Archival Storytelling:

A Filmmaker's Guide to Finding, Using, and Licensing Third-Party Visuals and Music

ISBN 978-0-240-80973-1

Imprint: Focal Press/Elsevier, 2008, $34.95 paperback

by Sheila Curran Bernard and Kenn Rabin

"Should be part of any filmmaker's library."-- Spoke Digital Films (Read more REVIEWS) 

Read excerpt!  "The Ethics of Archival Storytelling" - a roundtable with Clair Aguilar, Jon Else, Stanley Nelson, Bill Nichols, Rick Prelinger and more

Read excerpt! "Fair Dealing, Moral Rights and More" -- a conversation with UK attorney Hubert Best

See the TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Description:  An essential, pragmatic guide to one of the most challenging issues facing filmmakers today: the use of images and music that belong to someone else. Where do producers go for affordable stills and footage? How do filmmakers evaluate the historical value of archival materials? What do vérité producers need to know when documenting a world filled with rights-protected images and sounds? How do filmmakers protect their own creative efforts from infringement?

Filled with advice and insight from filmmakers, archivists, film researchers, music supervisors, intellectual property experts, insurance executives and others, Archival Storytelling defines key terms—copyright, fair use, public domain, orphan works and more—and challenges filmmakers to become not only archival users but also archival and copyright activists, ensuring their ongoing ability as creators to draw on the cultural materials that surround them.

REVIEWS: (click on hyperlinks to read the full review)

"One of the best—and most needed—texts I have seen in a while.The challenge is to keep what is a fairly technical aspect of filmmaking interesting without compromising the quality and depth of information. The authors have done an exceptional job in this regard by the careful interweaving of interviews with researchers, filmmakers and legal experts through the factual material.There is the strong sense of being in the presence of experienced filmmakers and researchers who accept that while there are standard practices, archival use and intellectual property laws etc. are contingent fields in which each case must be assessed and dealt with on its merits."

—Bruce Sheridan, Chair, Film & Video Department, Columbia College

"I've been making historical documentaries for many years, yet I learned new things from this book. This is the definitive guide for archival research for documentary filmmakers. An invaluable resource."

—Mark Jonathan Harris, Distinguished Professor, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California, and writer/director, The Long Way Home and Into the Arms of Strangers

"Long overdue, this is the resource guide we've been waiting for. Connecting the nuts and bolts of the search for a shot with the current challenges of new media and fair use, Archival Storytelling brings the past right up to the present."

—Gail Dolgin, co-producer, Daughter from Danang and Summer of Love

"It's hard to imagine a more organized, comprehensive dissection of Byzantine material. The authors have produced a tremendous guide for all who use archival resources. Best of all, because of their effort, I believe more individuals will be able to access and properly utilize such material. This book will serve filmmakers and, in turn, the public for years to come."

—Thomas Speicher, Video Production Developer, Pennsylvania College of Technology, and producer, Degrees That Work

"Not simply a "how-to" manual, it is also a discussion of ideas, issues and history that creates an enjoyable text even when the subject matter becomes complicated¼.The real world examples, the roundtable discussions, and the exploration of ideas and issues surrounding the technical aspects are very welcome and well done."

—Dustin Ogdin, filmmaker, Spoke Digital Films