How Are the Earliest Films Preserved?

Why It Matters

Tomographic preservation unlocks priceless visual records that would otherwise deteriorate, ensuring scholars and the public can study the origins of motion picture technology.

Key Takeaways

• Early motion studies captured on fragile 90‑mm wax‑paper negatives.
• Etienne‑Jules Marey invented the early 1890s chromophotographic gun.
• Traditional scanning impossible due to extreme delicacy of the film.
• MoMA and University of Kentucky used tomography to scan without contact.
• Digital unwrapping creates 3‑D reconstructions of historic footage.

Summary

The video examines how some of the world’s oldest motion‑picture material—original 90‑mm negatives shot by pioneering scientist‑filmmaker Étienne‑Jules Marey in the 1890s—is being saved for future generations. Marey’s “chromophotographic gun,” a handheld device that fired film‑laden cartridges, captured horse gallops, bird flights and early Olympic events on delicate wax‑paper rolls that now resemble sheets of nori.

Because the negatives are so fragile they cannot be unwound for conventional scanning, conservators turned to a non‑invasive imaging method. Partnering with the University of Kentucky, the Museum of Modern Art employed tomography—technology akin to medical CAT scans—to capture the film’s three‑dimensional structure without touching it. The resulting data were then digitally “unwrapped,” producing flat, high‑resolution images of the original footage.

The presentation highlights the ingenuity of Marey’s early camera and the modern, cross‑disciplinary effort required to preserve his work. By treating the film like a scanned artifact rather than a printable strip, researchers avoided further damage while revealing details previously thought lost.

This breakthrough demonstrates that even the most vulnerable archival media can be rescued using advanced imaging, expanding access to early cinematic history and informing preservation strategies for other at‑risk collections.

Original Description

How do you preserve film that’s too fragile to even touch?

Welcome to our new mini-series, where we take you behind-the-scenes where MoMA's film collection is stored and cared for. A closer look at the science behind saving cinema's most delicate history.

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The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.

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