DB7

BFI archives to be free to public

Items from the BFI archive will be made available free of charge
Britain's national film and television archive is to be opened up in order for it to be accessed by the public.

Visitors to the British Film Institute (BFI), which is in London, will be able to choose items from the collection and watch them free of charge.

Items range from footage of the Queen's coronation to early scenes from long-running soap Coronation Street.

The BFI archive is the largest collection of moving images in the world, with almost a million items.

Eventually these images will all be available in a digital format.

It is hoped that, in effect, people will be able to create their own private cinema.

Members of the public will be able to view a wide variety of films, such as the first screen test of some Hollywood legends - including Audrey Hepburn - to public information films.

Highlights among the hours of historical films are footage of the Queen's coronation and Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon.

harryfielder

This was on the news today....Looks good.....

Aitch,

http://www.turnipnet.com/aitch/aitch/gallery.htm

julian_craster

Posted: Thurs., Feb. 22, 2007

BFI clicks with Hewlett-Packard
London organization opens archive to public

By ARCHIE THOMAS LONDON VARIETY

The British Film Institute has inked a deal with IT giant Hewlett-Packard that will see treats from the BFI's encyclopedic archive made available to the public, much of it for the first time since it originally screened.

An initial 200 hours of digital clips from the BFI vaults will be available to view for free at a Mediatheque viewing lounge powered by HP at the BFI's refurbished Southbank HQ when it opens in March.
The partnership was launched by BFI chair Anthony Minghella and Steve Gill, VP and managing director of HP UK & Ireland, at the BFI Imax cinema in London on Thursday.
The BFI national archive goes back to the earliest days of film and contains over 230,000 movies and 675,000 TV shows, including historic footage of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and England's one and only soccer World Cup win in 1966.
The digital partnership, which BFI and HP brass both said would hopefully extend beyond the initial two year deal, is part of a wider plan by the BFI to restore and digitalize parts of the archive and make it more accessible to Brit auds.
And it comes in the nick of time with the archives increasingly threatened by the ravages of time.
"Without the correct care, acetate film can turn to vinegar, and, like an infection, it can spread from film can to can," warned Richard Paterson, head of BFI strategic development. Nitrate film is similarly vulnerable as it is highly flammable.
Parts of the 24-acre archive, located in North London "looks like Pompeii after the volcano," joked Minghella, who stressed the massive cultural importance of the archive, and which "demonstrates the pungent and indelible power of film … today's blockbusters are tomorrow's archive."
"This partnership represents another important first step in the long-term investment we are making in the care of and access to the BFI national archive," said Amanda Nevill, BFI director. "It is a great example of culture and commerce working together innovatively to increase public value."
HP has worked with DreamWorks, Sony and Warner Brothers Stateside and this partnership with BFI reps a move to engage more closely with the British film industry

Steve Crook

Note that it says "treats from", not "everything from" so don't get your hopes too high of having everything you want to see to be made available.

Steve

Mediatheque

For a rather more accurate picture of what the Mediatheque is see BFI | Southbank | Mediatheque

No, not every film from the BFI National Archive will be included as this would cost over a billion pounds which is, sadly, somewhat beyond the existing resources...

Steve Crook

We'll have a whip round and see how much of that we can raise. We might get a tenner between us

Steve

theuofc

I'm just excited that the BFI will be opening more of its film archives to the public. I wish it were every film, but this is a beginning. Perhaps this will stimulate new funding. Looking forward to 14 March.

Barbara

theuofc

I've been meaning to ask, Mediatheque, or anyone?: what film is your avatar from?

The little dog is charming.

Barbara

Mediatheque

The dog appears in Ken Russell's Amelia and the Angel. You can download the film here. Further information at screenonline (where, if you're in a school or library, you can watch it for free).

theuofc

THANKS for that, Mediatheque. I would have guessed an earlier film.

A friend has told me that BBC4 has reported that the BFI might make this service available in other major UK cities. How wonderful would that be. Is such a plan on the drawing board?

Thank you again,

Barbara

ChristineCB

I wish they'd consider selling DVDs of these films and broadcasts to help their funding.

Mediatheque

Thanks for your messages, Barbara and Christine.

Barbara - yes, the BFI is hoping to work with local partners to open mediatheques in cities across the UK.

Christine - unfortunately the UK DVD market for the kinds of titles that the Mediatheque will be prioritising is not as lucrative as you assume.

image45

We will see!

"Seya next time!"

ChristineCB

Actually, I was thinking a single viewer would want a copy. That was the extent of the 'assumed market'. I wasn't assuming a marketing campaign or packaging (although balloons, streamers and ticker-tapes around Picadilly would be nice - open carriages maybe, on a beautiful, sunny day). No, I wasn't assuming warehouses, distribution channels, or 3-shifts of workers a day.

I was thinking I'd walk up to a kiosk, I queue up the film I want, I'd pay the price and I'd wait the few minutes for the disk.

penfold

It's a lovely thought, but copyright law wouldn't make it as legally easy as it would be technically possible...

Bit of a Bay Window, what??