Preservation

How we preserve
surf film history

Preservation isn't a service for us, it's the mission. We rescue, digitize and protect the most significant action sports film, videotape and photo archives before they're lost. Skateboarding, snowboarding and MotoX are next.

500,000+
Feet of film scanned
10,000+
Videotapes digitized
1,000s
Of slides scanned
1,600+ TB
Of footage protected
20
Archive collections, more on the way
Raw 16mm film from Chris Bystrom's archive, waiting to be scanned
01

Rescue archives before it's too late

Film degrades. Videotapes deteriorate. Every year, irreplaceable footage is lost to time, humidity and neglect. We work directly with filmmakers, photographers, estates and families to find at-risk collections and bring them into the Vault.

  • Each archive assessed for volume, format and condition
  • A tailored plan to recover and protect every collection
  • Originals kept in climate-controlled storage
  • Pictured: raw 16mm reels from the Chris Bystrom archive
Blackmagic Cintel film scanner at the Nalu Film Foundation
02

Scan the film

Film runs through our Blackmagic Cintel scanner frame by frame, from original camera negatives to release prints.

  • 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, Super 16, 35mm and Super 35
  • Negatives and prints
  • Scanned at the highest quality and prepared for long-term archival storage
Videotape decks used to digitize the Nalu Vault's tapes
03

Digitize the videotapes

Videotape breaks down even faster than film. We transfer every tape on professional broadcast decks before it fails.

  • Betacam, 3/4″ and 1″ broadcast masters
  • VHS, Video8, Hi8, MiniDV and DVCam
  • Every tape logged and matched to its digital file
04

Scan the photographs

Thousands of slides and prints tell the story between the frames. Every image is scanned at high resolution and credited to the photographer who made it.

  • 35mm slides and prints of all sizes
  • Magazines and printed materials
  • Sunset Beach, 1967 Beverly Noll Archives
16mm film reels on the shelves of the Nalu Vault
05

Catalog and protect

Every reel, tape and slide gets an ID that matches its digital files, so any clip or image can be found and pulled. The scans live on redundant hard drives, now more than 1,600 terabytes.

  • Organized so any shot can be found quickly
  • Redundant drives plus LTO archival tape, the long-term standard for film studios and national archives
Searching for Tom Curren 25th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray + DVD
06

Share it with the world

Preservation only matters if people can see the work. Restored films stream on Nalu TV, footage is licensed to productions and brands, and collections are opened to researchers, filmmakers and educators, while the originals stay protected for generations to come.

  • Digitized archives delivered by download link or hard drive
  • Restored films streaming on Nalu TV
  • Licensing income goes back into the work
License footage
Why it matters

Many of these exist in a single copy

The films and photographs in the Nalu Vault are more than historical records. They are the visual language of surf, skate and snow culture, documenting the athletes, the waves, the mountains and the communities that shaped action sports into a global phenomenon.

Many of these materials exist in a single copy. Once lost, they cannot be recreated. Every contribution directly funds the digitization, storage and protection of irreplaceable archives.

Have surf, skate or snowboarding film, tape or photos that need preserving? We accept archive donations from filmmakers, photographers, estates and families. Tell us about your archive →

Every reel we scan and tape we digitize is one that won't be lost.

Save a reel · $250Donate your archive