Moving History - a guide to UK film and television archives in the public sector

Production Types

The regional and national moving image collections hold a vast range film and video items made in a variety of film gauges and video formats, produced by both individuals and organisations and designed for many different purposes and audiences. The following categories, many of which overlap, express the range of format, genre and production sources that can be found in these archives.

Film, Video and Digital Media - Film began with 35mm and this is the film gauge which has been used by professionals since the mid-1890s. The mid-1920s saw the rise of 16mm and 9.5mm and these were followed by 8mm and Super 8mm. Much of the amateur film collections in the archives originated on these small gauge film formats. From the late 1950s, video emerged as a moving image medium and, more recently, digital formats such as DV-Cam and Mini-DV have become popular for home use. Their arrival marks the transition in this century from analogue (film and video) to digital moving image delivery systems.

Television - A number of the archives collect regional and national television broadcast material. This can include original film and video master material as well as ‘off-air’ video recordings of the programmes as they were broadcast. The BFI National Film and Television Archive - Television Collection holds the largest collection of television material dating from the first days of broadcasting in the late 1930s to the present day, including news programmes, documentaries, drama and entertainment, educational and children's programming. English regional archives with significant television collections include: East Anglian Film Archive, The South West Film & Television Archive, Northern Region Film and Television Archive, North West Film Archive, and Yorkshire Film Archive. The Scottish Screen Archive and the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales both collect television material relevant to their national remits.

Amateur Films - Amateur cine film-making became a popular activity from the late 1920s with the arrival of the new film gauges of 16mm and 9.5mm. Many amateur film collections have been donated to the archives by families and members of local cine societies. These films capture a variety of events and scenes across the twentieth century such as significant events and experiences in their family life including the arrival of a new baby, birthdays, weddings, family outings, and travel experiences in the UK and abroad. Amateur film-makers also recorded local scenes and events such as the workplace, local fairs, pageants, royal visits, official occasions, and political or social issues. Amateur film-makers also turned their hand to making short fiction films ranging from comedy to drama and to political satire.

Artists’ film and video - Since the early days of film, artists and film-makers have used the moving image to explore ideas, places, narratives and the nature of the moving image itself by using both traditional and avant-garde techniques. This history of the avant-garde is well documented by the British Artists’ Film & Video Study Collection, one of the projects associated with this AHRB Centre.

Animation – By using cell animation, stop motion and other techniques, artists and film-makers have created a distinctive history of animation in the UK. This work encompasses both feature length films for cinema release and shorts designed for the independent sector and television.

Corporate and Promotional Films - Films either made or commissioned by companies and organisations with the aim to advertise and promote services, products and activities to either a distinctive market or the public. Much of this material includes advertisements intended for cinema or television. Some promotional films illustrate the working practices of an organisation and position its work in the context of its employees and the community.

Documentaries – Documentaries, as a distinctive type of 'non-fiction' or 'factual' material, provide a focused exposition of either an issue or activity. The British Documentary film movement of the 1930s, as championed by John Grierson, Paul Rotha, and Humphrey Jennings, is particularly important. The film archives hold documentary material made by these key figures as well as work by lesser known documentarists and television documentary programmes made by the BBC and independent companies.

Fiction - Across the archives, there are collections of feature films, amateur and student fiction, television dramas and comedies. The BFI National Film and Television Archive holds the largest collection of British and related fiction film material in Europe as well as a large collection of British television fiction, drama and entertainment. The other national collections in the Scottish Screen Archive, National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales and the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive also include collections of fiction film and television material relevant to their region and remit. The English regional moving image archives' collections contain predominantly non-fiction material with smaller collections of fiction material. They may also hold copies of feature films where they are of particular relevance to the region.

Educational and Training Films - Educational and training films, made for exhibition in schools, colleges, public places and the workplace, have been produced on film and video by a variety of organisations. This material includes films and television programmes on topics of relevance to the school curriculum, training, management skills, military service, and public safety.

Local Topicals - Many film production companies and cinema owners around the UK, largely in the period from 1900 to the late 1930s, made local news and actuality films. Known as 'local topicals', they show scenes of large crowds leaving factories at the end of the day, queuing outside of cinemas and people gathering in busy streets and at popular sporting, social and commemorative events. These films were made to be screened in fairground tents and local cinemas, drawing in audiences hoping to see themselves on screen.

Newsreels - With the arrival of sound, 'local topical films' were in most cases replaced by national newsreels which occasionally included items of local interest. National newsreel films were mainly produced from the early 1910s to the late 1960s, by which time they were overtaken by television news. The newsreels covered national and international news events as well as more light-hearted stories of human interest. The majority of British newsreel collections can be found in the BFI National Film and Video Archives, the Imperial War Museum and in commercial collections, though some items of regional relevance can be found in the other UK archives. See the BUFVC British Universities Newsreel Database for records of British cinema newsreel production 1910-1979, and digitised film from the British Pathé collection.

Official and Government Films - The BFI National Film and Television Archive and the Imperial War Museum Film and Video Archive both have large collections of films either made or sponsored by government bodies and departments. These include information films on a wide variety of topics such as health and safety, war-time rationing, housing and welfare. Copies of some regionally specific official material can also be found in many of the English regional film archives as well as the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales and the Scottish Screen Archive.

Political and Campaigning Films - Many political organisations have used the media of film and video to promote their cause. Such films include images of marches and demonstrations both regionally and nationally, as well as films tackling issues such as housing and war from the perspective of particular political parties or groups.

Public and Charitable Organisations - Many public services and charities used the film to promote their work. These films were often made by public bodies such as local councils, government departments, educational organisations, police and fire services, as well as pre-NHS era hospitals, charities, and church organisations.

Travelogues - Tourist publicity films, or travelogues, usually commissioned either by councils or tourist agencies, were made to promote seaside resorts, countryside destinations or historic county towns, and promote the positive features of a location to potential visitors.

Return to top

Home

Research