About the NRFTA: Overview | Preservation | Building

Overview

Introduction

The Northern Region Film and Television Archive (NRFTA) was founded in 1998 as a consortium of four organisations which already held significant film collections in the region. These were Tyne and Wear Archives Service, Trade Films, the University of Teesside and Cumbria Archives Service (Cumbria is no longer a member of the consortium). Our core funding comes from the University of Teesside, Northern Film and Media, a government agency charged with promoting and funding moving image culture in the north-east, Gateshead Council, a number of smaller sources and from commercial revenue (e.g. licensing footage to broadcasters). We are the public-sector moving image archive serving County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear, recognised as such by the UK Film Archive Forum. We are also a member organisation of the North East Museums, Libraries and Archives' Council (NEMLAC), the North East Regional Archives Council and the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA).

The archive currently employs two full-time and three part-time members of staff based at the University of Teesside, and one part-time member of staff at Tyne and Wear Archives Service. It is a Company Limited by Guarantee (no. 4994213), run by a Board of Directors. The organisations represented on this board are:

What We Do

Like our sister organisations in the regional film archive movement, our core activities are collecting, preserving and making available moving images relating to the life and work of this region. This work can roughly be divided into three parts:

• Acquisition.This includes negotiating with major organisations which hold large collections of film and video relating to the region (e.g. broadcasters and film production companies), conducting ‘film search’ initiatives and persuading private individuals holding film and video material within our collecting remit of the benefits of preserving it an archive. We have an Acquisition Policy which sets out what we do and don't collect, and if we are offered material that is not within our collecting remit (e.g. still photographs, or films relating to another part of the country) we will try to find a suitable home for it.

This is how newly acquired material typically arrives at the NRFTA. Many of these cans won't have been opened - literally - for decades. Their contents will need careful examination and (in many cases) repair before storage. Films are a lot heavier than many people think: this box weighs about 30 kilos, and can only be lifted safely by two people.

• Preservation. Film and videotape are fragile media which can be damaged both by chemical decomposition and by physical misuse. The former can be inhibited by storing the original recordings (the so-called ‘master status elements’) in temperature and humidity-controlled vaults. However, films and videos are often in a pretty bad state when we receive them, and so repairs and copying are often necessary. Without this work, valuable footage is in danger of being lost forever. We have a Preservation Policy which sets out how we look after the materials in our care. Please click here to find out more about the NRFTA's preservation activities.

• Access. A large element of the NRFTA’s access programme consists of enabling researchers, students and members of the public to view material in our collection. But there are other ways in which you can see footage from the collection, too: we supply footage to broadcasters and programme-makers, which is often transmitted nationally and internationally, and also undertake a programme of public film shows and lectures in cinemas and community venues throughout the region.  We have an Access Policy which sets out the services we provide for different types of user. Please note, though that we do not offer a film-to-video transfer service, except for providing depositors with a copy of their own material. If you are interested in depositing films or videotapes with us please have a look at our Information for Depositors page. If you wish to get your home movies transferred to VHS (video) or DVD but are not interested in depositing them with us, please click here.

The NRFTA's access work includes public film shows. This one took place at South Shields Public Library on 21 May 2003.

Other pages on this site explain the services we provide in greater detail, and tell you what to do if you are interested in depositing material with us or wish to view material from the collection. On 1 December 2004 we formally opened a purpose-built storage and conservation facility at the University of Teesside, which now houses approximately half of our total holdings.

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