This project adopts a Digital Curation approach to the research theme “Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage”. It is intended as an interdisciplinary intervention in how film archives can take practical action to update, enhance and improve catalogue metadata via feminist research methodologies, thus revealing hidden heritage related to women’s creativity.

Working as part of the 'International Amateur Cinema Between the Wars (1919-1939)' project which seeks to enrich our understanding of transnational amateur media history, especially in relation to social and cultural changes, and the rise of authoritarian governments, in Europe between the end of World War One (1919) and the beginning of World War Two (1939). In conjunction with several international archives and academic institutions, my main responsibilities concern the creation of 500 new film, filmmaker, and cine club catalogue entries for the Amateur Movie Database (AMDB) whilst simultaneously researching and implementing digital methodologies for investigating, presenting, and preserving transnational amateur film history. This involves undertaking research at several UK-based archives (principally EAFA and NWFA) to identify key amateur films produced within the period of our study, the historical context of their production, and the development of the international amateur community.

Convener, lecturer and seminar leader for Undergraduate and Postgraduate modules with a focus upon British cinema and film history. Working closely with colleagues to disseminate material for future seminars and discuss student concerns or feedback. Contributing to alternative approaches to student assessment and development (including weekly blog posts). Planning and construction of modules in collaboration with previous conveners (including changes in weekly topics, reading, screenings, etc.).

'The Eastmancolor Revolution and British Cinema, 1955-85’This project (research undertaken in 2016-19) investigated the impact of Eastmancolor, a film stock introduced by Kodak in the 1950s, on British cinema. As a relatively cheap, ‘monopack’ stock that could be used in any camera, Eastmancolor revolutionised the ways in which colour films were made. Over the next thirty years colour filmmaking came to dominate sound cinema for the first time. The project’s focus was on how British cinema, its filmmakers and other professionals adapted to one of the most important technical innovations in film history. It explored British cinema’s response, at first confined to a few genres, before fully embracing the economic and aesthetic advantages of colour filmmaking. It identified key genres and films, personnel who experimented with colour and significant issues relating to the preservation and restoration of colour films. The project achieved a greater understanding of the significance of colour in British film history and culture while contributing to knowledge about the state of Britain’s colour film heritage.

My regular duties include the examination, identification and selection of film materials and diagnosis of conservation needs. This knowledge is then shared across the various other departments of the BFI to ensure that the material in question has been assessed in manner which recognizes the various conservation, curatorial and access requirements. Using the BFI database, records are regularly updated and amended to ensure ease of access to the collections, from both within the archive and to external researchers. Due to the wide range of material in the collection, and the various areas of expertise working within the archive, it is crucial that knowledge is shared between various departments, and also within the individual teams themselves, to ensure the collections are maintained at an internationally recognized standard.

My current role in Video Conservation combines the responsibility of preserving legacy video formats, through digitisation and conservation of master material, alongside the ongoing accession of contemporary digital media. Working alongside a small team, daily duties include: updating collection metadata within the Adlib database; digital preservation of a variety of current and legacy video formats; providing access to the collection for both researchers and commercial purposes; regular evaluation of operations and functionality of the digital infrastructure. The role necessitates a level of care, accuracy, and awareness that the material held by the archive must be treated in a manner conducive to long-term access and preservation of masters material.

During my time at EAFA duties varied, although I was involved in two particularly challenging projects, the first involved researching and cataloguing a collection donated by Screen East containing over a hundred 16mm cans, 35mm, Digibeta, Umatic tapes, DV Cam, VHS, and Beta SP. This process took me through the whole procedure of: creating detailed accessions from scratch with barcoding applied to identify items within the vaults and on the database; identifying films and their various elements; researching and writing catalogue entries for the numerous inventory items; prepping for storage; and establishing suitable locations within the vaults. The second project accumulated in a report personally prepared for the archive becoming the basis for a de-accessioning policy which will hopefully lead to the creation of a future project pending funding. I have also been directly involved with the improvement of catalogue entries for EAFA's Institute of Amateur Cinematographers collection and developing the online presence and storage of the archive's paper collections.