Help us collect Online Moving Image
Online moving image has revolutionised not only our consumption of moving image but also its production and content. Yet it remains critically under-represented in the national collection. With support from the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, the BFI National Archive is now addressing this gap via a dedicated acquisition programme.
A celebration of the stories of now, this new curated collection will trace the technological advancements in online moving image through the range of platforms creators are choosing to bring their work to – from Tik Tok to YouTube, X to Snap Chat – as well looking at the work of early internet creative pioneers and defunct video platforms like Periscope and Vine.
We’re keen to hear what you think should be added to the BFI National Archive. What has entertained, inspired or struck a chord with you over the history of online moving image?
More information, including how to submit your recommendations can be found here
National Film and Television School placement
Every year, the BFI works in partnership with the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in hosting work placements for their Film Studies, Programming and Curation Master’s course.
This working relationship was initially devised by Jon Wardle (now the Director of NFTS) and Paul Gerhardt (the BFI’s former Head of Education). The course has since been led by Sandra Hebron, who is no stranger to the BFI and was Head of Festivals and Artistic Director of the BFI London Film Festival from 2002-2011. The Master’s degree began in 2016 and the first cohort of internships was hosted in 2017, as the placements fall in the second year of the two-year MA.
Students are usually embedded within teams at Sight and Sound, BFI Player, Online editorial, London Film Festival, Southbank and the BFI National Archive (Curatorial), coordinated by Amy Bryant, Business Development and Campaigns Officer at the BFI.
For the past 5 weeks, Curatorial has hosted two interns across different teams. Erik Scott has been working with Curators Rosie Taylor and Jez Stewart on our collecting and curation of BFI-funded short films in the BFI National Archive, and getting some film handling experience at the Conservation Centre in Berkhamsted.
I have had the pleasure of working with Molly Miles on the Contemporary Collecting strand of the Our Screen Heritage project. Like Erik, they’ve been immersed in many aspects of our department’s work, including test screenings of film prints and the various working groups and meetings that make up curatorial life. Our main work together has been focused on the selection and acquisition of online moving image into the national collection. This includes the research and brainstorms that go into curating this area as well as the technical, legal and workflow considerations of working with donors and different teams across the BFI National Archive.
Molly’s thoughtful engagement with the curation of online video has led to various selections for the national collection, so the insights of course go both ways. We’ve had many productive, inspiring and funny conversations about different pockets of the internet and film in general. The results of this will hopefully be available to the public soon. Keep your eyes peeled for Molly’s reflections about their placement in next week’s edition!
– Kristina Tarasova, Assistant Curator (Acquisition)
The Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.
