Audiovisual Documentation – Neglected Historical Sources

Ovaj napis želi upozoriti na potpuno zanemareno filmsko gradivo, filmsku dokumentaciju stvaranu u razdoblju početaka televizije, šezdesetih i sedamdesetih godina, kad je bio bitno smanjen protok informacija. Pored definiranja osnovnih značajki roda dokumentarnog filma i podvrste filmske dokumentacije, namjera je ovoga članka upozoriti na najvredniju fotodokumentaciju, jer je nepoznata istraživačima i široj javnosti, a predstavlja vrijedne vizualne dokumente iz ukupnog društvenog života tog vremena. Posebna pažnja posvećena je audiovizualnoj dokumentaciji stvorenoj u vrijeme Domovinskog rata na elektronskom zapisu, s posebnim osvrtom na probleme trajne zaštite ovog medija. Činjenica da temeljni povijesni i ukupni društveni događaji iz razdoblja 1990-1996. nisu zabilježeni na filmsku vrpcu, nalaže potrebu hitnoga izbora najvažnijih zapisa na elektronskom mediju i njihove trajne zaštite prebacivanjem na filmsku vrpcu.In this article author wants to point out that audiovisual documentation, especially film documentations made in sixties and seventies in Republic of Croatia are almost completely neglected as an important source for the history of Croatian cinema. Researchers from other fields, mostly historians, are not aware of the value of audiovisual document as document of the same value as any written record. In Croatia television appeared in sixties with its monopolist position and in the seventies and eighties discourage the use of film in production of documentaries and other similar records. From that time film disappears from television production. It is well known that electronic records are unstable, nobody takes any measure of preservation and conservation. Therefore, warning expressed in this article goes to the authorities with clear message that it was, and still is, a big mistake to put away the possibility of use of film in making archival records as well as documentary films not only from the archival point of view but also beacuse of different characteristics of documentary films made in cinematographic or in television production. Finally, the result is completely insecure future of electronic documentation made in last twenty five years in Croatia. Author gives information about most important film documentation from that period of time and expresses its professional concern and care about the future and the ways of conservation and preservation of film and video records. As an expert on film protection and conservation he gives advices based on international experiences on problems of preservation and conservation of this documentation. In this article he especially draws attention to video records made from 1990 untill 1996. The fact is that during the war the lot of important audiovisual records were made by amateurs on VHS tapes. In special part of its article author suggests to Croatian Television, Ministery of Culture, Croatian Government to form the group of experts (archivists, historians, film experts, sociologists and experts from other cultural and fields of economy, politics and other sciences) to make priority list of video records that must be in short period of time transfered on film track otherwise the part of modern Croatian visual history will disappear very soon