3110: Why Film Could Be Key to Centuries-Long Data Preservation

[00:00:03] Quick question for you all gang, what do you think about data preservation? I'm not just on about 5, 10, 15 years. I want you to consider what will happen to critical information 50, 100 or even 150 years from now.

[00:00:22] Because in a world where technology evolves at lightning speed, the challenge of safeguarding long term data is more pressing than ever.

[00:00:33] So today recorded at the IT Press Store in Valletta, Malta, we're going to explore the fascinating innovation that could redefine how we approach data preservation.

[00:00:44] And joining me today is Antoine Simkin. He's the co-founder of Digifilm Corporation, a company that is at the forefront of preserving data on film for the long term.

[00:00:56] But they're now thinking much bigger than that. And with a background in cinema and decades of experience in visual effects,

[00:01:03] Antoine has witnessed first hand the vulnerabilities of conventional data storage methods, from costly migrations to obsolete formats.

[00:01:12] These challenges inspired Digifilm's groundbreaking approach to putting digital data onto film, a medium renowned for its longevity.

[00:01:22] Not to mention it being offline and more secure.

[00:01:26] So in my conversation today, Antoine is going to join me and explain how Digifilm is blending the reliability of traditional film with modern day encoding

[00:01:35] and creating an almost time capsule for critical information.

[00:01:39] And I want to discuss why current storage solutions like tapes and microforms fall short when it comes to long term preservation of information.

[00:01:49] And will also shine a light on the industries that could stand to benefit most from this technology and the profound implications for sectors ranging from cinema and nuclear power to defence and architecture.

[00:02:01] So how can we ensure the digital artifacts of today remain accessible for generations to come?

[00:02:09] Well, enough scene setting for me. Let's get my guest onto the podcast now.

[00:02:14] So a massive warm welcome to the show. Can I tell everyone listening a little about who you are and what you do?

[00:02:21] So my name is Antoine Simkin. I'm one of the co-founders of Digifilm Corporation, which offers a solution for the preservation of data on the very long term.

[00:02:34] My background is cinema, actually.

[00:02:37] I was one of the co-founders of digital visual effects company in the 80s, 90s, where we have been involved into scanning and recording film from the beginning,

[00:02:48] because this was in the days where cinema was shot actually on film and was exploited on film.

[00:02:54] So the challenge was to be able to actually digitize the film, do whatever tricks we had to do on it, and then record it back to film.

[00:03:02] But very soon we were confronted to one issue, which was how do we keep this huge amount of data that we were creating at the time?

[00:03:11] These were days where, I don't know, our first hard disk of 600 megabytes costed 5,000 euros.

[00:03:18] And it was really a miracle that we could already buy this incredible disk.

[00:03:23] So we were submerged with a huge amount of data, and we turned to industry-standard solutions made by Sony at the time,

[00:03:31] which was called the DIR-1000, for example, which was capable of storing data on tape.

[00:03:38] But somehow, the format changed.

[00:03:41] After a while, Sony decided that they would move on to something else, the DTF, and we had to move on with them to the DTF, etc.

[00:03:49] And we discovered very quickly that although the solutions are absolutely great, for the short term, that's fine, but not for the long term.

[00:03:57] Because what happened if we didn't move the DIR tapes to DTF?

[00:04:01] And what do we do with the DTFs?

[00:04:03] We know for a fact, for example, that the people who have recently restored some of the films we did at the time from DTF struggled enormously,

[00:04:10] because some tapes were unreadable somehow.

[00:04:14] So, little by little, we thought, wouldn't there be a solution that would mix the best of both worlds?

[00:04:19] We know that film, for example, is a medium that lasts somehow forever.

[00:04:25] It's been here since 120 years.

[00:04:29] The last generation of film can last for even longer because it is polyester, so it's really very undestructible somehow.

[00:04:39] But we put images on there.

[00:04:41] How can we transform those images into a relevant image that would represent data?

[00:04:49] Because for everybody, the computer world is made of zero and ones.

[00:04:56] Yeah.

[00:04:57] But those zeroes and ones, actually in computers, they don't exist.

[00:05:01] It's only in our head.

[00:05:02] On a hard disk, on a tape, the zeros and ones are represented by some very thin magnetic dusts

[00:05:11] that is oriented positively or negatively.

[00:05:14] And we decide arbitrarily that if it's a positive magnetic dust, it has a value of one.

[00:05:22] And if it's negative dust, it's zero.

[00:05:26] And it's the same for any computer chip.

[00:05:29] Is there a current going through or not?

[00:05:31] So, if there is, maybe it's one.

[00:05:33] If there is not, it's zero.

[00:05:35] If there is five volts, it's one.

[00:05:38] Or it's zero.

[00:05:38] And we say, we talk about bytes and this and that, but it is only in our head.

[00:05:43] This is the way, intellectually, that we made the computer world work.

[00:05:47] But actually, it's an analog world.

[00:05:49] It's not a digital world at all.

[00:05:52] And we've met here at the IT Press Hall in Malta.

[00:05:56] I've just seen your presentation.

[00:05:58] One of the things that blew me away is we're all passionate about entertainment movies and TV series.

[00:06:02] At the BBC in the UK, for example, they lost a lot of archived footage.

[00:06:06] And you mentioned, I think, three huge movies that you were a part of as well.

[00:06:10] And it's a very real problem, isn't it, this backing up of the data that we love so much and the content that we love so much.

[00:06:17] And especially when we're talking 2K, 4K, 8K, it's a lot of storage, isn't it?

[00:06:22] It's a lot of storage.

[00:06:23] I mean, our first goal, because we come from the cinema world, is about cinema.

[00:06:28] And so the cinema world, knowing and not trusting a digital world so well, actually very often records out on film an analog version of the film to preserve it in the long term.

[00:06:44] Yeah.

[00:06:44] Okay. But for me, it's exactly as if you would say, all right, the photos from my iPhone, I'm going to create an album so I can save it for later.

[00:06:54] Fine, you have an album, but if you want to get your photo back, what do you do?

[00:06:58] You have to scan them and it's never going to be your original photos.

[00:07:01] It's a copy of your photos.

[00:07:03] That's a bit what the cinema world is doing.

[00:07:04] The other path, which consists of keeping it on the digital world, on tapes, hard disk, clouds, whatever, will make you dependent on a lot of things.

[00:07:16] And we think, wouldn't we be able to help cinema to preserve the films for the very long term once they have been made?

[00:07:27] And it's very important because we can see that the films, they have a very long career.

[00:07:34] And there's a whole world of film restoration, for example, of films from the 50s, from the 60s, 70s that are being restored because they're on film and we need them digitally now.

[00:07:46] But what happened to those films that are already digital where we're going to lose the data?

[00:07:50] Yeah, yeah. That's going to be a problem at some point.

[00:07:53] The question I've got to ask, because obviously we're talking about cinema and film here and the great work that you're doing.

[00:07:58] What was it that inspired you to use this idea, to use not just film as a medium, but also for encoding digital data?

[00:08:06] And how did your expertise add to the digital conversion in so many different areas?

[00:08:11] Because you're really expanding now on this idea, aren't you?

[00:08:16] Well, it's difficult to say how does an idea pop up.

[00:08:22] Yes, yeah.

[00:08:25] What I can say is, for us, and when I say us, it's our team, Rip Hampton O'Neill and Pierre Olivier, my partners in this company,

[00:08:37] we find it very, very natural to go back and forth from digital to film, because that's what we've been doing for a long time.

[00:08:45] And so it's pretty obvious for us that because we can write just anything on film, and as I was saying before, the world of data, of computer data, is actually an intellectual construction.

[00:09:01] Why wouldn't we say that if there is one pixel somewhere on the film, it would have a value of one?

[00:09:08] And if there is no pixel, it has a value of zero.

[00:09:11] And from there on, if you say that, then you create a sort of grid with pixels on and off, and that's it.

[00:09:18] And for us, it's very natural. I cannot explain how it comes from. It's a question of culture.

[00:09:22] And I think it comes from the 20 years that we've spent going back and forth from the two mediums and mixing them together in a natural way.

[00:09:30] I think probably someone who has not touched film or is only in the digital world or has only been in the film world wouldn't do this transition.

[00:09:39] But we are kind of a hybrid culture, and I think that's where it comes from.

[00:09:44] So LTO tapes are widely regarded as reliable and cost-effective, but what are their key limitations, and how does Digifilm address these challenges?

[00:09:54] Well, I love LTO tapes. I mean, it's a relief after all the different standards that have been there before.

[00:10:00] It's kind of an achievement where I think IBM is the lead into this consortium where a lot of industry makers have gathered together and decided,

[00:10:12] all right, let's not fight with each other. Let's just make one format and do that.

[00:10:16] So I think that's a real progress. Fine. It's good, and I use it.

[00:10:21] And it's very good for the short-term and medium-term storage.

[00:10:26] What I believe is that LTO tapes, they have a certain lifespan.

[00:10:31] They are given to be valid for 25 to 30 years. That's what they say.

[00:10:38] Under the condition that you check them every six months to make sure that you can still read what's on it.

[00:10:43] And if not, well, you have to use the copy of the same tape to be able to recover your data,

[00:10:50] because if you can't read it, you can't read it. It's dead.

[00:10:54] The second thing is, and that's fine. I mean, then it means you just have to make sure that it's being done this way.

[00:11:00] Second thing is you need a reader. And this reader is a very high-performance machine at a relatively low cost.

[00:11:10] The public price of a LTO drive is between 2,000 and 4,000 euros.

[00:11:14] That's fine. It's something you can almost have on your own if you have a medium-sized company.

[00:11:20] The thing is, progress is progress, and the LTO is evolving constantly.

[00:11:27] We are at LTO 9, and a LTO 9 reader or writer can write LTO 9 tapes and read LTO 9 tapes.

[00:11:36] They can only read LTO 8 tapes. They cannot read LTO 7 tapes.

[00:11:41] So if you have LTO 7 tapes, you need to migrate them on LTO 9.

[00:11:47] So every two or three years, you need to do this.

[00:11:49] So fine, you have companies whose business is to do this, and I'm perfectly okay with this.

[00:11:55] But from the user point of view, you have to realize that there is not a place where your data is on your tape.

[00:12:02] There's a place where there are tapes and people's data.

[00:12:05] And the day something goes wrong with the company that is doing this, how are you going to recover your data?

[00:12:12] Because there's going to be a very, very short time to come and get back a huge amount of data,

[00:12:19] which is spread amongst a huge amount of tapes under the pressure of people, banks and such,

[00:12:25] wanting to recover all the equipment that is there.

[00:12:27] And I'm saying this because it happened in the cinema world.

[00:12:29] There's a film lab that went bankrupt, and people had a very short time to recover their tapes,

[00:12:34] and films have been lost somehow.

[00:12:37] So although I still consider LTO tapes as an extremely good medium,

[00:12:42] and probably the most economical way of storing data on the medium or short or medium term,

[00:12:48] for the very long term, I doubt of this.

[00:12:52] And I think that if you believe that in 50 years you will recover your data from an LTO tape,

[00:12:59] you'd better hope that the company that was dealing with it is still there,

[00:13:03] that you've paid your fees, and that all is okay,

[00:13:06] and that they actually really checked every six months that the tape was readable,

[00:13:10] that they had a second copy, etc.

[00:13:12] Now make the calculation of how much does this cost over 50 years.

[00:13:16] Nobody cares because you pay year by year.

[00:13:19] But in reality, it is a problem.

[00:13:21] It is a problem where someday this can be lost somehow.

[00:13:25] So the question I've got to ask there, and with technological advancements,

[00:13:29] you've highlighted a great problem there that we have right now.

[00:13:32] Many storage solutions lose compatibility over time.

[00:13:36] So how does Digifilm ensure that that data stored today will remain accessible,

[00:13:41] not just in 5, 10 years, but 50 years or 100 years or even more?

[00:13:45] What are you doing differently here?

[00:13:46] Well, what we're doing differently is that what is stored on the film is an image.

[00:13:53] If you can imagine an image, maybe if I say a QR code, that's the most easy way to relate to it.

[00:14:01] It's an image that consists of little dots, right?

[00:14:05] This image is written on the film and will stay written on the film.

[00:14:10] It doesn't need to be migrated, doesn't need to have anything done to it.

[00:14:14] It just lies there and it will not change because film does not change.

[00:14:19] In the very long term, maybe it will not be as bright, but it will still be on.

[00:14:25] So if a pixel was there, maybe it will not be as bright, but it will still be visible.

[00:14:31] And it will not change color or layer or anything.

[00:14:37] It will still be there.

[00:14:37] So there's absolutely no need of migration or maintenance or anything or looking if it's okay or anything.

[00:14:45] We just store and forget.

[00:14:48] And this is a place where you can go back when everything else has failed.

[00:14:52] I'm not saying don't do the rest.

[00:14:54] I say absolutely do the rest, keeping in mind that the most important part of your data,

[00:15:00] you'd better have another sort of copy on another sort of medium.

[00:15:03] Actually, that's the way the UNESCO consider that you need to keep your data.

[00:15:07] You need to keep them on different sort of medium.

[00:15:10] Because if you have, for example, two hard disks with your data, it's not as good as having one hard disk and one LTO tape.

[00:15:16] The best is to have one hard disk, one LTO tape and an Archiflix database that you can put somewhere in case the others fail.

[00:15:26] And they will because a hard disk lasts only 30,000 hours.

[00:15:30] Yeah, yeah.

[00:15:31] I was speaking to someone recently and they said there are two kinds of people in this world.

[00:15:34] Those that are making backups and those that will be making backups in the future.

[00:15:39] I mean, some might argue that traditional methods like microforms or magnetic storage are sufficient in their own right.

[00:15:45] But what would you say to those skeptics who maybe question the need to do something differently?

[00:15:50] Well, regarding microforms, I think that's a very interesting topic.

[00:15:55] Microforms actually are pictures of files.

[00:15:59] Let's say you have an Excel sheet, you take a microform, it's like printing it on film.

[00:16:06] So what you get is your Excel sheet on a piece of paper.

[00:16:12] It's a piece of film, but it's the same.

[00:16:14] It's a picture.

[00:16:15] If you need to recover it, you scan it and then you have an image of your Excel file.

[00:16:20] Where are the formulas?

[00:16:21] Where is everything?

[00:16:22] Where is the date of creation of the file?

[00:16:24] Where is the name of...

[00:16:25] Nothing of this exists anymore because this is a TIFF file.

[00:16:28] It's just a reproduction.

[00:16:30] So although microforms seems to be a very simple way of saving a ton of documents,

[00:16:37] you just have a picture of your documents.

[00:16:39] It's exactly like what I was saying about my iPhone pictures.

[00:16:44] If I have an album, it's fine, but it's not the pictures.

[00:16:47] Yeah.

[00:16:48] It's a reproduction of it.

[00:16:49] And it loses everything from the original file.

[00:16:53] So we consider that against microforms, we have a huge advantage because that file that you use to create the microform,

[00:17:02] whether it's a PDF, a CAD file, an Excel sheet, or any kind of file, whatever it is,

[00:17:09] because we're completely agnostic, we're just using data.

[00:17:12] When you will recover it from Archiflix, you will recover your original file exactly as it was,

[00:17:19] without being possible to tamper with it, because on the film you cannot change it at all,

[00:17:25] and you have the level of security because it's offline.

[00:17:28] And people who need to access it, they need to scan it.

[00:17:31] It's, you know, somehow the security is much increased with this solution.

[00:17:36] And we've focused heavily today on the cinematic industry, movie studios,

[00:17:41] but I'd love to get people thinking bigger about this as well and how far-reaching it could be.

[00:17:47] So in your vision, who stands to benefit the most from your technology?

[00:17:52] And maybe share a few examples or use cases in industries that you'd find digifilm

[00:17:56] particularly transformative or potentially transformative in the future.

[00:18:00] Well, we started with the cinema world because it's the one we know the best,

[00:18:05] and it's very natural for us to go there.

[00:18:08] Although somehow we believe that the cinema world size in terms of market,

[00:18:17] the amount of data that is generating,

[00:18:19] we believe it's probably 5% to 10% of the global market of data that needs to be really preserved.

[00:18:26] Some data doesn't need to be preserved, but some data needs to be preserved.

[00:18:30] And so as we were developing the technology, we started to talk with other people.

[00:18:35] And we realized that in the industry, I'll take an example, for example, of nuclear power plant builders.

[00:18:43] A nuclear power plant is going to be exploited between 50 to 70 years.

[00:18:48] It takes about 15 to 20 years to build, and it takes more than 30 years to dismantle.

[00:18:54] We are way above the level of 100 years.

[00:18:58] So how do you preserve the data currently on microforms?

[00:19:03] So imagine what it is to recover microforms instead of the original files for whatever you need.

[00:19:11] I think this is something that could be really interesting for them,

[00:19:14] because although they will preserve it through the regular route, LTO migration and stuff,

[00:19:22] they know that over 70 years, something wrong will happen at some point, or potentially will.

[00:19:28] And the problem is not...

[00:19:31] The problem is how much does it cost to recover from such a disaster?

[00:19:35] It's impossible to calculate somehow.

[00:19:37] But it is true also for, I don't know, a boat, you know, a super tanker.

[00:19:44] However, it's going to work for 60 years.

[00:19:47] So it's the same problem.

[00:19:48] A lot of bridges, a lot of tunnels, a lot of buildings, a lot of, you know, all that kind of data.

[00:19:55] It's the same thing.

[00:19:56] It's like buildings, industrial installation that lasts for a very, very long time.

[00:20:02] A stadium, whatever.

[00:20:03] All these things, they need architectural plans to, blueprints to be kept for a very, very long time.

[00:20:09] And currently, there are no other real solution to keep them potentially alive,

[00:20:15] which by this I mean recovering the original file and not a picture of non-print.

[00:20:22] This is the only viable solution somehow.

[00:20:26] It's also potentially something for the defense industry.

[00:20:31] In the defense world, there are some big secrets and some very,

[00:20:37] some files that need to be preserved.

[00:20:39] And it's better to preserve them offline.

[00:20:41] Yeah.

[00:20:41] Because anything that's online will be hacked somehow.

[00:20:44] So the army already knows about that,

[00:20:47] has some special unconnected computers in bunkers and whatever.

[00:20:51] But what happened in case of an EMP?

[00:20:54] Yeah.

[00:20:55] If all the magnetic support is erased by something like that,

[00:20:59] well, if it's on film, it will last.

[00:21:01] So maybe it can be burnt.

[00:21:03] Well, the magnetic tape will be burnt as well.

[00:21:05] So that doesn't change anything.

[00:21:06] But at least it protects you from the EMP.

[00:21:08] And also in the politics of having different kind of medium to keep your data,

[00:21:13] it wouldn't be bad to have an extra copy on Archifreeks medium

[00:21:17] and put it somewhere in another bunker in case something happens.

[00:21:21] So that's another application.

[00:21:23] It could be good for the notaries also.

[00:21:26] Like if you want to keep the notaries,

[00:21:29] they have to keep for a very, very long time all the wills

[00:21:32] and all the transactions that have been made.

[00:21:34] During the life of someone,

[00:21:35] some money has been given to somebody else

[00:21:38] and we need to keep track of that

[00:21:40] because maybe 70 years later when they die,

[00:21:42] we have to know who's given what to whom

[00:21:44] and how do they keep that for the moment.

[00:21:47] It's very fragile.

[00:21:49] So there are ways,

[00:21:50] but they're not completely safe to my understanding.

[00:21:54] Yeah, it's such a great point about that need to keep storage offline

[00:21:58] and avoiding hacks and things like EMP, etc. as well.

[00:22:03] And as Digifilm evolves,

[00:22:05] are there any other advancements that you could possibly foresee in the future?

[00:22:09] And how do you envision the role of Digifilm

[00:22:12] in shaping the future of that long-term data preservation?

[00:22:15] Because we never talk about long-term data preservation.

[00:22:18] Well, our impression from all the talks we have with different people

[00:22:23] from different industries that we are meeting as we go

[00:22:26] is that because there is no real solution on the market,

[00:22:31] people don't really look at the problem.

[00:22:33] Yeah.

[00:22:34] Because everybody that is a bit reasonable

[00:22:37] knows in the back of their heads

[00:22:39] that something can really go wrong with data

[00:22:42] and we can do whatever we want.

[00:22:44] We can develop any kind of double, triple security.

[00:22:50] As long as it's magnetic and there's migration,

[00:22:53] there is a risk.

[00:22:53] Because each time you migrate, it's a copy.

[00:22:55] And if you make a copy, it can go wrong.

[00:22:57] Yeah.

[00:22:58] And all that.

[00:22:58] And also, you're concentrating it, etc.

[00:23:03] The future of what we are doing

[00:23:06] is we currently are at a stage

[00:23:10] where we believe that we can already replace

[00:23:13] the microform world.

[00:23:15] We are not in the terabyte world somehow.

[00:23:19] We can replace a huge amount of documents

[00:23:23] in a reasonable space,

[00:23:25] but we are very conscious that we need to

[00:23:28] increase the capacity of our storage potential.

[00:23:34] So this is what we're working on.

[00:23:36] We're working on improving the density

[00:23:40] of what we can write on the film.

[00:23:43] Nevertheless, we are very careful with one thing.

[00:23:46] We want to keep it in a human readable capacity.

[00:23:51] Because if we go too far,

[00:23:54] then we're going to fall in the trap

[00:23:56] of all the other solutions

[00:23:57] that are absolutely wonderful and promising,

[00:24:01] but who all need a machine

[00:24:05] to be able to decode it and to read it

[00:24:08] that is not a machine that can be made by amateurs.

[00:24:10] That cannot be made by, you know,

[00:24:14] let's get together and let's build the proper scanner

[00:24:17] to make Archifleaks because there are some interesting data to decode.

[00:24:21] No one will be able to make a machine on their own

[00:24:25] that can decode a silica system.

[00:24:29] No one will be able to,

[00:24:30] we don't even know how we are going to write on DNA,

[00:24:33] how we are going to read from DNA.

[00:24:35] I don't know.

[00:24:35] And it's great that we do this

[00:24:37] and we must do it

[00:24:38] because we have tons of very interesting data

[00:24:40] to store for medium whatever.

[00:24:44] But I don't think it's so important to save all the data.

[00:24:48] Some data, and it's not so much,

[00:24:51] some data needs to be preserved.

[00:24:53] Not all of it.

[00:24:55] And for anybody listening anywhere in the world,

[00:24:57] in any industry,

[00:24:59] maybe you've sparked a few light bulb moments today

[00:25:01] of, hey, this might be able to work for me.

[00:25:03] Anyway, you'd like to point everyone listening

[00:25:05] on where they can find out more information.

[00:25:07] Well, there's a website of Digifilm Corporation,

[00:25:10] digifilm-corp.com,

[00:25:12] where they will find white papers and different things.

[00:25:15] And also, what's important about us

[00:25:18] is we are not a B2C company.

[00:25:20] What we are providing,

[00:25:22] we are not selling equipment.

[00:25:23] We are not, you know,

[00:25:24] we are providing solutions

[00:25:25] for companies that are already

[00:25:28] into such and such business.

[00:25:30] If companies are in the business

[00:25:32] of doing long-term preservation of data

[00:25:35] and they know they have proper contracts,

[00:25:37] but they are struggling

[00:25:38] to actually be able to make it,

[00:25:40] well, maybe they can talk to us

[00:25:42] and we can look together

[00:25:43] at how best can we help solve their problem.

[00:25:46] Because we cannot imagine

[00:25:47] all the problems of everybody.

[00:25:49] We have our own path

[00:25:52] and we grow up

[00:25:53] understanding more

[00:25:54] of what's going on elsewhere.

[00:25:57] But we are trying to break the silo

[00:25:59] and trying to understand

[00:26:01] who else has what kind of problems.

[00:26:03] Because I'm pretty sure there are problems

[00:26:05] I don't even imagine

[00:26:06] that maybe we can solve.

[00:26:08] And I think that for the moment,

[00:26:10] yeah, a lot of people

[00:26:12] don't foresee that problem

[00:26:14] because they don't see a solution

[00:26:16] off the shelf.

[00:26:17] So then because this solution is there,

[00:26:18] maybe the problem will appear.

[00:26:20] It's like,

[00:26:20] oh my God,

[00:26:21] it's true that in 50 years,

[00:26:23] how is this going to run?

[00:26:24] Maybe people don't care

[00:26:25] because they won't be there.

[00:26:28] But some stuff

[00:26:29] are important to keep.

[00:26:31] 100%.

[00:26:31] Well, I'll have links to everything

[00:26:32] so people can find you

[00:26:34] nice and easily today.

[00:26:35] And I would urge

[00:26:36] anybody listening,

[00:26:37] if they're concerned

[00:26:38] or interested

[00:26:39] or excited about

[00:26:40] long-term data preservation,

[00:26:42] to reach out

[00:26:43] and contact you.

[00:26:43] But just thank you

[00:26:44] for stopping by

[00:26:45] and saying hi today

[00:26:45] and sharing your story.

[00:26:47] Thank you.

[00:26:47] Thank you very much

[00:26:48] for allowing me

[00:26:49] to talk about my time capsule.

[00:26:51] Wow.

[00:26:51] I think Antoine's journey

[00:26:52] from the cinema world

[00:26:54] to co-founding

[00:26:54] Digital Film Corporation

[00:26:56] highlights the urgent need

[00:26:57] for more innovative solutions

[00:26:59] in long-term data preservation.

[00:27:01] We're so obsessed

[00:27:02] with the right here,

[00:27:03] right now and next year,

[00:27:04] but we seldom think

[00:27:05] about the impacts

[00:27:07] of any technology

[00:27:08] or even protecting data

[00:27:10] 150 years from now.

[00:27:12] But what I love

[00:27:13] about today's episode

[00:27:14] is combining

[00:27:16] the durability of film

[00:27:17] with cutting-edge

[00:27:18] digital encoding.

[00:27:20] That collision

[00:27:21] has enabled Digifilm

[00:27:22] to address a problem

[00:27:24] that many of us

[00:27:24] haven't considered,

[00:27:26] how to ensure

[00:27:27] that vital data

[00:27:28] survives for decades,

[00:27:29] if not centuries.

[00:27:31] And as Antoine

[00:27:32] shared the importance

[00:27:33] of keeping critical

[00:27:34] information offline

[00:27:35] and secure,

[00:27:38] I don't think

[00:27:38] that can be overstated,

[00:27:40] especially in industries

[00:27:41] where data longevity

[00:27:42] is essential.

[00:27:44] And Digifilm's approach,

[00:27:45] not only safeguards data,

[00:27:47] but I think it's bigger than that.

[00:27:48] It also opens up

[00:27:48] new possibilities

[00:27:49] of how we think

[00:27:50] about preservation,

[00:27:51] whether it's

[00:27:52] architectural blueprints,

[00:27:54] cinematic archives,

[00:27:55] or sensitive defence records.

[00:27:57] The potential applications

[00:27:59] appear to be vast here.

[00:28:00] But what are your thoughts

[00:28:01] on long-term preservation?

[00:28:03] Have you thought about

[00:28:04] how you protect data

[00:28:06] for 100,

[00:28:06] 150,

[00:28:07] 200 years?

[00:28:08] Do you see this as

[00:28:09] a growing concern

[00:28:10] for your industry?

[00:28:12] How are you tackling it?

[00:28:13] As always,

[00:28:14] let me know.

[00:28:15] Email me

[00:28:17] techblogwriteroutlook.com

[00:28:18] LinkedIn

[00:28:18] X

[00:28:19] Instagram

[00:28:20] just

[00:28:20] at Neil C. Hughes.

[00:28:22] Love to hear your thoughts

[00:28:23] on this one.

[00:28:24] But that's it for today,

[00:28:25] so until next time,

[00:28:26] thank you for tuning in

[00:28:27] as always.

[00:28:28] Take care,

[00:28:29] and I'll be back again

[00:28:30] tomorrow with another guest.

[00:28:31] Speak with you all then.

[00:28:32] Bye for now.