FiRe²: An Online Database for Photographic and Cinematographic Film Technical Data

Among the great variety of our Cultural Heritage, photographic and cinematographic materials are fundamental and direct witnesses of the past. As often happens when dealing with materials of cultural interest, even photographic and cinematographic films can undergo severe deterioration, aging, and color fading throughout the time, leading to the need for proper restoration, conservation, and preservation of these materials. In this context, even though the digitization process is becoming more and more essential, analyzing and studying the analog materials remains fundamental to perform a retrieval or a correction faithful to the original material. For this reason, the lack of technical information (especially for the oldest materials) and the absence of open source archives of the producing companies underlines the actual and concrete need for a database of physical, chemical, and sensitometric data of both cinematography and photographic films.

The aim of this work is the creation and the promotion of FiRe², a big and unique database of cinematographic and photographic materials to support the work of conservators, restorers, and researchers, as the availability of information and the cooperation between institutions and professionals are essential for preserving our Cultural Heritage.