This is How the NFL Scans All of Its Old Film

With Super Bowl LX fast-approaching, a videographer has begun sharing details on his job digitizing old NFL film reels.

The Instagram account, @mrcelluloid, is run by independent filmmaker Alex Grant who brings fans behind the scenes as he manages NFL’s massive film vault. There is a staggering amount of film in there: over 100 million feet — it would take 13 years to watch it all.

Using “state-of-the-art” scanners, Grant digitizes 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film. “Methods of transferring film have varied over time, with older machines using a same similar principle of taking individual photos of every single frame,” he writes in one post.

Grant, who scans about 50,000 feet of film per day, says the vast majority of the NFL Films archives is on 16mm, but there’s plenty of 35mm, too. 8mm is relatively rare. The earliest films are from the 1920s and film was still being used as late as 2014.

“To keep up with the volume of film, we have four machines running almost all day,” says Grant, while adding each scanner costs $300,000. “It has a big camera lens inside, which takes a high-quality photo of every single frame. It even has a built-in fan to blow off any excess dirt/dust.”

Of course, the film has already been digitized before. But back then, the film was transferred to DigiBeta tapes, which are poor quality compared to today’s methods. “Since distributors and streaming services have recently required a higher standard of archival footage/footage in general, we’re in a multi-year process of rescanning the entire library of film on better machines to make it all better quality,” adds Grant.

Everything is scanned at ProRes 4444 and rendered at 422 HQ for editors and producers. That high data video codec means that the media management department must fork out a lot of cash for storage.

Aside from the digital video files, the physical film canisters also require plenty of management: each one is labeled with the game, date, and a barcode. Then the film itself has to be kept in a special room where the temperature and humidity are controlled. Grant also cleans the film on a regular basis using an alcohol-based solution.

“Cleaning film isn’t always necessary, but it helps ensure quality when dealing with very old reels that are susceptible to dust and dirt,” he adds.

Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will be broadcast using 37 Sony HDC broadcast cameras, 18 Sony HDC point-of-view cameras, five Sony cinema cameras, two Sony PTZ cameras, and three aerial/specialty cameras. You can read more about how Super Bowl LX will be broadcast here.

PetaPixel tried to contact Grant for this article.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.