In over a century of filmmaking, there have been thousands upon thousands of scenes put to film. To preserve this long and rich cinematic history, film archivists are on the job. A lot like a movie librarian, a film archivist makes sure that films are preserved for future generations to enjoy or, in the case of bad films, to wonder what the filmmaker and audiences of the time were thinking.
  
Film archivists are the librarians of the film and TV drama industry. They work
for large film studios, like Pinewood; for broadcasters, like SBS and the ABC; for organisations like the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia [NFSA].

They work with old films and new. Whenever an Australian film is made, the final
raw mastered media, proxy files, script, production schedule and stills are sent to the National Film and Sound Archive. The archivist will catalogue it and put metadata into the digital file so that it can be found at a later date.
  
They also restore and digitise the films of the past. Film decays at a rapid pace. In fact, most of the silent films made in the 1920s have already decomposed to the point of no return. Film archiving is important, as movies, documentaries, and television programs are seen as a social document reflecting the period in which the film was made. In the first half of the 20th century, film production was viewed as a fast, disposable form of entertainment that was rarely preserved for future reference. During the second half, however, films began to be seen as an art form and an important part of the culture in which they were created.

A film archivist is responsible for collecting, preserving, organizing, and displaying old footage, usually for a museum, library, educational institution, or historical site.

Film archives antique cans
(Source: LinkedIn)

A lot of companies find themselves with ageing archives of difficult-to-store film reels and videotapes that are becoming obsolete. An archivist is responsible for scanning or digitising these tapes into a digital medium to make them easier to access in the future with a planned migration for long term storage.
  
As a film archivist, you get to watch hours and hours of video and decide what to do with it. Your job involves editing films to pull out the most important footage, describing scenes with historical significance, and cataloging clips so that researchers and the public can access them as needed. You may also get the chance to create an exhibit or collection featuring footage around a certain theme. By using your creativity and doing all the proper research, you boil down all those hours of recordings into a format that the public will be able to understand in a matter of minutes.

Your hard work makes the medium of film a useful and accessible resource for understanding history, improving education, and preserving culture.

Archivists work with all kinds of formats; film reels, videotapes, DVDs, CDs, QuickTimes and other digital files. They also work with all kinds of people, getting requests for footage that the archivist has to retrieve quickly and efficiently.

ANZSCO ID: 224211

Specialisations: TV Archivist, News Archivist, as well as Film

Knowledge, skills and attributes

The nature of the work a film archivist performs is similar to that of a librarian, and as such requires many of the same skills and education. Undergraduate degrees in history, English, or humanities are commonly held by film archivists, followed by graduate degrees in archiving, library science, or similar areas of study. Not only history, but also preservation techniques are vital to the toolbox of a film archivist, as many old films (and related memorabilia such as scripts) are literally crumbling from age. Obviously, film archivists need to be extremely well-organized and have a passion for making sure everything is in its right place.

• Have excellent communication skills
• Be very well organized
• Have good attention to detail
• Be good at working within a team
• Have good it skills
• Understand the relevant health and safety laws and procedures

 

Did You Know? World's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - Ned is captured At over an hour long, this 1906 Australian-made production is thought to be the world’s first feature-length narrative movie. In this clip police lay siege and Ned Kelly is captured. Until the mid-1970s, some publicity material and a few photographs were all that remained. Thanks to some lucky finds and painstaking work by the NFSA, nearly a quarter of this extraordinary film has now been pieced together and restored for contemporary and future generations. The restoration of The Story of the Kelly Gang includes recently discovered footage that brings the extant film to almost 20 minutes. State-of-the-art preservation technology allows the surviving footage to be returned to a condition as close as possible to that of the original. In 2006, a restored version returned to the big screen at the NFSA, exactly 100 years after its first screening. It was accompanied by a live performance of a specially commissioned electronic music score by Endorphin. https://youtu.be/iZYRCzMYCvI

   
Duties and Tasks

The main duties of a film archivist are simple: to organize and preserve an archive of collected films. The archive is often not film alone, but a collection of film reels, videotapes, DVDs, CDs, and other forms of digitally transferred films; an archive can also include items such as scripts, production schedules, still pictures, and any other movie-related media. The film archivist arranges and collates the collection that makes it an easy-to-use reference source for film historians, writers, or students. Film archivists spend a great deal of time cataloging materials as they come in, digitizing fragile materials, and researching new information and materials, as well as assisting those that wish to access the archive. In addition to possessing organizational and research skills, film archivists must be good communicators, as they will spend a great deal of time directing people through the resources and searching for new items to include.

• Filing and storing media
• Converting damaged and legacy media into a digital format
• Using archive footage to contribute creatively to new works
• Maintaining a database of media locations within the archive
• Have a passion for media and film, and the preservation of it
• Understand the importance of clear metadata
• Learn the workings of legacy hardware, such as Steenbeck flatbed film editing suites
• Understand different media formats, and how to convert between them
• Become very familiar with the archive storage facility and how to navigate it

A woman working with reels of film at a winding bench at ATN7 television station in Sydney, circa 1956. NFSA title: 1010010.
(Source: NFSA)

Working conditions

Film archivists are the librarians of the cinematic world, and should expect their career to have many of the same attributes. Unlike many jobs in the film world, the hours and work environment are stable; you can expect a 9-to-5 lifestyle. The nature of the archive can vary greatly in size and scope, and film archivists can work for large film studios, universities, or private individuals and foundations. While film archivists may romanticize about unearthing that lost gem of the cinematic past, the reality is much closer to hours upon hours in front of a computer screen researching, days spent cataloging mundane clips, assisting people with their reference searches, and reshelving. However, a passion for sharing those rare gems with others, and saving them from the scrap heap of history, will enliven what others may see as a dull job.

NFSA Storage
(Source: NFSA)

Tools and technologies
  
As digitizing has become extremely important to film preservation, a good archivist must be familiar with those programs and processes, as well as comfortable with document storage cabinets and filing systems, microfilm scanners, video technology, and database or file-management systems.

   
Education and training/entrance requirements

An Archive Trainee is an entry level position for someone looking to become a media archivist. It comes with a lot of the responsibilities of a media archivist, but allows tutorship and guidance, as well as access to specialist legacy hardware.

With the world slowly becoming more digital, a lot of companies find themselves with archives of difficult to store film reels and video tapes that are becoming obsolete. An Archivist is responsible for maintaining these tapes and converting them into a digital medium to make them easier to access in the future. They will also handle requests from people in the company for specific clips, and need to have a very quick but thorough method to deliver it. For example, an Archive Trainee may need to find a clip of a politician from the 1980s for a news story running that night. They will need to assist in creating and maintaining records and databases of all the media in the archive. They may also be required to watch through and enter metadata to make it easier to find a resource later on.

Employment Opportunities

Another role with libraries or museums, like being an education officer or working in marketing. Alternatively, you could consider being a archive producer in the unscripted TV industry.

   

 

Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs

Historian Genealogist Heritage Consultant	Librarian Medical Librarian	Medical Administrator	Museum Curator
Office Administrator Medical Practice Manager	Records Manager	Supply Distribution & Procurement Manager Purchasing and Supply Logistics Clerk

Materials sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Archivist; ]
Screen Skills [Film Archivist; ]
LinkedIn [Film Archivist; ]
Wise-Geek [Film Archivist; ]
 Your Career [Archivist; ]