags as that will facilitate fungal growth. 

• It is best to dry out your tapes indoors in a well ventilated room with nearby cool air circulation. Drain them by placing them vertically on a surface where water will drain away. But be sure to lay them separately on their sides vertically (not flat horizontally) on a surface that allows for air circulation. Uneven drying can cause the tape to deform. 

• For maximum airflow you could put a window screen between two chairs and lay your tapes out on top or use a drying rack. Place a fan nearby, not directly on the tapes, perhaps with a commercial HVAC air filter attached to a box fan so that it is circulating air near the screen, while being mindful of dust circulation. 

• Be aware this process could take several days.

• We can assist with opening cassettes if water continues to stay present inside the plastic shell. The two risks of opening the shell include 1) exposing the tape to debris in the air for extended periods 2) losing small internal parts or dropping the spools / damaging the tape by not correctly opening the cassette. Most risky damage comes from incorrect handling. If you feel comfortable, there are great youtube resources on how to correctly open a cassette. Email at info@tapeanalog.org

  
  

  

Exposure to firefighting chemicals, sewage, or other contaminants mixed with water.

• All of these are dangerous to human health so be sure to again wear good gloves and a N95 mask. 

• If tapes are wet and exposed to materials other than pure water, then they are at greater risk and must be cleaned off the cassette and tape. Please let us know and we can do our best to help with this scenario using a tape cleaner and distilled water. cleaning. But do not attempt to take the tape out and clean it without experience both handling cassettes and tape and a plan in place to clean.

• Start with drying efforts and then we can move to cleaning. If contaminants are dry they are less of an immediate risk. Do not re-wet contaminants or the tape. 

  
  

  

Mold 

• In the event that waterlogged tapes stay wet for prolonged periods and develop mold, there are still remarkable amounts that can be done to save them. See our blogs and instagram posts about tapes recovered from mold infestations.

• Do your best to dry using the recommendations to dry tapes. Remove tapes from damp paper cases but keep them close for identification purposes. Try to save / not remove labels as it will make it hard to figure out what the item is. 

• Mold often smells and appears as white or brown fiber-like structures. if you see or smell mold, isolate the tape from others to prevent it from spreading and to protect your health. If it is still wet do not seal it in plastic. 

• Do not inhale mold as it is hazardous to human health - wear a mask and gloves when handling.

• We can clean mold off videotape through repeated runs through a cleaning machine. 

  
  

  

Dry debris, Gently clean dry debris off containers and cassettes 

• If your videotapes have dry debris on them gently brush loose dirt off the tape shell. You can use a dry microfiber cloth or gentle clean paintbrush. Remember that this is toxic dust, so wear gloves and a N95 mask and brush gently into a plastic bag then dispose of the dust / debris. 

• Take great care to avoid the tape pack inside the cassette itself - touching it or wiping it could cause further damage. 

• You can also gently vacuum off dust and debris from a container, but keep in mind that household vacuums and shop vacs (i.e. without HEPA filters and sealed containers) will kick back fine particulates into the air again. These fine particulates are extremely hazardous to your health, so if you choose to vacuum do so in a well-ventilated area with a well-fitting N95 mask away from other tapes, ideally with a plastic wrapping around a vacuum’s exhaust to capture leaks. 

• After that you can use a very small amount of distilled / bottled water on a microfiber cloth to gently clean off the plastic shell. Avoid paper labels that are key for identification. Do not submerge tapes or wet the inside of the tape. Dry thoroughly in a well-ventilated indoor area after light cleaning. 

• Luckily, smoke damage is usually limited to the outer part of a tape or reel. Take care not to transfer it to internal parts. Opening the cassette may expose the vulnerable tape to soot. Soot is abrasive and can damage information on the tape itself.

  

  
  

Melted & Warped Plastic

• A warped or melted cassette looks quite bad, but may not reflect the state of the tape inside. Plastic and metal melt at different rates, so we may be able to save the information written on the tape.

• First, try your best to clean off soot using the provided information so that when we open the shell abrasive soot does not fall inside the cassette.

• From there, try to place the warped cassette in a plastic bag or wrapping to shield any exposed internal components from further debris. 

• Do not attempt to unspool the tape in a melted cassette until it has been thoroughly inspected. 

• If you have warped cassettes from fire damage, please feel free to reach out to info@tapeanalog.org. We will attempt to gently transfer the internal tape into a working cassette shell. This may be difficult as the spools may be melted too so we may need to slowly and  manually wind tape using a machine cleaner onto a new spool. 

  
  

  

Additional Written Information

Do what you can to keep additional written information about the tape intact. If it’s wet and must be removed, take pictures before removing. You can also stick color coded stickers with numbers on to help with identification. Write down any information that helps you know about the tape’s creation.

Do not hesitate to reach out with questions, assistance, or requests for service at info@tapenalog.org. We are part of a large network of preservation professionals and archivists and will do our best to connect you to service and information. And cost is not an issue for us, let us know how we can help. <3

Film/Video Emergency Response Resources & Links

Citations

• Texas Commission on the Arts, Videotape Identification and Assessment Guide, page 42-43
• Specs Bros, Magnetic Tapes Can Survive Flood Exposure 
• Specs Bros, Institutional Disaster Response for Magnetic Tape
• John Van Bogart, Recovery from Disasters
• Video History Project (Repository of links)
• National Film and Sound Archives of Australia, First Aid for Fire Damage

Recommended Additional Resources

HENTF’s Save Your Family Treasures guidance is available at https://www.fema.gov/disaster/recover/save-family-treasures.

• Here you can find the downloadable FEMA fact sheets “After the Fire: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures”,  “After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures”, and “Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms,” available in multiple languages.

Members of the public and individual artists who have questions about saving family heirlooms and personal collections can email the National Heritage Responders at NHRpublichelpline@culturalheritage.org.

Film Preservation at Home (includes fire and water damage)

https://www.nfsa.gov.au/preservation/guide/home

Really in depth VHS tape repair guide

https://everpresent.com/vhs-tape-repair-guide/

FIAF Disaster Recovery Documents and Resources for Audiovisual Materials (some links are broken): www.fiafnet.org/pages/E-Resources/Disaster-Preparedness-Recovery.html

What to do when collections get wet

www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/dry.html

Emergency response and recovery quick guide for magnetic media (Audio, Video, and Data **very good) www.archives.gov/files/preservation/records-emergency/pdf/audio-video-tapes.pdf

Video & Audio Guidance: Emergency Preparation, Response, and Recovery

www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/video-emergency.html www.archives.gov/preservation/conservation/magnetic-media.html

Fire Affected Audio materials www.nfsa.gov.au/sites/default/files/09-2016/fireaffected_audio_0.pdf

UCLA Moving Image Archiving Guide

https://guides.library.ucla.edu/mas/mediaarchiving

For resources on saving textiles, paper, photographs, and artwork there are other recommendations that are quite different from tape

• Heritage Emergency National Task Force, Saving Damaged Family Treasures after a Fire

• FEMA, Save Your Family Treasures

What to expect on tapes that are recovered - yes it will likely be damaged or missing information

• Spongebob VHS recovered from fire - played back and transferred using super cheap system. Perhaps with a professional grade deck and TBC the color sync could be better

• Another video shows someone burning their home movies on VHS after transferring them to digital (I won’t link because it’s too sad and wrong) but you can clearly see the cassette shells melt but the tape inside is kind of okay

• Images from flood damaged tapes from Specs Bros

  
  

  T.A.P.E. is a 501(c) 3 non-profit dedicated to access to analog media making, preservation, and exhibition. To support our work and access great benefits, join our patreon at $5/month. You'll get access to exclusive rates for our rental equipment library, access to our digital and physical videotape library, and other member benefits. 
  
  
  We've launched a $6,000 goal for GoFundMe to buy essential digitization equipment to provide more archival transfer services for more tape formats. A donation will advance the work of people-oriented digitization services!
  
  
  https://tapeanalog.org/
  https://www.instagram.com/tape_losangeles/
  info@tapeanalog.org
  
  
  Blog is written by Jackie Forsyte, Lee Webster, Sydney Kysar, Nat Stewart, and Jessica GZ. Illustrations by Lee Webster.

POWRR Digital Preservation Institute - Day 2

Reporting live from a Digital Preservation Institute hosted by POWRR (Preserving Digital Objects With Restricted Resources) to share my second day of learning. I'm here in Honolulu, at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa, as a representative for T.A.P.E., generously funded by the National Institute for the Humanities.

Writing a Workflow

A digital preservation workflow is an iterative process made up of key processes: ingest, processing, access, storage, and maintenance. The key is making those processes part of your ecosystem and work for you! Since T.A.P.E. primarily works with digitized items, rather than "born-digital" items without an analog counterpart, we will adapt the workflows to best suit us. However, we are so excited to begin expanding support for digital home movies - not only in their preservation, but in the valuation of these items in the home movie landscape.

One of the most valuable takeaways was the idea that tools quickly become orphans, abandoned by creators, unsupported by new operating systems, or lose funding. The workflow and goals should come first, and the suite of tools should come second, with an eye toward interoperability. Increasing resilience and confidence, this model puts our goals first. 

We also discussed the value of different kinds of tools. Free is never really quite free, as it requires time, attention, training, and knowledge to operate and maintain open-source free tools. The analogy used was a kitten may be free, but it's not the same type of free like a beer from a friend that you can drink quickly. 

The kitten model extended further into the types of tools. A "barn cat" tool is one that requires little maintenance but usually completes one task (such as hunting mice). For example, a tool that only identifies duplicate files might be a barn cat. A "high maintenance" cat requires more attention but might do more complex tasks. A tool like a bit curator, which requires a Ubuntu-supported computer, does more complex tasks in an imaging environment but requires more infrastructure.  Knowing how much you need to invest in a tool is useful for assembling a suite of tools that best support your capacity. 

Digital Preservation Tool Grid

One of the most exciting parts of my training was getting to play around with digital preservation tools. Digital POWRR has created a tool grid, which outlines the value of different tools and access points to using them. This is critical for building a tool kit that assists in a workflow and getting started on using them.  

Data Accessioner

One of the most exciting tools we used was a Digital POWRR maintained tool called Data Accessioner. In the archive world, to "accession" something is to bring in formally into your archive, but putting it in relation to the rest of your collections and intitiating processing, which can also be understood as ingest. 

You enter this tool using a ./start.sh command in terminal and then a graphical user inferface (GUI) opens! The tool allows you to ingest digital media (photographs, text files, videos) stored on digital storage devices (optical disks, hard drives, etc.) using fixity checks and inserting additional Dublin Core Metadata. I.E. you're moving them off the storage device to a new digital environment and running checks to make sure the transfer was faithful. 

okay yes I changed my terminal color scheme to pretend I'm an early 2000s hacker, but I promise it's so easy to use!

Side Note: Optical Media is a category of physical storage device for digital information that uses laser light to encode and read digital information. This includes CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, and spinning hard drives. The way it works is that a laser beam burns onto the disk in a rapid pattern, with pits (burns) and lands (spaces) representing 0s and 1s. Depending on the type of media, some optical media (-R and -RW writable media especially) is made with organic dyes that degrade quickly. As the dyes degrade, the data becomes corrupted because it cannot be read properly. While manufacturers promised long lifespans, these discs are degrading in much shorter periods, (sometimes only lasting a few years). 

A microscopic view of three forms of optical media. Note how the more complex the data, the more pits we see encoded on the disc. These are all burned in and read by a microscopic laser.

A laser disc is an analog optical disc, so works a little differently as a direct representation of light and sound frequency like a vinyl (that's the analog part) rather than 0s and 1s). Laser discs are subject to something called laser rot, whereby the reflective disc surface begins to degrade or detach from the disc itself, making these an unstable format for the long-run. 

A microscopic comparison of a vinyl record (above) and a laser disc (below). Both utilize a continuous analog frequency to directly represent light and sound waves. 

Data Accessioner uses Dublin core for creating ingest metadata. Dublin Core is a family of standards used to describe objects using controlled vocabulary and standards. Highly flexible, interoperable, and easy to read, this metadata is designed to inject vital information at the site of ingest before it is lost. 

During ingest, Data Accessioner assigns the file an MD5 checksum. As I discussed in my earlier blog post, a checksum is a string of numbers and letters that serves as a tool to make sure our digital file has not changed (over time or through actions like moving it). 

(I also learned an exciting python script to force a program to recognize a command, instead of reading something as a directory - nerd shit). 

Side Note: "Command-Line" operations on your Terminal is an interface for talking directly to your computer and telling it what to od. But it can do a lot of the same times as software because it's fundamentally doing the same processing. But sometimes faster or perform functions that haven't yet been built into user-friendly software. 

Da-Mt

A great add on too for Data Accessioner is Da-Mt (pronounced damn-it). All that metadata and inventory you create in Data Acessioner is exported as an XML file, which is machine readable and durable, but not quite as human readable (mostly because of spacing and use of computing language).

XML File with Technical and Descriptive Metadata created during Ingest

 Da-Mt transforms XML raw information into human readable CSV and HTML files, which can be easily read and utilized in google sheets or excel. It's useful for transforming any XML information and certainly makes the ingest and inventory process easier. 

DA-MT in action! So easy!

Dupe Guru

A new essential for me is Dupe Guru, a tool that identifies duplicate files in a file directory and helps you decide what to delete. Not only does it search duplicate file names and file size, but also performs a fuzzy search. A fuzzy search is one that looks for approximate patterns, rather than exact replicas, with a column showing the percentage match so you can manually determine if you indeed have a duplicate. 

A game changer for storage management and inventory! 

DANNNG!

DANNNG! is a working group used for evaluating and resource building for ingest, packaging, and transfer, and imaging of digital files, designed for the cultural heritage sector. 

One great tool is decision tree for deciding whether to image or simply transfer the files on disc. I've always struggled with the decisions involved in the two. Disc Imaging is a process whereby you copy all the bits on a storage device. A disc image is only machine readable, not human readable, thus requiring a decoding software to interpret and represent the raw data. Migration is less intensive, and just inovlves moving the files contained on the storage device. While an older school of thought, which emerged - particularly from policing - forwarded disc imaging because of a desire to establish provenance and recover deleted files, disc imaging is often overkill for optical media. For optical discs (CDs and DVDs) in particular, the need to capture the raw data may excessive, because you wouldn't be looking for deleted files, taking up valuable storage space, labor time, and computing power. Additionally, the leading free disc imaging software, FTK Imager, emerges from policing, and for T.A.P.E., collusion with policing technology does not align with our values.  

Although it may be more complicated to run, I'm interested in exploring BitCurator as an alternative for imaging hard drives as a future T.A.P.E. service to recover data!

I am particularly excited to explore more of the tool decision factor documentation. In building digital preservation and workflow, we also aim to support other individuals, communities, and organizations in developing tools that assist in the preservation of their digital heritage! Undersanding many tools will help in adapting to many environments and needs! 

The other tools I plan to explore include batch renaming, migration and file moving tools with fixity checks, and more! I also want to try out DROID, which is a tool used to identify the type and age of file formats, which may not be needed now but is good for future projects related to personal storage device and digital home movie preservation. 

Packaging, such as the DART tool, would be great for wrapping up files for storage. Packaging relies on "bag it" tools, which provide an envelope for digital files, useful for long-term storage. Like a ZIP file, a bagit package helps keep related files together (like a Preservation Copy, Mezzanine File, Access Copy, metadata XLM, checksum) in one folder so it's ready to get shipped off and stored. DART (Digital Archivist's Resource Tool) is an open-source GUI (gooey or Graphical User Interface) and command-line tool for doing exactly that! Designed by and for archivists!

Overall, day 2 of the POWRR Institute was an exciting and nerdy time for me. I love learning about new tools and honing my command-line skills. Tomorrow is the final day! :(

T.A.P.E. is a 501(c) 3 non-profit dedicated to facilitating access to analog media making, preservation, and exhibition. To support our work and access great benefits, join our patreon at just $5/month. You'll get access to exclusive rates for our rental equipment library, access to our digital and physical videotape library, and other member benefits like free workshops. 

We've launched a $6,000 goal for GoFundMe to buy essential digitization equipment to provide more archival transfer services for more tape formats. A donation will advance the work of people-oriented digitization services!

https://tapeanalog.org/

https://www.instagram.com/tape_losangeles/

info@tapeanalog.org

Blog is written by Jackie Forsyte, T.A.P.E.'s Technical Director, and an audio-visual archivist.