Preserving audiovisual heritage as career

Ranjan K Baruah *

We learn from our past and the best way to preserve the past and heritage is through various documents or equipment. One of the easiest ways to store and share with others includes audiovisuals or AV. Audiovisual archives tell us stories about people’s lives and cultures from all over the world.

They represent a priceless heritage which is an affirmation of our collective memory and a valuable source of knowledge since they reflect the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of our communities.

Conserving this heritage and ensuring it remains accessible to the public and future generations is an essential goal for all memory institutions as well as the public. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Archives has launched the project "Digitizing our shared UNESCO history" with this very goal in mind.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is a commemoration of the adoption, in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images and it takes place every 27 October.

This commemorative day was chosen by UNESCO to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, radio and television programmes).

There is no doubt that audiovisual documents, such as films, radio and television programmes, audio and video recordings, contain the primary records of the 20th and 21st centuries. Transcending language and cultural boundaries, appealing immediately to the eye and the ear, to the literate and illiterate, audiovisual documents have transformed society by becoming a permanent complement to the traditional written record.

The challenge is these documents are vulnerable and also are threatened due to the digital revolution. Much of the world's audiovisual heritage has already been irrevocably lost through neglect, destruction, decay and the lack of resources, skills, and structures, thus impoverishing the memory of mankind. Much more will be lost if stronger and concerted international action is not taken.

We must preserve the audiovisual heritage and it brings opportunity for us to work in this field and build our careers. AV learning is a type of learning which is described by delivery and the use of instructional content that involves sound and sight.

There are many careers in audiovisual heritage, including audiovisual archivist, AV technician, etc. These professionals develop strategies, manage policies and procedures and ensure the long-term preservation and access of audiovisual assets.

They operate audio and visual equipment, such as microphones, speakers, video screens, projectors, and video recorders. They work in the audiovisual industry, which is growing and offers many jobs. They may repair, manage, and maintain systems, or provide customized solutions for businesses.

This field is purely a technical field like learning audio visual engineering with the mixing with digital technology. Things can be made simpler and heritage can be preserved in a better way. Hence, the technician needs to be more creative and skillful to succeed in the field and also to excel in a creative way.

One may also learn sound engineering or similar areas to work in this field. Aspirants from electronics or electronics and communication engineering would do much better in this field.

Job opportunities are in government as well private sectors or international organizations like UNESCO. Archives and libraries preserve audiovisual heritage for researchers and readers which are managed by government or other agencies. Passionate people would be more successful as this field needs more patience and commitments.