AMIA Spring 2021

The nature of public access television is in its DIY spirit. Often produced by volunteer crews, this form of community media sought to demystify television, put the tools of production into the hands of community members, and use television as a creative medium. Produced with varying levels of expertise and aims, it also prompts interesting considerations for the video archivist: from reused (but not fully erased) tapes, and sometimes wild variation (on purpose and not) in color balance and exposure within a program or even just between cameras. How does one capture an accurate representation of these programs during the digitization process? Ongoing efforts to digitize The Video Access Project collection of ¾” U-matic tapes at the Oregon Historical Society will serve as a case study to explore these questions, featuring clips and images of the project’s unique, enduring, and topical content.