Inside the Archive blog

Inside the Archive #39: ‘Undocumented’ workshop and 35mm prints at BFI Southbank

This week we hear from BFI film conservators about their recent workshop and learn about upcoming screenings from the BFI National Archive collections.

Inside the Archive #38: Harold Brown and the Archive at 90

This week we go back in time to the 1950s and 60s to explore the Archive's pioneering past and look ahead to Heritage Open Day.

Inside the Archive #37: Firebreaks and Graveyard Shifts

This week learn more about some much-needed auditing completed by our Access Team and about a special crowdsourcing event hosted at BFI Southbank.

Inside the Archive #36: From Manchester to The Hague

This week digital preservation and collection management techniques take centre stage as colleagues report back from two recent conferences.

Inside the Archive #35: What is multispectral scanning?

This week, learn more about Multispectral Scanning at the BFI National Archive and what went down at the EVCOM Clarion Awards 2025.

Inside the Archive #34: How we’re cataloguing Indian cinema history

Read more about the BFI National Archive's collection of Indian song booklets, how we got on at the Creative Nonfiction Film Weekend and the first few items showcased in our Object of the Week series.

Inside the Archive #33: Archiving in Amsterdam

Go on a trip to the Eye International Conference 2025 and back in time to the BFI National Archive's early years, with the latest edition of the Inside the Archive blog.

Inside the Archive #32: Finding missing materials

This week learn more about the detective work that has enhanced our holdings of a Len Lye classic and about the launch of BFI Replay in Dundee.

Inside the Archive #31: Up close at the BFI Film on Film Festival

Learn more about how we recently brought the BFI National Archive's Conservation Centre to life at BFI Southbank, our plans for a new research laboratory and our new 'Object of the Week' series.

Inside the Archive #30: Seoul-searching and print-making

Hear from colleagues who attended the ISEA conference in South Korea and take a look at our new Inside the Archive exhibition.

Inside the Archive #29: The scoop on Star Wars

This week, watch the latest Inside the Archive video and learn about how the BFI National Archive collections are used in a range of projects at a BFI Research Showcase.

Inside the Archive #28: Exploring new digital preservation

Learn more about the behind the scenes work that has enabled the BFI Film on Film Festival and how we've been testing a new digital preservation system.

Inside the Archive #27: Cataloguing Cruise

Learn how our data team have been updating Tom Cruise's back catalogue and how the BFI Reuben Library can shed light on the premiere of the 'Greatest Film of All Time'.

Inside the Archive #26: Reporting from Montréal

In this week’s blog, we have a special report from colleagues who attended the 2025 FIAF Congress held in Montréal, Canada.

Inside the Archive #25: Going beyond just sights and sounds

Discover more about a project rethinking the role of senses in museums and the search for an Ealing legend in a 1940s cinema commercial.

Inside the Archive #24: How we enter prints into our database

In this edition of the Inside the Archive blog learn more about how we accession materials to our collections and 'feel the noize' courtesy of Slade.

Inside the Archive #23: The lowdown from the TCM Classic Film Festival

In this special edition of the Inside the Archive blog we reflect on our recent adventures in Los Angeles, including the launch of BFI America and events at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Inside the Archive #22: Extraction, protection and exciting projection

Learn more about the second edition of the BFI Film on Film Festival, works that have been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World register and vital equipment being used by our film scanning team.

Inside the Archive #21: Tales of two archives

This week learn more about the recent panel discussion, Queer Lives in the Archives, and a new acquisition to the BFI National Archive.

Inside the Archive #20: Preserving ASMR

This week explore ASMR at the BFI National Archive's Conservation Centre, an update about traineeships and a breakdown of some of the 2025 Charity Film Awards submissions.

Inside the Archive #19: New networks and a trip to Nottingham

This week learn more about the Nottingham launch of BFI Replay and a new network for born-digital film-related materials.

Inside the Archive #18: New archivists in the making

This week learn more the National Lottery Open Week tour of the BFI National Archive's Conservation Centre and a trip to meet the latest BFI Film Academy cohort.

Inside the Archive #17: Increasing community access to our collections

This week learn more about volunteering at the archive and our new editorial series, Rarities of British cinema.

Inside the Archive #16: British postwar cinema gets a Swiss spotlight

This week discover more about our Locarno Film Festival partnership, a new collection on BFI Replay and go behind the scenes as we film the Conservation Centre film lab.

Inside the Archive #15: Reporting from the BFI Future Film Festival

This week read about what we got up to at the BFI Future Film Festival, how we've been updating our 'death data' and more.

Inside the Archive #14: Archiving in the age of (super) abundance

In this special edition of the blog we reflect on the Archiving in the Age of (Super) Abundance symposium, which took place at BFI Southbank (and online) on 13 February.

Inside the Archive #13: Help us archive online video history

This week learn more about how you can help us collect online moving image and the student placements we have in the curatorial team.

Inside the Archive #12: Investing in the archive’s future workforce

This week read about a group of volunteers that visited the archive, our event for cinephile sleuths, and how we're developing opportunities for traineeships in the Conservation Centre.

Inside the Archive #11: Connecting collections

Learn more about how the archive was involved in a project exploring how to connect collections from across the UK and how you can tune into our event, Archiving in the Age of (Super) Abundance.

Inside the Archive #10: What archival materials teach us about continuity work

Learn more about how our Special Collections team are shining a spotlight on unsung script supervisors and how our Documentation team are marking a new milestone in the use of AI technology.

Inside the Archive #9: 3D printing and family donations

Learn more about Douglas Slocombe's home movies and how the archive uses 3D printers in our latest blog.

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Inside the Archive #8: Schama and Cocker enter our vaults

This week learn more about The Story of Us, film cleaning feats and what we were watching on New Year's Day 1985.

Inside the Archive #7: A visit from the CMS committee

This week learn more about a recent visit from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, the archive's 'Top 5' titles and the late, great Malcolm Le Grice.

Inside the Archive #6: How and when to remove items from the archive

Learn more about deaccessioning, 'orphan manifestations' and how a silent landmark inspired this year's Christmas must-have.

Inside the Archive #5: Short cuts – how we catalogue film trailers

In this edition we explore the importance of barcode scanning, discover a lost world in a Tring basement and examine the anatomy of a trailer.

Inside the Archive #4: Restoration workshops and the secret pleasures of labelling

Learn more about a recent archive adventure to India, how our curators have been taking a fresh look at our collections and the importance of a good label, in our latest blog.

Inside the Archive #3: Environmental sustainability in archiving

This week we shout from the rooftops about the BFI Mediatheque, head to the Manchester Animation Festival and learn about sustainability in archiving.

Inside the Archive #2: How to archive taped TV

As we gear up for World TV Day on 21 November, learn more about how we archive off-air TV broadcasts and make these available at the BFI Mediatheque.

Inside the Archive #1: Introducing our weekly blog on the work of the BFI National Archive

Welcome to the first edition of our new, weekly blog exploring the work of the BFI National Archive.

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Inside the Archive #39: ‘Undocumented’ workshop and 35mm prints at BFI Southbank

This week we hear from BFI film conservators about their recent workshop and learn about upcoming screenings from the BFI National Archive collections.

By Alex Prideaux and Milo Holmes

Inside the Archive #39: ‘Undocumented’ workshop and 35mm prints at BFI Southbank

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