Created by: Michael
Ruzicka
Last Update: December 15, 2004
http://www.oscars.org/filmarchive/
This site provides a brief summary of the Academy’s film archive, its duties, and accomplishments. Even though the site does not provide much in the denseness of information, the site does provide a gateway to the Academy’s website which, could be argued, is a resource for archivists in its own right by providing a database of information on former winners of the Academy Award.
http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/
This site provides more substance in information about its origins and mission. The site also has a functioning database of its collection separated by the mediums of still art and moving image film. Other academic resources are also available for the researcher. Events and educational programs are detailed in their own section. Multimedia slide shows can also be found among the site’s features.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/collections/preservation/index.html
This section of the British Film Institute’s website details the organization’s dedication to the preservation of film. Links are provided to summaries of ongoing restoration projects and specific collections of image stills provided as a gallery on the site. The entire BFI website provides a treasure of resources for the researcher and film archivist alike.
The International Federation of Film Archives’ website opens on a beautifully designed home page inviting the international community to choose a language, between French, English, or Spanish, and explore the many resources. Especially helpful to the researcher is a section devoted to the organization’s official publication, Journal of Film Preservation. Each issue is hyperlinked to a .pdf-formatted version for easy browsing and printing. An online forum is also provided for fellow professionals to talk shop.
This website was created by a few film preservation professionals to provide individual film enthusiasts with helpful resources to keep their own film library properly stored. The site works like an online textbook and lets the user follow through an outline of information ensuring their private collection keeps for many years. A helpful glossary link is provided as well as a page for other related resources and links.
Film Publications and Resource Guides
National Film Preservation Board (Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov/film/pubs.html
The Library of Congress provides the researcher and film archivist with this very extensive list of resources and links on the topic of film in general and film preservation. The sheer length of the list is a bit overwhelming but the in-depth detail of content is a plus to anyone interested in the topic.
http://www.eastmanhouse.org/inc/collections/motion_picture.asp
The George Eastman House is one of the most prominent film archives in the world. The site offers the user to information on the collections and the news surrounding the organization. However, the site does not provide much in the way of detailed research resources. The site works mainly as an advertisement to events, lectures, and projects sponsored by the organization.
http://www.harvardfilmarchive.org/
Harvard’s film archive has been in existence since 1979. The site provides event information as well as a gallery of film stills. The site also does not offer much in the way of researching resources. The site’s design and links page are among its highlights.
http://www.filmpreservation.org/
The National Film Preservation Foundation’s website is a great resource for anyone wanting an introduction in the topic. The section on ‘Preservation Basics’ provides the user with the information to expand awareness of the challenge to preserve moving image history. The section entitled ‘Preserved Film’ provides an alphabetical list of film titles that have been successfully preserved. The films are given brief summaries. Also in the section is a list of case studies, or local preservation projects, that have expanded the organization’s role in preserving regional historical images.
http://www.brandeis.edu/jewishfilm/ncjf.htm
The importance of films made by Jews or relating to the Jewish experience is a very important part of moving image history. The National Center for Jewish Film’s website provides a resource for anyone researching this topic. The page entitled ‘Catalogue’ provides film title lists based on subject areas specific to the cultural heritage of Jewish people.
http://www.digitalfilmarchive.net/dfa/browse/browse.htm
The turbulent past of Northern Ireland has been the subject of many filmed perspectives. The Northern Ireland Film Commission created this website as a resources, not only for their own people, but for the international community as well. The moving images that were digitally preserved are separated by decade, subject, and county making this website a very valuable information source to anyone interested in seeing the history of Northern Ireland through moving images.
http://www.spielbergfilmarchive.org.il/ideas.htm
The site is provided through the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where the archive is housed. The site is a bit clumsily designed but makes up for it in content. Bibliographic lists of important resources are provided as well as links to the .pdf formatted issues of the organizations newsletter.
http://www.afi.com/about/preservation/aboutpresv/links.aspx
As a pure guide to the many film preservation resources available online, this list of links provided by the American Film Institute is extremely helpful in cutting down on search time. Links to essays on the plight of preservation are also provided for the user. The site even provides links to multimedia presentations of damaged archived film. This is very revealing to anyone who has never seen the destructive consequences of nitrate film.
Public Moving Image Archives and Research Centers
National Film Preservation Board (Library of Congress)
http://www.loc.gov/film/arch.html
This site provides links to international organizations dedicated to archiving film and moving images. The list is separated by region of the world and is a treasure for the researcher.
http://www.screensound.gov.au/screensound/screenso.nsf
The National Screen and Sound Archive of Australia created this site. The site and its creating organization has been charged with collecting, archiving, and preserving moving images relating to the specific Australian experience. The site provides a wealth of information resources in the way of research papers, collection lists, and an extensive detailing on how they perform the duties of their organization’s mission. The section on their preservation practices provides an in-depth look into their operation.
The San Francisco Media Archive’s website provides the users with an interactive experience through the use of Macromedia Flash web language. Their site reads like a pamphlet with very little substantive value for the researching user. Some of the pages have outdated information, which suggests a lack of funding resources could be the culprit. The site does provide basic information on preservation and its specific mission.
http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/
The specific New Zealand experience is the subject of this site’s collection mission. The organization was established in 1981 that is separate from any governmental agency. The site does provide a searchable database of its collection. Film titles are given brief summaries as well as film stills. The links page is extensive and very well organized.
The University of California, Los Angeles Film & Television Archive has grown a reputation for being one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind. The online version of its collection is separated in title terms that link to the specific collection’s characteristics. Examples consist of film noir in the film archive and Jack Benny in the Television archive. There are lists television titles that have been preserved in their preservation section. The site is also completely searchable.
http://www.wpafilmlibrary.com/
The WPA Film Library is a comprehensive collection of stock film footage that is stored and distributed for use in documentary films. The site has a searchable database of stock footage for the researcher or documentary filmmaker. A great feature of this site is its ‘Demo’ section that links images to movie files so that the user can sample what the archive has to offer its patrons. The site is primarily for utilitarian purposes but the researching user has the potential to find very valuable primary sources here.