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Archive for May, 2009

BFI National Archive Research Viewing Service

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 28 May 2009

© BFIThe BFI National Archive of film and television contains more than 50,000 fiction films, over 100,000 non-fiction titles and around 625,000 television programmes. The archive covers every genre from silent newsreels to CinemaScope epics, from home movies to avant-garde experiments, from classic documentaries to vintage television, from advertisements to 3-D films, soap opera to football.

A selection of films are available to view in the BFI Mediatheque on the South Bank, but the Archive also runs a Research Viewing Service which allows access to rarer items in the collection. While not a free service, it is available to students at a 50% discounted rate of £6.25 + VAT per hour of running time for films and £5 + VAT for video and DVD.

Kiddie Records Weekly

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 12 May 2009

The Happy Prince, adapted and directed by Orson WellesKiddie Records Weekly is a project devoted to the golden age of American children’s records, spanning the mid forties through the early fifties. This period produced a wealth of all-time classics.  Many of these recordings were extravagant Hollywood productions on major record labels and featured big time celebrities and composers.

Scanned covers are accompanied by the music and stories which can be streamed or downloaded. Audio recordings prior to 1958 are now generally in the public domain in the USA.

The BFI on YouTube

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 7 May 2009

The BFI on YouTube
The BFI YouTube channel features over 200 films from the archives. Films can be browsed individually or via playlists on topics such as London on film, sport in Britain, and Britain in the 1920s.

Over 1200 other complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive can be viewed free of charge in the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank.

Doc Alliance Films

By L ( Elizabeth ) Lawes, on 7 May 2009

How to save a fish from drowning / dir. Kelly Neal, 2007. 12 mins.Doc Alliance Films is an EU supported project which emerged as a result of the co-operative effort of five key European documentary film festivals. The site features 250 documentaries, mostly from central and eastern Europe, available for streaming or download at various quality levels. 20 new films are added monthly. While not a free service, streaming costs from only €0.5 and download (up to DVD quality) from €1.5 – €5 depending on the length of the film.