Information-seeking behaviors of

filmmakers using moving image

archivesLaura Treat, Moving Image Preservation

LibrarianJulie Judkins, Principal Archivist

University of North Texas Libraries

The NBC 5/KXAS archive at UNT Libraries

• Film and video remain in the original physical format

• Majority of collection is not digitized at this time• Pilot project• On demand

• UNT Libraries is the licensing agent for the broadcast footage

Access copies are available in The Portal to Texas History (texashistory.unt.edu)

Little has been written in the archival literature about the information-seeking behaviors of filmmakers

Resources like Archival Storytelling suggest filmmakers are interested in best practices for finding, using, and licensing archival footage

Literature Review

Research Questions

• How does the filmmaking community experience the process of discovery,

access, engagement & use? archival moving image collections?• What barriers prevent filmmakers

from discovering or accessing moving image archives?

• Are our discovery tools and metadata useful for filmmakers?

Research Plan

Online survey: August 2015Focus group: November 2015Interviews: January – April 2016

Online Survey, August 04 - 31, 2015

• What genres are most frequently used?

• How and where are new materials discovered?

• What institutions & tools are used?

• What selection criteria are applied?

• What obstacles and challenges are faced?

Survey Population

32 valid responses (40.9% completion rate)

(AMIA) Association of Moving Image Archivists (53%) (CLEAR) Association of Clearance & Research

Professionals(EDN) European Documentary Network

???Unknown???

The majority (53%) subscribed to the AMIA listservs,

but most (67%) did not subscribe to other archives & libraries listservs.

Participants included producers, footage researchers, directors, & writers.

Participants conducted an average of 9.5 projects in 10 years using archival footage.

Television News, 23

Documentaries, 22

Newsreels; 19

Government sponsored films; 18

Home movies; 17

Amateur films; 17

Advertisements; 15

Industrial films; 13

Educational films; 13

What genres of archival film and video have you used in past projects (select all that apply)?

Filmmakers use a wide variety of archival moving image

genres in their productions.

The filmmaking community discovers

new materials through a variety of resources.

The most frequently

reported method was word-of-mouth.

Cultural heritage institutions, specifically academic

libraries and archives,were the most frequently

reported resources for finding and accessing

archival footage.

Cultural Heritage Institution, 17

Professional Network, 8

Stock footage company, 7

How frequently resource types were mentioned in participant-described searches (n=23)

“It is as though our history is being held hostage by corporate interests.”

“A picture is worth a thousand words, a moving picture is worth 100,000

words.”

“Descriptive finding aids are only as good as the person writing them and

their knowledge of the material.”

What obstacles and challenges are faced in accessing and using

(licensing) materials?

Licensing Costs

Access to Digital Copies

Licensing Process

Copyright

Quality & Availability of Description

Unable to locate footage/footage does not exist

Privcy and Ethical concerns

Lack of knowledgable and helpful staff

0 2 4 6 8 10 1211

9

5

4

4

3

2

2

Unique and relevant content may be the most important factor in selecting

material.

What most influences your decision to use or not use archival footage in your

projects?

Licensing Costs

Project Relevance

Uniqueness of Content

Access to Digital Copies

Copyright Restriction

Time Constraints

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

13

12

7

5

2

2

What have we learned?

• The filmmaking community wants online access to unique, relevant, and economical footage.• Archives and academic libraries are trusted and widely used sources.• The filmmaking community has some similarities with how they

discover material but tend to rely more on their professional network and archives staff.• Although not as important as content, licensing costs and the

licensing process is seen as a significant obstacle to discovery and use.

What we’d still like to learn• How can we better promote new

collections to filmmakers?• How can the licensing process be

streamlined?• How can we balance access with its

associated cost?• How are filmmakers using our

existing tools?• Can we integrate useful aspects of

commercial access tools?

Next Steps

• Focus Group• Feedback from AMIA community

• In-Depth Interviews

• Questions?