08.07.26
A locked box - archive out of reach
Yesterday was a good day’s editing, I made decent progress, and checked in with archive – chased some outstanding requests, put in some new ones.
The availability of archive has been a source of frustration on this film. I recently unearthed some promising material in a library collection in the Deep South; its inclusion would transform what the audience could understand, and this material has been lying in a box, undigitised, for decades.
The footage was acquired by a local news station and eventually donated to the library, where it languishes, unnoticed and unseen. I’d been talking to the library about paying to have it digitised, and then I asked about licensing… and the conversation came to a shuddering halt. The money that they were asking for was so unbelievably massive that it would be out of bounds even if I had a respectable budget, which, of course, on this project I don’t.
Archives is an area currently organised to the disadvantage of all parties: filmmakers, journalists, historians, and the holders of the archives themselves. I find this maddening; I interpret it as a form of insanity, a collective punishment. We bury this stuff and apply these enormous, unrealistic fee schedules for what reason?
I’ve done all this tracking down, finding this material, which would be amazing for the stories and the audience, but it will remain behind a locked door; it’s a time sink too.
Back to editing.