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Post by Paul Vanezis on Sept 5, 2017 8:06:28 GMT
Ladies, gents and others, I've recently been contacted by James Paterson of the Australian Television Archive about his work down under. As you know, we focus on discussion of missing British TV and radio here, but we do sometimes stray into archives in other parts of the world. But James has been involved in the recovery and transfer of archive British TV so I thought members here would be interested in his insight. He's no spring chicken either. He's been in the business for almost twenty years. Over to you James.
Regards,
Paul
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Post by Archive on Sept 5, 2017 9:47:01 GMT
Thanks Paul As many of you would be aware UK material was a big import into Australia, so its no surprise it can still turn up fairly regularly here. Whilst I primarily work with content providers and broadcasters (both locally and worldwide) regarding preservation grade digitising & archival preservation services for both film & videotape material. I also work closely in the area of archive research, and have access to a substantial archive of material which is often then supplied back to content owners who realise they have missing material. Over the years i have also learnt what a valuable resource private collectors etc are, not just in terms of program metadata information they can supply but also in terms of off-air recordings or other material. So without writing a really long post, feel free to ask questions about what i do, anything else on the subject of archiving, especially technical questions. I'll check back regularly to response where i can. James Paterson Owner/Head of Australian Television Archive www.austvarchive.com |
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Post by Paul Vanezis on Sept 5, 2017 11:04:54 GMT
Whilst I primarily work with content providers and broadcasters (both locally and worldwide) regarding preservation grade digitising & archival preservation services for both film & videotape material. I also work closely in the area of archive research, and have access to a substantial archive of material which is often then supplied back to content owners who realise they have missing material. I am enjoying your use of red patch bars in your avatar. Don't see those often enough in my view! P |
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Post by Mark Vanderlinde-Abernathy on Sept 5, 2017 21:01:43 GMT
Hey James! Welcome! I'm just a fan of missing material, so I wouldn't know what to ask in terms of "technical" questions. I'll try some generic questions though: 1) What is it that got you into all of this? How did you start? 2) What has been the most exciting project/preservation/recovery/etc you've ever worked on? 3) Being from the "Doctor Who" section, I do have to ask: Ever come across anything to do with Doctor Who?  A rumor you followed up on, etc?  4) Does Australian TV have a lot of known missing material? Are there any titles we should be looking out for just in case a reel randomly pops up in a different country? 5) Do private collectors often realize they have missing material? Or do you find that they often aren't aware of the rarity of their films/audio recordings? 6) Have you ever been in an archive with reels/tapes that make you ask "How did THIS end up here?" 7) Are the archives you are asked to work on usually badly organized/kept? Or do you come across archives that just need a bit of an update? |
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Post by Archive on Sept 6, 2017 3:16:43 GMT
1) What is it that got you into all of this? How did you start?
Well i guess what started it was when i first got my foot in the door at a regional tv station. One of my jobs was when they ran out of room downstairs in their current 1" commercial archive - I had to carry boxes of spot reels, up many flights of stairs and ladders into a makeshift store room in the roof. In order to make room for them i in turn was ordered to clear a shelf of older VT material. Looking at the labels revealed a lot of local kids and other tv programs i grew up watching, from an era before networked television when a station had local output, one I had been keen to work in, but arrived too late to experience. I felt such sadness as i dawned on me these were the only fragments left of an entire era, and I guess I would credit that as what started it all for me!.
2) What has been the most exciting project/preservation/recovery/etc you've ever worked on?
Thats a hard one!, all projects are different and have their good and bad parts...I cant really say. 3) Being from the "Doctor Who" section, I do have to ask: Ever come across anything to do with Doctor Who? A rumor you followed up on, etc?
Yes & Yes!!, its often the first thing people ask about!. The problem is discussing it is a touchy subject as there is a vast collecting community some might say obsessed with this search. This can hamper recovery of material in many ways, and the less i say the better on the subject, its got me banned from pages before because some people can be quick to judge and label you are a fraudster. I know this has happened in the past with many genuine recoveries of all kinds. The collecting community can be a great assett, but also be its own biggest problem. 4) Does Australian TV have a lot of known missing material? Are there any titles we should be looking out for just in case a reel randomly pops up in a different country?
Absolutely! - Australia is no different to anywhere else, there are entire series that nothing exists of except for some publicity stills, and others with large gaps. ATV Channel 0, the last station in Melbourne, was a modern "up to date videotape" facility station, which sadly wiped much content, and in some cases kines only exist because thats how they were distributed to the regional stations. One of the most sought after shows is a teen pop show produced in the 1960's called "the go show", of hundreds of episodes made, only a handful exist.
5) Do private collectors often realize they have missing material? Or do you find that they often aren't aware of the rarity of their films/audio recordings?
9 times out of 10 they are positive they have have "rare" material but on closer inspection its usually just an overdubbed VHS screener of material thats been circulating among traders for decades. However saying that there are some very dedicated collectors out there who can sometimes have unique or lost material or simply just save the day with a clearer copy of an off-air recorded clip that may be required in short time for a current broadcast. I do work with dedicated collectors from time to time, who prefer to remain anonymous. 6) Have you ever been in an archive with reels/tapes that make you ask "How did THIS end up here?"
All the time!, it can be very amusing how random it can be - especially in days before networking when various stations recorded network programming for re-broadcast later on their own station, you can find tapes with what are essentially network feeds, with commercials and all, but at broadcast quality. The end of the recording will often reveal the previous recording and other random material - then there is of course the random unmarked domestic format tapes that usually contain X rated material, those are the moments when i definetly ask "how did THAT get in there?"! 7) Are the archives you are asked to work on usually badly organized/kept? Or do you come across archives that just need a bit of an update?Depends greatly on the client, if it is a producer or production companys personal archive its usually fairly well logged or has cue sheets inside. However many of the network archives I have seen in the past they actually have no idea whats in there. Though there are a few that are investing in a lot of time/money to change all that. |
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Post by williammcgregor on Sept 6, 2017 7:52:31 GMT
G'Day James,
I know you are a busy man but I was wondering if or when you have the time that you could possibly check out these questions?...
I know it's a very long shot but I was wondering whether The Adventures of Francie and Josie was ever shown in Australia or indeed any STV shows/series?
maybe for the Scottish ex-pat community in Australia?
Also if The Avengers Season 1 was ever shown there or another ABC Series called Intrigue?
Finally, we know No Hiding Place was shown over there in Australia, so please James, look out for any N.H.P. episodes.
Please take your time with any answer/s
regards
William
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Post by Archive on Sept 6, 2017 8:16:57 GMT
Hi Peter & also William,
I'm not familiar with those programs you mention (except of course for "the avengers"). If they were series primarily shot on film they'd likely have been sent over here as b/w distribution prints as color didnt get here until 1975.
I probably need to become more familiar with some of the more obscure UK programming, names ring a bell but not much else!
James
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Post by Nicholas Fitzpatrick on Sept 6, 2017 10:00:08 GMT
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Post by Greg H on Sept 6, 2017 18:02:20 GMT
Hi James and many thanks for coming here to converse with us on our forum A couple of questions from me. 1) I have always wondered if Number 96 was ever exported to other shores? I have all of the released existing episodes on DVD, but have long wondered if there is much chance of any recoveries from overseas on the off chance they were telerecorded. 2) Have you ever had a near miss with almost recovering something but not quite making it in time? I believe a bunch of top of the pops was destroyed recently by a widow in the UK (I am sure everyone knows the details). All the best! |
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Post by jamesellis on Sept 6, 2017 21:46:30 GMT
Hi James P, do you have a holy grail recording that you personally would like to find ?
& purely out of Interest what are private collectors actually like, bad guys, obsessives, or just regular guys/girls, you must have met a few characters in your time, any good stories ?
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Post by Archive on Sept 7, 2017 3:38:31 GMT
Cant really say i have seen much canadian material, other than an NTSC to PAL converted episode of "You Cant do That On Television".
1) I have always wondered if Number 96 was ever exported to other shores? I have all of the released existing episodes on DVD, but have long wondered if there is much chance of any recoveries from overseas on the off chance they were telerecorded.
Good question!, i have heard something along the lines that it was and that they were actually color & b/w kinescope recordings?, therefore posing the question as to the off chance of any of the missing years existing somewhere. I do know that i saw some 1970's era 3/4" Ampex cases marked number 96 in an archive some time back, but was not given access to verify the contents - though its likely it was just compiles....but you just never know!
2) Have you ever had a near miss with almost recovering something but not quite making it in time? I believe a bunch of top of the pops was destroyed recently by a widow in the UK (I am sure everyone knows the details).
Yes, in many many situations, infact its very common. I mentioned on another group (one I apparently cant discuss here) about the time I was living in a small country town, (not far from where the flying doctors was filmed!), there was an old shop with the windows covered up that i walked past daily, though the front looked empty i did notice with curiosity there were some film cans sitting on a bench. Some time later a friend came to visit from the city and introduced me to his "film collector" friend, to my shock he owned the shop and out the back was stacked to the ceiling with cans of film..even in the toilet!. Apparently this was his "country retreat" so the collection in the city house was even larger. I was rather horrified to learn the bulk of the material was nitrate 35mm stock. I discussed with him if he had considered sending material to the NFSA...never! was the response (I've since learnt why, but thats another story!). Looking at the material there was one very old metal cinema shipping cannister, inside it was claimed to the the entire film of "the kelly gang" reported to be the first ever Australian film made. I was unable to verify if it was complete, but it definetly was the real thing. Sadly i was unable to persuade him to part with it in any form, and within months of meeting him, he passed away. The first i knew of this was when i noticed those few film cans seen from the front window were gone - later investigations revealed the state trustee's dealing with his estate had - (to the best we knew) taken the lot to the dump about 8 weeks earlier, likely due to advice regarding the illegality and danger of so much nitrate based film being stored against regulations. Thats definetly one where i have kicked myself for not doing something sooner, as..after all i had been walking past it daily for some years before i knew what was in there. Yes, i know it sounds like a tall and stereotypical story, and people can either choose to beleive it or not (on another page I was actually banned and the owner accused me of making this up).
There are many more interesting stores, enough to fill a book, another interesting phenomena i experience in archiving is where certain tapes or films can have a habit of "returning" over long periods of time. For example a can of film you may have seen in an archive, but werent able to access 25 years ago, that for all intensive purposes has thought to be lost, can turn up again 25 years later in someones collection..complete with sticker/ markings you left on it 25 years earlier! Ypu then make a preservation copy and return it to whomever, then find a year or so later, someone else has aquired it, and sending it back again for preservation unaware its been here before. I have to laugh as it can sometimes seem like totally the opposite of the above experience, kind of like one of those films of the indescrtuctable object that you think has been lost forever but just keeps on re-appearing...if only all archive material was like that!
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Post by Archive on Sept 7, 2017 4:06:13 GMT
Hi James P, do you have a holy grail recording that you personally would like to find ?
like everyone else Dr Who would be nice, and there were some leads in the past, but its unlikely this will be found now. But generally, its always a good feeling when you find ANYTHING, that is found to be "missing".
Notable examples/highlights have been AC/DC's King of POP performance from 1975 used in a major dvd release some years back (my last name spelt incorrectly with two "T"'s are credited on the label.) Bee Gee's Australian performances, and Frank Sinatras infamous media chase when he visited Australia, the latter used in a major HBO/NBC documentary about Sinatra that aired worldwide.
& purely out of Interest what are private collectors actually like, bad guys, obsessives, or just regular guys/girls, you must have met a few characters in your time, any good stories ?
They can be varied, some are major obsessives, others are very reliable and dedicated people. The dedicated and reliable ones are whom i work with regularly, they prefer to keep out of the politics of the wider collecting community and remain anonymous and its there i feel is where lies the majority of material we think doesnt exist.
I've had my fair share of weirdo's, and it goes with the territory. Certain programs can attract a certain type of crazed fan, sometimes they feel you are deliberately witholding program material they somehow think they have a right to access. I've had anything from (international) stalkers whom phone at 3am to check if i have found their fav program - to internet crazies whom have become so obsessed I've needed to involved police because there has been threats to my safety.
Sometimes there are just the harmless (but annoying) crazies, there was one such fan of playschool whom would continually phone the work line at all hours day/or night and describe every scene they were seeking, whilst playing the youtube video down the line to the answering machine, until the answering machines was full of just audio from youtube videos!
The collecting community (and even the professional/broadcast side) can have a large element of ego centric problems, it can quite frankly become a war of the ego's and "bitchy", and the internet doesnt always help as people form judgements/opinions based on non real world evidence. Thats why i attempt to be open and transparent about what i do, who i am and give opportunities like this to connect with the collecting/fan community. In some cases the biggest thing hampering the ability to recover missing material is the infighting that can occur in these communities, one person or organisation can never cover a job so large, and thats why its been concluded by most official organisations worldwide if we are to digitise/recover/preserve whats out there it really needs to be a collaborative effort - easier said than done however!
James
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Post by Nicholas Fitzpatrick on Sept 7, 2017 6:00:46 GMT
Cant really say i have seen much canadian material, other than an NTSC to PAL converted episode of "You Cant do That On Television". Sorry to bother you again - but on behalf of Canada, I'd like to apologize.  |
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Post by Richard Bignell on Sept 7, 2017 11:00:45 GMT
Hello James,
Have you ever found any evidence that any of ABC's six-part 1972 adaption of Nevil Shute's 'The Far Country' has survived at all? I know that the ABC seem to have junked it long ago.
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Post by Arthur Chim on Sept 7, 2017 11:17:18 GMT
Welcome to the forum James.
About two years ago I looked you up to transfer my wedding video from SVHS tape.
On the topic of missing programmes, have you ever recovered any missing episodes of ABC TV's Countdown?
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A rumor you followed up on, etc? 
