Global Communities and Global Standards of Film Archivists
Global Communities
The International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), based in Brussels, Belgium, was the first to focus on archiving films and has been around since 1938 making it an invaluable source since no other archive organization is as old or authoritative. “After over 80 years of experience in this field, FIAF has grown to be the most important global network of cinematheques and film archives” (International Federation of Film Archives). The main purpose of their Journal of Film Preservation (JFP) is to spread knowledge and information among archivists. Articles focus on historical films that have been recently discovered, interviews with active film archive professionals, advice on how to connect with others in the community, current industry trends as well as new technological advances. There are 195 countries in the world today and FIAF has affiliations from 79 making it one of the most important organizations for film archivists. They have the authority and power to make change for those willing to follow.
With the global community that we live in today, will free online distribution and exhibition of archived films be the future? Hanley studied every association part of the International Federation of Film Archives that has archived works published online and for free from the 79 countries around the world with the criteria that content is free of charge, open access with no geo-blocking based on country, available to view in full, and with permanent access (Hanley 2021). Hanley concluded that the majority of works available online for free that meet the criteria of this study are forgotten or unexplored films, which is due to complex copyright laws (2021). Film archives across the globe have done a great job in the past few years, especially during the pandemic, publishing content online and making it accessible to everyone (Hanley 2021). These online archives are often the first and only place people search for historical films and their information so what they choose to upload can have a huge impact on people’s knowledge on the general history of film (Hanley 2021). This focus on free access to forgotten or unknown films can provide the opportunity for more people to experience art that they were previously unaware existed and expand their cultural horizons. This aligns with the fourth characteristic of information communities which is the “ability to transcend barriers to information sharing” (Fisher & Bishop, 2015, p. 23). This study found that there was an exclusion of well-known historical films because those require a fee or subscription to view. Many famous, historic films have a paywall barrier which goes against a library’s views of open and free access. Copyright will continue to be the greatest challenge for the future as archives allow for open access to their collections.
Global Standards
The research done clearly shows that film archivists need better ways to document and share their knowledge to improve collections instead of having information located in the mind. Everything must be written down, so it is not lost forever. Film archives are complex because they contain many different assets and elements. To make things even more challenging, films are an art form that requires interpretation through cultural, political, and societal lenses (Hertzum 2003). In other words, the way one archivist decides to document, digitize, preserve, or keyword an asset may be different from somebody else depending on their interpretation which can vary based on location and personal beliefs. Films also rely heavily on emotions which are difficult to transcribe. Most film archives create their own database rules instead of relying on industry standards because those standards are too complex and often do not accurately reflect the content and context of the films themselves (Hertzum 2003). This makes retrieval complicated across the industry, especially internationally. Campagnoni concluded that film archives need to: make content accessible, write information and knowledge down so it becomes absolute, study the standards of libraries to improve cataloguing, and work together with other film archives to create global standards (2006). If they can adopt these changes and make standards, their collections will become more comprehensive, and more people will use them because they will be able to find what they seek and complete their information needs.
References:
Campagnoni, D. P. (2006). The preservation, care and exploitation of documentation related to the cinema: An unresolved issue. 18(3), 306–318. Film History. https://doi.org/10.2979/FIL.2006.18.3.306
Fisher, K. E., & Bishop, A. P. (2015). Information communities: Defining the focus of information service. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (pp. 20-26). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Hanley, O. (2021). The best seat in the house? observations on online viewing and access to fiaf affiliates’ collections. (104), 87–96. Journal of Film Preservation. https://www.proquest.com/openview/726ac436d4a3cf1645482cd84e4bfe5c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=29010
Hertzum, M. (2003). Requests for information from a film archive: A case study of multimedia retrieval. 59(2), 168–186. Journal of Documentation. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410310463473
International Federation of Film Archives. Journal of Film Preservation. https://www.fiafnet.org/pages/Publications/About-the-JFP.html