Research

The Moving Image Source Research Guide is a gateway to the best online resources related to film, television, and digital media.

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 Peer Reviewed

Online Collections Catalogs

  • Aaron Copland Collection, Library of Congress  
    The Aaron Copland Collection at the Library of Congress offers users electronic access to hundreds of photographs, correspondences, music, and writing.
  • African Film Library  
    Over 600 digitally remastered African films and documentaries in English, French, Arabic, or Portuguese are available for a fee for 24-hour download.
  • American Film Institute   Paid Subscription Required
    The American Film Institute promotes screen education throughout the United States as well as various preservation initiatives. This website provides basic information about the AFI, as well as a catalogue of the Louis B. Mayer Library.
  • American Jewish Committee Archives  
    This online collection features extensive audiovisual content from the American Jewish Committee's anti-prejudice campaigns in the post-World War II era. Here users will find, in addition to the films themselves, plentiful primary documentation produced by the AJC's television department about the production of these cartoons and live-action short subjects. Also includes the audio content of AJC-related radio programs from 1939 to 1955.
  • Anthology's Essential Cinema list  
    A list of films from the Anthology Film Archives collection, which features large holdings in experimental film (especially American experimental film of the 1960s and 1970s). Browse by director or film title.
  • Archives Françaises du Film   Peer Reviewed
    Search the collection of the physical archive. In French.
  • Archivio Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio e Democratico  
    Search the audiovisual collection. In Italian.
  • Austrian Independent Film and Video Database  
    A vast database of independent and avant-garde Austrian films. Search or browse by title or filmmaker. For each film there is a synopsis, cast and crew lists, a still image, and information on exhibition and distribution. Also includes detailed director biographies and filmographies. In English and German.
  • Bernard Herrmann Estate  
    The Bernard Herrmann estate provides information on the famed composer as well as information on upcoming performances of his work. In addition, finding aids are provided to the Bernard Herrmann papers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
  • Bibliothèque du Film (BiFi)  
    Search the collection catalog for filmmakers and films. Many catalog entries feature individual synopses and bibliographies. Particularly useful to researchers who speak French.
  • Black Film Center and Archive   Peer Reviewed
    Browse films available in the physical collection (in Bloomington, Indiana) by director or title. Video transfers can be purchased for nonprofit purposes. A few clips from the center's public-domain holdings are available on the site, in Quicktime format.
  • British Artists' Moving Image Database  
    A research database on British artists' film and video, covering experimental and avant-garde film, video art, artists' television, gallery-based installations, and other works that use moving image and audiovisual multimedia technologies. The database provides information for several thousand works, including dates, formats, and some synopses. It also links to the holdings of public and academic collections, archives, distributors, and dealers, including information about locations and conditions of access.
  • Bulgarian National Film Archive  
    The official site of the Bulgarian National Film Archive, which features information on the archive's collection and a vast gallery of stills from notable Bulgarian films. In English and Bulgarian.
  • Business Source Complete   Paid Subscription Required Peer Reviewed
    Search scholarly business journals and company profiles.
  • Center for Visual Music  
    The Center for Visual Music is a nonprofit film archive dedicated to visual music, experimental animation, and avant-garde media. Its website offers an online library, an official research page for filmmaker/painter Oskar Fischinger, information about traveling curated film programs and membership, an online store, and galleries.
  • Chicago Film Archives  
    A searchable list of what is available at the physical archive in Chicago.
  • Cinematography Collection in the National Media Museum  
    Still images of items from the collection of the UK's National Media Museum related to cinematography and film history. Includes separate galleries for pre-cinema, early cinema, cameras, projectors, posters, makeup, special effects, and the home filmmaking industry.
  • Dadabase: The Museum of Modern Art Library   Peer Reviewed
    Search the physical holdings of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, including all items from the museum library, archive, and study centers.
  • Dimitri Tiomkin - The Official Web Site  
    The official website of Dimitri Tiomkin features a biography of the composer, audio clips of his compositions, personal and promotional photographs, and a searchable catalogue to the Dimitri Tiomkin Collection at the University of Southern California.
  • Eadweard Muybridge: Defining Modernities  
    This website, the result of a collaboration between Kingston University and Kingston Museum in the UK, aims to provide a definitive research resource on photographer Eadweard Muybridge. The website features information about all known physical collections of Muybridge's work housed in cultural organizations around the world; selected collections of rare books published by Muybridge during his lifetime; a portfolio; and a comparative timelines page.