Volodymyr Vynnychenko and the Early Ukrainian Decadent Film (1917–1918).

The article is focused on the phenomenon of the early Ukrainian decadent cinema, in particular, in relation to filmings of Volodymyr Vynnychenko’s dramaturgy. One of the brightest examples of ‘film decadence’ in Vynnychenko’s oevre is “The Lie” directed by Vyacheslav Vyskovs’ky in 1918, discovered recently in the film archives. This film displays the principles of ‘ethical symbolism’, ‘dark’ expressionist aesthetics and remains the unique masterpiece of specifically Ukranian film decadence

The retrieval of moving images at Spanish film archives: the oversight of content analysis

In the field of library and information science, content analysis is a crucial task for an effective retrieval of information by users at an archive. In this research, we analyse the current state of this task and the possibilities of retrieval of film information at six Spanish important film archives, interviewing their responsible librarians for film cataloguing and comparing the content fields inside their film cataloguing records used by each one of these six organizations

‘Searching for District 9 in the Archives: archaeology of a transmedia Campaign’

Film marketing materials have conventionally been regarded as both ephemera and ephemeral but in a digital environment they have become increasingly significant colonising the spaces before, between and beyond the film itself. Indeed the distinctions between promotion and content have become so blurred that, arguably, marketing campaigns have become as entertaining as the films they promote, raising questions about the cultural value of such ephemera. This project set out to examine what transmedia contributes to the narrative ecology of the film and took the award winning campaign designed by the marketing agency, Trigger for Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 (2009) as a starting point. But the research did not get off to an auspicious start because shortly after the project began, the site disappeared. This paper will give an account of a media archaeological excavation to find for District 9’s web campaign. During the search archival sites encountered included institutions set up with the aim of preservation such as the Internet Archive, commercial archives such as the Webby awards as well the ‘new’ generation of web 2.0 archives – a personal blog, YouTube and social media sites. In the light of this, the paper will then reflect on what the German media theorist Wolfgang Ernst referred to as the ‘machine perspective’ and how the mechanisms of the digital archives condition the way we know things about the recent digital past. It will conclude by suggesting that these archival encounters in this research project revealed as much about the nature of digital archives as the film transmediation.Non peer reviewe

Archives in Film

Archives have gained recent attention in movies and news articles with movies like The Mummy and National Treasure and an article in the New York Times that describes the next generation of archivists as being young and attractive. Archives also share a connection with the media by providing material to assist media professionals in digging into the lives of famous individuals. Steen library’s East Texas Research Center has provided this type of assistance for the recent movie, Charlie Wilson’s War. Learn about the collections of politician Charlie Wilson and how archives are staying relevant by offering material and contributing to the production of movies, documentaries, and news programs

Archives Film Preview

In this session, we watch 3-5 short clips from recently digitized film and video in the Archives’ collections. There will be brief contextual information and a description of the workflow that has been developed for reviewing the files and uploading them to Digital UNC. Known footage includes the Cranford fire from 1948 and an amazing library orientation video from the 1980s. This is a fun presentation showcasing gems from the archives

Cinematic experience, film space, and the child’s world

This is the full published version of this article as first published in the Canadian Journal of Film Studies, 2010, 19 (2) 82-98. http://www.filmstudies.ca/journal/cjfs/archives/articles/kuhn_cinematic_experience_film_space_childs_worl

Preserving Film Preservation in the Digital Era

This paper explores the current controversies surrounding film preservation in the digital era. Questions address the benefits of new technologies and the potential sacrifices to a film\u27s authenticity and designation as a valued historical, social, and cultural artifact. Issues examined include film\u27s frail format, archives\u27s financial and storage limitations, the concept of the original film, and how current digitization methods affect each of these areas. This paper addresses the recent restorations of two particular films—Fritz Lang\u27s Metropolis (1927) and Alfred Hitchcock\u27s Vertigo (1958)—and concludes that digital technologies are not stable enough to replace traditional preservation methods, but they can greatly increase exposure to lesser-known films and support the general preservation of film

Film Content Analysis on FIAF Cataloguing Rules and CEN Metadata Standards

Cataloguing manuals published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and the film metadata standards EN 15744 and EN 15907 have proven to be really useful for film archives in the process of film cataloguing. However, beyond the technical or formal aspects of films contemplated on these rules, there are some important aspects about the film content analysis which have not been taken into consideration. We are showing with examples and analyzing all the references to the important task of content analysis on the historical evolution of these standards for film archives, discussing about the possibilities of adoption of more film content fields on them, what would suppose better possibilities of retrieval of film information by the users of film archives, adapting to their needs and to the new era

Examining Analogue Film's Viability as A Preservation Method for Film Archives

The purpose of this project is to examine film stock’s viability as a method of preservation for film archives in the current climate of later-stage practice transition. It seeks to identify the impact of the film stock production decrease upon archival practice and assess and compare analogue and digital practice. It also seeks to determine the viability of a film stock production increase, and in turn film stock’s viability, and propose potential future uses for film stock outside the archival sector. The methods used include conceptual and historical analyses of literature in the field, and a selective critical literature review of 4 film stock producers’ and 33 European and American film archives’ websites, supported by a film archive curator interview. The analyses of literature support that there is viable infrastructure and practice supporting film stock as a preservation method in film archives when compared to digital preservation. However, the selective critical literature review shows that due to the production decrease and corresponding costs, film stock is not a viable active preservation method. The research shows that film archives are currently in transition to digital practice without defined terminology, affordable digital infrastructure or practice, or an equivalent digital preservation method to rival film stock’s abilities, creating a risk of information loss. The research shows a need for either a longer transition period between film stock and digital media, which is unviable, or the development of archive-specific digital preservation technology