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9: How to use free public domain archives your documentary filmmaking

8/21/2020

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Can use. Cannot use. These are the questions. 

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Library of Congress -Japanese-American farm worker family. By Lee, Russell. 1942
Your documentary might not need any archival material. (Photos or film which is from an outside source.) But maybe it might. So where do you go to find images and footage? How can you be sure that what you use is not going to get you into trouble? 

Carry on reading

Today, as hybrid and mixed media documentaries are more popular, so is the use for archival footage and photos. This is like opening Pandora's box - once you open the possibilities, there is no turning back. You are hooked!

Luc Bourdon created La Mémoire des Anges - The memory of Angels - entirely from off-cuts from the ONF. Amy,  Stories we tell, and On the Way to the Sea are some documentaries that cross over to using Mixed Media. These films use their own archives, their own photos, and in the case of Luc Bourdon, he had the right to use footage from the ONF - Office National du Film - Quebec.

But what happens when you need images or footage and you simply do not have any?

You need to go and find them.


Where? How?

You go to Public Domain 

​Please read the section above on Public Domain so that you understand the ways you can access free material. Remember, each country will have different rules which apply. 
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Using the Public Domain, Common Creatives, and Commons Wikimedia means that the copyright for the images or film footage has expired and you have the right to use the media freely, or under certain conditions.

It frees you up from expensive costs, as buying footage can run into hundreds of pounds. It also gives you a huge scope, as long as you love experimenting, doing the research and have patience.


There are all sorts of odd loopholes connected with Public Domain, so you need to read as much as you can to be educated in rights. For example, Betty Boop is in the Public Domain. But not all Betty Boop is.
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When I made The Sea Hut in 2018, it took me one year to track down what I needed.

  • ​Prelinger and CommonsWikimedia were the two online archives I used. Every single image and film footage, which was not family archives came from these two sources.

For the audio I used:
  • Openmusicarchive
  • Archives.org

​

18 online sources for inspiration and creation


UK

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  • Stock Video Footage
  • ​Videezy.com/free-video
  • Pond5.com-UK
​



Canada
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  • ​Videvo
  • Studiobinder 


​USA
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  • Prelinger​ ARCHIVES
  • VICE
  • NASA​
  • Archives.Org
  • Pexels
  • Coveer
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* Freesfx
* Zapsplat
* Freemusicarchive​
* Openmusicarchive
* Mixkit
​

France
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Images gratuites et libres de droit

​CANVA
PIXABAY
​


Thank you so much for passing by.
​

Have a great week.

Please share if you enjoy.


JEANNE

​
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Leave a Reply.

    Jeanne Pope

    Filmmaker, teacher, traveler and storyteller

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    Links to the Workshops
    1. How to find your documentary idea
    ​2. How to find your documentary approach
    3. Understanding the documentary genre
    4. Creating hybrid documentaries
    5. Understanding narrative storytelling
    ​6. How to film an unscripted documentary
    7. Tips and techniques for interviewing
    8.Why you need a release form
    9. How to use free public domain archives 
    10. Why write a documentary synopsis?
    11. Find funding for your documentary film 
    12. What documentary film equipment do you need? 
    13. Camera shots and techniques
    14. The Long Shot
    15. The Long Take
    16. Why you should use your cellphone
    17. Documentary film ethics
    18. Ways to fund your documentary
    ​19. Research or No research ?
    20. Digital storytelling Part 1
    ​21. Don't-overthink-your-documentary
    22. Ten tips to fine-tune your documentary
    23. Don't let your idea slip slide away 
    24. Give us more creativity for 2022
    25. Ethical code for documentaries
    26. Why a Pitch Deck is essential 
    27. Scrapbooking your memory
    28. Scrapbooking podcast 
    29. Digital-Storytelling Part 2
    30. The Paper Edit
    31. Location Scouting
    32. Genealogy and Documentary
    33. Reflecting on why we want to make documentaries
    34. How to make your documentary journey exciting 
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Thank you dear Jeanne. It is an honour to have your creative thoughts which are printed in this film. With your love energy, passion and creative thoughts and encouragement this film can have its own soul finally. Thank you so much". ​Tao Gu - Taming the Horse
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"Jeannette taught me the tools I needed, never having made a documentary before. She gave so much time, patience to show me, guide me and share her creativity and skills with me."  Dr. Zou Qialing, Beijing Film Academy, Qingdao Campus
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Jeannette helped me find a path and create energy with my material which I first found so difficult to handle. With her help to become interesting and wonderful. She is interesting in class, lively in class, often in communication with students, very popular with students. Jeannette is a very conscientious documentary teacher." TianHui Li,  award winning filmmaker, Beijing Film Academy graduate. Concordia University graduate




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