SCENE 01 / ARCHIVAL PRESERVATION
Archival & Preservation
Professional archival solutions ensuring your content remains accessible and protected for generations.
Archival preservation ensures finished productions and their source materials are stored in formats and conditions that maintain quality and accessibility over time. Professional archival practices include creating preservation masters, migrating media to current storage standards, and maintaining organized metadata and documentation.
We coordinate archival and preservation services that protect your production's assets for long-term accessibility. Our team arranges creation of preservation masters, secure storage solutions, and documentation systems that ensure your content remains accessible and technically viable for future use and re-distribution.
Capabilities
Archival Excellence
We safeguard your valuable media assets through industry-standard storage solutions designed to protect content integrity for decades into the future.
01
LTO Technology
Industry-standard tape archiving for reliable long-term storage.
Proven
02
Secure Storage
Protected multi-site preservation with geographic redundancy.
Security
03
Future-Proof
Format migration strategies ensuring accessibility for decades.
Longevity
04
Asset Management
Searchable metadata systems for easy content retrieval.
Access
Archival Services
Preservation Standards
Why Us
Why Choose Our Archival Services
01.
Proven Reliability
Decades of preservation experience.
02.
Easy Retrieval
Quick access to archived content.
03.
Scalable Solutions
Growing with your archive needs.
04.
Global Standards
Following international best practices.
On Location
LTO and national-archive preservation through LAC, NFB / ONF, and major post houses
Here is how the work lines up. Archival preservation for Canadian productions sits at the intersection of commercial post-house infrastructure and the country's two indispensable cultural memory institutions: Library and Archives Canada (LAC) in Ottawa-Gatineau. This preserves work registered under the Canadian Copyright Act and accepts statutory deposit of broadcast and feature material, and the NFB / ONF (Office national du film, founded 1939 — multiple Oscar-winning preservation program), whose Montreal vault has held the source negatives, audio elements, and digital masters of generations of documentary, animation, and Indigenous-voices work.
We coordinate LTO-9 archival writes through DNEG, Pixomondo, and Tattersall Sound & Picture, making dual-copy LTFS tape sets — one geographically separated copy in the post house's primary vault and a second copy held in cold storage with the production's nominated long-term partner. Checksum manifests (MD5 / SHA-256) accompany every tape, with a six-month / twelve-month read-back verification schedule baked into the archive plan so silent bit-rot is caught while the data is still recoverable.
Preservation masters cover the full chain Canadian rights-holders need to keep their catalogues productive: camera-first RAW, conform AAF / XML, full-resolution picture master (ProRes 4444 XQ + DNxHR HQX), IMF SMPTE 2067 package, separated stems and printmasters for the 5.1 / 7.1 / Atmos / Auro 11.1 mixes, score sessions for Howard Shore / Mychael Danna / Murray Gold-scale composer archives, and full subtitle-and-caption deliverables in EN, FR, and the Indigenous-language tracks (Inuktitut, Cree, Anishinaabe) where APTN or NFB Indigenous Voices delivery is in scope. CBC and Radio-Canada catalog restoration projects, Atanarjuat-era Inuit cinema and Isuma Productions / Wapikoni Mobile Indigenous archive material, and the deeper NFB / ONF library each carry their own metadata schema, and we structure the MAM ingest so search, rights-window queries, and re-release pulls remain straightforward decades downstream.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is LTO tape archiving?
LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is the industry standard for long-term media archiving. LTO tapes offer exceptional longevity (30+ years), high capacity, and low cost per terabyte. We use LTFS (Linear Tape File System) which makes tapes as easy to use as hard drives while providing the security benefits of offline storage.
How do you ensure data integrity over time?
We implement multiple safeguards including checksum verification at every stage, redundant copies stored in different locations, environmental monitoring of storage facilities, and regular integrity checks. Our systems automatically flag any issues so they can be addressed before data loss occurs.
What happens when formats become obsolete?
We proactively monitor format lifecycles and plan migrations before obsolescence becomes critical. Our preservation strategy includes maintaining access to legacy playback systems and systematically migrating content to current formats when appropriate, ensuring your content remains accessible regardless of technology changes.
Can you help organize and catalog existing archives?
Yes, we offer complete digital asset management services including cataloging existing archives, creating searchable metadata databases, and implementing MAM systems. We can help transform disorganized media libraries into well-structured, easily accessible archives with comprehensive search capabilities.
Related Services
Productions in Canada that need this often pair it with Broadcast Delivery Services, Digital Cinema Package (DCP), and Format Conversion & Encoding Services for full coverage. Most projects also draw on Delivery & Output Services and Audio Mixing & Mastering.
On Set
Protect Your Media Legacy
Let's create a comprehensive archival strategy for your valuable content.