Access Screencraft materials

Our Screencraft collections include the papers of individuals and organisations, stills, posters, costume and production designs, animation cels and promotional material, and many other unpublished items including scripts, storyboards and autographed letters.

Overview

Screencraft materials include:

  • filmmakers’ written archives (the papers of both individuals and organisations)
  • design archives (costume design, production design and animation drawings)
  • one of the largest public collections of scripts, photographs, posters, press books and publicity materials

How to view Screencraft materials

The majority of the Screencraft research service is located in the BFI National Archive in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.

You need to book an appointment to view materials in the Screencraft collection. Appointment times between 10am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

There is a different process for viewing the moving image collections.

The average wait time for an appointment is around four weeks, but at busy times it can be longer.

Book an appointment

You’ll need to send us:

You should be specific as possible when requesting your materials or this could delay your visit.

If you’d like some help or if you have any questions about the guidance or catalogue, email us at screencraft@bfi.org.uk.

Book an appointment

After you book your appointment

You’ll be sent a confirmation document, which lays out details of the location and terms and conditions of the archive.

You’ll also be sent a link to a research register form.

At your appointment

You’ll be greeted by a member of the Screencraft team. They’ll inform you of:

  • general housekeeping
  • handling guidance – including any specific advice for your requested materials
  • the process of taking photos of materials – including limitations of use and the paper form you’ll need to fill out

Handling materials

We ask that all researchers read through our handling guide before attending a research appointment – this will be sent to you in an email. A member of the team will also show you the guidance at your appointment.

Viewing materials at BFI Reuben Library

You can view some Screencraft materials at the BFI Reuben Library, including digitised stills on Image Viewer, and some pressbooks on microfiche. You do not need to book an appointment to view these, but you may want to book a research session to ensure access to the library.

You should contact the library to find out if a particular pressbook is available to view on microfiche.

Digitised stills

The stills collection has been digitised. For supply of digitised stills please visit our stills sales and archive footage sales pages.

Requesting digitisation

Other Screencraft materials are not digitised and we do not have a digitisation on-demand service.

However, we’re always happy to consider requests on a case-by-case basis. All material is subject to a series of collection checks to assess condition, accessibility, and suitability for scanning, as well as the availability of a relevant digitisation specialist in your timeframe.

We charge a nominal fee to cover these direct costs.

For digitisation requests, provide a list of the specific Screencraft items that you are requesting, along with their reference numbers (which can be retrieved from our online catalogue), and page numbers where relevant. To assess requests which are for publication, we also require the following information:

  • title
  • author
  • publisher
  • release date
  • print run (including digital)
  • territory
  • media
  • language
  • image placement
  • image size (for example, half-page or full page)

Due to the specific handling and digitisation requirements for these items, you should get in touch as early as possible. Our average timeframe for digitisation is three weeks.

We do not own copyright for most items in the collection. If we provide a copy of materials to you, you’ll need to get permissions from the rights holder if you’re going to reproduce it in any way.

We’ll require to see proof of permission from the rights holder prior to approving a digitisation request.

Donate to the collection

If you have materials that you believe may be of interest, and would like to consider donating these to the BFI National Archive, please send us a list of your items, along with:

  • the volume of material
  • any photos you have of the materials
  • useful information, such as condition
  • how you acquired them

All potential acquisitions are considered at a quarterly meeting of our Screencraft curators and archivists.

You can send details of your donation offer to screencraft@bfi.org.uk.

There is a different process if you’d like to donate moving images to the archive.