Inside the Archive #66: Reflections on the Graveyard Shift events and a new cataloguing framework
This week, we have a roundup of a public engagement series and introducing a new document for archivists around the globe.
Graveyard Shift: final curtain (for now!)
On Monday 2nd March, we ran our fifth and final Graveyard Shift event under the Our Screen Heritage project. This series of events was conceived as a way to bolster our copyright data by asking members of the public to source reliable data about when key filmmakers, directors, composers and writers – had died so we could enter that data in our systems.
They have been wildly successful and exceeded our initial expectations. We can now say that after five events the results are in. In total, 770 person and institution records have been edited, which affects our copyright understanding for a whopping 13,200 moving image works!
As part of the last event, the team have reflected on their experiences of the Graveyard Shift events.
Annie Shaw (Public Access Researcher), said:
“Copyright isn’t everyone’s favourite topic (or so I’m told). I’ve worked in the copyright field for 25 years, and a lot of that time has been taken up with trying to find out who owns the copyright to a film or if the copyright has expired. What that really means is finding out who created a work and, if they’re no longer alive, how long ago did they die (copyright generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the author or creator). With the popularity of programmes like Who Do You Think You Are?, it wasn’t a giant leap to the idea of the Graveyard Shift, where we gamified the detective work to find death dates.
Spending an afternoon looking for death dates may sound morbid, but in fact it turns out it is really enjoyable and can lead to unexpected search results and odd biographical discoveries. Sleuthing death dates makes an intrinsically administrative data task socially engaging and provides real practical impact by enriching our collection’s data and making copyright assessments so much easier for us. Every promising new death date becomes dependable copyright knowledge.”
Jennifer Macmillan (Collections Systems Specialist), said:
“I’ve attended all five Graveyard Shift events, and the people have been the standout element for me! I’ve been able to hang out with wonderful Library and Our Screen Heritage colleagues but also had brilliant chats with members of the public about the archive and our collections.”
Louise McAward-White (Collections Data Manager), said:
“Over the course of the five events, it’s been the most satisfying to see how interested people are in the data the BFI holds about moving image, and that at the events they are truly and instantly impacting our understanding of the collection. I’ve enjoyed working closely with the BFI Reuben Library team to use all their resources – press cuttings, annuals of obituaries, books about composers, female directors, horror stars and so many more.”
Nic Regan (System Support Specialist), said:
“The highlight for me has been seeing members of the public dive right in – embracing the purpose, getting stuck into the research, and showing a genuine drive to improve the data. Whether combing through the many Variety Obituaries volumes in the Reuben Library, scouring obituaries online from news outlets, or finding an actual image of a gravestone, the enthusiasm to find credible sources to improve and enhance the BFI’s data was a joy to see!”
Cataloguing born-digital film-related materials: a framework
Over the past year, with the support of the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, the Our Screen Heritage programme has brought together an international network of archive professionals working with, or hoping to work with, born-digital film‑related material. This network is known as the Digital Film-Related Documentation Taskforce. The work of this taskforce builds on the leading contributions of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Cataloguing and Documentation Commission (CDC), with a particular focus on digital approaches.
By born‑digital, we refer to materials that originate in digital form. By film‑related, we follow FIAF’s definition, which at the BFI includes materials in Screencraft archives that include items such as scripts, photographs, posters, costume and production designs, and a broad range of documentation connected to film and filmmaking.
The taskforce provides a collaborative space for sharing experiences, posing questions, discussing challenges, and celebrating successes specific to born‑digital in the screen archival sector. It is grounded in the recognition that no single institution has all the answers and that collective problem‑solving is essential.
A central aim has been to develop a shared framework for cataloguing born‑digital material, an area still relatively new to film archives, despite wider progress in digital archiving. This goal has now been achieved, and we’re delighted to announce the publication of the Cataloguing Born-digital Film-related Materials framework document on FIAF’s website, alongside helpful guidance.
The document offers key insights into how to catalogue such materials, including recommended essential and desirable metadata fields and links to useful resources. It does not prescribe any one standard. Instead, it is designed to be adapted to the standards and capacities of individual archives. Members of the taskforce hope it will serve as a foundation for archivists internationally who are working with these holdings
We would like to express our thanks to our colleagues in the CDC for hosting the framework, to all taskforce members for their dedication, and to the BFI Screen Heritage Fund for supporting both the network and this new resource.
Official members of the Digital Film-Related Documentation Taskforce include:
- Asian Film Archive
- BFI National Archive
- Centre National de l’Audiovisuel, Luxembourg
- Cinemateca Portuguesa – Museu do Cinema, IP
- CINEMATEK – Royal Film Archive of Belgium
- Cinémathèque québécoise
- Cinémathèque suisse
- Danish Film Institute
- Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna
- Harry Ransom Center
- The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
- Wessex Film and Sound Archive
– Grace Johnston, Screencraft Archivist and Co-Chair of the Digital Film-Related Documentation Taskforce
Our Screen Heritage and the Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.