AUDIOVISUAL ARCHIVAL ACCESS PROJECT

PROFESSOR JOHN ELLISMEDIA ARTS

ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

THE PROJECT

30,000 ITEMS OF AUDIO-VISUAL CONTENT FROM THE ARCHIVES OF EUROPE’S

BROADCASTERSSEARCHABLE IN NINE LANGUAGES

STREAMED TO ANY USERAVAILABLE TO ALL

Connected to:

Funded by the European Commission within the eContentplus programme www.euscreen.eu

THE TEAM

• Consortium: - 28 Partners - Broadcasters, archives, technologists, academic

partners and educationalists - 20 Content Providers - 19 Countries

• Synergy with Europeana (TV aggregator)• EUscreen Best Practice Network• Budget €4.3m (total €5.85m) • 36 months (2009-2012)

Archives

Technology providers

Research organisations

Associate partners

THE STORY

VideoActive (2006-9)• RHUL proposed by BBC, ‘recognised’ by U.Utrecht• RHUL’s Videoactive role: organise content

categories, uploading, commentaryEUscreen: follow-on project 2009-12• RHUL brings in BUFVC as ‘metadata police’• One-to-one and group discussions on principles• Interface between content providers and

technology providers

Research or administration?

• Speed of slowest• Creating a shared vision: misunderstanding

the project / mistaken assumptions• Promises not kept / work not done• Technology provider problem (when isn’t

there one?)• Endless telcos and emails• The role of the English language

The money

• eContentplus programme “a multiannual Community programme to make digital content in Europe more

accessible, usable and exploitable”

• 80% EU, 20% institutional contribution• ‘Person hours’ ‘allowable expenses’... But no

overheads• Currency exchange gains (or losses)• Pays for two colleagues... And some more...