Canadian Researchers to Partner with FootageFest

For the second consecutive year, the Visual Researchers Society of Canada (VRSC) is joining forces with the third-party content association at this year's annual conference, taking place this September in the NoHo district of Los Angeles. 

The VRSC has many of its top researchers and archive producers attending this year's conference, bolstered by the infamous Elizabeth Klinck, who will be moderating this year. The Ontario resident was the first Canadian to be awarded the FOCAL International Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Canada will not be the only international region represented.  Contingents of archive producers from New York, London, Paris and Rome, as well as Argentina and Australia, will be in attendance.  Brisbane’s Matt Miranda, a giant in rights’ management, wouldn’t miss it. “It’s got a great vibe, great access to industry contacts from the UK and the US,” says Miranda, who moderated FootageFest’s first sports panel in 2018.     

Sponsors for this year’s conference include Retro Video, LOLA Clips, as well as 3p Sync -- a new project being launched by longtime clip producer Teddy Cannon.  Other sponsors include CNN, News Exposure and British Pathe.  Nearly 40 booths have been rented by international content providers, and nearly all sponsorship opportunities have been taken.  If interested, please contact Dominic at info@footagefest.com

This year’s seminars will cover a wide-range of topics, including the return of our "Ultimate Fair Use Panel", moderated again by Heather Bennett, and including ABC Studios’ Hector Del Cid and Davis Wright Tremaine partner Jonathan Segal.

Another legal panel will be “Unfairly Used”, designed to give content owners advice when their copyrighted material has been used without a halfway decent fair use argument, or content has not been paid for. 

There will also be several one-on-one discussions with industry legends such as Steve Binder, who directed and produced the Elvis Comeback ’68 Special, and was even portrayed by Stranger Things’ Dacre Montgomery in the 2122 Baz Luhrmann biopic, Elvis.  Others will be announced soon.

Another semi-legal discussion will be “A Case Study of Sorts”, reviewing the 1991 Allan Carr-produced Oscar opening number featuring a singing and dancing Rob Lowe and Snow White. On the panel will be (the show’s writer) Bruce Vilanch, Eileen Bowman (who played Snow White) and a legal expert who will explain how and why the Oscars did not clear Snow White’s image for the production number.  Rob Lowe has declined an invitation.  

An important and timely seminar on AI, subtitled “What is it is and am I Out of a Job?”, has just been added, featuring Peter Kuran, visual effects designer for Star Wars: A New Hope and other digitally-driven films.

We will also have a Showrunner / EIC panel designed to help job-seekers on tricks of the trade: What to do – and what not to do – on resumes and sizzle reels; How showrunners find new talent; How to stay out of the EIC’s office.  The discussion will feature 1895 Films’ Tom Jennings, and others.

Also on the list are panels on the News Exposure-sponsored “Acquiring News Footage”, as well as “Acquiring Film and TV content”, featuring Paramount’s Larry McCallister.

Over the three-day conference, FootageFest will be screening two documentaries at the legendary El Portal Theater in North Hollywood.  There are two state-of-the-art theaters, one that seats 360 people, and a second that seats about 100. Both screenings will include a Q&A panel of filmmakers and other experts.  Those two documentaries have been confirmed and will be announced shortly.

 Emmy-award winner Rich Remsberg, one of the industry’s most sought-after archive producers, travels from New York every year to participate in the conference. “Because it’s a multi-day  event, it offers a rare immersive experience where we can really spend some quality time with our colleagues and friends in our archival community.”

L.A.-based Archive Producer Jodi Tripi says there is no other organization that is specifically targeted toward the third-party content community. “ Who else in the entire world actually understands what we do? How zany and difficult and interesting it is? I really love being around my peers and colleagues, and everybody else’s talents and experiences.”

After a three-year hiatus from FootageFest’s live events, archive producer Amy Dax is just looking forward to congregating with people. “What we can do can be isolating and just getting out there and connecting with people again -- seeing actual humans – will be great.”  Dax adds that she also enjoys all of the seminars. “I feel like you learn something new.”

Tickets for the three-day conference are available at an early-bird rate of $75, which will increase to $100 after July 15th.  Go to www.footagefest.com to register and purchase tickets for this exciting event.  Don’t miss it.

Bridgeman Images Partners with Vidcat's Archival Fashion Collection

Bridgeman Images announced their latest footage partnership with The Video Catalogue Co., Inc. (Vidcat).

 Established in 1985, Vidcat is a New York based online resource specializing in fashion, beauty and lifestyle videos. Their digitized archive contains exclusive runway footage, backstage hair and makeup, designer interviews and videos on fashion trends. The centerpiece of the collection is a series of original 1950s-1960s B&W fashion newsreels on 3/4″ tapes, often sent to news stations, broadcast TV programmers and retail stores for promotion.

The partnership will begin with access to their curated selection of fashion newsreel segments from their vintage video collection and will expand to more contemporary representation in the future. For any research inquiries, please reach out to nysales@bridgemanimages.com. To peruse Vidcat's first batch of clips at Bridgeman, including a look at popular 1950s fashion trends, head here.

Science Photo Library Unveils The Climate Library: Showcasing the Acclaimed Tipping Points Collection by Award-Winning Film Director Liz Courtney

Science Photo Library, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed film director Liz Courtney, has announced the launch of The Climate Library, a ground-breaking endeavour featuring a remarkable collection of climate footage from the important 6-part documentary series, The Tipping Points. The launch will take place on June 13 and will be featured at the UK footageMarketplace at BAFTA. Over 1,000 videos, photographs and animated sequences will be presented during the core launch phase, with new material added on an ongoing basis.

The Tipping Points series, capturing over 500 hours of unique footage, has served as the catalyst for this innovative collaboration. Inspired by the research of Professor Tim Lenton from Exeter University, the series explores the critical tipping points within the climate system.

Ben Jones, Head of Motion at Science Photo Library, expressed his enthusiasm for this collaboration, stating, "climate change is the defining story of our generation. Expanding our coverage of interconnected issues and threats, this unique collection brings rare and remote locations, unrivalled research access, and truly spectacular footage. Our partnership with Liz Courtney adds her passion for the subject and its effective communication, her global network of contacts and her ability to distil the essence of a story. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with creatives and storytellers to enhance the clarity and expertise of their productions."

Film Director liz courtney

Reflecting on the journey, Liz Courtney shares, "I clearly remember the night when I found the science paper by Professor Lenton and the first day of principal filming on the Greenland Ice Sheet at -20C. The series set out to explore the tipping points of the climate system, the elements, where they were located and what it could mean to pass a tipping point."

Courtney adds, "We travelled across the Greenland Ice Sheet, which was just the start of the narrative, an adventure over two years to make this significant series. We visited a remote science station where a glass roof had been built over the Amazon rainforest to determine how the forest might respond to severe droughts and also travelled across Alaska, meeting NASA scientists monitoring the rate of methane being released from the permafrost."

"To this day, we are the only film crew to have captured awe-inspiring footage of Black Mountain in Alaska. Other expeditions include the Himalayas, a journey down the Ganges in India and documenting sea level threats across Oceania. We also dived on the Great Barrier Reef and filmed pink flamingos in flight in Namibia."

With its rich content, the footage offers producers a multitude of options to connect and create compelling sequences. The Climate Library provides an extensive collection of videos and photographs, catering to various educational programs, documentaries and short-form narratives. "I want to inspire more people to tell stories about the changing climate system," says Courtney. "With this fantastic footage readily available, I encourage filmmakers to adopt greener production models, reducing carbon emissions and leaving a smaller environmental footprint.

For more information, click here to visit The Climate Library.

NHNZ Worldwide Now Offering New 4K Bornean Orangutan and Chinese Wildlife Clips

NHNZ Worldwide has added a new collection of 4K Bornean Orangutan and Chinese wildlife clips, adding to its 15,000 hours of specialist footage and 50,000 online clips available for licensing around the world.

New footage is available from the Tibetan Plateau, home to a surprising array of animals, surviving in this brutal high altitude environment. Living at 5000 meters above sea level is unusual for any cold blooded reptile, but NHNZ Worldwide have managed to film the Tibetan Plateau’s only species of snake - the Hot Spring Snake, in action amongst the volcanic springs which enable its survival. NHNZ Worldwide’s library also hosts new content ranging from China’s fastest animal, the Tibetan antelope, to clips of the giant Tibetan bear along with its gorgeous cubs, its Wild Yaks and its tiny grassland Pika. Aiming to capture footage of the animals living their day to day lives, NHNZ Worldwide’s clips of Tibet’s only primate – the Tibetan Macaque – cover a huge array of behaviors such as parental care, mating, foraging, fighting, swimming, bathing and grooming.

Neighboring Tibet, and stretching from the precipitous snowy peaks in the north to dense tropical rainforests in the south, the Yunnan Province is home to China’s largest number of animal species and our library showcases the region’s priceless biodiversity. In covering this Province, NHNZ Worldwide has managed to film the Asiatic Black Bear scavenging, Giant Salamanders, the Black Crested Gibbon feeding and suckling its young, and also Red Pandas foraging, climbing and grooming. NHNZ Worldwide’s footage includes the rarest and highest-living primates in the world, such as the Bengal Slow Loris and the Yunnan Snub Nosed Monkeys, which NHNZ Worldwide has captured feeding on lichen, fighting, leaping through trees and foraging in snow, plus the last remaining troop of wild Asian elephants bathing, suckling and being well cared for by their parents.

Come and check out all the Chinese wildlife NHNZ Worldwide Footage has on offer!

As a leading supplier of orangutan content, NHNZ Worldwide has added to its current collection in this space with additional clips of the Bornean Orangutan (pongo pygmaeus) which is endemic to the island of Borneo.  The Bornean Orangutan is highly intelligent and NHNZ has managed to capture tool work, such as using sticks to test water depth and poke holes for termites, and using leaves as umbrellas. They are keen to shine a spotlight on these amazing creatures as the Bornean Orangutan population of just an estimated 50,000 – 60,000 individuals, is critically endangered.

NHNZ Worldwide’s footage site continues to grow its natural history content offering so check out these new collections at footage.nhnz.tv, or contact their team directly by email at images@nhnz.tv. NHNZ Worldwide’s renowned personalized service is offered by an experienced team of researchers and content specialists, led by senior archivist Jamie Thorp.

Go Inside Barry Feinstein's Archive with Global ImageWorks

Take a dive into the archive of legendary photographer Barry Feinstein’s reportage at Global ImageWorks, including coverage of Richard Nixon’s election-night headquarters in 1960, when he captured the tension of the close presidential race between Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

Feinstein had the foresight to document the early use of the IBM RAMAC 305 computer that year as it tabulated votes in Los Angeles County.

Less than a year later, Feinstein photographed members of the Los Angeles Chapter of Women Strike for Peace as they traveled by bus to downtown L.A. to demonstrate against nuclear testing at the height of the Cold War.

Click here to see more of Feinstein’s work—including his iconic 1950s Hollywood and 1960s music scene photographs. Email charlie@globalimageworks.com with photo requests or to hear more about Feinstein’s archive, much of which is still offline.

Bridgeman Partners with ITF

Bridgeman Images is thrilled to announce an exciting new footage partnership with travelogue company ITF. Bridgeman Images will have access to the entire digitized collection of SD and HD travel footage, with over 6,000 clips now available and many more to come.

ITF introduces us to a collection of almost 10,000 clips, the result of decades of travel and travelogue production. They' ve produced over 20 feature length travel films and operate an active and successful stock footage business with material regularly seen on TV shows and national commercials. The producers have worked as professional entertainers, radio announcers, European tour guides, art dealers and theatrical producers. Their personal travels have taken them around the world and to nearly seventy nations on six continents.

For any inquiries, please reach out to nysales@bridgemanimages.com. To get to know the collection better, click here.

Historic Films Now Representing Joshua White Collection

Artist, videomaker and broadcast television director, Joshua White, is perhaps best known as the innovator of the Liquid Lightshow. His "The Joshua Lightshow" was the most important and best known of the 1960s and 1970s liquid light shows. Whites' work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. 

Historic Films is proud to be representing and housing Whites' film work going back to the early 1960s and including previously unseen footage shot in the late 1960s at the legendary FILLMORE EAST music venue in New York City. Also Included is 35mm color footage of White's late 1960s liquid lightshow. White was the "go to guy" to film large venue music festivals and rock concerts and the library includes footage shot at several important early rock festivals. Other highlights of the collection include 30 minutes of color back plate footage shot on the streets of Harlem in the late 1960s and extensive color footage of the 1968 Easter Parade along 5th Avenue. All of Joshua White's footage is currently being scanned in 4k and is available for licensing at Historic Films Archive.

Now Streaming - Waco: American Apocalypse

Waco: An American Apocalypse, tells the story of the 51-day standoff in Waco, Texas between cult leader David Koresh and a small army of federal law enforcement officers. Timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the siege, which ended in a deadly fire on April 19, 1993, the three-part series combines “exclusive access to recently unearthed videotapes filmed inside the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, as well as raw news footage never released to the American public, and FBI recordings,” with interviews with both law enforcement officials who participated in the siege and surviving members of the Branch Davidian cult.

Directed by Tiller Russell, the series pulls viewers along on a harrowing odyssey, beginning with the failed attempt by ATF agents to extract and arrest David Koresh, which resulted in the death of four agents, and ends 51 days later with the Mt. Carmel complex engulfed in a fire that took the lives of 76 Branch Davidians. And while the siege at Waco was almost immediately taken on by the far-right extremists as evidence of an oppressive “deep state,” in reality, as the series makes clear, events on the ground were driven more by incompetence, adrenalin, impatience and the failure of law enforcement agencies to fully cooperate.

FootageFest 2023 to Return "Live and In-Person" this September

Finally, after a two-year hiatus, FootageFest will make its long-awaited return, this time to the legendary El Portal Theater complex in the revitalized NoHo section of Los Angeles.

Known for its practical panels, exhibitors of niche content, and screenings of archival-packed documentaries, the three-day conference will take place from Friday, September 29 through Sunday, October 1st. 

The fun begins on Friday evening with the launch party at The Federal Bar, followed by a day of panels, meet-and-greets, and networking opportunities.  The conference will conclude with a screening of a brand-new documentary at the historic Garland Hotel.

footagefest co-founder Steve Kozak

Premiering in 2018, the L.A.-based FootageFest is the brain child of British archival vet Dominic Dare and Late Night clip producer Steve Kozak.  Both were frustrated there were no content events held in Hollywood, forcing hundreds in their industry to trapse across the globe to attend conferences like MIPTV and Banff, held in Cannes and Alberta, Canada respectively.

Kozak was also growing increasingly bored at these conferences, where he “wasted weeks on end” listening to the same industry leaders lecture on esoteric subjects like “The Future of Stock Footage.” He wanted to hear from fresh voices speaking about new ideas, and discussing practical matters, particularly “from those who don’t really want to speak. Those make the best speakers.”

He also didn’t like speakers that had “bought their way to the microphone”.  Kozak is amazed at how sponsors can buy their way onto panels, and subsequently lecture about their own content, disguising it as conferenced-produced content.  Little do they know they are watching paid advertising. “They’d probably glean more from watching a ShamWow infomercial.”

footagefest co-founder dominic dare

While Kozak focuses on the panels, it is London-based Dare who brings the true variety to FootageFest, reaching out to researchers and archivists all over the world, successfully attracting professionals all throughout Canada, France, as well as from his home base in London.  In 2018 -- FootageFest’s inaugural year -- Dare reached out and partnered with the British researcher’s association, FOCAL International.  The following year, he started a partnership with VRSC – the Visual Researchers Society of Canada – and sponsored a dozen researchers to attend their L.A. conference. 

This year, Dare has combed the globe for researchers from even farther away lands like Ireland and Lebanon, and invited them into the FootageFest fold. It is their unique content that brings such great value to the organization. “That’s what FootageFest is all about,” Dare says, “searching to find that one piece of rare, niche content that’s going to make your projects pop.”

Dare adds while it is these smaller niche archives that bring tremendous value to the event, he is quick to mention that larger corporate stock houses like Getty Images and Shutterstock support Dare and Kozak’s endeavor.

In fact, FootageFest’s first conference was sponsored by Shutterstock, and took place at the historic Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, attracting over two dozen archives and over 200 attendees.  The following year’s event was sponsored by Veritone, relocating to the historic Woman’s Club of Hollywood, this time attracting four dozen archives and over 300 attendees. 

With a stable of sponsors this year including Retro Video, CNN, News Exposure, and 3P Sync – the conference will relocate to a classic Hollywood theater complex: The El Portal Theater is nearly 100 years old -- a true Hollywood landmark that opened its doors in 1926.  Its main theater seats 360 people, and the intimate Monroe Forum seats just under 100.  Additional events will be held at the trendy Federal Bar next door, the Laemmle Theatres across the street, as well as other locations in the revitalized NoHo section of Los Angeles.

Steve Binder, who produced and directed the 1968 Elvis Presley Comeback Special, will be doing a one-on-one interview about his career’s amazing highs and lows.  In last year’s Elvis, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Binder was portrayed by Stranger Things’ Dacre Montgomery, and was basically the hero of the story.  While he has been a pioneer in crossing racial barriers (famously bringing Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte together resulting in “The Touch” controversy), he has had his failures as well -- ten years later he directed the infamous “Star Wars Holiday Special”, as well as Chevy Chase’s ill-fated talk show.

Speaking of embarrassing projects, FootageFest will be doing a case study of sorts – about the 1989 Oscars, in which Allan Carr produced a cringeworthy vocal duet between Rob Lowe and yes, Snow White. Not only was Lowe – and the entire opening production number -- eviscerated in the press, the producers neglected to ask Disney for permission to use one of their most valuable properties, resulting in a threat of legal action. The show’s writer Bruce Vilanch and Eileen Bowman (the real-life Snow) will join our legal experts to discuss this alleged assault on American TV viewers.

Our “It’s All About the Content” series continues with a News Exposure-sponsored panel on Acquiring News Footage.  Participating will be News Exposure Founder (and legendary Chicago stringer) David Lasker, as well as Fox Archives’ Brian Sargent, and Clip Producer Ted Cannon.  Others will be announced soon.

A second panel in our content series will focus on Acquiring Celebrity Content, whether it be from traditional stock houses, academy libraries, TV and film studios, or so-called “paparazzi shooters”.

And, of course, returning again for its fourth time will be the Ultimate Fair Use panel, where several top attorneys from top films, as well as TV and film studios, discuss the most recent claims and cases.  Hosted again by the former Hulu Attorney Heather Bennett, this is always FootageFest’s most popular panel.

Tom Jennings, whose critically-acclaimed Lost Tapes documentary series airs on the Smithsonian Channel, will reveal how his 1895 Films acquires the content for their projects, and addresses issues like music, challenging interview subjects, and other legal concerns.  

FootageFest attracts what Dare and Kozak call “the third-party content professional,” which on the “User” side not only consists of researchers and clearance coordinators, but producers, writers, directors and editors.  On the “Provider” side, the event not only attracts stock footage professionals, but film and TV studio licensors, production companies, independent shooters, as well as news and viral video agencies.  

Go to www.footagefest.com/sign-up to sign up for the event.  You won’t want to miss this one. You can also follow @footagefest on Instagram and facebook, as well as LinkedIn.

Relive Yannick Noah’s Victory at Roland Garros & the Centenary of Le Mans Racing at Ina

2023 commemorates the 40th anniversary of Yannick Noah's victory at Roland Garros and the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Relive these  two mythical sporting events on www.inamediapro.com thanks to Ina’s partnerships with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) and Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO).

Footage includes rare visual documents of the championships dating back as far as the 1930s, including more than 6,000 videos of the most epic tennis matches, and more than 2,500 videos of historic automobile and motorcycle races. The collections are updated every year with the latest content available.

Bridgeman Images Announces Footage Partnership with Visual Studies Workshop

Bridgeman Images recently announced their latest footage partnership with the archive at Visual Studies Workshop.

Based in Rochester, NY, Visual Studies Workshop is a non-profit organization which supports artists and researchers by providing time, space, art and resources to create. Through residencies, public programs, education, publications, and collections, they aim to amplify diverse voices and connect people to art and creative practice. Around for over 50 years, VSW was founded in 1969 by artist and curator Nathan Lyons (1930–2016). Rooted in Lyons’ progressive vision of the “workshop idea,” VSW became one of the earliest independent, not-for-profit, artist-run spaces in the country. They also hold a research collection and art library with over a million still and moving images and 40,000 books for artists, critics and the general public to explore, research and reuse.

With their moving image archive encompassing over 5000 films on 16mm and 6000 videos on tape, the collection spans several decades and a wide range of categories including educational, animation, feature length, documentary and experimental.  The majority of the content on tape originates from artists, activists, and public access programming from the greater Central and Western New York regions as well as significant early experimental artists’ video productions.

As the partnership grows, Bridgeman Images will start with access to a curated selection of the digitized video collection. For any inquiries, please reach out to nysales@bridgemanimages.com. To peruse the growing collection, including a lot of fascinating social commentary from the 1970s, head here.

FILM Archives Inc. Founding Partner Richard Scheckman Dead at 67

New York based FILM Archives Inc. founding partner Richard ("Rick") Scheckman passed away following a brief illness on March 10, 2023. He was 67. Scheckman and Mark Trost, FILM Archives president, transitioned their youthful fascination with movies from hobby to stock footage firm in 1986. "He was not only my business partner, he was also a dear friend of nearly 50 years," said Trost. "We began collecting films together as teenagers in the late 1960s and early 1970s."

Among Rick's greatest pleasures was sharing that lifelong love of film, often loaning prints from his expansive personal collection to special screenings and events. In 2021, Scheckman placed his entire collection of rare 16mm prints (including many irreplaceable silents) with the Library of Congress. Upon learning of his death, the Library published a touching tribute, describing the films and LoC employees' efforts to ingest and preserve his legacy.

"Of course we will miss him greatly," Trost said. "Our dedicated staffers Karen Doogan and Kate Wilkinson will carry on Rick's wish to make this remarkable collection available and licensable to our clients, friends, and associates."

Besides his involvement with FILM Archives and the vintage film collectors' community, Scheckman became David Letterman's film coordinator for the late night show's entire 33-year run on NBC and CBS. Letterman's comedy writers relied on him to provide goofy clips for their bits, often on the spur of the moment. Occasionally he even appeared as Letterman's foil in sketches, such as "World's Worst Elvis Impersonator."

Click here to read more about Rick at the Library of Congress and here for The Hollywood Reporter's account of his television career.

Historic Films Purchases Over 1,000 Titles from Pathe News Inc.

Historic Films Archive recently completed the purchase of over 1,000 copyright renewed titles from Pathe News Inc. The titles document the first half of the 20th Century, and include over 700 “Musical Telescriptions,” encompassing the Pop, R&B, Jazz and Country Music of the 1950s.

The U.S. version of the Pathé Newsreel was acquired by Warner Brothers from RKO in 1931 and rebranded RKO Pathé News. When Warner discontinued production of the weekly Pathé Newreel in 1956 it was purchased, along with 38 short theatrical films, produced by Robert Youngston, by Joseph P. Smith and partners. Smith also acquired from Warner the Pathé crowing rooster trademark and a film newsreel library consisting of over seven million feet of film and over 100 educational and news-oriented shorts. Pathé News Inc. was created and incorporated by Smith in 1956 and all of its assets, except the newsreel film library, were held by the Smith family until the Historic Films purchase.

Also purchased from Pathé News, Inc. are the musical films created by Studio Films who produced the Snader Musical Telescriptions library and a series of thirteen groundbreaking live Rhythm & Blues programs, filmed in 1954-55 titled Showtime at the Apollo. To this day the Showtime at the Apollo series is considered the most comprehensive library of American Rhythm & Blues music in existence.

While the Sherman Grinberg Film Library continues marketing the original Pathé Newsreel film library, (the actual cut-original Pathé Newsreels and outtakes), Historic Films now owns all of the other titles and series that makes up the Pathé News, Inc. film library.

Historic Films CEO Joe Lauro states “While we have repped this collection for a number of years, our purchase of it now makes way for us to go back to the original 35mm fine grain prints and negatives, long in storage, and scan them in 4K. This will enable us to offer footage of key events of the first half of the twentieth century in extraordinary picture quality. I am also excited that Historic Films now owns, in my opinion, the largest and best library of African American Rhythm and Blues music filmed during its heyday. We will be giving that footage the same 4K makeover!”

Bridgeman Images Announces New Partnership with Skytop Drone

Bridgeman Images is thrilled to announce a new footage supplier partnership with Brooklyn-based aerial company, Skytop Drone. 

Skytop is a professional aerial photography and videography company serving the tri-state area. As drone pilots, they are passionate about what they do and are here to help with those dynamic and cinematic looking shots from above. Their pilots have spent years operating drones and are fully licensed with the FAA Part 107. They offer unique bird’s eye perspectives on everything from major city landmarks, buildings, bridges and skylines, construction sites, real estate ventures, events and more.

Impressively shot above New York City and beyond, Bridgeman Images will have access to a mix of exclusive and non-exclusive pre-shot footage as well as offer bespoke services to commission new aerial shots. For any inquiries, please reach out to nysales@bridgemanimages.com. To peruse the growing aerial collection, head here.

Discover the Films of Robert Mugge at Global ImageWorks

Robert Mugge is one of America’s leading music documentarians, having produced, directed, written, and edited more than three-dozen films and TV series examining various aspects of American and world culture.

Whether it’s Al Green, Sun Ra, Ruben Blades, Sonny Rollins or Gil Scott Heron, Robert’s films provide an insightful portrayal of his subjects. A Mugge film is rich in performance, cultural imagery and contains unique, scene-setting footage.  

Discover and enjoy clips from the Robert Mugge Film Archive at Global ImageWorks, where all footage is available for licensing exclusively. 

For an insider perspective, check out Notes from the Road: A Filmmakers Journey through American Music – "a fascinating exploration of the visual documentation of musical creation” or hear Robert Mugge tell his own story about his films.

Now Streaming: The Martha Mitchell Effect

Martha Mitchell came to Washington in 1968 with her husband John Mitchell, who’d served as Nixon’s campaign chairman before becoming Attorney General. But as filmmakers Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy make clear in their excellent 2022 archival doc, The Martha Mitchell Effect, now streaming on Netflix, the role of political wife and Washington hostess never suited her.

“Martha Mitchell wasn't playing the Washington game,” says former Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn in the film. “She was not going to be just the wife who sits in the background and not say anything.”

Brash and outspoken, she became something of a Washington celebrity and media darling, qualities Nixon and his inner circle initially thought they could use to their advantage. And while Mitchell herself was all in for Nixon, campaigning non-stop for his reelection in 1974, it all began to unravel after news of the Watergate break-in became public, straining relations between Martha, her husband and the White House. To distract attention from the growing scandal, Nixon and his top advisers, including, as it turns out, John Mitchell, orchestrated a smear campaign against Martha, setting off a chain of public recriminations that eventually led to Martha accusing Nixon of being at the center of the break-in and cover-up.

As Bob Woodward says in the film, “she smelled it. She knew something dirty was going on. Carl Bernstein and I started to realize that she was a Greek chorus of one, because she was telling the truth.” Even Nixon would eventually concede that Martha was a pivotal figure in his downfall. As he told David Frost in 1976, “I'm convinced if it hadn't been for Martha there would've been no Watergate.”

Bridgeman Images Announces New Partnership with Seventh Art Productions

Seventh Art Productions has been a leader in independent filmmaking for forty years. Their films have been seen on broadcasters worldwide including the BBC, ITV, C4, Five, Sky, PBS, National Geographic, A&E, Discovery, ARTE, NHK, ABC and many more. Its productions have won & been nominated for multiple awards for cinematography, including the BAFTAs.

They are also behind the unique arts brand EXHIBITION ON SCREEN. This brings major artists, exhibitions and art institutions to a cinema, television and home entertainment audience worldwide. Seventh Art Productions is also the world’s biggest independent producer of art films, with an archive that is both extensive and unique.

Thanks to the company’s dedication to storytelling at its highest form, Bridgeman Images will have access to the outtakes and broll from many of their documentary productions throughout the years - showcasing art, gallery and museum exterior and interiors and so much more. For any inquiries, please send us your research requests. To peruse the growing collection and learn more, click here.

GIW Highlights Footage from NYC 80s-90s Downtown Scene

In the 80s-90s in New York, a convergence of art, fashion, music, and theater came together in a kind of cross-pollination where creatives influenced each other by virtue of proximity and co-mingling. It was an extraordinary period in New York City, where clubs, storefront galleries, retail stores and the street provided alternative venues for exhibitions and installations of art, performance, music, fashion and dance.

The era was marked by fantastic and elaborate theme parties, typically performed for one night only, making any remaining archival footage one-of-a-kind and extremely rare. Shows like Dali and Gala’s Mad Hatter Tea Party captured the zeitgeist, combining a surreal dinner party with the performance of Joey Arias and Ann Magnuson as Dali and Gala, as did the Fellini Party, with a cast of circus performers and Felliniesque characters in vignettes throughout the club, and Disco Hospital, which included a wild assortment of characters as nurses, doctors, and patients, a stage show and an absurdist video with a nurse accidentally exploding a patient. 

Check out footage of these exceptional and eccentric events, as well as other images from the time at Global ImageWorks.

Global ImageWorks Reps Five New Historical Photo Collections, Including Some of the Biggest Stars in Music and Film

Global ImageWorks has added five new historical photo collections to its stills portfolio, including the archives of Barry Feinstein, best known for his iconic album covers for Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin and George Harrison; Bill Brach, who photographed the burgeoning hippie scene in San Francisco in the mid-1960s; Talib Haqq, who captured behind the scenes shots of Hip Hop stars on the rise; Tapani Talo, who leveraged his unprecedented access as a sound engineer in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in the 1970s to capture images of some of the biggest stars of the time; and Vangelis Rassias, who photographed movie stars at the Cannes Film Festival in the 80s and 90s.

Barry Feinstein

Best known for his iconic album covers, including Bob Dylan’s “The Times They’re A-Changin’,” Janis Joplin’s “Pearl,” and George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” Barry is one of music’s greatest photographers. 

Feinstein, who documented Bob Dylan’s 1966 and 1974 tours, was known for his reportage style and establishing close personal relationships that led to unique, behind-the-scenes photographs at parties, backstage, in hotel rooms, and in the artists’ homes. 

A frequent contributor to Life, Look, Time, Esquire, Newsweek, and Paris Match magazines, Barry’s work as a photojournalist includes images of political leaders such as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy and Hollywood stars like Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich and Steve McQueen.

GIW is continuing to dig through his amazing Archive which includes thousands of never before seen images.

Click here to browse collection.

Bill Brach

As a photography student at San Francisco State University in the mid-1960s, Bill Brach photographed the burgeoning hippie scene in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, specializing in portraiture that made use of San Francisco’s fog-softened light.

Bill’s photos—which have been digitized here for the first time—include photographs of Chet Helms, The Hell’s Angels, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and many others at the epicenter of the 1960s counter-culture movement.

Click here to browse collection.

Talib Haqq

Talib Haqq photographed a pivotal moment in Hip Hop history. Inspired by Run-DMC’s 1983 debut single, “It’s Like That,” Talib Haqq started photographing the rappers and their contemporaries-–including Whodini, Kurtis Blow, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, and rap super-producer Larry Smith—at parties, in after-hour clubs, on tour, and in the studio.  

Haqq’s portrait of Joseph “Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels in Hollis, Queens, is on the cover of the artists’ groundbreaking debut album, “Run-DMC.” And his behind-the-scenes photographs of Rush Productions capture the rise of the influential rap management company and its founder, Russell “Rush” Simmons.

Click here to browse collection.

Tapani Talo

With unprecedented access as a sound engineer in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in the 1970s, Tapani Talo captured behind-the-scenes moments of the Rolling Stones, Deep Purple and Bad Company while recording and on tour.  

Talo’s photography career started in high school in the late 1960s, when he photographed bands like Cream, Led Zepelin, Blind Faith, John Mayall, and Traffic on tour in Helsinki.

Click here to browse collection.

Vangelis Rassias

Vangelis Rassias was willing to gamble. As an independent photographer covering the Cannes Film Festival, he knew he needed to see things differently. Often working with a 600 mm lens, he positioned himself in unique vantage points where other photographers wouldn’t go, capturing intimate and revealing photographs. 

Rassias took stunning portraits of international movie stars and roamed the streets of Cannes in the 1980s and 90s, capturing the essence of the festival’s scene.

Click here to browse collection.

Reelin’ In The Years Productions Now Repping Friars Club Archive

Reelin’ In The Years Productions has announced that it has signed an exclusive contract with the legendary Friars Club Of New York to represent its archive of filmed and recorded private events spanning 70-plus years.  The Friars Archive contains nearly 1000 hours of never-before-seen or-heard video and audio recordings of comedians, actors, sports figures, and iconic musicians.

Since its founding in 1904, the famed club has been honoring comedians, politicians, actors, musicians and other luminaires at its fundraising celebrity luncheons (aka roasts), testimonial dinners and at private events.

The Friars Archive dates back to 1950 and the list of comedians whose performances were preserved on both video and audio tape is truly staggering. Some of the legendary comics that appeared at these landmark affairs include Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, George Burns, Jack Benny, Don Rickles, Bob Saget, Buddy Hackett, Milton Berle, Lucille Ball, Norm Crosby, Dick Gregory, Jerry Seinfeld, Johnny Carson, Alan King, Amy Schumer, Flip Wilson, George Carlin, Jeff Ross, Will Ferrell, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Maher, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Henny Youngman, Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg,  Bob Hope, Lily Tomlin, Jerry Lewis, Sacha Baron Cohen, Rich Little, David Letterman, Howard Stern, Joan Rivers, Billy Crystal, Steve Allen, Martin Short, John Oliver, Lewis Black, Sarah Silverman, Phyllis Diller, Redd Foxx, Ricky Gervais, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner and a host of others. This collection clearly establishes the Friars Archive as the Holy Grail Of Comedy.

Many of Hollywood’s greatest actors, actresses and directors are also part of this one-of-a-kind archive. Such icons as Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, Sean Penn, Lauren Bacall, Samuel Jackson, Jack Black, Elizabeth Taylor, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Peck, Betty White, Harvey Keitel, John Travolta, Audrey Hepburn, Kirk Douglas, Meryl Streep, Cary Grant, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Burt Lancaster, and Sylvester Stallone appeared at annual dinners to honor and celebrate their peers’ achievements in the world of film and television. 
 
Along with famed comedy legends and Hollywood royalty that were filmed and recorded by the Friars Club, many of music’s greatest artists spoke or performed at these private events. Some who appeared were Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, The Bee Gees, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross and Frank Sinatra who was also the Abbot at the Friars Club Of New York from 1975 to 1996.

Reelin’ In The Years Productions has spent the last 5 months meticulously digitizing and cataloging the archive, which exists on a variety of obsolete media formats. With hundreds of tapes left to transfer, this will take many more months to complete.
 
David Peck, founder and president of Reelin’ In The Years Productions said, “I’ve been representing archives from around the globe for over 25 years; it’s quite a thrill to find an archive where a treasure trove of content has been virtually untouched for decades. It brings out the ‘Indiana Jones’ in me and I am so honored that the Friars Club has trusted us with such an important legacy.”
 
“For many years we’ve been looking for the right home for our recorded legacy of laughter and entertainment,” said Friars Club Creative Director Anthony Trombetta, “and we feel that Reelin’ In The Years Productions is the perfect company to work with us on this historic archive.” 
 
For more information about the Friars Club Archive and other footage in their vast holdings, please reach out to Reelin’ In The Years Productions at www.reelinintheyears.com
 
Reelin’ In The Years Productions (winner of FOCAL’s 2020 “Footage Library of The Year Award”) is the premier source for footage of musical artists, entertainers and history makers. Its unique archive houses over 30,000 hours of music footage spanning 100 years. In addition to its music footage archive, RITY has available for licensing over 10,000 hours of in-depth interviews with the 20th century’s icons of film and television, politics, comedy, literature, art, science, fashion and sports, filmed between 1962 and 2012. 
 
David Peck (founder and president of Reelin’ In The Years) has also directed and produced more than 70 historical music documentaries and programs focused primarily on the giants of jazz, blues and rock & roll, garnering many awards in the process as well as a a Grammy nomination. In 2020, David Peck was one of the Executive Producers on the critically acclaimed documentary on the Bee Gees, “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” and is currently serving as one of the Co-Executive Producers on a multi-part documentary series on the famed record Memphis record label STAX that will air on HBO.