Archival Storytelling: A Filmmaker's Guide to Finding, Using, and Licensing Third-Party Visuals and Music

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Filmmakers tell stories—about the past, the present, even the future. Some stories are invented, while others are drawn in part or entirely from real life. In many cases, this storytelling is bolstered by the use of archival materials—motion picture, stills (including artwork and graphics as well as photographs), sounds, and music—that were created by someone other than the filmmaker. These archival (or “third-party-owned”) materials may be amateur or professional in origin. Under this definition, a commercially-recorded song used in a film's soundtrack, a home movie found in the attic of the filmmaker's grandfather, or a photograph obtained from the local historical society would all be considered “archival.”

In some ...