Audiovisual Heritage Research Articles

Screen Memories: The Audiovisual Heritage of Turkish Migrant Women in the Netherlands Across Political Film, Video, and Television

This article explores the counterhegemonic uses of audiovisual media —such as film, video, and television— by migrant women workers, specifically focusing on the media tactics of self-representation used in the intersectional feminist activism of migrant women workers from the Turkish Republic in the Netherlands from 1975 to 1985. Through comprehensive archival research, it aims to historically contextualise and critically evaluate the archival conditions of this marginalised audiovisual heritage. Drawing on archival presences of extant film and television material as well as archival absences, such as lost and abandoned projects, the paper proposes to reconfigure the ‘audiovisual heritage’ of underrepresented communities at the intersection of race, gender, and class, whose archival presences are contingent, arbitrary, and fragmented. To address the specific condition of archival paucity concerning the audiovisual heritage of migrant women workers, the paper concludes with the new perspectives opened by a feminist media historiography of open questions, critical fabulation, and counterfactual speculation.

Remediation of Film Archives: Digital Humanities and Audiovisual Heritage

The curatorship of audiovisual archival collections is currently influenced by the challenges of digital technologies. Integrating these technologies can open new horizons in accessing, preserving, and enhancing audiovisual materials, yet it also introduces significant ethical challenges. For instance, greater accessibility to audiovisual heritage enables a broader audience to explore archives’ resources through new distribution models driven by technological, economic, institutional, and cultural changes. However, these changes require a mindful approach in selecting the materials, with ongoing reflections on sustainability and obsolescence.

O papel da cinemateca pernambucana na salvaguarda do patrimônio audiovisual

The objective of this research is to delineate the contributions of Cinemateca Pernambucana of the Fundação Joaquim Nabuco in the preservation and access to audiovisual collections, in order to understand how the institution develops methods and techniques to safeguard and disseminate the audiovisual heritage of Pernambuco, developed through the cinema cycles in the state’s audiovisual history. Regarding the methodological procedures, this is a qualitative research with exploratory purposes and bibliographic means. The data collection technique involved semi-structured interviews with the staff of Cinemateca Pernambucana, and the data analysis was carried out through pragmatic language analysis. As a result, it is evident that the Cinemateca, in the scope of preservation, develops strategies such as server archiving, generating backup copies, and LTO tape backups to ensure the long-term existence of Pernambuco films. Regarding access, the institution focuses on the development and education of the audience through educational practices, in addition to cinematic dissemination through its official site. It is concluded that the Cinemateca Pernambucana is an essential cultural, memorial, and educational facility, both in supporting the audiovisual production chain and in the digital preservation of representative audiovisual documents of Pernambuco cinema, contributing to their dissemination and fostering the development of cinematic culture in the state.

El audiovisual como patrimonio: evolución histórica y situación actual del patrimonio cinematográfico y audiovisual español

The historical evolution of the Spanish Cinematographic and Audiovisual Heritage, since the creation of the Spanish Film Archive (formerly National) in 1953, has been conditioned by the constant transformation of the audiovisual industry and the successive legislative regulations since the Historical Heritage Law was passed in 1985. incorporated for the first time in Spain. Successive attempts to update and develop this regulation have been truncated for various reasons, including the lack of agreement between the central and regional administrations; which is intended to be solved with a new cinema law that incorporates all audiovisual heritage into the corpus of works to be protected. There is unanimity that it should be considered as part of this heritage, which has increased in recent years with new technologies and digital development.

La Filmoteca Canaria: memoria visual de las islas (2005-2023)

"We have tried to elaborate a starting inventory of the Canary Island Cinematheque activities over the last twenty years in relation with safeguarding audiovisual heritage of the Archipelago. We also deepen the functioning of the institution, pointing out some of its faults and identifying their successes and deficiencies. We had the opportunity to study the relationship between this film library and other cultural centers, the publication of books related to Canary Islands Cinema and the recovery of audiovisual materials, likewise donations and the creation of a film archive. Lastly, we have addressed our discussion to the future of digital cinema."

Unsettling Borders of Archives: Activating the Audiovisual Heritage of the Turkish Community in the Netherlands

This article explores issues with archival preservation and access in the case of the audiovisual heritage of migrant communities, which defies hegemonic categories of nation, race, ethnicity, language. As such, although these communities are somewhat present in archives, they are marginalised and remain absent, silent, and dormant. Through two case studies of audiovisual representations of Turkish migrants from Dutch public archives, the article tackles possible ways to unravel such hegemonic categories, thereby reflecting the multiplicities and instabilities of migrant archival objects. It explores the pivotal role of community engagement for more inclusive archival practices that undermine its constitutive limits –– to work with archives against the archives.

Artificial intelligence applications in media archives

The aim of this paper is to present an international overview of the use of artificial intelligence in the context of media archives in broadcasters, preservation institutions and press agencies, through a comprehensive analysis of sources primarily focusing on case studies presented at international conferences and seminars, together with the results of the survey on the use of artificial intelligence conducted by FIAT/IFTA. Once the most commonly used technologies have been defined and we have identified the stages of the production workflow in which they are used, we will discuss the specific applications of these technologies in television archives, audiovisual heritage preservation organisations, press agencies and innovation projects where technology vendors and media companies collaborate. Finally, we will deal with the challenges related to the implementation of AI in media archives, the need for datasets in the development of language models, and the relevance of a sensible use of technology.

Editorial

This special issue of VIEW was inspired by a call from the final conference of the project “European History Reloaded: Curation and Appropriation of Digital Audiovisual Heritage” (CADEAH). The project brought together interdisciplinary expertise in the curation of digital audiovisual heritage, contemporary European history and Digital Humanities to study the ‘afterlife’ of digitized audiovisual heritage once it was made accessible and shared online, something that has seen a great deal of growth throughout the first two decades of this century. What happens to digitized audiovisual heritage once it is shared online? How does audiovisual heritage circulate online? To what extent do users re-use or re-mix audiovisual heritage? And, more specifically from an archival perspective: How do strategies of curation shape the appropriation of digitized heritage? What new perspectives on European history and identity do digital curations and appropriations of audiovisual heritage create? How can audiovisual archives better foster the re-use of Europe’s audiovisual heritage? With this issue we wanted to broaden our view and discuss our insights with scholars from diverse disciplines and with diverse professional backgrounds. These articles showcase the methodological and conceptual approaches that are being used across Europe to understand, and encourage, the use of audiovisual heritage, investigating contemporary practices of re-use and the ways that archives themselves think about these challenges.

Audiovisual Heritage and its Uses at the Swiss Public Broadcaster: A Dialogue on Opportunities and Constraints for Archives and Academics

Conjointly conceived by an archivist at the Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS, the French speaking PSB) and two media historians, this paper aims at discussing the diversity of uses of digitised AV heritage in Switzerland through the lenses of their professional experience. It focuses on the RTS as a particularly productive case study since the RTS has not only been a pioneer in digitising AV heritage and in promoting its holdings to the broader audience, but it also actively develops new tools for internal use, in particular speech to text technologies and more recently AI-based automation for image treatment and analysis, and datamining tools. Through a discussion of current projects at the RTS, the paper provides insights into the most recent uses and reuses of digitised AV heritage in Switzerland.

Uses of Audiovisual Heritage: From Expertise to Personalization

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Digitising images from the first tests of HDTV in Europe: The 1992 Summer Olympic Games

This paper discusses the digitisation project launched by the International Olympic Committee’s Audiovisual Heritage team, with technical support from the French Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA), to digitally preserve a rare-format collection of tapes produced during the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. What makes this collection unique is the fact that the D1 tapes are recorded in 1250/50 HDTV standard, the first analogue high-definition television standard developed in Europe, but one that was never formally adopted at European level. This rendered the task of digitising the collection almost impossible, given the lack of video tape recorders for such a format and, in particular, the lack of technicians with the required know-how. Before exploring the technical details of the digitisation process, the paper briefly presents the origin of the recordings, outlines the chronology of the 1250/50 HDTV standard’s development and explains how the Olympic Games were chosen as one of the testing grounds for this new technology. The paper then provides a technical description of the design, implementation and effectiveness of the workflow developed by the INA to digitise these legacy carriers, using obsolete recorders in conjunction with modern tools to reconstruct the experimental high-definition system.

Television archives, social networks and the young audiences: The example of Internet memes as a way to revitalise public broadcasters’ engagement

The purpose of this research is to explore the efforts that Spanish public television archives are making to bring their audiovisual content closer to young people via social networks. Specifically, this text focuses on analysing the public television archives of the Spanish national television company RTVE and of the Andalusian regional public television agency (RTVA), known as Archivo RTVE and MemorANDA, respectively. The methodology used is based on both qualitative and quantitative tools, consisting of content analysis and in-depth interviews. The results obtained show that both platforms manage to reach young people, but indirectly through viral videos or Internet memes. The RTVE archive is the most successful among young people because it has a more extensive collection and more resources as well as a policy that is more clearly geared towards the dissemination of its audiovisual heritage. The most negative aspect identified in this study was the repetition of regional clichés, especially in the case of MemorANDA.

A collaborative approach for the registration, deposit and digitisation of Flemish film heritage

This paper discusses the collaboration between meemoo (the Flemish Institute for the Archives) and the Royal Belgian Film Archive with regard to the registration, conservation and digitisation of film heritage preserved by Flemish libraries, archives, museums, performing arts organisations, government bodies and city archives. The paper begins with a detailed description of the various pain points identified in a 2013 report on the state of Flemish audiovisual heritage conservation, including inter alia the fragmentation in film heritage management, the lack of specific attention for film collections, the lack of infrastructure and content-related and technical knowledge and poor storage conditions. It then focuses on the eight-step approach developed by meemoo and the Royal Belgian Film Archive, which culminates in large-scale digitisation projects and encouraging the reuse of the digitised films. After discussing some interim results of the collaboration, the article concludes that partnerships such as the one discussed facilitate an efficient, effective and affordable approach to the preservation and digitisation of diverse and dispersed film collections on a regional scale, thus providing a solid base for further conservation and digitisation.

Погляд на ранню історію аудіовізуального архівування в Україні

The purpose of the investigation is to look into the early history of national audiovisual archiving, which began with the founding in 1932 and the formation of the All-Ukrainian CinePhoto Archives in Kyiv (now the Central State Audiovisual and Electronic Archives), which in time coincided with the establishment of totalitarianism in the USSR, and to reveal the infl uence of the latter on the formation of relevant archival practices and methodologies. The research methodology is based on general scientifi c principles of the unity of theory and practice, complexity, historicism, comprehensiveness of knowledge, and the application of interdisciplinary and sociocultural approaches. The basic approaches are complemented by a complex of research methods, in particular, problem-chronological, historical-cultural, critical-comparative, structuralfunctional analysis, as well as source studies methods (archival and bibliographic heuristics, systematization and interpretation of sources). Scientifi c novelty. The article describes the prerequisites for the creation and initiation of activities of the All-Ukrainian CinePhoto Archives in Kyiv as the fi rst national center for collecting and storing audiovisual heritage. The content, specifi cs, principles and directions of activity of the audiovisual archive are defi ned, the interconnection and interdependence of the archival reality and the political regime are revealed. The conclusion is formulated that the problem retains research perspectives, in particular in terms of comparing the Ukrainian experience with foreign models of audiovisual archiving and their results in the pre-war period.

Центральний державний кінофотофоноархів України імені Г. С. Пшеничного як суб’єкт професійної й наукової комунікацій

The purpose of the publication is to highlight the role of the Central State Archives of Cinema, Audio and Visual Documents of Ukraine named after H. S. Pshenychny in the process of scientifi c and professional communication in the context of the development of Ukrainian archival science and practice. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the participation of archive employees in formal scientifi c and practical communication, in particular the presentation of their work in the columns of the scientifi c and practical journal «Archives of Ukraine», the characteristics of the vectors of scientifi c and professional search. Research methods. The research is based on theoretical developments and concepts of domestic and foreign scientists in the fi eld of social, scientifi c and professional communications. The work was carried out using general scientifi c methods of analysis and synthesis based on a systemic approach, principles of historicism and objectivity. Chronological, structural-typological, problem-thematic, genre-specifi c methods were also used when covering the topic. The scientifi c novelty of the article lies in clarifying the signifi cance of the Central State Archives of Cinema, Audio and Visual Documents of Ukraine named after H. S. Pshenychny in formal scientifi c and professional communication and its impact on the development of audiovisual archival science and archival practices for the preservation of audiovisual heritage. Conclusions. Central State Archives of Cinema, Audio and Visual Documents of Ukraine named after H. S. Pshenychny is an important subject of the socio-cultural and scientifi c-professional sphere and an active participant in professional and scientifi c communication. The study proved that the scientifi c and scientifi c-methodical works of its employees played a signifi cant role in the development of scientifi c-methodical, professional principles for the preservation and use of the audiovisual heritage of our country. Under the current conditions of the rapid development of the information society, the growing role of information and communication technologies, further research of various forms of scientifi c and professional communication, in particular informal and electronically mediated, in the scientifi c and professional archival environment is considered promising.

Архівування аудіовізуальної спадщини у Великій Британії: історичні традиції та сучасна практика (закінчення)

The aim of the article is to describe the changes in the development of audiovisual heritage archiving in the UK through the prism of forming a network of regional audiovisual archives, outline the main directions and summarize the results of the NGO Film Archives UK (FAUK), its contribution to archiving and audio national level. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, systemic and interdisciplinary approaches, application of a system of scientifi c methods: theoretical (analysis, synthesis, etc.), empirical (descriptive), comparative, retrospective, chronological and morphological analysis (audiovisual heritage in some centers of its storage). The scientifi c novelty of the study is to reveal the features of the British model of archiving audiovisual heritage at the regional level. The history of formation of a number of regional audiovisual archives in Great Britain is considered, their documentary collections are investigated. Archival initiatives aimed at providing and updating audiovisual collections are summarized. The results of the non-governmental organization Film Archives UK (FAUK) are represented, its contribution to the formation of national policy in the fi eld of audiovisual archiving and the development of cooperation in this fi eld at the national level. Conclusions. The UK’s audiovisual archives, which bring together national and regional collections, are an important part of the world’s audiovisual heritage; their scope, role and importance will inevitably increase with the development of digital and audiovisual technologies. The unprecedented impact of digitization on the fi eld of audiovisual archiving points to the need for transformation and increasing challenges facing archives. This requires interaction and partnership between the country’s audiovisual archives. An important role in this is played by the non-governmental organization Film Archives UK (FAUK), which is an institutional platform for coordinating actions aimed at developing the network of British audiovisual archives and shaping national policy in the fi eld of audiovisual archiving.

Audio-visual heritage preservation and the changing dynamics of Ghana’s historical film archives

ABSTRACT Current discourse on restitution and repatriation of Africa’s cultural heritage from Europe often eschews the large quantum of audio-visual materials kept in European archives. However, nation state sovereignty issues and concerns over easy access to film archives have attracted some level of scholarly attention, especially focussing on questions of ownership and its ramifications. From a historical perspective, this article draws attention to storage and preservation practices of Ghana’s audio-visual archives and suggests that current practices impede greatly on public access to film materials. Emphasis is placed on post- independent Ghanaian films, produced by the Ghana Film Industry Corporation and currently stored with a UK laboratory. rely on data from correspondence between the government of Ghana and storage organizations as well as interviews with key actors within the Ghana film industry to posit that in spite of debates in favour of digitization as the solution to access, the technology must be adopted cautiously where issues of ownership, copyright and the place of the tangible materials take centre stage beyond the digitization process for a sustainable access to Ghana’s archived audio-visual materials.

Архівування аудіовізуальної спадщини у Великій Британії: історичні традиції та сучасна практика

The aim of the article is to investigate the history of the formation and current state of development of archiving of audiovisual heritage in Great Britain. The research methodology is based on a system of modern basic scientifi c pproaches (socio-cultural, systemic, interdisciplinary) and a set of general scientifi c methods – bibliographic, comparative-historical, retrospective, empirical (descriptive), critical, typological, of system analysis. The tendencies of the organization of British audiovisual archives, means and methods of formation of collectives and infrastructure are analyzed. The following methods were used: genetic, inductive, historical, comparative, as well as systematization, generalization, classifi cation. A special place in the study is occupied by the art history approach, within which, in particular, morphological analysis allowed to distinguish the genre-species structure of audiovisual heritage in individual centers of its storage. The scientifi c novelty of the study is that for the fi rst time the main reasons for the foundation and some historical stories of 4 key centers for audiovisual heritage in the UK are traced: the Imperial War Museum, the National Archive of the British Film Institute, the Moving Image Archive of the National Library of Scotland, the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales; and also revealed the composition of the documents concentrated there – an important component of world cultural heritage. The historical role of British archivists in the development of the theory and practice of audiovisual archiving is shown. The peculiarities of the British archival policy, focused (in pre-Internet times) primarily on the formation and preservation of audiovisual collections and its impact on the world practice of audiovisual archiving, are analyzed. Changes in the priorities of archives’ activity in the context of digital transformation and integration into the digital media space are identifi ed. Emphasis is placed on archival initiatives in the direction of providing and updating the information and source potential of audiovisual collections. The peculiarities of the British model of organization of archiving of audiovisual heritage and functional specifi cs of its separate subjects are revealed. It is concluded that in the future the main research interest should be focused on the formation of a network of regional audiovisual archives and modern strategies for audiovisual archiving with relevant practices.

Культурна політика Комісії Європейського Союзу

The aim of the work is to comprehensively study the cultural policy of one of the main supranational institutions of the EU institutional system – the European Commission. To achieve this goal, the legal documents that defi ne thelegal status of the powers, functions, place and role of the European Commission in the process of European integration are analyzed, the content, directions and mechanisms of its cultural policy which is carried out in conjunction with the concepts of European governance and the construction of the information society are characterized. The main attention is paid to the analysis of the acts of secondary law initiated by the European Commission, cultural programs and projects that refl ect the priority of EU cultural policy, the strategic composition of integration processes within it – preservation and approval of European cultural heritage. The chronological boundaries of the study cover the beginning of 1990–2018 – a period of profound transformations in the cultural policy of the EU, a signifi cant increase in its role in the system of integration strategies, the formation of a single European cultural space. The methodology of research of the article includes: general scientifi c (historical, logical, systemic, structural-functional, classifi cations, logicalsemantic) and special-scientifi c (defi nitive analysis, historical-chronological, source analysis and synthesis) methods, use of terminological apparatus of jurisprudence, European law, theories of public administration. Scientifi c novelty, given the limited research in Ukrainian archival science on this topic, is a comprehensive coverage of European experience in legislative development of cultural heritage and its components – archival and audiovisual heritage, the introduction of effective management mechanisms, the latest information and communication technologies, modern digital standards, preservation of cultural content. The conclusions substantiate the need to study this experience and its adaptation to solving problems and tasks of the state archives.

Arquitectura y cine en Valladolid. Estrategia de protección y gestión del patrimonio cultural moderno

Patrimonio arquitectónico y audiovisual son dos recursos culturales de enorme importancia en la región deCastilla y León y, específicamente en su capital, la ciudad de Valladolid. El Grupo de Investigación Reconocidade Arquitectura y Cine de la Universidad de Valladolid (GIRAC), la Fundación Do.Co.Mo.Mo Ibérico,el Ayuntamiento de Valladolid y la Valladolid Film Office (VAFO) han llevado a cabo diversas iniciativaspara poner en valor y relacionar ambos campos de conocimiento. La riqueza cultural y económica queemana de dicha relación se ha consolidado mediante un proceso de protección municipal del patrimonio delMovimiento Moderno en Valladolid. El presente trabajo explica la estrategia de difusión y rentabilizacióneconómica de dicho patrimonio como sets de rodaje orientados a la producción de audiovisuales.