Moving Image and Sound Archive:

Why does film need to be preserved?

People have been making movie film for about one hundred years.

the moving image is as near as we can come to living history. It is our great good fortune, that in the twentieth century so many amateur and professional film makers have recorded local life: farming, markets, transport, trades, social life, celebrations, characters, holidays, entertainments, villages and towns.

It is a rich and fascinating record, but it is at great risk. Cine film is vulnerable. Many local film collections are hidden away in lofts and cupboards, forgotten or nearly so. Every year irreplaceable films are thrown away. Films can be worn out or damaged by being projected too often. If not projected, they can be inadvertently destroyed or lost. Some older 35mm (cinema guage) films can decompose and become a fire risk.

Our aim is to save and preserve as much film (and audio records) of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire as possible under proper archival conditions, and to use video copies to enable it to be seen by the community and used in education.

If you know of any film material from the past century that needs to be cared for, please let us know - the rights of the owners of films are fully respected and nothing is done without agreement.