The atgof website

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Photo of the day 27-5-2011

hole in the wall

Hole in the Wall Street, Caernarfon

I'm spending quite a bit of time these days up in Caernarfon, north Wales.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

EU Directive on orphan works

An important announcement from the EU regarding a directive for the use of orphan works, of interest to filmmakers, broadcasters, libraries and archives, as well as potential rights holders.

The full proposal can be found here

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Photo of the day 18-5-2011

Harleys

If only...
Photo taken on the Grossglockner a few moons ago, and resurrected today.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Photo of the day 17-5-2011

Little Top

It must be summer. It's grey, dismal, raining, and there's a tent in the field.

Doing it the French way

Green with envy again, another step up and ahead for France.

Via EFG - many thanks Mari.

The French government has signed an agreement with 6 French "societés détentrices de catalogues" (Europacorp, Gaumont, Pathé, SNC, Studio 37 and StudioCanal) in order to digitise at least 1000 feature films in French language. The agreement was signed on 15 May 2010 in Cannes, in the presence of the "Societé des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques" and the Cinémathèque Française. The agreement is open to other cinematographic right-holders. Under this agreement, the State may finance up to 70% of the cost of digitisation. Digitised films should meet at least the 2K standard. In return, the right-holder should commit itself to do a commercial exploitation of the digitised works.

The agreement (in French) can be downloaded from
http://www.cnc.fr/web/fr/actualites/-/liste/18/135306

In addition, the French CNC has announced a complementary support scheme for the digitisation of cinematographic works of highly artistic and cultural value. In principle, this should cover silent films and shorts. The scheme will also support the transfer to film of digitised films, when this is required to ensure its long-term preservation.

More information can be found on:
http://www.cnc.fr/web/fr/actualites/-/liste/18/135306



For info on state support of the film and media industry in Europe, visit this site.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Clearing Orphan Films

Free conference in Amsterdam - but HURRY. Booking form here.


Developing best practices for rights clearing and the IPR management of cinematographic works has been one of the aims and challenges of the European Film Gateway project which is about to end this August. Although the EFG partner archives will be provided with the necessary tools to clear rights for the film-related material they want to publish online, one major question remains unsolved: how to facilitate access to and provide for the legal use of orphan works on Europeana and other cultural heritage portals?

The conference would like to provide a platform to continue the discussion between the involved stakeholders and address the following key questions and issues:

  • How is the orphan works issue dealt within Europeana and the Europeana group of projects?
  • Which models do they consider appropriate to clear rights and facilitate online access to orphan works: legal solutions, contractual agreements, extended collective licensing, risk management?
  • Which models are applicable for the film heritage sector and which are not?
  • Examples of best practices for rights clearing and IPR management within European film archives

The conference is organised and hosted by EYE Film Institute Netherlands, leader of the EFG Work Package “IPR Management and Administration”. EYE is supported by ACE , the Association of European Film Archives and Cinematheques, initiator of EFG and one of the leading protagonists in the orphan works debate.

Attendance of the conference is free of charge, however, please note that the amount of seats is limited.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Photo of the day 15-5-2011

Eglwys Farmor Bodelwyddan

The "Marble Church" at Bodelwyddan (click through and view the whole photo - view at original size!).

ST. Margaret's has its own website and domain. Find out more here.

However, the church is best know for its Canadian "mutiny" graves.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Photo of the day 10-5-2011

Old dog

Old Dog!

Library of Congress National Jukebox

LC Press Release...

The Library of Congress and Sony Music Entertainment today unveiled a new website of over 10,000 rare historic sound recordings available to the public for the first time digitally. The site is called the "National Jukebox" (www.loc.gov/jukebox/).

Developed by the Library of Congress, with assets provided by Sony Music Entertainment, the National Jukebox offers free online access to a vast selection of music and spoken-word recordings produced in the U.S. between the years 1901 and 1925.

The website was launched at a Library news conference featuring an appearance by Grammy-winning pianist, singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr. The Columbia recording artist performed the song "I’m Just Wild About Harry," which is on the site performed by composer Eubie Blake.

"This amazing collection is a chance to hear history," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, who joined Connick and officials of Sony Music Entertainment at the press event. "This collection includes popular music, dance music, opera, early jazz, famous speeches, poetry and humor. It is what our grandparents and great-grandparents listened to, danced to, sang along with. This brings online one of the most explosively creative periods in American culture and music and one of the finest additions to the Library's American Memory materials."

"We are thrilled to be joining with the Library of Congress to launch the National Jukebox," said Richard Story, President, Commercial Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment. "As the steward of much of the output from the American recording industry prior to 1934, Sony Music is excited to preserve and share online these important cultural treasures from its archives with students, historians, and music-lovers alike, and create new audiences for and appreciators of the many extraordinary works from the pre-1925 era."

The agreement for the National Jukebox grants the Library of Congress usage rights to Sony Music’s entire pre-1925 catalog—comprising thousands of recordings produced by Columbia Records, OKeh, and Victor Talking Machine Co. among others – and represents the largest collection of such historical recordings ever made publicly available for study and appreciation online.

Works by Fletcher Henderson, Al Jolson, George M. Cohan, Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Alberta Hunter, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leopold Stokowski, Arturo Toscanini, and opera stars Enrico Caruso, Nellie Melba and Geraldine Farrar are all covered, as are such original recordings as the Paul Whiteman Concert Orchestra's "Rhapsody in Blue" with George Gershwin on piano, and Nora Bayes' "Over There."

Visitors to the National Jukebox will be able to listen to available recordings on a streaming-only basis, as well as view thousands of label images, record-catalog illustrations, and artist and performer bios. In addition, users can further explore the catalog by accessing special interactive features, listening to playlists curated by Library staff, and creating and sharing their own playlists.

At launch, the National Jukebox will feature recordings exclusively from Sony Music’s Victor Talking Machine Co. catalog, and include songs and other materials such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band performing "Livery Stable Blues"—considered the first jazz recording ever released—Lena Wilson singing "T’aint Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do" (1923), and the famed Ziegfeld Follies star Fannie Brice singing "My Man."

In addition, the collection will include early jazz, many blues songs and novelty songs meant to evoke laughter (such as the 1908 "Cat Duet" that simulated the sounds of cats yowling in the night), and recordings made for distinct ethnic groups, such as Irish songs or home-nation music beloved by immigrants to the U.S.

Not just limited to music, users also can access political speeches by Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, William Jennings Bryan and William Howard Taft, recitings of famous popular poems such as "Casey at the Bat" and "Wynken, Blynken and Nod," readings from the Bible and early sound-effects records such as a collection of snores and sneezes.

The website will showcase special interactive features as well, including a digital facsimile of the 1919 edition of the famous opera guide "Victrola Book of the Opera," which describes more than 110 operas, including illustrations, plot synopses and lists of recordings offered in that year. Features include the book’s original text, a comparison of the different interpretations of the most popular arias of the period, and streamed recordings of nearly every opera referenced in the book.

The National Jukebox additionally will include playlists annotated by Library staff, focusing on different genres, time periods, themes and artists. Users also will be able to create their own playlists to post on their own webpages and social networking sites or submit them to the Library for posting on the National Jukebox site.

Other features include pages of background information on both the creation of the National Jukebox and audio-preservation practices.

The recordings featured in the National Jukebox were made using what is known as the acoustical process, which predates the use of microphones. Speakers spoke into, or singers sang into, cones which vibrated an attached diaphragm and stylus, etching sound waves onto a rotating wax disc. These original discs later could be converted into masters used to mold the records sold for home use.

Metadata for the website’s Victor content will be cataloged and controlled by comprehensive discographic data compiled by the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) for their online "Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Records" http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/). The Library’s association with UCSB will provide users with an easily searchable database of every recording in the National Jukebox.

"This represents a strong step in the Library’s efforts to return out-of-circulation recordings to public access," said Gene DeAnna, head of the Library’s Recorded Sound Section. "Sony Music’s commitment to making its recordings more accessible is unprecedented. We will seek additional donors and contributors in an effort to develop the most comprehensive website of historic sound recordings and related interpretive content."

Library of Congress Launches, with Sony Music Content, the National Jukebox, an Online Destination for Historical Sound Recordings

Largest Collection of Historical Recordings Ever Made Publically

Available Online

Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. It seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a personalized website at myLOC.gov.

Sony Music Entertainment houses the libraries of both Columbia and Victor (now RCA), the two oldest record companies in existence, and many historical recordings are contained in its archives. The very first label, Columbia, was started in 1887 by men working in partnership with the inventors of the wax cylinder, the first successful sound reproduction format, and in 1890 released the first musical entertainment recording, the John Philip Sousa band's "Washington Post March." The Victor Talking Machine Company, founded in 1901, was created by the inventors of the first successful sound-on-disc reproduction system.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Photo of the day 8-5-2011

Golygfa frawychus mewn ffenest siop

I've just cheered up, remembering that it'll soon be time for the next Hay Festival! Why this picture? It shows a shop window at Gelligandryll - Hay on Wye, the home of the festival.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Photo of the day 7-5-2011

Llwybr y Crynwyr

A remote and disused mill on the Quaker Trail, near Dolgellau, north Wales.

There were once many Quakers in this area, and many left for America to avoid constant persecution. Brynmawr University, Pennsylvania is named in honour of Rowland Ellis who emigrated from his home, Brynmawr farm, which is passed on this trail.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Photo of the day 6-5-2011

methu cau ei wregys


What do you do with an oversized teddybear you've won in a raffle (second prize)?

You find him a home via twitter.

Here he's off to meet his new foster parents. Unfortunately he's so fat that he had great difficulty in fastening his seat belt.

But he got there in the end.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Photo of the day 4-5-11

Ceffylau


Horses on the Llŷn Peninsula

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

INA

I've added a link to INA (European centre for research, training and education on digital media) website on the right hand links to this blog. The INA site is useful for further links to FRAME, Presto Centre and so forth.


It is however one of those sites that are very slow to load, but worth it when you eventually get in.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Pilot project call for proposals

Via CEG>

The call for proposals is open until 14 June 2011. The types of actions considered under this Call for Proposals are:

• Distribution: new ways of creating, distributing and promoting European audiovisual content via non linear services;

• Open Media Production Environment;

• Distribution - Promotion & Marketing: the use of web techniques to develop local Cinema Communities;

• “Audiovisual Junction Portal”: to widen and improve the access and the exploitation of structured information of European audiovisual content.

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of actions is estimated at 1.5 million Euros. The financial contribution from the Agency cannot exceed 50% of the total eligible costs.

http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/programme/newtech/pilot/forms/index_en.htm

Cultural statistics - Europe

A really interesting statistical publication on the impact of "culture" in Europe. Essential reading for planners in the culture and heritage sector

Photo of the day

Safle "Pontio" y Coleg ar y Bryn

University of Bangor, overlooking the site of "Pontio" - the proposed city Arts Centre.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Photo of the day

Eglwys Pistyll

Eglwys Pistyll

Pistyll is a tiny speck on the map of the Llŷn Peninsula in north Wales.
The tiny community grew from a handful to the many hundreds when the local granite quarries prospered, then declined, leaving the graveyard full of inscriptions of families blighted by early death.

Pistyll church was there way way before the quarries, and is still there today, as if untouched by commerce and industry or the ebb and flow of the population; more in tune with the middle ages than modern times. It's dark (the peasants had no need for illumination, as they were illiterate) and the floor is strewn with fragrant rushes (presumably to obscure the human aroma). In this mediaeval time-warp, strangest of all is this window piece, which in its mossy decline, lends some morbid facination.