Northern Region Film and Television Archive
Encyclopedia
The Northern Region Film and Television Archive (NRFTA) is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to collect, preserve and provide access to film
, television
and other moving image material related to the history of a region of England
, which is defined as the Tees Valley
area and the counties of Durham
, Northumberland
and Tyne and Wear
.
and television
collections within the region: what was then the University of Teesside (now Teesside University), Tyne and Wear Archives Service (TWAS, the county record office
for Tyne and Wear
), Trade Films (see below) and Cumbria Archives Service (the county record office for Cumbria
). Initial funding was provided by Northern Arts (what was then the UK Government's regional agency for distributing public arts funding in the north-east of England), and the organisation began life with a full-time curator
and a part-time archivist
. In 2001, responsibility for distributing core funding to the English regional film archives passed from Northern Arts to the newly-formed UK Film Council
's regional agency
, Northern Film and Media. A temperature and humidity controlled vault facility was built for the NRFTA on the Teesside campus during 2003, and was formally opened the following year. In December 2003, NRFTA Ltd. was formed as a company limited by guarantee
(no. 04994213), thus making the archive an independent legal entity. In February 2006, responsibility for providing a moving image archive service to Cumbria
passed from the NRFTA to the North West Film Archive. As of February 2010 the NRFTA has a staff of two (one full-time and one part-time), both of whom are based at Teesside University. The NRFTA is one of a network of eight regional film archives in England
. It is an 'emerging archive' member institution of the UK Film Archive Forum.
, where most of the collection is stored. Limited storage facilities are also operated at Tyne and Wear Archives Service in Newcastle upon Tyne
as well, but all work on the collection now takes place at Teesside. Viewing facilities for members of the public are available at Newcastle
, but preservation
and cataloguing work no longer takes place there. As with any archive, the NRFTA undertakes three core activities.
The NRFTA is funded from a combination of sources, including public money, revenue from commercial footage licensing to broadcasters (all other paid-for services are charged on a cost-covering basis) and 'in kind' contributions from its constituent organisations, principally Teesside University and Tyne and Wear Archives Service. The NRFTA's work is overseen by a board of directors
, and its permanent staff are all employees of Teesside University.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and other moving image material related to the history of a region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which is defined as the Tees Valley
Tees Valley
The Tees Valley is an area in the North East of England. It can be described as "greater Teesside" and consists of the four unitary authorities created by the breakup of the County of Cleveland in 1996: Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, and Stockton-On-Tees along with the borough of...
area and the counties of Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
.
History and overview
The NRFTA was founded in January 1998 as an unofficial consortium of four bodies which already held substantial filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
collections within the region: what was then the University of Teesside (now Teesside University), Tyne and Wear Archives Service (TWAS, the county record office
County record office
In the United Kingdom the term county record office usually refers to a local authority repository, also called a County Archives. Such repositories employ specialist staff to administer and conserve the historic and the semi-current records of the parent body...
for Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
), Trade Films (see below) and Cumbria Archives Service (the county record office for Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
). Initial funding was provided by Northern Arts (what was then the UK Government's regional agency for distributing public arts funding in the north-east of England), and the organisation began life with a full-time curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
and a part-time archivist
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
. In 2001, responsibility for distributing core funding to the English regional film archives passed from Northern Arts to the newly-formed UK Film Council
UK Film Council
The UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and was funded through sources including the...
's regional agency
Regional screen agencies
Following a major review of the film infrastructure in the United Kingdom during 2000, the UK Film Council set up nine Regional Screen Agencies, one in each regions of England, to deliver support for film-making, exhibition and related media activities....
, Northern Film and Media. A temperature and humidity controlled vault facility was built for the NRFTA on the Teesside campus during 2003, and was formally opened the following year. In December 2003, NRFTA Ltd. was formed as a company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
(no. 04994213), thus making the archive an independent legal entity. In February 2006, responsibility for providing a moving image archive service to Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
passed from the NRFTA to the North West Film Archive. As of February 2010 the NRFTA has a staff of two (one full-time and one part-time), both of whom are based at Teesside University. The NRFTA is one of a network of eight regional film archives in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is an 'emerging archive' member institution of the UK Film Archive Forum.
Current operations
The NRFTA is based at Teesside University in MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, where most of the collection is stored. Limited storage facilities are also operated at Tyne and Wear Archives Service in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
as well, but all work on the collection now takes place at Teesside. Viewing facilities for members of the public are available at Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, but preservation
Film preservation
thumb|300px|Stacked containers filled with reels of [[film stock]]The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain...
and cataloguing work no longer takes place there. As with any archive, the NRFTA undertakes three core activities.
- Acquisition. There is no system of legal depositLegal depositLegal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to 19 . Typically, the national library is one of the...
for audiovisual media in the UK, and so moving image archives have to identify appropriate materials for preservation and persuade their owners to deposit them. - PreservationFilm preservationthumb|300px|Stacked containers filled with reels of [[film stock]]The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain...
. FilmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, magnetic tapeMagnetic tapeMagnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
and digital optical mediaOptical discIn computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
are among the most technically complex of any archival medium to preserve for the long-term. NRFTA staff carry out this task through a combination of preserving original media and copying where this is necessary to prevent the loss of content. - Access. This includes dealing with viewing requests from individual researchers, organising public screenings and licensing material to filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and TVTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme makers, and for online use. Access work can also involve negotiating copyrightCopyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
clearance and overcoming technical issues needed to provide high-quality access copies.
The NRFTA is funded from a combination of sources, including public money, revenue from commercial footage licensing to broadcasters (all other paid-for services are charged on a cost-covering basis) and 'in kind' contributions from its constituent organisations, principally Teesside University and Tyne and Wear Archives Service. The NRFTA's work is overseen by a board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, and its permanent staff are all employees of Teesside University.
The collection
The collection policies of the English regional film archives are all broadly similar. They do not collect fictional feature films or TV programmes produced outside their regions and/or intended for network broadcast: this is the responsibility of the National Film and Television Archive. The NRFTA's collection consists mainly of regional TV news and regionally produced network output, industrial, promotional, educational and advertising films, and amateur film and video. Among its major collections are:- BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
regional news filmed location reports for the north-east and CumbriaCumbriaCumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, covering 1957-1991. - News, drama and documentary material produced by Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...
, from 1956 to the mid-1990s. - The complete output of Turners, a Newcastle-based production unit which made industrial and educational films from 1947-1995.
- The complete output of Trade Films, a Newcastle-based production unit which made campaigning films and videos for the trade union movement between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s.
- The film and video collection of Imperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical IndustriesImperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
(ICI), produced by its corporate production unit based at the chemical works in BillinghamBillinghamBillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
, covering 1935-1992. - A collection of training and public information filmPublic information filmPublic Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
s made by the Durham Police ConstabularyDurham ConstabularyDurham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the...
. - A collection of amateur film and video dating from 1928 to the present day.
NRFTA Curators
- January 1998 to December 2000: Chris Galloway
- December 2000 to 27 May 2001: Position vacant
- 28 May 2001 to 18 November 2006: Leo Enticknap
- From 19 November 2006 to November 2008: Position vacant
- November 2008 to November 2009: Stephen McIntyre