What record elements must be created and preserved for permanent audiovisual records?
36 C.F.R. § 1237.12
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01For permanent audiovisual records, the following record elements must be created or acquired and preserved for transfer into the National Archives of the United States. (See § 1235.42 of this subchapter for transfer requirements for permanent audiovisual records.)
(a) Motion pictures. (1) Agency-sponsored or produced motion picture films (e.g., public information films) whether for public or internal use:
(i) Original negative or color original plus separate optical sound track;
(ii) Intermediate master positive or duplicate negative plus optical track sound track; and,
(iii) Sound projection print and video recording, if both exist.
(2) Agency-acquired motion picture films: Two projection prints in good condition or one projection print and one videotape.
(3) Unedited footage, outtakes and trims (the discards of film productions) that are properly arranged, labeled, and described and show unstaged, unrehearsed events of historical interest or historically significant phenomena:
(i) Original negative or color original; and
(ii) Matching print or videotape.
(b) Video recordings. (1) For analog videotapes, the original or earliest generation videotape using industrial-quality or professional videotapes for originals and a copy for reference.
(2) For video discs, the premaster video used to manufacture the video disc and two copies of the disc.
(c) Still pictures. (1) For analog black-and-white photographs, an original negative and a captioned print or the captioning information maintained in another file such as a data base if the file number correlation is clear. If the original negative is nitrate, unstable acetate, or glass based, a duplicate negative on a polyester base is needed.
(2) For analog color photographs, the original color negative, color transparency, or color slide; a captioned print of the original color negative and/or captioning information in another file such as a data base with a clear correlation to the relevant image; and a duplicate negative, or slide, or transparency.
(3) For slide sets, the original and a reference set, and the related audio recording and script.
(4) For other pictorial records such as posters, original art work, and filmstrips, the original and a reference copy.
(d) Digital photographic records. See § 1237.28 for requirements for digital photographs.
(e) Sound recordings. (1) Disc recordings:
(i) For electronic recordings, the origination recording regardless of form and two compact discs (CDs) or digital video disks (DVDs).
(ii) For analog disc recordings, the master tape and two disc pressings of each recording, typically a vinyl copy for playback at 33
1/3 revolutions per minute (rpm).
(2) For analog audio recordings on magnetic tape (open reel, cassette, or cartridge), the original tape, or the earliest available generation of the recording, and a subsequent generation copy for reference.
(f) Finding aids and production documentation. (1) Existing finding aids such as data sheets, shot lists, continuities, review sheets, catalogs, indexes, list of captions, and other documentation that identifies the records.
(2) Production case files or similar files that include copies of production contracts, scripts, transcripts, and appropriate documentation bearing on the origin, acquisition, release, and ownership of the production.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-36.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026