2020    In    the    middle    of    March,    the    Covid    19    pandemic began   to   spread.   MTS   was   very   fortunate   to   have   plenty of    work    in-house,    along    with    some    wonderful    new opportunities,   which   has   kept   us   very   busy   throughout this   year.   Below   is   a   brief   of   our   activities   throughout this   year.   We   are   very   grateful   to   our   clients   and   the opportunities   we   have   had   to   keep   our   business   strong and    stable    throughout    this    challenging    period,    while having    the    privilege    of    working    on    some    wonderful preservation projects. In   the   first   quarter   we   finished   up   the   digitization   of   over 1200     hours     of     media     content     for     both     CLIR/Mellon Foundation   “Recordings   At   Risk”   grant   funded   projects   with the   State   University   at   Geneseo   and   the   Squeaky   Wheel   Film and   Media   Art   Center   within   the   grant   deadlines   and   within budget.   We   also   finished   digitizing   2300   videotapes   from the    largest    bank    in    the    Caribbean    Islands    well    ahead    of deadline.     We’ve     also     digitized     a     rare     short     film     for preservation,   featuring   actress   Karen   Allen   (Raiders/Animal House)    at    the    start    of    her    career    for    “Movies    On    A Shoestring”   and   we   have   started   the   restoration   on   several mix   master   original   ¼”   audiotapes   featuring   the   famous   Jazz Singer,   Blossom   Dearie.   The   tapes   were   stored   in   less   than desirable   conditions   and   had   fallen   off   their   cored   reels   into large    clumps    of    tangled    and    creased    balls    of    tape.    The painstaking     process     of     slowly     untangling     the     tapes, removing    the    creases    and    re-spooling    them    onto    proper NAB    hubs,    then    baking    them    has    begun.    We’re    looking forward   to   the   time   where   we   can   use   our   custom   Mike Spitz-built   ATR-100   deck   to   digitize   these   unique   tapes   for digital     re-mastering     and     commercial     release.          At     the beginning   of   March   we   also   began   digitizing   a   collection   of audio   and   videotapes   for   a   new   client,   the   Scholes   Library   at Alfred   University.   The   project   is   a   South   Central   Regional Library    Council    grant-funded    project.    It    includes    audio cassettes,    reel    to    reel    audiotape,    ¾”    U-Matic    and    VHS videotapes   digitized   to   both   preservation   master   and   access files.   In   the   summer   months   along   with   all   our   other   work, we     digitized     a     one-of-a-kind     collection     of     ¾”     U-Matic videotape   recordings   of   Paul   Bley,   who   was   instrumental   in the      free      jazz      movement      of      the      1960’s.      We      were commissioned    by    Carol    Goss,    his    wife,    to    digitize    the videotapes   to   uncompressed   master   digital   video   files   so that       her       production       company,       Improvising       Arts International,   could   do   post   work   on   the   content   and   re- release   the   content.   In   September   we   began   a   new   project digitizing   a   unique   collection   of   audio   and   video   from   the Davenport    Iowa    Public    Library.    We    worked    with    them    to apply   for   an   Iowa   Department   of   Cultural   Affairs   Grant,   to digitize    audiovisual    materials    from    the    Bix    Biederbecke Museum.   Bix   was   an   internationally   known   Jazz   horn   player in   the   1920’s   and   early   1030’s.   The   collection   includes   music recordings   of   Bix   and   many   unique   interviews   with   other musicians   of   the   time   including   Jelly   Roll   Morton   and   Louis Armstrong,   who   discussed   Bix,   the   type   of   person   he   was and   his   musical   accomplishments   during   his   short   life.   The collection     includes     videotape,     cassette     and     reel-to-reel audiotapes,     disk     recordings     and     motion     picture     films. Content   is   being   digitized   to   preservation   master   files   and files   for   streaming   online.   The   project   will   continue   through the end of this year. 2019    In    late    November,    projects    with    a    tight    turnaround came   in   from   both   the   Rochester   Institute   of   Technology and   the   National   Technical   Institute   for   The   Deaf.   Even   with all   the   work   in   house,   we   were   able   to   digitize   over   150 hours   of   content   on   audio   cassette   and   video   formats   for these clients, before the end of the year. In    June,    we    began    a    12    month    project    digitizing    2,300 videotapes   in   eight   different   formats   from   the   largest   bank in   the   Caribbean   Islands.   The   recordings   cover   30   years   of the    bank’s    history,    on    nine    different    videotape    formats. Tapes       document       the       bank’s       growth,       advertising commercials   and   corporate   meetings,   to   training   videos   and community    sponsored    events.    Preservation    files    will    be produced for all video formats. Back    in    May    of    2019,    two    of    the    clients    we    have    been working     with     in     2018     for     grant     applications     received “Recordings   at   Risk”   grants   from   the   Council   of   Library   and Information       Resources,       sponsored       by       the       Mellon Foundation.   One   is   the   Squeaky   Wheel   Film   and   Media   Art Center   in   Buffalo,   NY.   Since   June,   Squeaky   Wheel   has   been working    with    Media    Transfer    Service    to    digitize    a    large collection     of     ¾”     U-Matic     videotapes     comprising     the Axlegrease   collection,   curated   selections   of   video   art   and documentary   films   created   by   local   and   national   artists   that were    broadcast    on    a    weekly    basis    in    Western    New    York between   1987-1999.   The   other   CLIR   grant   was   awarded   to the   State   University   at   Geneseo.   Their   collection   consists   of recordings     made     by     Professor     and     Ethnomusicologist, James    Kimball.    In    his    40+    year    career    at    SUNY    Geneseo, Professor     Kimball     has     documented     master     traditional musicians    of    New    York    State,    specializing    in    the    Eastern square    dance    tradition.    These    include    unique    interviews and   community   performances   of   notable   fiddlers,   square dance   callers,   dance   musicians   and   community   members whose     knowledge     bridges     19th     century     repertory     to contemporary   practice   of   tradition.   Original   media   formats in    this    large    collection    include    reel    to    reel    audiotape, cassette    audiotape    and    video.    Both    collections    combined total   over   1200   hours   of   content   and   are   being   digitized   for preservation    and    shared    access.    We’re    proud    to    have assisted   in   helping   both   these   clients   receive   these   grants, of    which    only    20    in    this    round    were    awarded    out    of hundreds of applicants across the country. Beginning    2019,    we    started    with    another    round    of    DVD recovery    and    migration    for    Niagara    County    Community College.   We   also   begin   digitizing   rare   16mm   motion   picture films   from   the   archives   at   Saint   John   Fisher   College.   The films    center    around    the    past    NBA    team    -    the    Rochester Royals,   covering   games   and   highlights   from   the   1950's.   We also   began   digitizing   videotapes   from   the   Thomas   Golisano collection   at   the   Wallace   Memorial   Library   at   the   Rochester Institute   of   Technology.   Mr.   Golisano   was   founder/CEO   of Paychex    and    a    philanthropic    billionaire.    The    videotapes range   in   format   from   D2   to   Digibeta   and   cover   news   and media   events   featuring   Mr.   Golisano   outside   of   Paychex.   We also   digitized   video,   audio,   motion   picture   film   and   slides from   a   private   collection   to   be   housed   at   Cornell   University and     another     private     audio     collection     which     included cassette    tapes,    reel    to    reel    audiotapes    and    numerous formats   of   disk   recordings   including   Gray   Audograph   disk recordings   from   the   1940's.   Digitizing   Gray   Audograph   disks require   special   equipment   and   software.   They   play   from   the center   out   and   vary   in   pitch   from   the   start   of   the   recording to   the   end.   Custom   turntables   allow   us   to   slow   the   playback speed   down   to   20RPM      -   a   middle   ground   for   the   speed   of these    recordings.    After    transferring    the    Gray    Audograph disks,   professional   audio   processing   software   enables   us   to change   the   pitch   throughout   the   recording   so   that   the   final WAV    files    result    is    a    steady    pitch    throughout.    We    also digitized     more     videotapes     from     the     Brockport     State University    Writers    Forum    collection,    for    preservation    and reference. We’d    also    like    to    congratulate    both    Kirk    McDowell    and Lindsay   Kurano,   two   second-year   students   with   the   Selznick School   at   the   George   Eastman   Museum,   who   interned   with us   over   the   past   year.   Both   have   accepted   positions   at   the Library   of   Congress   -   Culpeper   Facility,   where   they   begin their    full-time    careers    preserving    the    nation’s    audiovisual heritage.  2018   finds   us   digitizing   more   videotapes   from   the   Brockport State   University   Writers   Forum   collection,   for   preservation and    reference.    They    include    early    interviews    of    famous Pulitzer-Prize   winning   authors.   As   qualified   vendors   for   the University   of   Rochester,   a   wide   variety   of   various   projects have    been    coming    in    from    different    departments.    We've worked     on     several     high-profile     cases     for     local     law enforcement   agencies   and   law   firms.   We   have   also   migrated two    rounds    of    content    from    Niagara    County    Community College.    The    College    has    a    large    collection    of    DVD    video disks    from    the    Department    of    Performing    Arts    library. Because     the     disks     are     checked     out     by     students     and teachers,   a   good   portion   of   the   collection   has   contaminates and   scratches   on   the   data   side   and   a   percentage   of   the disks   are   also   starting   to   have   data   layer   fading.   Our   job   is to    pull    the    data    off    the    disks    as    a    file    based    format    for preservation.   First,   we   resurface   the   disks   so   the   data   can be   properly   read,   then   we   rip   the   data   off   the   disks   with   a special   data   recovery   program.   To   date   we   have   had   a   100% recovery    rate.    Saint    John    Fisher    College    has    us    digitizing another   round   of   reel   to   reel   audiotape   media   from   their Rochester   Radio   History   Collection.   These   tapes   are   human interest    broadcasts    that    were    produced    for    public    radio, many   of   which   went   national.   The   tapes   suffered   from   a myriad   of   issues:   flaking,   soft   binder,   sticky   shed,   decaying tape   slices   and   a   wide   variance   of   azimuth   settings   between each   broadcast   -   15-20   broadcasts   per   reel   of   tape.   We   were able   to   successfully   digitize   all   of   the   content   without   any loss.    We    also    have    a    major    influx    of    larger    consumer collections    coming    in    including:    slide    collections,    video collections   and   motion   picture   film   collections.   One   of   the consumer    projects    includes    digitization    of    a    wonderful collection    of    16mm    motion    picture    films    covering    the construction,   heyday   and   end   of   the   Rochester   subway   and trolley   system   from   the   1920's,   through   1960's.   This   content will     be     shared     with     the     local     library     system,     local transportation   museums   and   local   cable   access   stations   for broadcast. We’d    also    like    to    congratulate    both    Katherine    Pratt    and Conner   Simon,   two   second-year   students   with   the   Selznick School   at   the   George   Eastman   Museum,   who   interned   with us   over   the   past   year.   Katherine   accepted   a   position   at   the National   Archives   and   Connor   is   producing   content   for   local cable   access   as   well   as   working   with   Janice   Allen   at   Cinema Arts, Inc.  2017   has   us   finishing   up   projects   for   The   Dharma   Ocean Foundation,   The   Sisters   of   Saint   Joseph   Archives,   as   well   as   a new   collection   of   3/4"   U-Matic   tapes   from   Brockport   State University's   Writer's   Forum.   The   shows   were   produced   in the    1960's    through    1980's    for    local    cable    access.    Many famous    Pulitzer    Prize    winning    writers    and    poets    were featured    on    the    show,    including    names    such    as    W.    S Merwin,   Richard   Wilbur,   Isaac   Bashevis   Singer,   John   Ashbery and    Anne    Sexton    as    well    as    other    historically    significant writers   such   as   Allen   Ginsberg,   Robert   Hayden,   Isaac   Asimov and   Gene   Roddenberry   just   to   name   a   few.   Some   of   these programs    were    on    tape    formats    that    required    treatment prior   to   digitizing   and/or   very   special   signal   processing   to stabilize    the    video    signal    prior    to    digitization.    Now    these programs   can   be   enjoyed   by   the   general   public   as   well   as researchers   for   years   to   come.   We   also   started   scanning   a second   round   of   several   thousand   still   image   assets   from the   Caesarea   collection   for   the   Universities   of   Cornell   and Cincinnati.   St.   John   Fisher   College   has   sent   us   another   round of   reel-to-reel   audiotape   digitizing   for   their   Rochester   Radio History      Collection.      Progressive      Insurance      has      also commissioned   us   to   digitize   another   round   of   audiovisual media in their corporate archives collection. We’d    also    like    to    congratulate    Brett    Scheuermann,    our second-year   student   with   the   Selznick   School   at   the   George Eastman   Museum,   who   interned   with   us   over   the   past   year. Brett    took    a    position    with    Sony    Memnon.    Brett    is    a    key player   for   Memnon’s   film   archiving   services   based   at   the Media     Digitization     &     Preservation     Initiative     at     Indiana University,    one    of    the    largest    digitizing    projects    in    the country. 2016   L arger   projects   of   note   include   high-resolution   scans of    over    8,000    still    images    including    slides,    large    format transparencies,    large    format    photos    and    35mm    roll    film negatives.   These   images   document   the   excavation   of   the Promontory    Palace,    built    by    King    Herod    in    25    BC    in    the ancient   city   of   Caesarea   Maritima   (located   on   the   shores   of Israel).   The   dig   was   co-funded   by   Cornell   University   and   the University    of    Cincinnati.    As    the    palace    was    unearthed photographs   were   taken,   documenting   the   excavation   and the   palace.   The   palace   was   then   buried   again   to   preserve   it. The   scanned   photos   will   serve   researchers   and   scholars   for generations   to   come.   Another   large   project   has   us   digitizing 1,000   videotapes   from   the   Dharma   Ocean   Foundation,   one of   the   most   well   respected   Tibetan   Buddhist   teaching   and meditation   foundations   in   America.   Digital   derivatives   will be   used   for   both   educationa l   streaming   now   and   archival master   preservation   files   for   future   content   preservation. We     also     digitized     another     round     of     promotional     and advertising     assets     from     Progressive     Insurance.     We've started   moving   digital   information   from   over   1,000   aging DVD   video   disks   to   file   based   format   for   the   University   of Rochester's   Mount   Hope   Family   Center.   We're   also   digitizing a   collection   of   oral   history   interviews   on   cassette   audiotape and    historical    16mm    film    for    the    Sisters    of    Saint    Joseph archives.    We've    upgraded    our    video    capabilities    adding several    legacy    videotape    formats    to    accommodate    new client    requests.    We're    also    pleased    to    announce    a    new partnership    with    the    George    Eastman    Museum's    Selznick School   of   Film   Preservation   -   one   of   the   highest   regarded schools    for    film    preservation    and    archiving    in    the    world. MTS   hires   masters   degree   students   to   help   with   the   growing workload    at    MTS.    The    students    work    in    a    real    world environment   that   is   related   to   their   degree   and   MTS   gets help   from   serious   young   professionals   that   are   up   to   speed in many aspects of archiving. 2015    finds   us   working   on   more   content   from   Georgetown University,    and    the    estate    archives    of    well-known    Jazz musician   -   Don   Elliott.   New   projects   include   digitization   of video      and      audio      oral      history      interviews      from      the organization    -    Densho:    The    Japanese    American    Legacy Project.   Based   in   Seattle   Washington,   they   are   one   of   the largest    repositories    of    Japanese    American    history    in    the country.   Video   formats   we   digitize   to   archival   master   file and   reference   file   are   being   posted   to   the   web   and   available here:   http://ddr.densho.org/         MTS   also   took   on   a   project digitizing     the     archives     of     commercial     producer     Steven Vaughan.    Back    in    the    '70's    and    '80's,    Steve    was    a    very successful       commercial       producer       on       contract       with companies    such    as    US    Air,    Channel    Fragrances,    Giorgio Armani,    Fanta,    Nestle,    Anheuser    Busch,    and    Chrysler    to name   a   few.   His   1"   master   videotapes   had   taken   on   mold contamination   and   moderate   sticky   shed   breakdown.   After treating   the   tapes,   we   transferred   them   to   archival   digital master    files    and    reference    files.    By    September,    our    new 2,200    square    foot    facility    was    operational    with    plenty    of projects    to    work    on.    The    second    half    of    2015    found    us continuing    with    another    round    of    historic    interviews    of Japanese   Americans   interned   during   WWII   from   the   Densho organization.    At    the    same    time    we    began    a    new    project digitizing   several   hundred   video   and   audio   tape   interviews of   Holocaust   Survivors   from   WWII   for   the   Jewish   Federation. Digital   derivatives   will   be   used   as   part   of   an   educational curriculum   for   city   schools   as   well   as   master   archival   file versions    for    preservation.    We    digitized    another    round    of media     from     the     archives     of     the     corporate     offices     of Progressive    Insurance.    We    also    digitized    original    music produced   for   NASA   that   was   played   to   astronauts   while   on missions   during   the   80's   like   Skylab.   This   music   was   also inserted   into   landers   and   probes   as   part   of   a   time   capsule representation. 2014    continued    our    success.    The    Walter    Williams    PBS documentary   finally   finished   in   February.   Overall   -   a   very nice    piece    to    go    to    broadcast    in    the    spring    of    2015. Continuing   projects   for   the   Memorial   Art   Gallery,   St.   John Fisher     College,     Georgetown     University     and     Progressive Insurance   kept   a   steady   flow   of   new   audiovisual   materials coming   in.   New   projects   included   the   first   round   of   digitizing unique   video   and   audiotape   masters   from   the   estate   of   well known   Jazz   Musician;   Don   Elliott.   With   the   help   of   his   friend, Les   Paul,   Don   built   one   of   the   first   multi-track   recording studios   in   the   country.   Content   from   his   estate   includes   live public    concerts    and    private    jam    sessions    in    his    studios, which   include   friends   such   as   jazz   greats:   Bill   Evans,   Gerry Mulligan, Phil Bodner and Big Joe Williams. 2013    was    our    busiest    year    yet.    Projects    for    the    PBS documentary   on   Walter   Williams,   Memorial   Art   Gallery,   St John    Fisher    College,    University    of    Rochester    mentioned below   were   ongoing.   Highlights   of   new   projects   includes: digitization   of   both   video   and   audio   assets   from   the   Jean Craighead   George   estate   (famous   children   book   author),   as well    as    16mm    motion    picture    film    from    the    1930's    and 1940's   for   Camp   Pathfinder   -   the   famous   canoe   camp   based in   Algonquin   Provincial   Park.   We   also   began   a   multi-year project   with   the   Department   of   Neurology   at   the   University of   Georgetown,   digitizing   their   holdings   of   over   1800   hours of   very   valuable   videotaped   lab   studies   on   brain   plasticity. MTS   was   commissioned   to   digitize   Georgetown's   collection that   spans   40   years   on   over   10   different   legacy   videotape formats      for      both      laboratory      coding      and      long-term preservation.    We    also    began    a    long    term    project    with Progressive     Insurance     to     digitize     all     of     their     archival audiovisual    media    assets    for    reference,    re-use    in    future advertising   campaigns   and   preservation.   Finally   we   digitized camera    original    16mm    film    taken    by    famed    ornithologist Gladys   Gordon   Fry,   documenting   her   trip   as   one   of   the   first woman   to   explore   Trinidad   and   Tobago   as   an   ornithologist back    in    the    1930's.    Gladys    worked    for    the    Museum    of Natural   History   in   New   York   City   and   was   know   as   the   "Bird Lady   of   Central   Park"   for   her   unique   bird   watching   tours through Central Park.