Moving Image Resources For Archaeology Teaching, Learning And Research

Guides for Teaching and Learning in Archaeology Number 2

Moving Image Resources for Archaeology Teaching, Learning and Research Cathy Grant, BUFVC Information Service, with a case study by Dr Melanie Giles, University of Manchester Introduction This short guide aims to provide a brief introduction for those studying and teaching Archaeology to a selection of moving image and sound resources and services available to the Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) sector, in particular resources that can be accessed via the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC). These include online databases covering archival and current information on television programmes, newsreels, and commercially available educational DVDs, video tapes and CD-ROMs. Other services offer online delivery of video material to UK HE and FE without charge for use in teaching, learning and research, a members-only Off-Air Recording Back-Up Service, and an information service for advice on such topics as copyright issues and content availability.

Using moving images and sound in teaching and learning Ever since Eadweard Muybridge began to develop serial photography to analyse human and animal locomotion in 1878, film has been used as a scientific tool to record and transmit experience. Use of this medium in education has traditionally been limited by cost, difficulty of using the technology, and finding out what is actually available. Since 1989 educational use exceptions to UK Copyright legislation and the introduction of off-air recording licences have made television programmes readily available for use in education. More recently a growing number of online sources have also started providing moving images free at the point-of-use in teaching and learning. Trish Thomas, in her briefing paper on the Higher Education Academy website (www.hca.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/ Briefing_Papers/index.php), has discussed the value of using film as a resource in classics teaching, concluding that “the best films can inspire the kind of connection between ancient and modern experience that brings excitement to teaching and learning about the Classical world”. Video tapes, and particularly DVD, are very userfriendly media, and lecturers and students are becoming increasingly comfortable with viewing video content online and incorporating extracts into PowerPoint presentations and Virtual Learning Environments. The remaining problem is simply finding out what materials are available, and this is where the databases and services offered by the BUFVC can help.

Reasons for using moving images: •

Brings field work into the seminar, lecture theatre and online learning environment

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Offers a unique visual record of past as well as current excavations, techniques, and archaeological issues

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Fictional films or reconstructions of life in ancient cultures provide valuable discussion material about their interpretation and authenticity (or otherwise)

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Low cost

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Ease and flexibility of use – DVDs, streamed or downloadable computer images

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Increasing academic interest in media perception and presentation of archaeology

Archaeology and CAVE Although all academic subject areas are within its remit, the BUFVC has, since 1977, had a particular interest in supporting the use of moving images in archaeology through its involvement in what is now CAVE, the joint CBA/BUFVC Committee for Audio-Visual Education. In 1988, the Committee established the Channel 4 Archaeological Awards for the best examples of broadcast and nonbroadcast programmes and computer-based use of moving images in archaeology. These form part of the biennial British Archaeological Awards.

CAVE’s Remit: •

Assess and promote video and online material for use in archaeology teaching and learning

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Administer the Channel 4 Awards

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Organise occasional workshops and screenings

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Advise on broadcast and online educational projects

The British Universities Film & Video Council The BUFVC was founded in 1948 and exists to promote the use of sound and moving images in teaching and learning in higher and further education. Most HE and FE institutions are members of the BUFVC, benefiting staff and students with a full range of services. However, most of the online databases are freely accessible to all users from the website www.bufvc.ac.uk. Regular one-day courses are also held on subjects related to the use of film and video in learning, teaching and research. Topics covered include copyright, encoding digital video, streaming (moving images and sound accessed online which can be viewed ‘live’ but can’t be retained by the user) and webcasting, as well as locating and using moving images. Practical workshops offer training in shooting digital video and editing, as well as the integration of online moving images into teaching and learning. The BUFVC is part-funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

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Photograph: Geoff Pugh Roman Mosaic - Lopen

BUFVC offers these databases online:

Hermes Database www.bufvc.ac.uk/hermes

HERMES - commercially available video recordings, DVDs and CD-ROMs suitable for use in HE and FE

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Database freely available online

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Items selected from distributors’ catalogues for use in HE and FE

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TRILT - television and radio programme listings – current and archival – linked to the offair recording back-up service

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Contains 30,000 individual records of DVDs, videos, CDROMs, online materials, etc.

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BUND - cinema newsreels and related documentation –links to free online streaming sources

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Materials available for sale, hire or free online access

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Searchable by subject, title, personality, distributor, year & format

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Full contact details for the 2,000+ distributors

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MIG - reviewed web resources relating to moving images and sound RGO - A guide to film and television archives in the UK

Copyright and other information Advances in computer and digital technology over the last fifteen years, combined with changes in UK copyright legislation concerning the use of television material in education, have generated a broad spectrum of opportunities and challenges to revolutionise the ways in which HE and FE student and teacher outcomes are delivered. However, as well as creating opportunities, some confusion has also arisen with regards to what can and cannot be done without infringing copyright or intellectual property rights. The BUFVC runs several one-day courses a year on these issues, and its Information Service also provides advice on current practice and will be publishing a booklet on the subject later this year.

Educational and commercially available video recordings There are no major educational or commercial distributors that specialise in archaeology programmes, although IA Recordings (www.iarecordings.org) does have a good collection of video content on industrial archaeology. However, there are many distributors which each have a few programmes of archaeological interest. The BUFVC Information Service holds a vast collection of educational video catalogues and reference works and uses these to select entries for the HERMES database of audio-visual materials available for hire or sale. These include such recent releases as the ten-part Lost Civilizations (2001), Ancient Mellor Revealed (2002) and The Roman Mosaic - Lopen (2003).

Online Moving Image Sources Obtaining moving images online is now one of the easiest methods of accessing such material. These may be delivered by streaming for real-time viewing (by individuals on computer screens or by larger audiences via a data projector) and/or made available for downloading so that sequences or whole films may be retained for use in either full-length or extract form at a later stage. It is also possible to edit and manipulate downloaded images to insert them into PowerPoint or other presentation systems. The players required for viewing online images (Real,Windows Media Player, and Quicktime) are available for free download. There are now several search engines (see over) that look specifically for video and audio files on the web and they find material ranging from very short sample clips to complete programmes. Charges apply for viewing some material, but much is free. The BUFVC’s Moving Image Gateway (MIG) www.bufvc.ac.uk/gateway brings together almost 900 reviewed online resources relating to the use of moving images and sound in education, organised by subject.

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Examples of websites streaming images and sound useful for archaeology

Multimedia Search Engines

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The Archaeology Channel www.archaeologychannel.org/ complete films, audio interviews and talks

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Singingfish www.singingfish.com

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The Virtual Mummy www.uke.uni-hamburg.de/institute/medizinische-informatik/ unwrapping a mummy’s head and computer tomograms of different planes

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Blinkx www.blinkx.tv/

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Google Video http://video.google.com/

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AltaVista www.altavista.com/video/

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Alltheweb www.alltheweb.com/

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Lycos Multimedia Search http://multimedia.lycos.com/

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BBC/OU Nation on Film www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/ regional archive and amateur footage on industrial archaeology, used in the television series on social history

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Roland Collection www.roland-collection.com A large collection of films on art including prehistoric art, conservation and preservation

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Nordic Underwater Archaeology www.abc.se/~pa/video/ Norwegian site with underwater footage of shipwrecks

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SCRAN www.scran.ac.uk a subscription site offering 300,000 images, movies and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media

Researcher’s Guide Online (RGO) www.bufvc.ac.uk/rgo Based on the book The Researcher’s Guide, now in its 7th edition

Archival moving image sources As well as programme makers, national and regional film archives and some museums also hold film footage useful for academic research. Some of them such as the Imperial War Museum and the East Anglian Film Archive have made selected materials from their collections available commercially on video, but in most cases the only way of viewing material is by making an appointment to see it on the premises. The BUFVC’s Researcher’s Guide Online (RGO) database brings together details of these collections, their holdings and access policies, such as the Alexander Keiller Museum, The National Maritime Museum Archive, ITV Anglia and others.

British Cinema Newsreels Cinema newsreels may not immediately seem to be a potential source of useful material for teaching and learning, perhaps because it is only in the last couple of

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Freely available online

years, since companies have • Over 650 collections from local put their collections online, and national film archives, that newsreels have become museums, libraries, television companies, commercial stock generally accessible. News shot libraries stories recorded between 1910 and 1979 are a rich historical • Holdings,contact and access details resource and contain unique • Searchable by keyword or footage, including coverage of name of collection archaeological discoveries and important museum exhibitions. British Universities Newsreel They also provide an additional Database (BUND) perspective for studies of media www.bufvc.ac.uk/newsreels representation of archaeology. • 160,000 records from over The two major collections twenty newsreels and are now both available for cinemagazines free viewing online (British • Searchable by keyword, subject, Movietone News at www. title, event, date and newsreel movietone.com and the ITN company Archive at www.itnarchive. • Direct links to downloadable com). The British Universities Pathe newsreels Newsreel Database (BUND) • Reference numbers for brings together details of accessing online British newsreel stories from all Movietone newsreels the main companies as well • Freely available online to the as digitised accompanying UK academic community documents and rich supporting details on the history of ITN Archive newsreels. Examples include such stories as Tutankhamen’s Tomb (Topical Budget, 1925), Roman Temple In The City (Pathe, 1954) and Hastings - 1066 Remembered (British Movietone, 1966).

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British Pathe www.britishpathe.com/ newsreels 1896-1970

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Movietone Online Newsreel Archive www.movietone.com/ free streaming or purchase for download

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Newsfilm Online www.bufvc.ac.uk/ newsfilmonline From 2007 this service will deliver 3,000 hours of newsreel and television news material from the ITN Archive

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Creative Archive http://creativearchive.bbc.co.uk/ will supply footage from the BBC, Channel 4, BFI and OU archives for non-commercial download, editing and reuse. Archaeology content is being considered for early release. Free to UK television licence holders

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Education Media Online www.emol.ac.uk JISC service providing footage cleared for use in HE and FE

Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT) www.trilt.ac.uk •

Database for staff in BUFVC member institutions

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Detailed guide and index to British television and radio – 1.3 million records per year

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Detailed data from 2001, selected data from 1995

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Data available in advance of transmission and held retrospectively

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Supports BUFVC’s off-air recording back-up service

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E-mail auto alert service for programmes on selected subjects

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Selected records enhanced with additional information

Broadcast television For the last fifteen years television has been the main source of moving image material used in further and higher education. Since 1990 and the implementation of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, educational establishments have been permitted to record and copy any television or radio broadcast under the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) licencing scheme which allows institutions, for a fee, to record off-air TV and radio recordings in teaching and research. Under a separate licence agreement, Open University programmes may also be recorded. There has been a huge number of archaeology programmes on television in recent years and many universities have built up sizeable collections of recorded programmes. However, there will always be programmes that have gone missing, failed to record or were not selected for recording in the first place. To support the use of television material in teaching and learning the BUFVC has an archive of television programmes going back to 1998 (the Off-Air Recording Back-Up Service) and an online listing of television programmes going back to 1995.

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An additional television database - TVTiP- is now also available through the BUFVC website. Produced by Bournemouth University, TVTiP is a database of all ITV programmes listed in the London edition of the TV Times between 1955 and 1985. This covers the formative years of ITV and the launch of Channel 4 and will be a useful for tool for students of archaeology and the media.

BUFVC Off-Air Recording Back-Up Service Copies of missed television programmes, dating back to June 1998, can be provided to BUFVC member institutions holding an ERA recording licence. It is therefore possible to use TRILT to discover details of a programme such as Blood Red Roses, about skeletons from the Wars of the Roses, broadcast in the Channel 4 series Secrets Of The Dead. Although it has since been repeated on the History Channel, its transmission on Channel 4 on 22/6/2000 means that copies can be obtained via the off-air recording back up service. The number of request forms available to an institution each year depends on the level of membership. Programme copies can be supplied on videocassette, CD or DVD.

photo: Open University

The Television and Radio Index for Learning & Teaching (TRILT) is only available to BUFVC members and is particularly valuable for researching a topic, finding programme repeats, locating a specific missed programme or to plan viewing up to 10 days in advance. It can be searched by subjects, such as archaeology, as well as by title, personality and general keywords. Over 1.3 million new records are added to TRILT every year and the BUFVC enhances specific titles which will be of particular value to the HE and

FE community. It is possible to save specific searches and thus create ‘auto alerts’ so that, for instance, those that are interested in particular archaeology programmes or periods will receive emails at least a week in advance of transmission to let them know what will be appearing.

Lapedo child

Examples of websites supplying downloadable images for archaeology

Education Media Online (www.emol.ac.uk) Education Media Online (EMOL) provides online moving images from various renowned film collections for downloading, editing and re-use by UK higher and further education. Content has been selected and rights cleared by the JISC-funded BUFVC MAAS Media Online project (www.bufvc.ac.uk/ maas). Although the work of the Managing Agent and Advisory Service (MAAS) ended in July 2005 the material will continue to be available online as most rights have been cleared for at least 10 years and JISC has announced it will launch its own initiative to acquire future material. Programmes delivered via EMOL are broken down into 3 - 7 minute segments for ease of download, although complete programmes are also available. Detailed metadata on the website provides full production information and detailed content for each segment. Material may be viewed as downloaded, or re-edited using basic video editing applications. Within EMOL, the Sheffield University and Anglia Television collections provide a considerable number of programmes of archaeological interest.

photo: Sheffield University

Sheffield University Learning Media Unit is one of the largest university production units in the UK, producing programmes across all academic subject areas. Sheffield programmes of archaeological interest that have been digitised for use by EMOL are: Discovering Roman Britain: The Countryside (1985. 14, 17, 15 minutes). Three short programmes on the discovery, excavation and interpretation of evidence to reveal the workings of a great farming estate of the Roman period. Wigber Low: Excavation Of An Anglo-saxon Burial Site (1976, 10 minutes). Explains the process of excavation by focusing on a real-life excavation of an Anglo-Saxon burial site at Wigber Low, Derbyshire. Exploring Roman Britain: The Roman Town (1985.12, 14, 13 minutes). Three short programmes exploring Roman Verulamium - how it grew, life in the town, and its importance. Presented by Professor Keith Branigan. Exploring Prehistoric Landscapes (1999. 33 minutes). From aerial photography and field walking through to measured survey and excavation, this video outlines how archaeological work at a variety of scales allows the landscapes of the distant past to be explored. Remaking A 6,000 Year Old Copper Axe (1996. 19 minutes) An explanation of the ‘Metal Cycle’ followed by a live demonstration of the whole casting process. Anglia Television played a leading role in the development of archaeology programmes, producing series with the input of eminent professors and experts of the time. The two major series of archaeology programmes that are available on EMOL reflect the change in methodologies and approaches in archaeological discourse, and are important for the study of archaeology on television. Like many programmes from the 1960s, they have remained unseen for many years. The Anglia programmes on EMOL are: Who Were The British? (1965. 6 25-minute parts). The early inhabitants of Britain and the impact of the Romans. The final programme discusses methods of archaeological investigation. Presented by Brian Hope-Taylor, with contributions from Glyn Daniel. The Lost Centuries (1968. 8 25-minute parts). Post-Roman Europe from the rise of Christianity and the influence of the later Islamic empires through to the beginning of the Renaissance. The series also explores Anglo-Saxon Britain and the expansion of the Viking territories from Scandinavia into Britain. Presented by Brian Hope-Taylor. The Devil’s Ditches (1973. 39 minutes). A record of archaeologist Brian Hope-Taylor’s 1973 excavation of a section of the Devil’s Dyke, due to be removed to accommodate a new motorway, near Newmarket in Cambridgeshire. Presented by Glyn Daniel. The Fight For York Minster (1967. 38 minutes) An appeal by Brian Hope-Taylor for the York Minster restoration fund, using as background footage of his 1967 investigation of the foundations of the cathedral.

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Case Study: Using EMOL in Teaching and Learning in Archaeology Dr Melanie Giles, School of Arts, Histories & Cultures, University of Manchester [email protected]

Students of archaeology learn in a variety of ways, not just through textual research, but through their critical analysis of visual imagery and ‘hands-on’ engagement with the past. However, rising costs are restricting access to innovative media and their use in class. Lecturers therefore often resort to a wellillustrated ‘PowerPoint’ presentation, as a way of meeting these other learning pathways. This need not be the case: EMOL provides a suite of archaeology programmes, usefully broken down into short, five-minute segments, which can be used to enrich understanding of a particular technique or explore a particular period-based theme, with case studies. For example courses on ‘Landscape Archaeology’ can make the most of the excellent Exploring Prehistoric Landscapes programme, designed to familiarise students with basic landscape techniques and differentiate between scales of analysis. Based in the Peak District, enclosures, stone circles, settlements and funerary monuments are used to illustrate techniques ranging from aerial photography, surface survey and field walking, to test-pitting and excavation. The programme stresses the importance of background information such as geology, hydrology and soils, and encourages the early use of archival material (especially maps, plans and photographs) in any landscape project. It also manages to explore sophisticated concepts and issues, along the way. Other programmes (such as The Devil’s Ditches or Wigber Low excavation) could be used to complement these prehistoric case studies, and show how such techniques are applied in practice. Alternatively, a course on Roman Britain could use the series called Who were the British: the Immigrants and the Conquerors, to explore pre-Conquest settlements and life-ways, the invasion itself, and phenomena such as roads, towns and defences. In addition, Discovering Roman Britain: parts 1-3 has a special focus on villas and estate landscapes, using the case study of Gatcombe. Meanwhile the post-Roman landscape is explored in the short series The Lost Centuries. Segments on Anglo-Saxon burial from this series could be complemented with the case study of Wigber Low. Alternatively, the threat of invasion (discussed in the episode The Fury of the Norsemen) might be contrasted with The Devil’s Ditches. Early Christianity also features in The Lost Centuries series, and could be paired with The Fight for York Minster; a programme which explores the influence of Roman and early Medieval remains on later structures, and discusses problems of raising public awareness for the restoration and renovation of this medieval building. These programmes enable teachers to convey the importance of matching research themes with apposite methodologies, in a long-term process of investigation and assessment. However, many of these programmes were made in the 1960s and 1970s, and thus appear somewhat out-of-date, in terms of over-arching narratives delivered by ageing male academics, survey techniques and film production standards. This may cause amusement for students used to the humour and debate of a contemporary Time Team episode or the hi-tech graphics of Timeflyers. However, as such, they could be used by students to critically analyse changes in the way in which archaeology is presented to the public, touching on issues of gender, narrative, politics, media and representation. In sum, this is a rich resource with great potential for both thematic, period-specific courses as well as training in the history of archaeological methodology, technique and analysis.

photo: Sheffield University

Education Media Online (EMOL) www.emol.ac.uk

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Copyright licence to be signed at institutional level

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Service guaranteed free of charge until July 2007

BUFVC Membership Membership of the BUFVC is open to universities, colleges, schools and other educational institutions such as museums, as well as to individual researchers. The benefits of Standard Ordinary Membership are: •

Access to the TRILT database

• Up to 50 copies (depending on type of membership) of previously broadcast television programmes from the Off-air Recording Back-up Service • Copies of Viewfinder, the BUFVC magazine, containing news and features on the production, study and use of film, television and related media for higher and further education. Published four times a year • Discount on BUFVC publications and course registration • Access to the BUFVC’s Information Service • From autumn 2005, access to the Members’ area of the redesigned BUFVC website

Contact details Information Service and database enquiries : Sergio Angelini - 020 7393 1506 and Cathy Grant - 020 7393 1507, email [email protected] CAVE and archaeology-related enquiries: [email protected] BUND and newsreel enquiries: Tel 020 7393 1508, email [email protected] TRILT and television enquiries: Tel 020 7393 1501, email [email protected] Off-Air Recording Back-Up Service: Tel 020 7393 1503, email [email protected] Education Media Online - online delivery technical: [email protected] The BUFVC is an educational charity that exists to promote the use and study of moving images and sound in higher and further education. British Universities Film & Video Council 77 Wells Street London W1T 3QJ Tel: 020 7393 1500 Fax: 020 7393 1555 www.bufvc.ac.uk email [email protected]

Edited by: Karina Croucher, Archaeology, HE Academy Design: Andy Fairhurst, Gten, University of Manchester

www.hca.HEAcademy.ac.uk/archaeology