Case Study: NARA’s Modernised Motion Picture Lab

Wednesday April 9, 2025 16:14

The United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is responsible for protecting and preserving the nation’s most important documentary records—including roughly 3.3 billion feet (550 million reels) of motion picture film. As the primary means of ensuring access to these records transitions from analogue to digital, NARA embarked on an ambitious project in 2024 to modernize its motion picture lab. This effort required expanding the lab’s film scanning capacity, streamlining the digital preservation workflow, and relocating existing equipment to a newly renovated space.

Gencom Technology became involved through its partner Galileo Digital, which had previously supplied two Lasergraphics film scanners to NARA. Those scanners provided the foundation for NARA’s digitization efforts, but the organization needed a more comprehensive solution to handle high-volume scanning, advanced colour grading, and efficient file management. After consulting with NARA and Galileo Digital, Gencom developed a detailed scope of work that guided the deployment of new infrastructure, including a third scanner,  powerful shared storage, automated workflows, and an HDR-capable colour grading suite.

From the outset, Gencom recognized that real-time 4K DPX 16-bit scanning and finishing would generate massive data throughput demands. David Barnard, Managing Director at Gencom, noted how essential it was to design a networked system that would support real-time throughput at very high data rates without interrupting the scanning process. The resulting infrastructure features a 300TB EditShare NVMe shared storage system, linked to each workstation via a 100GbE fibre network. This approach allows multiple users to ingest and process film scans simultaneously without bottlenecks.

At the centre of this high-performance workflow is EditShare Flow, a powerful automation tool that standardizes each step of NARA’s digitization process. Under the hood, Flow oversees editing, colour grading, QC, checksumming, transcoding, and final delivery to external systems. By centralizing these tasks, NARA can manage extensive film collections with greater consistency and confidence, all while ensuring that quality standards remain high.

Because NARA needed to move from its older suites—which were designed for legacy film workflows—to a newly renovated space, Gencom planned for minimal disruption during the relocation. The team spent six weeks on-site overseeing the construction milestones, then carefully installed and integrated each piece of equipment. Besides the three Lasergraphics scanners, the upgraded lab now includes an HDR-capable colour grading suite powered by DaVinci Resolve, two Grass Valley Edius editing systems, and two dedicated media management workstations.

Barnard explained that a key challenge was balancing the tight construction schedule with the arrival of specialized hardware. To mitigate risks, Gencom organized an interoperability testing workshop with EditShare and Lasergraphics, coordinated timelines across those and several other vendors, and performed in-depth testing before final commissioning. This rigorous process ensured the system would be fully operational as soon as the space was handed over.

In addition to the technical challenges, forging a cohesive partnership among all stakeholders was crucial. Gencom’s role involved close coordination with Galileo Digital, whose CEO, Brett Maynard, emphasized the importance of Gencom’s integration expertise. “Working with Gencom on this project was seamless,” he said. “Their attention to detail and ability to adapt to challenges ensured that NARA received the best possible solution for its long-term digitization efforts.”

With the project now complete, NARA has already launched several large-scale digitization initiatives, including the preservation of Apollo-era film materials. The newly established facility stands as one of the most advanced film scanning and grading environments in the world, allowing archivists to handle fragile or rare film with care and efficiency while maintaining the utmost fidelity.

Gencom’s end-to-end project management was a defining factor in delivering on time and on budget. The upgraded infrastructure not only meets NARA’s current need for efficiency and scalability, but also positions the organization at the forefront of archival innovation. By ensuring the preservation of critical historical documents and images, NARA sets a global benchmark for how technology can safeguard cultural heritage for decades to come.

NARA’s modernization initiative exemplifies how strategic planning, cutting-edge technology, and expert integration can radically transform a legacy environment. Through close collaboration with Galileo Digital and Gencom Technology, the US National Archives now operates a future-ready facility where film scanning, colour grading, and file management integrate seamlessly. As a result, NARA is well-equipped to continue its mission of preserving the nation’s most significant documentary assets, ensuring that future generations can access, study, and learn from these invaluable historical records.