Film Archives
Following the success of The Lost World of Mitchell And Kenyon, the popular BBC2 series on the work of a duo of film-makers at the dawn of the 20th century, film archives are back in the spotlight. Material from these archives crops up everywhere, from national and local broadcast news to feature films, documentaries and even screenings in local communities. In the past year alone, you are likely to have seen hundreds of clips sourced from UK and overseas archives and, chances are, you won’t have even noticed them.
But what exactly is a film archive? How do they work and who actually uses them? In each main region of the UK there is a locally funded film archive. In the South East, this takes the shape of SEFVA, the South East Film and Video Archive, part of the University of Brighton . In London , the charitable London Film Archive was set up five years ago by a handful of determined film experts and archivists. The function of these public sector film archives is to collect, preserve and promote films and other moving image material made in their geographical area. Incorporating a wealth of material, from documentaries, newsreels, advertisements, features and television programmes to artists’ films and videotapes and ‘home movies’, these archives are invaluable as both an educational resource and as an insight into local history and culture. In addition to the public funded film archives, there are dozens of private companies across the UK supplying archive and stock footage to those who want it.
But does every region need a dedicated film archive? Amanda Huntley, Chief Archivist at the London Film Archive certainly thinks so. She helped set up the archive and one of their main priorities is working with and in the local community. “Even though London is a big and varied place, it has a strong community spirit and we try and concentrate on those communities,” she says. The archive aims to restore and preserve moving pictures which show life and work in London and the LFA put on regular film shows in cinemas, schools and hospitals for the public. They also run short courses for those interested in finding out more about archiving and research.
The South East Film and Video Archive also arrange presentations in their local community – up to 50 a year – and, as part of one of the major Universities in the South of England, SEFVA is a major research centre for students, enthusiasts and professionals alike. Frank Gray, Director and Founder of SEFVA, is adamant that there is a need for regional archives. “The challenge is that the National Film and TV Archive at the BFI (British Film Institute) was established in 1935 and, as a collection, reflects works of feature, commercially made documentaries and the history of television,” he says. “But what it didn’t actively acquire is material made regionally, capturing on film everyday life and work which of course offers a very different collection.” A collection of course that SEFVA has in abundance with over 7000 films and an average of 600 being added to the collection each year.
In London, the LFA is a huge resource with many tens of thousands of titles in its catalogue. “With over 100 years of footage, it’s fascinating to see how much life has changed, with what people are wearing and how they move, ” says Huntley although she concedes that the traffic gridlock in the capital hasn’t changed much, just the form of transport.
With such a wealth of material in these archives, who actually uses it? Huntley explains that they have a wide range of users, from major broadcasters to corporate video-makers and, of course, the public. “If a group were particularly interested say in steam trains or a particular industry, we tailor each film show accordingly,” she says, “Basically anyone that wants to use footage, we’re here to help .” The archive is used mainly by those doing projects on London , but requests come in from all over the country – and even abroad. “We do quite often get approached by actors and actresses wanting to do research ,” Huntley says before telling me about an actor who was performing the well-known song The Lambeth Walk on stage and wanted to see how it had been performed in the past. Huntley laughs and tells me that the actor was rather surprised to find that the LFA had versions going back to the 1930s.
Back at SEFVA, there is an abundance of material from the very early days of cinema. From 1896-1905, the South East of England was at the forefront of the development of the UK film industry. It’s strange to think that Hove and Walton were at the heart of this thriving industry, successful studios were built at both and the pioneers that ran them became international figures. SEFVA, however, mainly collects non-fiction amateur and commercial footage and their collection provides a valuable and fascinating insight into everyday life of the past century. Two of the most important changes to both the South East and to the UK as a whole are evident in SEFVA’s collection says Gray. “Films from the 30s say to the 70s reflect a massive change. The beaches of the 1930s are packed, it’s a wonderful world of carnival; there are families, holiday-makers, even elephants on the beach advertising the circus. This is Bognor Regis in the thirties .”
Cheap travel first to Europe and then to the USA mean that scenes like this have long since vanished from British beaches. “Our films capture that moment of mass tourism,” explains Gray. SEFVA’s collection also depicts changes in agricultural life. “Our earliest films show largely horse-drawn agricultural life. There was a huge transformation with the advent of mechanisation. The bringing in of harvest was a manual activity and now, even hop-picking is mainly mechanised,” Gray says. It’s not just the methods that have changed either. Festivals such as May Fair and harvest celebrations seen in all their glory in SEFVA’s archives now only exist in a much diluted form.
With choice material at SEFVA, including Barbara Windsor judging a beauty concert, a city tour through Canterbury in 1923 and footage of Kent’s first roller-coaster, what’s their most regularly asked for footage? “People are always interested in the personal aspect of film. Our most common request would probably be Margate or Brighton at the beginning of the century,” says Gray. There has also been in recent years an increase in the number of requests for WW2 material, particularly for this year’s VE day 60th anniversary. Gray laments the fact that not enough TV companies actually come down and look at the collection, tending instead to take recommendations or go for previously used material. It’s a shame, as Gray and his colleagues can provide a fantastic and personal service to those in search of the perfect clip. Students, artists and film-makers are all welcome, says Gray, and his team are happy to help source material for new student films, providing of course that they’re contacted at the outset of a project.
Back at the London Film Archives, Huntley says that there is a marked popularity in early film-making amongst the LFA’s clientele. “People are still very interested in the silent comedies,” she says. “It captures something about silent cinema that’s so different to how cinema is now. Quite often, people want to go back to when cinema was less sophisticated but the story and acting were still superb.”
The future of both the LFA and SEFVA seems bright. With the moving image as popular as ever and with the number of those studying the media ever increasing, it looks like both film archives will be in business for a long time to come. But that won’t make Huntley or Gray complacent – both the LFA and SEFVA are constantly on the search for new material. “We encourage people to donate to the archive – people tend to disregard amateur footage, but we try and encourage them to donate it to us,” says Huntley, adding that the historical and cultural worth of amateur footage is absolutely invaluable.
In return for your donation, the LFA will provide you with a VHS copy of your material for free whilst they get on with preserving and recording the original. SEFVA offer a similar service and Gray even has plans to make some of their wonderful archive available online. This won’t be easy, he readily admits, but he is currently working on a project to put up to 1000 films online with additional extracts from another 100. But he doesn’t see this advance in technology as talking himself out of a job, “more as providing a thoughtful and useful introduction to the collection,” he says cheerfully.
Liz Hyder
For more information about the organisations featured here, go to:
LFA – http://www.londonfilmarchive.org/
SEFVA – www.bton.ac.uk/sefva/
Moving History – www.movinghistory.ac.uk/
Following the success of The Lost World of Mitchell And Kenyon, the popular BBC2 series on the work of a duo of film-makers at the dawn of the 20th century, film archives are back in the spotlight. Material from these archives crops up everywhere, from national and local broadcast news to feature films, documentaries and even screenings in local communities. In the past year alone, you are likely to have seen hundreds of clips sourced from UK and overseas archives and, chances are, you won’t have even noticed them.
But what exactly is a film archive? How do they work and who actually uses them? In each main region of the UK there is a locally funded film archive. In the South East, this takes the shape of SEFVA, the South East Film and Video Archive, part of the University of Brighton . In London , the charitable London Film Archive was set up five years ago by a handful of determined film experts and archivists. The function of these public sector film archives is to collect, preserve and promote films and other moving image material made in their geographical area. Incorporating a wealth of material, from documentaries, newsreels, advertisements, features and television programmes to artists’ films and videotapes and ‘home movies’, these archives are invaluable as both an educational resource and as an insight into local history and culture. In addition to the public funded film archives, there are dozens of private companies across the UK supplying archive and stock footage to those who want it.
But does every region need a dedicated film archive? Amanda Huntley, Chief Archivist at the London Film Archive certainly thinks so. She helped set up the archive and one of their main priorities is working with and in the local community. “Even though London is a big and varied place, it has a strong community spirit and we try and concentrate on those communities,” she says. The archive aims to restore and preserve moving pictures which show life and work in London and the LFA put on regular film shows in cinemas, schools and hospitals for the public. They also run short courses for those interested in finding out more about archiving and research.
The South East Film and Video Archive also arrange presentations in their local community – up to 50 a year – and, as part of one of the major Universities in the South of England, SEFVA is a major research centre for students, enthusiasts and professionals alike. Frank Gray, Director and Founder of SEFVA, is adamant that there is a need for regional archives. “The challenge is that the National Film and TV Archive at the BFI (British Film Institute) was established in 1935 and, as a collection, reflects works of feature, commercially made documentaries and the history of television,” he says. “But what it didn’t actively acquire is material made regionally, capturing on film everyday life and work which of course offers a very different collection.” A collection of course that SEFVA has in abundance with over 7000 films and an average of 600 being added to the collection each year.
In London, the LFA is a huge resource with many tens of thousands of titles in its catalogue. “With over 100 years of footage, it’s fascinating to see how much life has changed, with what people are wearing and how they move, ” says Huntley although she concedes that the traffic gridlock in the capital hasn’t changed much, just the form of transport.
With such a wealth of material in these archives, who actually uses it? Huntley explains that they have a wide range of users, from major broadcasters to corporate video-makers and, of course, the public. “If a group were particularly interested say in steam trains or a particular industry, we tailor each film show accordingly,” she says, “Basically anyone that wants to use footage, we’re here to help .” The archive is used mainly by those doing projects on London , but requests come in from all over the country – and even abroad. “We do quite often get approached by actors and actresses wanting to do research ,” Huntley says before telling me about an actor who was performing the well-known song The Lambeth Walk on stage and wanted to see how it had been performed in the past. Huntley laughs and tells me that the actor was rather surprised to find that the LFA had versions going back to the 1930s.
Back at SEFVA, there is an abundance of material from the very early days of cinema. From 1896-1905, the South East of England was at the forefront of the development of the UK film industry. It’s strange to think that Hove and Walton were at the heart of this thriving industry, successful studios were built at both and the pioneers that ran them became international figures. SEFVA, however, mainly collects non-fiction amateur and commercial footage and their collection provides a valuable and fascinating insight into everyday life of the past century. Two of the most important changes to both the South East and to the UK as a whole are evident in SEFVA’s collection says Gray. “Films from the 30s say to the 70s reflect a massive change. The beaches of the 1930s are packed, it’s a wonderful world of carnival; there are families, holiday-makers, even elephants on the beach advertising the circus. This is Bognor Regis in the thirties .”
Cheap travel first to Europe and then to the USA mean that scenes like this have long since vanished from British beaches. “Our films capture that moment of mass tourism,” explains Gray. SEFVA’s collection also depicts changes in agricultural life. “Our earliest films show largely horse-drawn agricultural life. There was a huge transformation with the advent of mechanisation. The bringing in of harvest was a manual activity and now, even hop-picking is mainly mechanised,” Gray says. It’s not just the methods that have changed either. Festivals such as May Fair and harvest celebrations seen in all their glory in SEFVA’s archives now only exist in a much diluted form.
With choice material at SEFVA, including Barbara Windsor judging a beauty concert, a city tour through Canterbury in 1923 and footage of Kent’s first roller-coaster, what’s their most regularly asked for footage? “People are always interested in the personal aspect of film. Our most common request would probably be Margate or Brighton at the beginning of the century,” says Gray. There has also been in recent years an increase in the number of requests for WW2 material, particularly for this year’s VE day 60th anniversary. Gray laments the fact that not enough TV companies actually come down and look at the collection, tending instead to take recommendations or go for previously used material. It’s a shame, as Gray and his colleagues can provide a fantastic and personal service to those in search of the perfect clip. Students, artists and film-makers are all welcome, says Gray, and his team are happy to help source material for new student films, providing of course that they’re contacted at the outset of a project.
Back at the London Film Archives, Huntley says that there is a marked popularity in early film-making amongst the LFA’s clientele. “People are still very interested in the silent comedies,” she says. “It captures something about silent cinema that’s so different to how cinema is now. Quite often, people want to go back to when cinema was less sophisticated but the story and acting were still superb.”
The future of both the LFA and SEFVA seems bright. With the moving image as popular as ever and with the number of those studying the media ever increasing, it looks like both film archives will be in business for a long time to come. But that won’t make Huntley or Gray complacent – both the LFA and SEFVA are constantly on the search for new material. “We encourage people to donate to the archive – people tend to disregard amateur footage, but we try and encourage them to donate it to us,” says Huntley, adding that the historical and cultural worth of amateur footage is absolutely invaluable.
In return for your donation, the LFA will provide you with a VHS copy of your material for free whilst they get on with preserving and recording the original. SEFVA offer a similar service and Gray even has plans to make some of their wonderful archive available online. This won’t be easy, he readily admits, but he is currently working on a project to put up to 1000 films online with additional extracts from another 100. But he doesn’t see this advance in technology as talking himself out of a job, “more as providing a thoughtful and useful introduction to the collection,” he says cheerfully.
Liz Hyder
For more information about the organisations featured here, go to:
LFA – http://www.londonfilmarchive.org/
SEFVA – www.bton.ac.uk/sefva/
Moving History – www.movinghistory.ac.uk/
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