FOCAL International

Federation of Commercial Audio Visual Libraries
Abbreviation FOCAL International
Formation 1985
Legal status Non-profit company
Purpose Trade association for the film archive, filmmaking and stock footage industry
Location
  • 79 College Road, Harrow, HA1 1BD
Region served
 Worldwide
Membership
 Stock footage archives, industry skills and services companies
Chair
 Sue Malden
Chair of Patrons
 David Puttnam
Patron
 Greg Dyke
Website FOCAL International

FOCAL International is the trade association representing stock footage companies, post-production facilities and individuals involved in the use of footage, still images and audio in all forms of media production. It represents more than 300 companies and individuals involved in media production, asset management, preservation of historical archives, film restoration and post-production.

History

FOCAL International was founded in 1985 by a group of library representatives, who had met at trade events and felt that the commercial wing of television archives would benefit from representation.[1] The founders included Jeremy Cantwell and Jill Hawkins from BBC Enterprises (now BBC Worldwide), Sten Frykholm from the Swedish broadcaster SVT, George Marshall of British Pathe, Jacque Blanchard, from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Pam Turner of Visnews, David Warner of ITN and Patricia Gang of National Geographic. Its first patron was David (now Lord) Puttnam, who became Chair of Patrons in 2005.

Structure

FOCAL International is run by a small administration team in the UK, reporting to an international Executive Council, comprising a Chair, and a number of representatives of member bodies.

FOCAL International seeks to implement its objectives through its committees, which are made up of industry experts and representatives. These committees include: the Editorial Committee, responsible for the quarterly magazine "Archive Zones"; the Events & Exhibitions Committee, responsible for organising the FOCAL International Awards, and FOCAL International’s presence at relevant trade and industry events; the Training Committee, responsible for providing and promoting training in the archive industry, and raising awareness of the need for preservation of archives; and the Funding & Lobbying Committee, which lobbies governmental and institutional bodies on behalf of its members.

FOCAL International Awards

The FOCAL International Awards were established in 2004 to support and honour the researchers, technicians and producers who uncover, preserve and utilise archive footage in their work. The award ceremony is held annually in the spring in London, UK.

The Awards cover categories for the best use of footage in factual productions, entertainment or drama, arts, music, sports, natural history and cinema, and also include categories for the best restoration or preservation project, best footage library, best footage researcher of the year, and a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Notable winners have included:

Members

Companies and organisations that are members of FOCAL International include:

References

  1. ↑ Slide, Anthony (1992). Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States. MacFarland & Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7864-0836-7.
  2. ↑ FOCAL International Awards 2012 http://www.focalint.org/focal-international-awards/2012/the-focal-international-awards-2012 Retrieved 12 July 2012
  3. ↑ Imperial War Museum's "IWM Film Archive’s Britain At War wins prestigious FOCAL International Award" Retrieved 27 June 2012
  4. ↑ FOCAL International Awards 2011 http://www.focalint.org/focal-international-awards/2011/the-focal-international-awards-2011 Retrieved 12 July 2012
  5. ↑ FOCAL International Awards 2010 http://www.focalint.org/focal-international-awards/2010/the-focal-international-awards-2010 Retrieved 12 July 2012
  6. ↑ FOCAL International Awards 2008 http://www.focalint.org/focal-international-awards/2008/the-focal-international-awards-2008 Retrieved 12 July 2008

External links

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