Reuters has partnered with ITN Source to make historical archive footage more accessible to producers and viewers around the world. The digitisation of the Reuters video archive is making hundreds of thousands of rare and largely unseen news clips digitally available for preview and licensing on itnsource.com.
To date, over 115,000 Reuters clips have been digitised and published on itnsource.com, expanding the available Reuters digital archive to nearly half a million clips and counting. The project is set to finish in 2016.
Footage being digitised consists of the Reuters News syndication service from 1957 to 2006 and earlier cinema newsreels from 1910 to 1959, including the Gaumont, Paramount and Universal collections. Material from 2006 onwards is already available in digital format.
ITN Source’s experienced researchers have prioritised the digitisation of material relevant to upcoming anniversaries and events, such as the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II – featuring a substantial collection of post-war Winston Churchill footage – in addition to material in response to specific customer requests.
Highlights of the most recently digitised Reuters material are available for viewing and are updated on a regular basis as new material is digitised and uploaded.
Ashley Byford-Bates, Global Head of Reuters Pictures and Archive, said, “Having our assets in digital format is critical. It gives broadcasters, production houses and online publishers a real opportunity to explore, discover and see the footage. With over 30,000 hours of content preserved, we can now focus on the really exciting task of making the unique Reuters collection available for new programmes, projects and audiences.”
“The Reuters archive is incredibly popular and we are delighted to play our part in making this fantastic collection far more accessible to our clients around the world,” said Andy Williams, Managing Director at ITN Source.
As part of this programme, ITN Source has also re-catalogued and published a collection of interesting and quirky clips from the early 2000s called “Reuters Life!”. This collection features international coverage of the environment, entertainment, lifestyle, arts and culture in an amusing and light-hearted style.
ITN Source has signed a deal to license material from Daybreak, Lorraine and the GMTV back catalogue in an extension of its existing representation of clips sales of ITV material.
Twenty years of interviews and content is now available to producers and organisations through ITN Source, the footage licensing division of ITN. Key moments include Prime Ministers David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown on the Daybreak and GMTV sofas, Hollywood A-listers, Eamonn Holmes’ famously awkward interview with David Blaine, coverage of all of the big award ceremonies and live performances from Take That, Westlife and Amy Winehouse.
ITN Source has represented the ITV catalogue since 2003, and is currently working with ITV to identify key titles from the back catalogue to digitise and make available online so they can be previewed and purchased via the ITNSource.com portal.
Examples of the new ITV content available as a result of this announcement are online here and more information on the full range of ITV material available through ITN Source is here.
“ITV is an important partner for ITN Source as we’ve represented its catalogue since 2003 and are now in the process of enhancing it through digitisation,” said Simon Wood, Head of UK Sales at ITN Source. “ITV content complements the extensive news archive material represented by ITN Source, and the addition of twenty years of memorable moments from ITV breakfast television to our portfolio will be a valuable resource for producers and those who license ITN and third-party content.”
BBC FOUR has commissioned a 20-part series called ‘Britain on Film’ that will use archive footage from over 500 Rank Organisation cinema documentary films to give modern audiences a new visual perspective on the 1960s.
ITN Source, the footage licensing division of ITN, is supplying ten hours of archive to BBC Scotland, which is producing the series. The content is entirely sourced from Rank’s ‘Look at Life’ series, which was shown in Odeon and Gaumont cinemas from 1959 until 1969. The vast majority of this footage has never been seen on television before.
Each episode of ‘Britain on Film’ explores different aspects of British life and culture in the 1960s. The series includes episodes such as “A Woman’s Place”, which looks at the changing role of women during the decade; “The Cold War”, which covers British responses to the tensions arising from the international conflict with nations behind the Iron curtain; and “Having Fun”, which examines the new leisure opportunities opening up to the people of Britain.
Throughout the series, the ‘Look at Life’ footage is accompanied by the original commentaries, rather than new voiceovers. As a result, viewers are given an authentic 1960s perspectives on many of the subjects covered. In this series, to a very great extent, the 1960s is allowed to speak for itself.
The original footage is taken from 35mm colour reels, with ITN Source restoring some content that had deteriorated over time. The series is Executive Produced by David Okuefuna and is commissioned by the Controller of BBC FOUR, Richard Klein.
“After I was approached by ITN Source, who alerted me to the vast spread of the Look at Life series, I realised there was a wealth of content to bring the sixties to life,” said David Okuefuna, Executive Director of Britain on Film. “The films shine a light on every element of the decade, not just the ‘swinging sixties’ stereotype. We hope this series will be a richly enjoyable trip down memory lane for some – and a window on an unfamiliar world for others.”
“ITN Source always aims to be proactive in working with producers to help identify compelling archive content and to stimulate archive-driven programme ideas,” said Andy Williams, Managing Director of ITN Source. “We’re delighted to see this idea come to fruition with an entirely archive-based series commissioned by BBC Four. The footage from The Look at Life provides a fascinating insight into our lives in post-war Britain.”
The scheduling of Britain on Film has yet to be finalised, but the first run of films are expected to appear on BBC FOUR between now and March 2013. Further details will follow in due course.
Royal landmarks of London will come to life this summer through the video-rich “Diamond Jubilee Tour” iPhone app from AlwaysOnMessage and ITN Source.
Users will be guided on a GPS-enabled walking tour of 15 of London’s most important Royal locations. At each point, Royal fans will be transported to yesteryear as they watch relevant videos of iconic moments from ITN Source’s exclusive video archive. The videos are also available without completing the tour for those abroad.
Particular video highlights include seeing the pomp of last year’s Royal Wedding, the very young monarch feeding the ducks and playing in the gardens of Buckingham Palace from 1937 and King George VI giving a King’s Speech at Parliament in 1950.
The app is for iPhones and is available on the Apple App Store now in time for the Diamond Jubilee weekend and beyond. All footage has been supplied by ITN’s footage licensing arm, ITN Source, which has partnered with mobile agency AlwaysOnMessage in its first foray into providing archive footage for a mobile phone app.
The “Diamond Jubilee Tour” route starts at Westminster Abbey, where users can check in and share with friends on Facebook and Twitter that they are embarking on the tour. The nine mile route finishes at a mystery location, which could be described as the major Royal household. The tour takes about two and a half hours to complete but people short of time or energy can adapt the route or choose to skip particular locations.
“This is a unique and truly regal experience for any visitor to London during the Diamond Jubilee,” said Andy Williams, Acting Managing Director at ITN Source. “The archive footage that we have supplied brings London’s Royal history to life like never before.”
“I think it’s fantastic that we’ve brought new technology to such a historic and traditional event. We’ve worked hard to deliver an experience that makes the jubilee more accessible for people who can’t come to London to experience a very special moment in UK history. The iPhone combined with ITN Source content really brings the event to life,” Peter Swain, CEO AlwaysOnMessage.
Gordon Innes, CEO of London & Partners, the official promotional organisation of London, said, “Royal attractions are already hugely popular, drawing over 3 million visitors each year to the capital. Events like the Diamond Jubilee are a fantastic way to showcase these unique experiences and the Diamond Jubilee Tour app will help visitors learn even more about London’s rich royal history and heritage. The app is a great way of bringing London’s royal story to life by helping visitors to engage with all that the capital has to offer.”
This is the first app to be developed by AlwaysOnMessage using archive footage supplied by ITN Source. After the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the app will be further developed for more platforms and multiple languages and become a comprehensive Royal Tour app of London, featuring greater functionality and more locations. ITN Source is also investigating other ideas of how its archive footage can be incorporated into themed or event-specific apps.
Full list of locations to be featured on “The Diamond Jubilee Tour” app:
·Westminster Abby
·St James Palace
·17 Bruton Street
·Old War Office
·Victoria Embankment Gardens
·Victoria Embankment
·St Paul‘s Cathedral
·Millennium Bridge
·London Eye
·Jubilee Gardens
·Big Ben
·House of Parliament
·Horse Guards Parade
·Queens Gallery
·Secret Location – (The user will not see this until they have completed the tour)
