viewpoint footage libraries
2010. A new year, a new decade. A time for
reflection and for footage libraries to be
inundated with requests for archive material.
And it’s not just documentaries and news
broadcasts looking for old grainy black and
white film either. Robert Taffurelli reports.
Feeling nostalgic?
W
hether it’s tracing special about the history of British oil archive material, most still resides with
family roots, a exploration for the History Channel that specialist libraries. And it is here that
fascination with tells the story of the exploration and the future is meeting the past,
ancient Rome or drilling for oil since the first discovery delivering vast integrated digital
watching events
Whether it’s
in south west Persia in 1908 - the content for all archive needs.
from the Second discovery that led to the formation of The Associated Press recently
World War in colour, consumer
tracing
Anglo-Persian Oil, later BP. The film announced the launch of a file-based
demand for the past is growing and as family roots, tells the story of the hunt for oil in the video news delivery service, providing
a result there are more hours of history
a fascination
North Sea as well as Alaska, and broadcast customers with a modern
programmes on TV than ever before.
with ancient
current exploration in the Gulf of delivery platform that integrates with
As well as the terrestrial channels,
Rome or
Mexico. digital newsroom production systems.
there is also an increasing market for
watching
Also, War Story, a project from the AP Media Port will allow customers
historical documentaries with the Imperial War Museum to record the to receive video news stories as
History Channel (with 365 days of
events from
experiences of serving men and separate digital files, which will be
historical content to fill), Discovery and the Second women in Afghanistan. The project will dispatched to the client as soon as
National Geographic - to mention but a
World War in
add to the museum’s unique record of each story is ready. This means clients
few - searching for archive material.
colour,
war experiences going back to the will no longer need to record stories
Founded in 1982, Flashback
consumer
letters and diaries of soldiers from the from AP’s Global Video Wire feed based
Television produces a variety of factual First World War trenches. on a 24-hour bulletin schedule.
entertainment programmes, such as
demand for
“It was a great privilege to make this “By introducing AP Media Port
historical documentaries and drama- the past is film for the Imperial War Museum,” delivery, our clients will find it even
documentaries, along with a range of
growing and
said Taylor Downing, managing easier to integrate AP content into their
lifestyle programming including
as a result
director and head of history at digital workflows,” said Nigel Baker,
gardening, cooking, travel and leisure.
there are
Flashback. “It’s really important in the vice president of business operations
With a long track record of production
in the international market, as well as
more hours
digital era where emails and entries on for AP. “They’ll also be able to identify
personal sites can so easily get lost, to the footage they need much faster.”
in the UK with programming currently
of history
preserve the records that will be the The service has already been
in production for the BBC, ITV, Channel programmes foundation stone for histories of installed at 40 customer locations and
Four, Five and BSkyB, Flashback
on TV than
present day conflicts.” will eventually roll out to 800 sites.
produces long-running series for North
ever before.
The project features interviews with Until then, AP will continue to operate
American broadcasters Arts & several serving soldiers, sailors and both delivery systems, allowing clients
Entertainment Television Networks airmen, including extracts of an who have not yet switched over to the
(The History Channel and the Biography interview with medical assistant Kate Media Port to use the traditional
Channel) and Discovery, and has also Nesbitt, the first woman in the Royal method of recording content from the
co-produced several major projects Navy to receive the MC for courage Global Video Wire.
with FR2 in France. under fire. The project was piloted in 2008, with
With an extensive archive of over The ability for broadcasters and customer feedback shaping the
2000 hours of material collected and producers to repurpose content, direction of the service. It involved
catalogued by the film archivist, the particularly in the digital age, is as building a head-end production system
library contains a wealth of material. essential as ever. Hours upon hours of in London, which transmits high-
But it’s the breadth of commissions material produced and held by resolution video files over the AP’s
that the company receives that production companies have an archive satellite network. A receiving device
indicates the immense appetite that value, such as social histories in the called AP Media Port server also was
exists for archive material. Recent interviews they conduct. But while all developed.
projects include Oil Hunters, a one-hour production companies have their The Media Port server is a
14 l ibe l january/february 2010 l www.ibeweb.com
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