Murals of Aztlán Film Production Records, 1981

Exhibition and production notes relate to the exhibition and the production of the film , as well as documentation of original film containers created during processing of the collection. Museum memorandums concern the schedules of muralists working throughout the exhibition and a press schedule. Editing notes include preliminary notes on the film project's general content and structure, and detailed editing notes describing specific material cut into each scene. Voiceover notes describe interviews with muralists used in the soundtrack.

A typewritten transcript of what appears to be a group interview of the muralists is also found. It is unknown whether this transcript corresponds to the sound recordings in this collection.

Work print and soundtrack consists of edited picture and soundtrack footage arranged in groups, with each reel in the group numbered W.R. 101 to 110. Each group contains between 1 and 5 reels consisting of a variety of edited production elements, including sync picture and soundtrack, silent film ("MOS"), and non-sync soundtrack ("Wild"). It is unknown what the initials W.R. stand for, but it appears to refer to edited work print grouped into scenes as part of the filmmaker's editing process.

See editing notes in Series 1 for the filmmaker's original documentation of the content of each group. Original recordings of wild soundtrack are found in series 3, and voiceover outtakes are found in series 4. Additional trims and outtakes of all material are found in series 5.

Sound recordings consist of material recorded during the exhibition at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in May of 1981, most of which were made for use in the film production; others may be unrelated to the film. One sound reel contains an interview with Frank Romero. Content may correspond to voiceover notes in series 1 labeled "pickup narration: Frank Romero." One cassette contains a recording of a panel discussion with five artists that took place during the exhibition. The remaining cassettes contain interviews with the muralists conducted while the murals were being created.

Also found are 14 sound tape reels whose content appears to be mainly sound recorded on site during the exhibition. The first 7 reel boxes contain detailed notes from the sound recordist working with the film production; subsequent boxes contain brief notes on content written by a researcher.

Voiceover outtakes are the parts the artists' narration of the film that were recorded but not used in the film. 9 reels of magnetic film soundtrack are found.

Notes on the content of the recordings, as well as documentation of the original film containers, are found in Series 1. Portions of the narration used in the film are presumably among the work print soundtrack in series 2. Additional outtakes and trims of picture and other soundtrack elements are found in series 5, Trims and Outtakes.

Trims and outtakes consist of motion picture and soundtrack footage edited out of the film production.

Longer outtakes are wound onto film cores, but many of the trims and outtakes in this series are short, unassembled trims bundled together with no splices. One long reel of outtakes contains footage of Carlos Alvarez's murals housed separately, and trims from the rest of the film's subject matter are housed with multiple small rolls in each can.

Documentation of original containers housing trims and outtakes, and an inventory of existing labels, is found in series 1. Additional soundtrack outtakes from voiceover recordings are found in series 4.