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SEAPAVAA Newsletter |
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Country Update: NEW ZEALAND Sourcing film archives <"nzlnd.jpg" BORDER=0 WIDTH=355 HEIGHT=227> PAD - The public access database is available for free public use. In June the New Zealand Film Archive announced that for the third successive month its research library had supported more than 100 reference projects. The library's extensive computer database supports more than 5,000 specialist publications and 2,500 VHS reference tapes and also provides information about the entire collection. "Every week we receive an extraordinary mix of access requests," says Virginia Callanan, the Archive's registrar. "A family is tracing their grandfather in a newsreel; an advertising company wants home movie footage for a burger commercial; an historian is researching the New Zealand wars." "The film archive is an excellent public resource. The collections include over 30,000 moving image titles as well as books, posters, photographs, scripts, and audio tapes." Home movies, newsreels, features, TV commercials, and programs, music videos and documentaries are just some of the moving images available for viewing. "Reference viewing is easy and free," says Virginia. "The reference library, the public access database, and film centre exhibitions all provide plenty of opportunities to discover the collection. Outreach programs, like the Last Film Search, school screening, Te Hokinga Mai and a national video-access program, known as VACCESSremote, cater for audiences nationwide." National Archives holds the copyright to government productions, the New Zealand Television Archive managers TVNZ and NZBC copyrights, as well as the last 25 years of film productions. Unlike other archives or stock footage libraries, the film archive does not own its collections. "The copyright - the rights of the makers of the film or video is not passed on to the film archive when the item is deposited," says Virginia. "The depositor still owns the physical property - the actual reels of film or the video tape. Depositors may also own the copyright, but not always like when they may have purchased the film from a garage sale." The Film Archive also offers a footage sales service and regularly contributes to contemporary productions. Motormania, Forgotten Silver, The Drum, The New Zealand Wars, and music videos for The Exponents and Moana & the Moa Hunters are just a few examples. "Producers are usually very straightforward," says Bronwyn Taylor, Client Services Manager, "but purchasing may involve ethical and legal hurdles. Agreements with depositors, copyright, preservation and cultural issues must all be considered, especially the rights of families, hapu and whanau." The Copyright Act does not acknowledge Maori cultural rights regarding moving images, but the Film Archive does. For this reason, the Archive is working hard to establish relationships with hapu and whanau to formalize access procedures for films with Maori images. Although reference services are free, fees apply for commercial re-use. "Most clients understand the need for the Archive to charge for commercial services so that we can continue to provide a diverse range of reference services for free," says Bronwyn. "Revenue from footage sales is minimal and is always pumped back into the collections. This way more people can have more access to our national moving collection." The Film Archive Reference Library is open Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. Reprinted from Newsreel, official newsletter of the New Zealand Film Archive.
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