Saturday 12 August 2006

Introduction - What is Home Movie Day?

Home Movie Day is an annual event that was started in 2003 by a group of film archivists in the United States. It takes place on the second Saturday of August, when moving image archives across the world open their doors for members of the public to bring in their amateur film collections. Many people have 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm home movies sitting in their cupboards or attics, perhaps because their parents or grandparents practised the hobby during its heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s (although it does go back a lot further: the first cameras and projectors marketed specifically for home movie use were sold from 1923). But the equipment needed to view them hasn't been available to consumers for almost two decades now, and so for many people Home Movie Day will offer the first opportunity to see their films for many years.

As well as bringing back memories, Home Movie Day also has a serious side. By inviting members of the public to visit their local film archive, we aim to raise awareness of the cultural and historical importance of amateur film, and therefore ensure that home movie collections continue to be preserved and shown. There are a lot of misconceptions about home movies. Some perceive them to be of a lower technical quality compared to professionally made films, and therefore of lower cultural value. Others are misled into thinking that once copied to videotape or DVD, there is no need to keep or look after their original film reels (not true: see our preservation page for more information).

At Home Movie Day, the NRFTA's archivists will explain how these valuable personal and family records can be looked after. We will also show you examples of home movie footage is shown and discussed, from settings as diverse as academic history books to popular TV series such as The Way We Were, and offer you the chance to see fascinating examples of home movies from the NRFTA's own collection. We will also be showing visitors or storage and conservation faciltiies, and archivists will be on hand to answer any queries you may have.

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How You Can Take Part

Home Movie Day 2006 at the NRFTA will take place in the Constantine Cinema, on the University of Teesside campus, on Saturday 12 August 2006 between 10.00am and 4.00pm. Directions to the University can be downloaded below, and parking will be available in the Quadrangle car park. The following activities will be taking place during the day:

• Visitors' 8mm, 9.5mm, 16mm - and, if anyone brings any, 35mm - home movies will be projected on the big screen in the Constantine Cinema;
• Important home movies from the NRFTA collection will also be screened;
• Tours of the archive vaults and conservation workshop will take place throughout the day;
• The NRFTA's archivists and technical experts will be on hand throughout the day to advise you on how to take care of your home movies.

Home Movie Day is totally free. Even if you don't have any films to bring yourself, please feel free to come along and learn more!

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Submitting Your Films

If you would like to bring a film for screening, please download the submission form and send it to us as soon as you can. This will help us to anticipate the level of demand throughout the day and, if this is high, to ensure that everyone gets a chance to see some of their footage. It would also help us if you could bring your films in to us in advance of the actual day, to give us a chance to examine them and prepare them for projection.

If you can't get your films to us in advance, you are welcome to bring them on the day. We will carry out a technical examination before projection. If, in our opinion, the footage is damaged (for example, if the perforations are torn) or has suffered extensive decomposition, we may decide that it would be unsafe to project them without causing even more damage. In these circumstances, we will advise you over what needs to be done to repair them.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay to get in?
No - attending Home Movie Day is totally free.

Do I have to bring my films to the NRFTA in advance?
No, but it would be a big help to us if you could. It would enable us to examine them and prepare them for projection before the day.

What types of film are you able to show?
Standard 8mm, Super 8mm (with sound), 9.5mm, 16mm and (as long as it's not nitrate) 35mm.

Do you guarantee to be able to show my films?
We will not be able to project your films if they are significantly damaged, because putting them through a projector would risk further damage. If, when we examine your films, we find a problem (e.g. the many of the perforations are torn), we will try to offer advice on how they can be restored and shown again. If we discover that the content of any films is problematic (e.g. they turn out to be, shall we say, 'x-rated'), we may also decide that it wouldn't be a good idea to project them in a public setting.

Will other members of the public be present when my films are projected?
Yes. The Constantine Cinema will be open for people to come and go throughout the day.

Will I be asked to deposit my films with the NRFTA?
The object of Home Movie Day is to give people a chance to see their home movies again, and to raise awareness of their value and importance. We hope that you will be able to consider depositing your home movies with a public sector moving image archive, where they can be looked after by professional archivists and preserved for future generations to benefit from. But we will not give you the 'hard sell' or put you under any pressure.

Can you make me a VHS or DVD copy of my home movies?
Not at Home Movie Day. The NRFTA's insurance (against accidental breach of copyright) only allows us to copy films which are permanently deposited with us. We can make DVDs for our depositors, but not for visitors whose films are not deposited with us.

What else will be going on?
If there is any spare time in between visitors' home movie screenings, we will be showing examples of important home movies from the NRFTA's own collection. There will also be a chance to tour our vaults and preservation workshop, and to speak with the NRFTA's archivists.

I don't have any films - can I still come?
Of course! There will still be the opportunity to see other visitors' films, learn more about home movies and about the NRFTA and its work.

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Downloads and Links

Press Release (PDF, 210kb)
Film Submission Form (PDF, 218kb)
Directions to the University of Teesside (PDF, 189kb)

Home Movie Day global site (link)
Center for Home Movies (link)

'A Tour of Central Europe', August 1937; a family holiday scene in Berchtesgaden, Germany, shot by Middlesbrough dentist T.H. Brown in Dufaycolor

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This page was last updated on 1 July 2006. The text and images on this page are copyright of NRFTA Ltd., or of third parties and published here with their permission. You may not copy or use any part of this page in any way without our written permission.