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A collaborative approach for the registration, deposit and digitisation of Flemish film heritage
Journal of Digital Media Management,
11
(2),
102-112
(2023)
Abstract
This paper discusses the collaboration between meemoo (the Flemish Institute for the Archives) and the Royal Belgian Film Archive with regard to the registration, conservation and digitisation of film heritage preserved by Flemish libraries, archives, museums, performing arts organisations, government bodies and city archives. The paper begins with a detailed description of the various pain points identified in a 2013 report on the state of Flemish audiovisual heritage conservation, including inter alia the fragmentation in film heritage management, the lack of specific attention for film collections, the lack of infrastructure and content-related and technical knowledge and poor storage conditions. It then focuses on the eight-step approach developed by meemoo and the Royal Belgian Film Archive, which culminates in large-scale digitisation projects and encouraging the reuse of the digitised films. After discussing some interim results of the collaboration, the article concludes that partnerships such as the one discussed facilitate an efficient, effective and affordable approach to the preservation and digitisation of diverse and dispersed film collections on a regional scale, thus providing a solid base for further conservation and digitisation.
Keywords: film; registration; Flanders; audiovisual heritage; digitisation; preservation
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Brecht Declercq is the President of FIAT/IFTA, the world association of media archives, and the Digitization and Acquisition Manager at meemoo — The Flemish Institute for Archives. He is responsible for the preservation of Flemish audiovisual heritage. He worked for the Belgian public broadcaster VRT for almost ten years and led the FIAT/IFTA Preservation and Migration Commission from 2016 to 2019. He is a frequent conference curator, presenter, guest lecturer, writer and reviewer. He advises policy makers, audiovisual archives and media organisations worldwide.
Céline Vermeire is a digitisation project manager for meemoo, the Flemish Institute for Archives, where she is responsible for the digitisation of audiovisual material from various Flemish institutions. She has previously worked as collection manager and digitisation coordinator for the art collections of the Flemish Government in the Department of Culture, Youth and Media. She holds an MA in art history (Ghent University), an MA in curating art and cultures (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and an MS in digital humanities (KU Leuven).
David Gruwez is a collection manager at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique (Cinematek). In addition to various projects related to the archive’s film collection, he works on a project coordinated by meemoo (the Flemish Institute for Archives), dedicated to the registration, digitisation and preservation of audiovisual collections from various Flemish institutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture and graduated with distinction as a master of communication science.
Bobbie Noë is a collection manager at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique (Cinematek). In addition to various projects related to the archive’s film collection, she works on a project coordinated by meemoo (the Flemish Institute for Archives) dedicated to the registration, digitisation and preservation of film collections from a wide variety of Flemish institutions. She has previously completed the Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image master’s programme at the University of Amsterdam.
