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EBU Report

ARCHIVES in Digital Broadcasting

EBU Archive Report 2003 /43

“The last assets of MTV Co. are our rich archives.”

Imre Ragats,

acting Chairman MTV, Hungary, in his report to the EBU Administrative Council, 28. November 2002

"As public broadcasters, we are called upon to generate, to preserve and to make available the material that will offer to our own programme-makers and to the generation that succeed them the opportunity of greater understanding of the experience of our time ….

Among other things, this means that a new kind of responsibility falls on our generation to maintain, conserve and to use this archive."

Bob Collins

Director General, RTE EBU Copyright Symposium, Amsterdam, June 1999.


1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

1.1 LET US STEP DOWN INTO THE ARCHIVES 8

2 HOW TAPES BECOME MEDIA ASSETS 01

2.1 IT IS FASTER TO PRODUCE A PIECE THAN TO ARCHIVE IT 11 2.2 DON’T KEEP THE TAPE – ONLY THE CONTENT 12 2.3 A DELICATE ISSUE: RIGHTS 12

3 CHANGE YOUR THINKING FIRST – THEN YOUR HARDWARE 14

3.1 SUPPORT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT 15 3.2 EDITORIAL IMPERATIVE 15

4 KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE: META DATA 17

4.1 WHAT IS METADATA ? 17 TYPOLOGY OF META-DATA 17 4.2 WHY IS METADATA IMPORTANT ? 17 4.3 HOW TO HANDLE A CORE DATA SET 18

5 DON’T BELIEVE YOUR IT DEPARTMENT 20

5.1 PRINCIPLE 1 : DESIGN THE PROCESSES FIRST 20 5.2 PRINCIPLE 2 : DOING NOTHING IS NOT AN OPTION 20 5.3 PRINCIPLE 3 – THE KEY FEATURES OF A COMPONENT SOLUTION 20

6 WHERE TO START 22

6.1 THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PRIORITISATION 22 6.2 FOCUS ON NEEDS 23 6.3 ADVANTAGES 23 6.4 FUTURE-PROOF FORMATS 24 6.5 DIGITISATION WORKFLOW 26

7 WHAT IS YOUR ARCHIVE WORTH – HOW MUCH DOES IT COST 28

7.1 DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF YOUR ARCHIVE 28


7.2 HOW CAN BROADCASTERS PAY FOR THE DIGITIZATION OF THEIR ARCHIVES? 29 7.3 START NOW! 30 7.4 DON’T SELL YOUR SOUL 30

8 THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT IS YOUR PARTNER 31

8.1 SAVE THE NATIONAL HERITAGE 31 8.2 YOU SIT ON IT - BUT MUST NOT SHOW IT 31 8.3 SPECIFIC COPYRIGHT PROBLEMS 32 8.4 EBU WORK FOR LEGAL ACTION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL 32 8.5 POSSIBLE COOPERATION WITH COLLECTING SOCIETIES 33

9 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 34

10 CONCLUSIONS 36

10.1 DIGITAL CHANNELS NEED PERFECT ARCHIVES 36 10.2 NEW VISION 36 10.3 SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS DERIVED FROM THE REPORT 39 10.4 ENDNOTES 41


Introduction This report is the conclusion of the work of the EBU Interdisciplinary Archive Group (IAG). The report gives a status on the digitisation of broadcasting archives as of 2003. Following the “Overview of EBU activities on programme archives” produced in July 2000 by an EBU interdepartmental team, the Digital Strategy Group (DSG) gave the EBU Television Department a mandate, endorsed by the EBU Administrative Council, to create the Interdisciplinary Archive Group in 2001. Chairman of the IAG was Roberto Olla (RAI). In its first Business Plan in 2002, the TV Department focused the work of the IAG and asked for a specific report with recommendations on the digitisation of archives. The report is understood to complement the work of the Digital Strategy Group and specifically their first report. This report has been written and compiled with numerous contributions from within the IAG and the EBU Permanent Services. The main authors are Neil Regan (BBC), John McDonaugh (formerly RTE, now Irish National Archives), Giesela Süle (WDR) with Max Johns at the EBU. While handing in this report, the IAG proposes and recommends five further, specialised activities to be undertaken, in order to implement the findings and continue detailed work. The proposals are:

• Archived based co-productions: The Chairman proposes several television co-productions to be undertaken in the near future (Ausschwitz 2005, A-Bomb…).

• Follow up: The follow-up of the report should be done by the DSG II.

• Archive Strategy Group: Members ask for a group to be created, assembling archive professionals – preferably heads of archives – to meet regularly for a professional exchange. The group should cover radio and television but refrain from a broader scope.

• Technical: On technical (IT) formats and physical supports work remains to be done, in particular in the field of television. This work should be re-integrated in the activities of the Technical Department within the EBU and their Groups.

• Ad-hoc training: Based on this report, training in the form of workshops and consulting should take place at members demanding it.

Geneva, September 2003


1 Executive Summary The digital world has blurred the demarcation between production and archive

a

e

read this report should change and communicate the os

s

n

e

kflows used in

ss may be appropriate.

Ar

optio

operations. Traditionally the archive operation was regarded as a support function being l destination for the finished and

archives. The consequences are long bays of tape – will cease to

a first port of call for searching material and the finoften forgotten programme.

Broadcasters have to integrate their production and wide ranging. The traditional concept of archives – thexist.

The senior manager who will have change. In order to move archives into the digital wThis report gives ideas to pursue, introduces the quefor answers.

Senior managers need to focus on the following point

1. Archives and production need to technically a

2. Explicit information about programmes (m

rld, people need to be convinced. tions to ask and provides avenues

:

d mentally merge.

tadata) is as important as the programmes themselves

3. They need to re-define the roles of people involved and worarchives dramatically.

4. Digitising archives needs strongacce

leadership. A project leader with board level

echnically – they are human.

communication by and support of senior

chives will consist of component solutions.

g.

e in real time.

n.

5. The challenging changes are not t

6. The changes need extensive management.

7. No ready-made system exists.

8. Secure long-term, realistic fundin

9. Rights clearance needs to be don

10. Start now. Waiting is not an


1.1 Let us step down into the archives The digital world will transform archives and this report describes the nature of the transformation, the value of broadcasters’ archives and how EBU members need to deal

The authors put forward a vision for how digital archives can contribute to a broadcaster’s programming and

will

and mentally.

That is e that

with them in the coming decade.

firmly believe that a successful broadcaster in the digital age

chives in the centre of the production chain – physically

how archives are seen, becausthey looked for the last decadsound archive, as in operation still © WDR/Ecken

people think archives are not attractive. Traditionally, they

put ar

is how es. e: a 003.

Herin 2

Some

have been the end of the

located in the basement

production chain. After the glamour is over, programmes are stuck into the archives. These programmes form the “Broadcast Archive” (as opposed to the document archive for example).

This report focuses on “Broadcast Archives” and refers to them simply as “archives”.

Archives are perceived as endless shelves loaded with film and tape rolls preferably and managed by congenial people with memories going back a century.

A video archive (here: WDR, Germany) carrying a diverse range of current and outdated formats. Climate control reduces degradation, archivists allow for qualified access. © WDR/Görgen

The professional understanding and interpretation of archives is a mediated and secure store of selected material about which the data and rights are explicit.

However, archives are worth billions. Along with the buildings a broadcaster owns and the people it employs, the archives are one of the main assets a broadcaster has.

The authors have approached the issues surrounding the vision from the twin perspectives of preserving a country’s national audio-visual heritage and providing a resource to enrich programmes1.


Consequently, usability and continuedbro dcasters’ approach to managing dig

access are the key themes dictating a a ital archives. It is clear, that EBU members are

in very diverse stages of digitization. Also, radio archives and production are often far more advanced than television archives. However, the principle themes apply.

As a starting point, here is a familiar scenario :

Scenario : A Concorde crashes briefly after take off. A broadcaster wishes to make a programme for the next day to discuss the issues raised.

What happens next ? A producer quickly decides the shape of the programme and the archive material required

- the safety record of the aeroplane

- the safety record of the airport etc

However, this research would have to be done overnight and the library isn’t a 24 x 7 operation. The problem is compounded because the network’s News operation uses a different system which isn’t accessible to Current Affairs or the main Library.

Even if the material could be found in time, it would have to be moved to the Producer’s office and loaded to an edit machine.

In the absence of the m l requested by the Producer, the only alternative ateria s are either to cancel the progra m to make a different type of programme from that originally m e or conceived.

Moral of the tale : Even a well run analogue archive can fail to deliver appropriate material quickly enough to support a fast moving programme making environment.

Towards the end of this document, we project this example into an integrated digital environment to demonstrate the tangible outcomes from the proposals put forward and list a series of concrete recommendations to assist senior management with the move to a digital archive.


2 ow tapes become Media Assets H

Many producers and directors are already enthusiastically embracing digital production and playout systems. At the same time, archive departments across broadcasters are living in a hybrid world. On the one hand they must cope with archives created using

t take care, that digital production and archive systems are planned, installed and used coherently. It is the belief of the authors that migration to an exclusive

rmats . Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the digital domain, broadcasters are acquiring increasing volumes of

d storage. Proper procedures are

new technology. On the other, they are forced to ensure the continued access to analogue recordings. Those are held on increasingly vulnerable formats, necessitating outdated and obsolete equipment for their viewing or listening.

Where possible, the holdings of EBU members should be transformed from analogue objects held on shelves to digital assets. They need to be preserved and distributed electronically, where they can actively contribute to the schedule and balance sheet of the broadcaster.

Broadcasters mus

digital domain is the key for long-term use of archives. Furthermore, only a fully digital archive allows leveraging content to its fullest, especially in a multichannel environment.

The authors encourage the adoption of standardised fo 2

archives - given the ease of digital file management anrequired to ensure that material ‘born digital’ is managed effectively. The twin paths of digitisation and digital acquisition result in media assets being obtained and preserved by broadcasters.

To be regarded as an asset, several questions must be posed.

What have we got? Necessitating accurate catalogue information

Can I use it? Necessitating an accessible media format

Do we have the rights? Necessitating knowledge of restrictions

Before an archive can be brought from analogue to digital, it is important to asses the quality of the existing archive collection and, if necessary, decide upon criteria for digitisation.

2.1 Three challenges Archives have to treat three very different kinds of material: firstly legacy holdings, usually on tape and film which may go back 50 or more years. Secondly material that has been recorded digitally and only exists as data files. And finally material from the so-called New Media, websites, teletext and any emerging form of interactive material.

While this reports speaks about “digitizing archives, all three instances are meant. The report suggests, that in particular web-based material either exists in superior quality in the archives, which is especially true for streaming files, or that the content management systems allow for an easy integration into the larger asset management system structure.


2.2 It is faster to produce a piece than to archive it all for anyone wishing to search for, and

ential to ensure the maximum re-use of material.

ation of a digitization strategy,

radio material can be applied to the task of cataloguing without additional metadata. One

Catalogues and databases are the first port of cretrieve material. This is especially true in the audio-visual and digital worlds where it is difficult to browse shelves (or files!) in an effort to locate material.

Accurate catalogues are essCataloguing remains the most time consuming element of any archive department and this can cause frustrations in attempting to provide a quality service.

Before a broadcaster sets out to think about the implementthe catalogues need to be in order. Cataloguing standards should be introduced in line with EBU or International publications3. Cataloguing efficiencies should be maximised where possible to minimise the amount of instances when a cataloguer or archivist must sit and review a recording in real time to produce a useful segmented or shot listed catalogue entry.

As mentioned above, cataloguing is very time consuming. Rough estimates based on EBU member’s experiences note that a time ratio of 1:8 for TV material and 1:3 for

minute of programs takes eight minutes to catalogue.

Cataloguing analogue material takes a lot of time In real life, the above mentioned ratios mean, a three hour morning show on television leads to about 24 hours of cataloguing work in the archives. This also has an associated cost to the organization, which is not accounted for as program costs.

WDR (Germany) is cataloging TV material on a basis of editorial pieces. Political magazines are input at a ratio of 1:8, regional magazines at about 1:4. For soccer, this ration can go up to 1:18. The commercial channel RTL (Germany) is cataloging with time-code exactness, thus multiplying the ratio to 1:24. One hour of program takes 24 hours (or three working days) to catalogue.

This means in others terms: it can easily take longer to archive a particular piece than to produce it in the first place.

In a fully digital archive, some of the cataloguing will be made easier and especially repetitive tasks can be done with the click of the mouse. When an integrated digital workflow with a digital archive system is working, the time needed to catalogue a program can be shortened dramatically. Using the principle of "write once read many" the metadata that are created during production are automatically added to the

lo archive staff lighter..

out a program while it is being produced, especially in the news area. However, as time passes, it takes several

orded in real time. This allows for the use of various interfaces to ‘push’ information and metadata between systems.

cata gue making the work of the

All metadata or supplementary information should be captured where possible at source. This means, journalists and editors need to input shot lists, location details, contributors, scripts and rights information while they work on a piece. This task is essential, since it is not regarded as an editorial function to write information ab

times longer to acquire all data about a program and becomes more costly, as time and resources are spent obtaining information that was originally available.

Additionally, transmission history needs to be rec

Technical solutions such as voice and speech recognition and key frame analysis should


be employed where possible.

2.3 Don’t keep the tape – only the content To be correctly termed a digital asset, the physical media upon which the object is held

erial is digitised, some remains analogue, some exists

for EBU m is to the archives and production system ated e that the various files remain compatible with international standards.

even stati

through migration, copying,

he introduction of digital files forces archive services to face the challenge of

(tape, CD etc.) must be secure, appropriate and stable. The file format selected should meet international standards.

Broadcast archives hold a wide variety of audio, visual, photographic and other material on a range of formats. Some maton a single format, and some is held on several formats.

Increasingly, as formats are streamlined and material is born digital, it is desirable to rationalise holdings to a single or unified standardised format. The great challenge

embers future proof any digitization. Onces are migr to an Integrated System in the future, they must take car

The key benefits of real time access and full file integrity will be realised immediately by both cataloguers and producers when members implement digitisation projects.

It will enable multiple users to accesmaster file is only copied and not expAdditionally, processing collectionsfacilitates programme and

s files simultaneously and also ensure that the osed to the risk of editing or deletion by users.

and digitising them to acceptable standards on wide re-use.

Analogue holdings will deteriorate and decay or the carriers will become obsolete. torage will retard this process but it is inevitable.ethods to ensure the continued access to their

or even sealing.

realised that the most secure and viable methodr but on the eternal file4.

hrough digitisation5. It should be noted that the

Environmentally controlled secure sBroadcasters have tried various mholdings

But the broadcast archive communitywas to focus not on the eternal carrie

Such a file could only be produced tintroduction of digital files does not replace the traditional disciplines of professional archives.

In the broadcast environment, the traditional understanding of library catalogues is outdated. Tdigital file management. Viable management and preservation policies should be in place to ensure the continued preservation of digital material. Digitisation of archives is only a part of the process to operate exclusively in the digital domain.

2.4 A delicate issue: Rights It is not enough to know what media is held and that it is searchable in the database if it is unclear if the material can be reused in-house or sold to another broadcaster. The area of rights management requires that the organisation is clear about what rights it does hold and what it can legally do with the material it holds.

It frequently happens that a broadcaster is legally obliged to preserve and hold certain material, for which it has no rights of reuse. This is forcing a cost with no immediate benefit to the organisation. In order to avoid expensive misunderstandings about the possible usage of material, license information needs to be available instantaneously, at least as quickly as the material itself is available.


To achieve this, archive departments need to work in Services to ensure that the information that is relevant f

close co-operation with Legal or production from legacy and

legal or

e re-use of material is

stem by which the archive databases are linked

led inquiry is necessary

ata is

t

future contracts are immediately accessible and available, and to enhance any catalogue entry in the asset management system. No forward minded broadcaster can afford separate systems for rights information, which may only be legible for the

6license department.

Legal Services departments require integration or at least formal links to the Archive areas to ensure rights are cleared for the reuse of digital material. It is essential that comprehensive and explicit knowledge of rights governing futurdetermined as early as possible.

In Germany the ARD has developed a syto the rights management databases to facilitate the programme exchange. It allows for quick information about the rights situation by using the symbols of the traffic lights:

green: no limitation for broadcasting rights orange: limited broadcasting rights, detaired: no broadcasting rights available

Rights information is part of the metadata. In fact, they are a class of metadata. They need to be noted at the commissioning and acquisition stages rather than when the material is requested. This further enforces the view that the collection of metadregarded as an essential component within the production process.

Fortunately, penguins do not have copyrighlawyers yet. That was helpful for BBC Bristol.

Penguins don’t have copyright lawyers. And animals do not follow

t subject for reuse and re-purposing on a

such as integrity and authenticity

fashion. This is why the BBClaunched their new Content Management System in BBC Bristol, the home of the natural history unit, as it was felt that natural history footage represented the besdigital basis. They could leave the issue of personality rights out and could focus on the content.7

There are legal implications surrounding access both to transmitted and untransmitted, and unpublished material. Traditional archive issues will apply especially in the digital domain given the ease of digital copying.

Both technical and legal issues require examination to ensure that accessibility to digital material is not restricted by shortfalls in thinking and planning.


3 Change your thinking first – then your hardware

It is mpting to think that digitising archia technical undertaking. This would be

te ves and moving to digital production is primarily a serious mistake. Managing the people and

demands radically different ways of working, new skills and innovative business

l environment, cataloguing and archiving are proactive, dynamic, value adding amme production process and undertaken by e range of skills supplementing the skill set

ts and cataloguers.

he future but the means of achieving a properly catalogued archive will ogy starts to support both production and archiving.

media archivists must possess a professional qualification. In many EBU currently few if any professional qualifications available for the new skill set

digital environment. Therefore, broadcasters are likely to be at the

Arguably, it may not be helpful nor appropriate to continue to use the term “archivist” or

processes underpinning the digital environment is probably the greatest issue.

This is not to underestimate the importance of technical, legal and financial issues but rather to clarify that for both archive and production staff, the digital environment

processes if the benefits of a digital operation are to be realised.

Archiving is no longer a discrete activity happening after transmission performed by a group of traditionally trained librarians.

In a digitaactivities - fully integrated with the prograrchive staff possessing a more diversassociated with traditional archivis

There is no doubt that the traditional cataloguing process will change dramatically as the digital production and archiving environment becomes a reality. Cataloguing will require no less rigour in tchange as integrated technol

Increasingly,countries arerequired for theforefront of this evolving industry.

“cataloguer”. These people are today “Media Managers” or “Knowledge Managers” whose role encompasses (in addition to archiving and cataloguing):

New roles for archivists I.T. / System / Data administration In the digital world, file and information management are paramount. The accuracy, completeness and timeliness of the data collected will directly impact the integrity of the archive and therefore the ability to re-use archived items quickly and easily.

Change leadership & Process championing the challenge for media managers is to impress upon production teams the necessity to record more and better information than they’ve done in the past and thereby lead changes in the ways of working. They should design the most effective & efficient process and then ensure the technology supports it.

Clearly, cultural change on this scale will be an evolutionary process over several years with roles and technology improving over time as practitioners and senior managers learn. However, senior management needs to put out a clear vision at the beginning. In particular defining the future roles and training requirements for “Media Manager”. Training should start as soon as possible.

However, it is impossible to train in a vacuum. It is essential therefore that broadcasters set up “pilot” projects within their organisations in order to define the precise training requirements and to get the overall project underway. Not knowing every requirement in detail is no reason to delay.


Digitising a broadcaster’s archives has two macro implications for the company’s senior anagement: m

3.1 Support & Project Management Given the time scales and the fact that the deliverables of the project cut across traditional organisational structures, strong project management is the key to successful delivery. Project management of this kind can only be achieved with the full and clearly

material is used in unexpected

stated support of senior management.

The challenge to allow for multiple use of material becomes apparent in the daily news operation: usually the news department tries to safe a scoop for its main program and is more than hesitant to see it on other programs before. Also, sources may trust certain journalists and would refuse to come back, if their context.

Senior management support involves Championing the overall initiative Both within the organisation and with the most senior management. For example, within the BBC this would involve the Director General engaging the Board of Governors with the proposition.

Leading the communication Within and outside the organization, especially where it comes to new roles and

Empowerment Ensuring that the project managers are fully empowered to deliver the project goals and have clearly defined responsibilities and deadlines.

project management needs a clear vision and strong communication. To be popular with users, “ambassadors” for the cause will be required such as editors with case studies of good archival use or technicians lobbying for compatible systems.

Senior management should appoint the project leader not so much for qualifications as an archivist but rather for the management skills. As an aside, there consultancies who specialise in this kind of project management.

However, before engaging an external firm, it is worth remembering that as a all the knowledge required resides within the broadcaster. In addition, it is

advisable to set up any relationship with an external consultancy on a partnership basis.

As part of the decision making process, the experience of ScreenSound provides some useful insights.8

workflows.

The strong

his/her are

general rule,

Australia

3.2 Editorial imperative

As with any major investment, a return is needed to justify undertaking a digitisation

Although archive material is already used extensively - e.g. a typical public broadcaster in Europe’s news output consists of approximately 30% archive material - producers must be challenged to devise innovative ways of bringing this material to life. Simple re-

initiative. The most straightforward way to achieve this for a public broadcaster is to use the material on air. Ideally, dedicated archive based slots need to be put into the schedule.


run are not sufficient to argue for a digis tized archive.9

sually referred to as “digital channels”. For example, ZDF in Germany launched in 1997 ZDFinfo and

based on using archive material.

sion original

material should therefore be a matter of continuously enforced company policy and not reliant on individual producers or

here is a clear cause-effect relation: if the archives are fully digital, the demand for ore material from programme makers increases as the RAI example shows.

A further development is the start of completely archive based channels, u

ZDFdoku, later followed by ZDFtheaterkanal, all with editorial propositions exclusively

As an observation, the authors wish to note, that the drive to commismaterial is usually increasing, since programme makers and commissioners prefer original material. The requirement to use archive

channels to commission archive based programmes10.

Tm

A success case: RAI A notable success is the digitization effort by RAI, Italy. While the digitization of the archives has been a top priority of the last several years, the use of archives has dramatically increased. The increase came partly through the strategic positioning of the new digital channels of RAI as archive based channels.

RAI: Hours of archive material on air

0

1200

80hours1000

400in three years 600

200

01999 2001 2002

85% increase

Also the use of archives for the traditi, onal main channels was greatly increased through bette accessibility and as a matter of r company policy.

The EBU is encouraging co-productions on “Nostalgia” programs as one form of editorially driven use of archive material. A starting point was the workshop on Nostalgia Programs11 in 2003. As part of the retro wave, “I love the 70s” and similar formats prove currently successful.12


4 Know what you have: Meta Data

There are two over-arching lessons to be learnt from the broadcasters who have started to digitise their archives and move towards digital production techniques:

• Managing metadata is every bit as important as managing the digital audio or video

Essence plus metadata = Content. The essence (the program) is worthless without

essence.

• The complexities of managing metadata can be easily underestimated.

metadata because you won't be able to find it.

Content plus copyrights = an asset. Content without copyright information is worthless, because you won't be able to use it.

4.1 What is metadata ? For broadcasters, metadata is the information that describes a programme. Consequently, metadata encompasses a very large body of information.

Broadcasters are not alone in having to manage metadata. Information describing any

uments to companies wishing to bid for a supply contract.

chnical and Descriptive.

product can be thought of as metadata. Many industries need to make their metadataavailable to suppliers. Thus the technical specifications for the components making up NASA’s Space Shuttle is available as a series of doc

Or a less high-tech example: the meta data of a good salami are printed on the outside, the essence is inside.

In general terms, it is convenient to think of two types of metadata: Te

Typology of Meta-Data Technical metadata: The technical information about a programme such the aspect ratio for a TV programme or the audio level for a Radio programme.

Descriptive metadata (DM): This information describes the contents of a programme. Usually, th s ini formation is collected on paper – often as forms.

For example, the billing that is provided to listing magazines is a concise description of wha the programme is about. DM alsot includes administrative information such as the transmission history of a programme which is required by the copyright department in order to pay artists repeat fees.

4.2 Why is metadata important ? In ordefirstly esomeoprogramprogram

shares the same hese references are

often c

r for archive material to be used in programming two things need to be in place: nough detailed information about the programme must be collected to enable

ne to identify the programme in the future. And secondly the descriptions of the me must be linked to the programme essence so that anyone who finds a me can listen to the right audio or watch the correct video.

Essentially, this comes down to ensuring that all the metadatareference and that reference forms part of the audio or video file. T

alled “UID’s” (Unique Identifiers).13


If metaJunkyaaudio files would exist but there would be no means of finding out what the files contain.

aterial would be difficult and time consuming at best. Thus, the main ben

Poteprog sible to specify a core set of metadata that can be used to identify a programme.

Broadcasters should draw up their organisation’s data models if they haven’t already started. Typically, a data model defines the individual pieces of information used within the organisation. Some data is straightforward to define e.g. “Producer”. Other data is more of a problem e.g. “Title” which can change several times during the production process.

Once drawn up, models should be published14.

Although enterprise level data modeling is a difficult and time consuming task and the information is not usually published, sharing this information internally is essential if the potential of the digital environment is to realised.

Sharing the information externally facilitates program exchange between broadcasters.

Only when data models have been drawn up and made available can a broadcaster begin to consider exchanging media electronically.

A good deal of work has already gone on to specify a core data set. The EBU’s work on “P-Meta” defines many terms with a view both to assisting in data modeling and facilitating the exchange of media.15

Closely related to P-Meta is the work for radio archives, done by “P-FRA”.

data isn’t managed effectively, a broadcaster would be building a “Digital rd” (to borrow a phrase from colleagues in Norway). A huge store of video and

Efficient re-use of mefit of digital production and storage would be lost.

ntially, there is a vast amount of information (data) that could be associated with a ramme. However, it is pos

P-FRA sets out to: “…consider all the stages in the life cycle of broadcast audio - production, playout, intake (to the archive), storage, delivery (from the archive) and reuse. There is a combination of technical and managerial issues to be investigated and resolved, to allow an EBU recommendation for safe, practical and cost effective use of electronic files in audio archives.”16

4.3 How to handle a Core Data Set Nevertheless, agreeing and defining a core data set is not enough to manage metadata effectively. There are three other necessary conditions:

1. Data completeness & accuracy

Completing the core data fields has to be mandatory so that they are filled in for each programme. Ensuring these fields are completed will also guarantee that material can be exchanged between broadcasters in a standardised way. This is clearly a matter for individual broadcasters but its difficulty must not be under-estimated.

2. Sharing a common reference between metadata and essence.

In order for reference sharing to work between broadcasters it is essential that


standards for UID’s are agreed, ragone on in this area but, as w

tified and implemented. Again, much work has ith the core data set mentioned above, the

standards need to be agreed and implemented.

3. Standard usage

Moreover, having settled the issues around UID’s, they will have to be used in a standardised way. This is both a matter to be agreed and a process issue for individual broadcasters17.


5 Don’t believe your IT department

It is tempting in an “IT & Technical” section to launch into a detailed list of technical

ize the distinction between broadcast and information technologies. Both technologies will be used in a digital archiving. They play different roles.

5.1 Principle 1 : Design the processes first

proposals and problems. That is not the purpose of this section.

The purpose of this section is to clarify the principles that should underpin the technology deployed to support a digital environment. At the outset it is vital to recogn

Fundamentally, managing a digital environment is about designing and utilising the best workflow concepts and business processes. Technology is only deployed to support the process.

It is critical that the best processes are put in place first and then technology is assessed in terms of how well it supports those processes.

5.2 Principle 2 : Doing nothing is not an option A digital environment implies a sophisticated IT architecture – certainly much more sophisticated than was required in an analogue world.

It is tempting therefore to wait for a manufacturer to develop a total system solution that “does everything” and then buy it. This is potentially a big mistake. The longer one waits, the bigger the “Digital Junkyard” grows.

Moreover, it is difficult to see how any single system would be able to support the end to end business process because the process itself is complicated and varies from broadcaster to broadcaster.

However, “Asset Management” systems are the hot topic amongst IT practitioners at the moment. Asset Management comes down to managing the audio and/or video and managing descriptive information about it. The key question is whether this is possible in one big system or whether it’s better to deploy a variety of systems to achieve the same objective.

Broadcasters will need to assess carefully how permanent the popularity of “big system” solutions is likely to be.

Fortunately, in some specialised areas, the technology is sufficiently sophisticated to be deployed now. If this course of action is adopted, a broadcaster would, in effect, be deploying a “component” solution – different systems doing what they’re best at, to support discrete activities within the overall process.

5.3 Principle 3 – the key features of a component solution Given, that a “component” solution only supports certain activities within the overall process, each component must be

• scalable (it must be possible to expand the component to cope with supporting a particular activity across the organization) and

• able to exchange information with other components (the components must support common, generic connectivity standards and exchange formats and components must utilize compatible and configurable data models).


Tb

here is one other crucial point to note regarding the exchange of media between roadcasters. An effective security model will have to be developed to protect the media

in the exchange mechanism.

g such negotiations.

be g exchanged and

Given the size of such an undertaking and the time scales involved, broadcasters need to work with manufacturers to ensure suitable products are being developed. The EBU would be ideally placed to represent its members by coordinatin


6 Where to start

It is no longer a question of whether or not a broadcaster will engage in digitisation but rather when will the process begin and to what extent. The question is rather where to

c are the most relevant to their decision to engage

digitising and what you want to gain. This can vary from broadcaster to broadcaster and n l legacy of each company. The often recurring top priorities are:

hout the project in order to refocus on the original plans.

start. Which tapes to take first – and which mistakes to avoid.

There are a variety of sound reasons behind any migration to the digital domain and each organisation must examine whi h in the process.

Given the scale of such ventures, the best practice in digital preservation should be observed. This following chapter will outline the theory and best practise in digital preservation.

Even though it seems trivial, it is important to establish at the outset, why you are

depe ds on the individua

- Charges, Re-purposing, Revenue Streams….

- Increased awareness through Web hosting…

- Preservation, Heritage…

- Facilitate new production processes…

- Speedy and/or Self-service Access…

- Space Saving…

The list of top priorities needs to be agreed upon as a “main idea” of the project and re-read often throug

6.1 The seven principles of Prioritisation Broadcasters will rarely be able to digitise their entire collections mainly due to cost constraints (the notable exception here is RAI in Italy). It should also be noted that the recent PRESTO survey18 found that across ten major European broadcasters, they held a total of 13.5 million audio, video and film items requiring digitisation. Based on these figures it was estimated that total European holdings of broadcast material amounts to over 50 million hours!

The seven principles of priorisation – in no order of preference: • Cost • Program Access • Vulnerability • Uniqueness • Metadata • Copyright • Heritage

The extent to which a broadcaster digitises their archives depends on the level of


funding available either through internal, nature and role of the ar

external and co-operative channels. The the level of additional funding that can be

19.

ollections for re-use as repeat or as source ventures such as Internet publishing. This aterial to be worked upon first.

d to be prioritised whilst the ability to replay re is still the necessary technical expertise

heritage value may be prioritised especially if In some cases, broadcasters have ‘cherry picked’ from

chive will dictate

obtained from third parties, be they government or commercial

aterial or material with a definite be found elsewhere.

al awareness as to the range and scope of

lue.

Broadcasters need speedy access to their cmaterial for new programmes or alternativemay call for the most recent and re-usable m

Material held on obsolete carriers may neethe audio or video is available and the thewithin the broadcasting organization20.

Unique mit cannot their collections to raise internal and externthe collection and to attract additional funding21. Showcase series or CD/DVD releases illustrate the wealth within the archive and the need for it to be digitised to ensure future re-use and va

6.2 Focus on needs Responsibility and role depend on whether the broadcast archive is part of a national archive or not. Apart from a broader national role most broadcast archives serve to

u

ey.

m and on an

d t there are Should the collection be

catalogued with appropriate metadata the

e cisions made

cus attention on and what amount of funding they are willing to invest in the

provide material for re-use in transmission and other means of output. It is tput are as inclusive as possible.

while other parts of a collection remain sis of current requests be undertaken to Once identified, frequently used material

aterial and to then systematically digitise, possibility of digitising on dem

recommended that selections from current o

Some material receives more frequent usdormant. It is recommended that an analdetermine what material is in high demandcan be given priority for digitising.

While it makes sense to identify a body of consideration should also be given to theongoing basis.

Other criteria affecting the prioritisation for catalogue records relating to the analogue collection.

igitisation include whether or no

n it will be easier to systematically and speedily digitise the analogue. If the collection requires cataloguing, this will add to the life span and cost of the project22. Copyright considerations may also affect prioritisation.

In summary, there are many issues that will affect prioritisation and th dewill usually be affected by a number of factors. Ultimately the decision regarding prioritisation will be decided by senior management or editors in what material they choose to fodigitisation.

6.3 Advantages Digitisation offers broadcasters great advantages in securing the long-term preservation of their holdings. By electing to digitise collections, broadcasters avoid the increasingly limited access to analogue playback devices, remove damaged or dangerous film stock from their storage areas (cellulose nitrate film), and facilitate multiple and simultaneous access to their stock via a wide range of delivery systems (browse, broadcast and


streamed files).

The sad sight of heavily degraded material. Haudio tapes, affected by nitrate.

The issue of access is further d

ere:

ped ly

ts al

inct

ped ly

ts al

inct

evelo

ist

ise is usually cost - especially regarding the

aximise usability either through preservation measures, metadata extraction and management of document control.

space in broadcasting locations. File formats are subject to obsolescence and

igh cost of ial

evelo

ist

ise is usually cost - especially regarding the

aximise usability either through preservation measures, metadata extraction and management of document control.

space in broadcasting locations. File formats are subject to obsolescence and

igh cost of ial

by providing producers with previousinaccessible or unknown material withwhich to repeat or re-imagine the contentinto schedules. Many digitisation projecalso include the creation of an additionsafety copy of the digitised material for storage in a geographically d

by providing producers with previousinaccessible or unknown material withwhich to repeat or re-imagine the contentinto schedules. Many digitisation projecalso include the creation of an additionsafety copy of the digitised material for storage in a geographically dlocation.

The main disadvantage to this exercdigitisation or conversion of film and video stock - although other factors may affect the outcome such as heritage, prestige, and uniqueness.

Broadcast archives hold a vast range of materials and the challenge of digitisation calls for rationalisation of holdings in an effort to m

location.

The main disadvantage to this exercdigitisation or conversion of film and video stock - although other factors may affect the outcome such as heritage, prestige, and uniqueness.

Broadcast archives hold a vast range of materials and the challenge of digitisation calls for rationalisation of holdings in an effort to m

Digitisation also allows for the relocation of old analogue stock to cheaper off site storage releasing valuable office and plant

Digitisation also allows for the relocation of old analogue stock to cheaper off site storage releasing valuable office and plant

evolution and to minimise risk, standards should be adopted. The hevolution and to minimise risk, standards should be adopted. The hstorage especially for video materstorage especially for video materrequires that selection criteria as mentioned above be applied. requires that selection criteria as mentioned above be applied.

Only good as a bad example: an unusable vinyl record Only good as a bad example: an unusable vinyl record after having been stored in an archive.

Increasingly broadcasters are introducing digital production and playout systems and converting archive holdings into a compatible format. This allows for their increased integration into the new digital workflow. The digitisation of static (documents, photographs) or time based (audio, video) collections

quires different approaches although the principles remain the same23.

ean the conversion from an analogue object to a rmat (e.g. CD-A or

DigiBeta.

The ultimate goal of digitisation is to operate in a tapeless environment.

6.4 Future-proof formats

re

The authors understand digitisation to mdigital file or the transfer of the analogue signal to a digital media fo

The adoption of international open, non-proprietary standards is vitally important for any

igitisation project. By adopting common accepted standards, broadcasters ensure that the long-term accessibility of their material is maximized. They make also sure that any d


embedded metadata can be easily exported to databases or other digital systems in a structured and coherent manner with the minimum of human intervention.

And which format are we going to use next week? Supports and technical format have changed frequently in the last years. Digitization offers more stability, when support and file are not linked together.

The recent debate about the Microsoft/AOL cooperation on

e to PC users.

escriptive and quality control ver in the video world this has not yet occurred.

MXF (Metadata eXchange Format) allowing for orld there is as yet, no adopted

MXF is gaining ground.26

layer from Microsoft, which is readily available on most son not compliant with the MXF standard. Broadcasters

seemingly “cheap” solutions with a short term

material should be acquired and digitised to the ly requires a linear file to be created.

nce only for both cost and management reasons.

and scanned

levant edia material.

streaming media highlighted the problems of globally available though proprietary media players being made freely availabl

In the audio world the EBU has been behind such a format, namely the Broadcast Wave Format (BWF)24 which includes both dmetadata embedded in the file. HoweThe EBU is currently working on thebrowse quality video files to be created25. In the video wstandard although the EBU

The above mentioned Media Poffice PCs, is for obvious reaneed to be careful not to be tempted by perspective.

The authors endorse the view thathighest possible resolution and ideal

Digitization should be undertaken o

Compressed files will create problems in later use and the general principle of moving from the Linear to a compressed version to a streamed version should be applied.27

Other formats in use by broadcasters include jpeg and tiff for photographs images, and .xml, .html and .pdf in the IT/Web departments. Many broadcasters maintain corporate and document archives, which can supplement the broadcast archives. Scanning solutions employed for records and rights management can allow for the document collections to be digitised and made accessible alongside the rem

Some international formats include Storage Formats – DLT, LTO, CD-ROM, CD-A, DAT, DVD, Servers.

File Formats – BWF, MXF, Real Video, Windows Media

UIDs – SMPTE UMID, EBU USID


6.5 Digitisation Workflow

a digital production system. The authors commend that inter-disciplinary workgroups be formed within the broadcaster. The

hould at least comprise of staff from archives or libraries, production and ll need to be cooperating in a way that no single perspective drives the

eally, mass digitization is the preferred method. However it is acknowledged that a ertain amount of digitisation-on-demand will be required. As a general rule

derations should take priority, so conserve material first before it is

but enerally the following issues should be looked at as part of the planning process:

The planning stage is crucial for any digitisation project - be it the conversion of analogue stock or the introduction of resengineering/IT. Aproject into the wrong direction and to ensure that all issues surrounding the creation, management and exploitation of digital material are factored into the project.

Idcpreservation considestroyed forever.

Each project will be unique to the particular broadcaster and their own requirementsg

This checklist should be used in any digitisation workflow.

Selection – Criteria, Quantity, Quality.

Physical Preparation – Conservation, Specialised Staff.

Capture – Real time, FTR.

Cataloguing – Level of Detail.

Metadata Creation – Automatic, manual.

Storage – Formats, On Line, Near Online, Compression.

Access – Web server, Site Hosting.

Migration – Preservation Strategy

Finally, an issue that can be looked at is that of co-operation28. Some broadcasters such as NRK in Norway formed a partnership with the Norwegian National Library to progress the issue of digitisation of aging vulnerable stock. This material was transferred to the National Library in line with Norway’s legal deposit legislation.

Other broadcasters have joint in projects, that often involved partly financing from the European Union, namely in the so-called FIRST, ECHO and PRESTO projects29. In late 2003 the second PRESTO project, termed “Presto Space”, is going under way.30

Case Studies Often the most useful insights can be gained from practical cases in comparable situations. Some examples of digital preservation projects amongst EBU members include the following that have been documented:

1. ARD/ORF: Euromedia

Implementation at SWR/ARD (Germany) and ORF (Austria). I. Buscher: Digital video archives — facing the facts. Three successful implementations of Media Archive. The author works for the service provider TecMath. http://www.ebu.ch/trev_280-buscher.pdf.


http://www.ebu.ch/trev_274-jonsson.pdf

http://www.ebu.ch/trev_280-gronow.pdf

http://www.iasa-web.org/Grimstad_digitalradioarchive.pdf

http://www.svt.se/svtinfo/inenglish/index.html

2. SR - Swedish Radio

The use of BWF files in Swedish radio describes L. Jonsson in http://www.ebu.ch/trev_274-jonsson.pdf.

3. YLE - Finland

P. Gronow and M. Petäjä describe the experience at YLE digital sound archive in http://www.ebu.ch/trev_280-gronow.pdf.

4. NRK - Norway

This note describes the Digital Radio Archive Project of NRK in conjunction with the http://www.iasa-web.org/Grimstad_digitalradioarchive.pdf. Norwegian National Archives.

5. SVT, Swedish TV

A description of is to be found in English here: “digital production”).

As a further example, Netherl

the introduction of a digital production system that includes the archive http://www.svt.se/svtinfo/inenglish/index.html (click on

ands Public Broadcasting, in cooperation with NOB and Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision have since 1999 formed a "Digital Platform" to establish an integrated digital workflow and archiving process31.


7 What is your archive worth – how much does it cost

It is not enough to talk ideally about the digitisation and management of digital media archives in the 21st century. The debate and discussion must be rooted in reality. Of the various issues facing European broadcasters including technology, privatisation, and competition, the issue of finance remains central to any discussion.

Archives are considered assets for a broadcasting organisation and as such, they are ess they are

on marketing and re-releasing its extensive back

objects of considerable financial, creative and cultural value. However unlpreserved and managed effectively, it will be impossible to glean any return on investment from them.

The Disney archive as part of a goodwill account heading was valued at $17 billion. The decision made about 15 years ago by David Eisner saw the concentrated effort by

Disneycatalogue of archived films for new generations.

Dancing every seven years: Eisner introduced the systemic exploitation of Disney’s archives. The children classics are re-released every seven years, so that every generation has a premiere. Combined with a string of innovative new productions this has proven a formula for success.

The Kirch archive was valued at €6 billion. The BBC as part of an accounting exercise valued its archive at £500 million based solely on the costs required to physically replace it were it to be destroyed.

It is also important to note that financial value may not necessarily be the most important or persuasive reason to ensure the continued preservation of broadcast archives. Value can also be increased use based on context and accessibility. As mentioned earlier, the launch of BBC 7 was based on the presence

m

a

After a thorough investigation of all the processes in the different departments the outcome was, that switching to a fully digital workflow could make

of the extensive BBC Radio4 holdings in the BBC archives.

Determining the value of an archive is a challenging task. While archives are a production asset and depos e time, the value can only be leveraged over long periods of time. The greatest financial worth is the opportunity costs, the costs that can be avoided by not having to go to the market to acquire (if at all possible) the material needed lculated on strict revenue alone. The net present value of future sales prove to be only a minor part of the value.

In the Netherlands for example the public broadcasters had a business case drawn up to decide if the digitisation of the production and archiving would have a positive return of investment.

its for re-runs at the sa

32. The value cannot be c

significant savings. If fact, there will be a profit of several million Euros over a period of only seven years.

7.1 Define the purpose of your archive There is a real need for broadcasters to define the status of their archives. Are they part

? In approaching these questions, the broadcaster will begin to see how various funding

n y not be open and available for their archives. However there are

of the national cultural heritage of their country? Are they simply collections of transmitted output stored for re-use and repeat? In the absence of national audio video institutions, do the broadcaster’s archives perform these roles by default

optio s may or maalso implications and conditions in obtaining that funding.


Overall, the archives should demonstrate an ability to provide a return on the financial investment. The archives can be used to generate revenue or to supplement programme strands. Conversely, some broadcasters may ensure the continued preservation of their collections through digitisation to avoid the negative publicity of being accused of destroying national heritage. The legacy issue is also a factor where high-level personnel wish to initiate a major project as part of their tenure within an organisation.

7.2 How can broadcasters pay for the digitization of their archives? From the business case at the Netherlands Public Broadcasting it was determined that the Return On Investment (ROI) on the digitisation of the production and archive would be positive if the metadata model is fully integrated in the process. If this is not the case,

cies along regional, national, or inter-national lines like Memoriav 33 uropean cases, the funding has been given as a once off

managers must ensure they cover all the necessary

rmation.

tising should be articulated before any

material. Cost per use of an

ffset by the disadvantage in the rganisation obtaining specialised knowledge and expertise about the digitisation

process.

Contradictory as it may seem, “free” access to public broadcaster’s archives may prove a good tool to raise awareness and encourage professional (paid-for) use of material. In a surprise announcement, the BBC announced recently to open their archives34.

the ROI drops into the red. Therefore, metadata modeling the whole production-line is of crucial interest for the broadcasters.

What happens if they cannot afford to digitise? What is the financial value of digitisation? The various questions should be looked at under the themes of cost and benefit.

Funding can be internal through the allocation of a surplus, or external through local or national funding agenin Switzerland . In many Eand therefore the projectpreparatory ground, as the opportunity to revisit the digitisation may not arise again. Preservation funding may also be an annual investment by a broadcaster and as such may result in on-going digitisation along with conservation work. Whatever the source of the funding, it should be ring fenced to ensure it is not skimmed off for other projects. The only possible exception would be the use of preservation funding to reduce costs in an associated area such as scanning rights info

Once funding is obtained, a key requirement is detailed planning for any project looking at both essence and metadata. Degrees of cataloguing and digiwork commences. A business plan including all known and anticipated risks must be drafted. The business plan should look at anticipated delivery avenues and potential revenue streams in granting access to on-line or off-line copies of item will also illustrate the value of digitisation. Workflows should be designed and survey data included to ensure the project is time bounded and can be accurately measured.

The decision should be made whether to outsource the digitisation or perform it in house. There are various benefits to either choice but the cost of performing the operation in house can be higher. This should be oo


7.3 Start Now! Reading the technical sections should make one awareis evolving, it is sufficiently mature to allow for an org

that, even though the technology anisation to begin digitising and

to any project. European broadcasters usually receive

usage due to electronic delivery ly occur in a well-managed project with accurate

learning about the workflows of the digital world. It is always more difficult to cut funding to an actual rather than a potential project.

The management of costs is keythe larger part of their revenue as fixed incomes (licence fee) and thus have little margin to control variable and inevitably rising costs, especially in times of severe budget constraints.

PRESTO has shown that it can cost between €100 (audio) and €2000 (film) to digitise one hour of media material. However costs per use will reduce this figure. The goal of any digitisation project should be to reduce cost per use by increasing subsequent accessibility and re-purposing of digitised material.

Technical solutions that decrease cost per use should be explored such as Archive Management Systems and Content Management Systems. In these cases the increased initial expenditure is returned by increasedand management. This can onmeasurement controls.

Full funding to digitise the entire archive may be unavailable so selection criteria may need to be applied35.

7.4 Don’t sell your soul Another issue that may impact upon funding is that of ownership. If a national government provides funds for the digitisation of a collection, is there a condition that the collection will change owner or that the collection will now be available for public use and access? Many broadcasters have resisted this on the grounds of exclusivity of content and also to avoid the potential difficulties of providing access facilities to the general public. A notable example is DR in Denmark.

Even though money offered in exchange for access and use of archives by third parties, every broadcaster needs to remember that the archives are the soul of an organisation. It should not be sold.

Another difficulty surrounds material that would have a low priority for digitisation due to o In all partnerships there is a need for

ting

ion period in a dual analogue/digital environment. This will create some difficulties and in some

its c ntent but is in very poor condition. compromise and discussion and the EBU may act as an ‘honest broker’ in distribuEU funds for digitisation projects.

Finally it is worth noting that most broadcasters will be operating for a transit

cases result in increased costs for the transition period as both analogue and digital systems must be maintained, but the ultimate goal of operating in an exclusively digital world should not be ignored. This period also offers the opportunity for broadcasters to learn how to effectively manage the digitised versions!


8 The legal department is your partner

Television and radio archives have a double function.

Firstly, in common with other archives they form part of the national heritage. As such, the same way as books or

paper-based archives, they are a “living source” of programme material in the sense that

features of broadcasters’ archives suggest another important distinction, i.e. between the physical material or carrier of the moving images or sound and the

ve to ascertain that, in

they may be of use to scholars and researchers, in exactly any other record in paper form.

Secondly, and this is their major function and also the decisive difference from any

the material is in constant use every day.

These special

associated copyright. Although the owner of the physical material will normally also be the owner of the copyright, this is not always the case. Before any use, or authorizing any use by a third party, the holder of the physical material will haterms of copyright, he is actually entitled to do so. For a broadcaster, the issue of copyright ownership is therefore of prime importance.

8.1 Save the national heritage Legal concerns are involved not only in the actual use of the archive material for broadcasting or other services but also in broadcasters’ activities regarding the preservation of such material. Under the national law regulating the preservation of different items of an historic nature, the notion of “archive material” may refer only to the material carrier.

archive productions, by, for example, transferring them

n Convention on the Protection of the Audiovisual Heritage (for films) and a Protocol thereto (for television productions), the

With respect to safeguarding from old physical carriers (such as celluloid or magnetic tape) which deteriorate physically or chemically with time, to modern (digital) carriers, the Council of Europe has also been working on protecting this material for posterity, although mainly with a view to making these archives accessible for scientific and research purposes.

In September 2001 the Council adopted a Europea

signatory countries being obliged to introduce a system of “legal deposit” of such productions. The main point of that Protocol is that broadcasting organizations can be designated as the archive bodies for their own productions.36

8.2 You sit on it - but must not show it Copyright is a property right. The copyright owner may choose to grant others a non-exclusive or an exclusive licence, whether limited or not. However, the copyright owner

t rant such licences.

d

e for a

period of ten years) or who could successfully claim today that the rights which they

tomatically vested the copyright for an audiovisual production in the producer.

is no obliged, and still less can he be forced by law, to g

In Western Europe, many broadcasting organizations which hold their own archives anown the archive material are the copyright owners of this material. However, in manycases they will first have to renegotiate certain rights with individual contributors to thproduction who at that time granted only limited broadcasting rights (e.g. only

assigned at the time did not cover subsequently-invented uses such as on-demand use via the Internet.

In many former Socialist countries the copyright regime which was in place until the early 1990s au


Where the original producer no longer exists, it is the successor in title (under normal circumstances the national broadcasting organization) which now holds the copyright. However, various complications may arise not only if there is no clear succession of title but also on account of changes in the copyright regime.

8.3 Specific copyright problems In practice, the most serious copyright problems arise when:

ould be out of all proportion to the benefits which ance of rights and thus would be economically

says no for whatever reason,

- it is virtually impossible (as is all too often the case) for broadcast producers to identify, trace and negotiate with all individual programme contributors or their heirs,

- the administrative effort involved wcould be expected from the clearprohibitive, or

- even if the use may be understood as permitted under old contracts, the remuneration previously fixed in relation to the whole national audience will be far too high vis-à-vis the fragmented audience shared by many new programme channels.

To the extent that collecting societies or other representative bodies actually possess the relevant rights not held by the broadcast producers, it is apparent that rights clearance, or adjustment of the amount of remuneration, can take place in the usual manner through contractual negotiation, and there would be no question of special legislative measures. However, that still leaves the individual rightsowners. Even if all rightsowners can be found, if just one out of perhaps 50 to 100 contributors (or heirs) in a single production does not want to negotiate, or simplyall use of the production is ruled out.

Rights clearance in practice As reported at the EBU Copyright Seminar in June 1999, for one of the larger European broadcasters the checking and clearing rights in a difficult case can take two years, with administrative costs alone amounting to €60,000, whereas a standard case could take up t six months and cost up to €15,000. It is obviouso that such infrastructure costs, whether of the "difficult" or the "standard" variety, will often be prohibitive as they are not recoupable from the audience at home or abroad.

Following on from differing traditions of rights management from the legal and practical point of view, there exists a wide variety of factual situations and of rights clearance

m the EBU.37

practices and procedures. Examples of such experience of EBU Members (the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Latvia) with regard to the possibilities for use of their own archive productions and the particular legal implications are available fro

8.4 EBU work for legal action at the national level The only realistic course of action is to find complementary contractual and legal solutions at the national level since the problems are specific to the particular national situation in each country. An EU regulatory framework would nevertheless still be highly desirable in order to avoid competitive distortion and to guarantee that broadcasters in all Member States have equal opportunities to use their own archive productions.

Various EBU committees and groups (including the Legal and Public Affairs Committee and its Copyright Group) have examined specific questions related to possibilities for broadcasters' use of their own archive productions (i.e. either "in-house" productions or productions commissioned by the broadcaster under its own financial and editorial


control).

Eurovision Material

It may be recalled that under the applicable Eurovision Rules EBU Members are entitled to use Eurovision News (EVN) material without limitation in time. The same applies with regard to the signal (the production) of other Eurovision programmes (such as sports or cultural programmes), subject, of course, to any additional rights of third parties which

authorized

may have to be cleared separately.

In addition, Members are entitled to authorize use of the Eurovision signal by third parties, without the producing organization’s consent, if the total duration so for use does not exceed eight minutes.

Safeguarding legislative repair work

With respect to other archive material, much time and energy have been expended in EBU lobbying activities to draw legislators' attention to the need to provide a legislative solution, if and to the extent necessary in a given country. Political recognition of such a principle was reached in a September 1999 Declaration of the Council of Europe, i.e. “Declaration on the exploitation of protected radio and television productions held in the

38

the Info a 39 sibility for Member States to make leg t ters are able to use their own archives in mand services against appropriate equitable remuneration. There is also some latitude for countries to decide on the details of tran o

Such legislative measures would apply in respect of those categories of rightowners for wh has been specifically mandated by individual righ ome countries, legislative proposals have already been tabled with a view to provide for at least a partial solution in the

8.5 P collecting societies

archives of broadcasting organizations”.

It is also important to realize that the Directive 2001/29/EC on Copyright in rm tion Society does not affect the pos

isla ive arrangements to ensure that broadcasnew broadcasting and on-de

siti nal arrangements for the new on-demand rights.

om no official representative bodytowners to hold and manage the rights in question. In s

copyright area.

ossible cooperation with Fol i eting on possible cooperation with

vant collecting societies, the production still cannot lawfully be used

low ng the discussion at the Copyright Group mecollecting societies, the EBU has entered into bilateral discussions with various international associations which represent different rightowner groups, such as IFPI and GESAC.

It is hoped that towards the end of 2003 considerable progress can be made on finding common ground for solutions which may pave the way for collective agreements on the national level.

However, in many countries collecting societies do not exist at all or have been formed very recently, well after the date of the productions concerned. Even when all rights are cleared with the releif even a single (non-associated) rightowner cannot be traced or refuses to cooperate on a reasonable basis. That is why countries need to choose an appropriate simplified legal mechanism which may be applied if necessary.


9 International Cooperation

The EBU comprises 71 active members from 52 different countries and states, all of which have ir archiving at least some of their output. This report wishes to raise the issue of cooperation and particularly the

each other’s archives? And if so, how can that be achieved42?

he group also asks if the EBU or EBU members should cooperate in a more formal way ith other international bodies dealing with archives, namely IASA, and FIAT/IFTA.

here is a wealth of information and knowledge within the archive community dealing with the issues of digitisation, preservation and access. The EBU is in a unique position to co-ordinate future punctual workshops and events that can draw on this expertise and knowledge, in the hopes of fostering real progress in ensuring the continued access to the heritage and value of broadcast archives.

In particular the following areas are identified as possible avenues of exploration and development for different departments and existing working groups within the EBU:

• Definition of common user requirements.

• Joint definition of standards.

• Joint discussion with manufacturers about technical standards, particularly of digital media.

• Internships and secondments.

• Workgroups dealing with metadata and file exchange.

• Training.

• European level lobbying.

• Transparency of prices for archive material43.

The EBU could, for example, compile a database of surplus or obsolete equipment that could be of value to less wealthy EBU members. It would be very easy to initiate a project that would facilitate the secondment of EBU members to other broadcast archives to learn about the projects, policies and procedures being used. Other approaches could include the creation of a specialised ‘list-serv’ focused directly on EBU members’ archives.

In the current financial climate, there is a need for partnerships and cross-country applications for funding for heritage projects where the EBU could bring its influence and knowledge to bear.

Seven of the main international bodies and NGOs that deal principally with audio visual and broadcast archives have formed the CCAAA: (Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations) which is a platform for members to voice collective opinions. Some of its members include:

• IASA (International Association of Sound and Audio-Visual Archives)

d ect experience of broadcasting and of retaining or

group’s interest in what measures can and should be taken to allow the freest possible flow of information and programmes between EBU members40.

Numerous points investigated in earlier chapters – from technology, to the choice of meta-data and the legal framework – play into this. Should EBU members grant free access41 to

Tw

T


• FIAT/IFInterna

TA (Fédération International des Archives de Télévision / tional Federation of Television Archives)

tion of Film Archives)

• AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists)

• FIAF (International Federa

Many of the broadcast archive community belong to one or more of these organisations.

Finally the authors call for the EBU to lobby the EU and similar bodies for funding to ensure the digitisation and preservation of new EU member’s audiovisual cultural heritage.


10 Conclusions

A broadcaster’s archives are one of its main assets and the digital world will transform how broadcasters go about managing their archives. Indeed, the archives themselves will be transformed by the digital world.

This paper has addressed both the digitisation of current analogue archives and programme making in a digital environment. It has highlighted the main issues and put forward a series of recommendations to help broadcasters transition to a digital environment. The paper concludes by describing how, in a fully digital world, archiving

In other words: management cannot afford to plan and keep the production environment nd the archives separately.

The purpose of archiving will continue to be to preserve material and make it available to programme makers quickly and easily. However, it will be the signal (i.e. the audio-visual essence) rather than the carrier (e.g. CD or Beta tape) that will be archived.

The essence will be held in electronic format, which puts the onus on the broadcaster to associate all the metadata with the essence itself. Only in this way can material be retrieved. Failing to manage the metadata elements of the digital environment effectively will result in a “Digital Junkyard”.

This is true both for initiatives to digitize the existing analogue archive and for programme origination in a digital environment.

10.1 Digital channels need perfect archives

and programme making come together to deliver a richer on air proposition.

a

Digitising the analogue archive requires significant investment on which a return is required. This return will not be fully realized unless slots are dedicated to archive based programming because, in the final analysis, it is cheaper to use archive material than to originate programmes. Moreover, in a multi channel environment, it is essential that the potential of the archives is maximised if the broadcaster is to operate within the financial constraints.

Programme making in a digital environment will necessitate new ways of working and new roles. Although these are still evolving it is clear that archiving and production will move closer together because it is essential for future re-use of material that information is collected at source. Consequently, “Media Managers” are required who possess a new skill set – combining traditional cataloguing skills with IT system administration and data management capabilities.

A great deal of preparatory work is required to maximize the potential of the digital environment. The most important things to start immediately are the drawing up of a data model and piloting the new roles for archivists in cooperation with production teams.

Finally, no one doubts that the digital world is coming. Managing the transition from analogue will be a lengthy and sometimes difficult process. Nonetheless, broadcasters must start the journey now.

10.2 New Vision The digital world has blurred the demarcation between production and archive


operations. Traditionally the archive operation was regarded as a support function being a first port of call for searching material and the final destination for the finished (and often forgotten!) programme.

In an ideal world, broadcasters need to move to complete integration of production and archives. The consequences are wide ranging. The traditional concept of archives as mentioned above – the long bays of tape – will cease to exist.

In the real world, the archiving of material has to be moved as close as possible to production. Management needs to lead the strategy to define exactly how far the integration of people and technology shall go.

The senior manager who has read this report should change and communicate the change. In order to move archives into the digital world, people need to be convinced.


To sum up, the Concorde example from the start is being shown here in a fully digital nvironment: e

On the assumption that a ccessfully introduced the best working broadcaster has supractices to manage the dig d deployed a digital asset management ital environment ansystem to support the new business processes, this is how a programme about

put together:

top PC to access the ain certain key words – “Concorde”, “air safety” etc.

e paperwork about metadata) and shows the producer a list of programmes where the key words occur in

The producer selects which ke to listen to. It is parts of which programmes she would lipossible to access only the e in a programme a relevant part if metadata records wherparticular content item occurs.

The programme parts select PC in “browse” quality. The ed are available via the desktop

s guests accept / decline an invitation to appear in program

onfirmed, the producer assembles the programme, makes

the clips have come from and compiles a new set of metadata appropriate to the new ould have to be augmented with details of studio gu

the archive

r and the appropriate pre-recorded parts are played in to ssion.

Post transmission, the tx hi electronically story & content details (contributors etc) are

done from the play out system.

digital storage area together with all it’s associated metadata.

Concorde crashing would be

The producer uses her desk sset management system. She types

The system searches all th past programmes (ie the descriptive

the metadata.

producer listens to the clips and chooses those to be included in the programme. She clicks a “download” icon on the desktop and broadcast quality material is downloaded directly to an edit machine.

This process is repeated a the me.

Ultimately, with the guests call the edits required and produces a finished version. The system remembers where

programme. Clearly this w ests, additional music etc but there’s no need to re-type any details for material drawn from

.

The completed programme is transferred electronically to a digital play out system.

The programme goes to aiillustrate the live studio discu

passed to the copyright / payments area if necessary. Music reporting is automatically

A copy of the whole programme (ie the clips and the live discussion) is then passed to a

It is now available to anyone who wishes to incorporate parts of it in a future broadcast.


10.3 Set of Recommendations derived from the Report

Area Recommendation

Media assets ssible media formats and explicit

Transform archive holdings into media assets. Accurate catalogue information, acceknowledge of rights.

Media assets All metadata needs to be acquired at s

professional qualifications. Identify training requirem

Roles Endorse the role of “Media Managers”.

ource and electronically.

Roles Broadcasters should insist that archivists acquire ents.

Roles Align the job title with the new roles.

Roles Identify a senior manager to :-

“champion” the initiative,

lead the communication within the organization and

ensure the project manager(s) are properly empowered

Roles As a matter of policy, allocate slots in the schedule for archive based programming and challenge producers to propose innovative ways of using the archive.

Metadata Start working on your organisation’s data model. Don’t wait for the data model to be complete before publishing it.

Metadata Ensure, the data model is applied all through the organization.

I.T & Technical Design the best workflows and processes to meet the digital environment. Focus on the efficiency and effectiveness ways of working.

I.T & Technical Focus on component system architectures.

I.T & Technical Maintain pressure on the EBU to lobby manufacturers to ensure suitable products are being developed.

Preservation Digital preservation needs to be done to the highest possible resolution, i.e. linear formats in preference to compressed formats.

Preservation Priorisation should be decided according to published guidelines.

Formats Use archival standardised formats.

Mass Transfer Plan for a mass digitization project.

Finance Ring fence funding for digitisation.

Finance Start to make a business case.



Finance Define the status of you archives as a prerequisite for funding requests.

Legal Lobby for appropriate national legislation.

Legal Lobby the EU for a simple framework on which national legislation can be based.

Legal Move rights clearance to real time.

International Use the experience from other EBU members.

Overall Start now

Overall Move Archives and Production at the same speed

Overall Stop thinking about the content, think about the assets.


10.4 ENDNOTES 1 See also under http://www.ebu.ch/union/publications/diffusion.php the related Dossier in “Diffusion” 2003/1, as also published in the print-version. 2 The authors acknowledge that it is possible to retain and maintain analogue stock for a considerable period of time (eg.film) but that digital formats offer more advantages. 3 It is recommended to use those rules developed by the EBU like P/FRA (radio), P/META as a basis ato also consider IASA Cataloguing Rules. 4 The authors are aware, that all film holdings are still completely kept. With film it is still true to “destroy the original”. A 100%5

nd

never quality preserving digital carrier remains to be developed.

See chapter 6 for further details.

of the decision making process, the experience of ScreenSound Australia provides some useful in

.gov.au/ScreenSound/Screenso.nsf/HeadingPagesDisplay/PreservationPapers+&+

6 If not everybody shall see the whole extent of license information, the access can be granted according to the individual roles in the production chain. 7 Notwithstanding, the BBC still needed to deal with all other types of rights. 8 As part

sights. Some useful papers are publicly available on the ScreenSound website: http://www.screensoundP tresentations?OpenDocumen . In particular, see: “Digital Archiving and Delivery at ScreenSound, A y

BBC Prime which are entirely comprised of Pathé a

he USID 14 reached is p

rk on P-Meta :General papers describing the basics of P-Meta and

t

sed, but still

ustralia” by Tuite M. (13th June 2001) and “Keeping the culture : archiving and the 21st Century” bPymm R. (2000). 9 One example are the packages currently airing onrchive footage.

10 Archived based pieces can even be the ratings leaders, as the RAI example shows, where the daily history piece in the news is often leading the viewing figures within the news bulletin. 11 Organized in Munich at ARD, 27. May 2003. 12 A major learning from the retro wave is, that TV archives carry material to approach history through everyday events and visual experiences. 13 SMPTE has defined the UMID standard, while EBU has defined t

The largest work in this area has been achieved by the EBU work on metadata. The consensusublished in the P-Meta report.

15 For further information see EBU wospecific P-Meta metadata sets for Radio can be found at: http://www.ebu.ch/departments/technical/technical_publications/http//:www.ebu.ch/tech_32/tech_32xx.hml

More technical information is available at: http://www.ebu.ch/departments/technical/technical_publications/http//:www.ebu.ch/tech_info/tech_ref_data.html 16 Information is available at: http://www.ebu.ch/departments/technical/pmc/pmc_fra.html Follow the “deliverables” link for reference documents. 17 be u SMPTE has defined the UMID standard, while EBU has defined the USID. Both canthe EBU endorses the USID. 18 This survey and other reports from PRESTO can be found under the project’s website http://presto.joanneum.ac.at/projects.asp#d2. 19 See chapter 7 for details.

See IASA TC-03 or details: http://www.iasa-web.org/iasa0013.htm20 . 21 A famous example is the “Live at the BBC” edition from Beatles recordings, released in 2001. Besides

ive will not, as a pre condition, digitise uncatalogued material.

Further recommended reading on this subject is on the EBU website: Richard Chalmers: The Broadcast

being a commercial success, it drew subtle attention to the inherent value of archives. In the worldwide marketing campaign, the BBC never forgot to mention that the recordings were from the BBC archives. 22 The YLE Digital Arch23 The same applies to any New Media as they evolve, such as analogue and digital teletext, Internet content or mobile applications. 24

http://www.ebu.ch/trev_291-devlin.pdf

http://www.film-first.org/

http://pc-erato2.iei.pi.cnr.it/echo

http://presto.joanneum.ac.at/Public/brochure.pdf

http://www.digitaalplatform.nl/

http://www.memoriav.ch/

http://book.coe.int/GB/CAT/LIV/HTM/l1858.htm

http://cm.coe.int/dec/1999/678/a2.htm

http://www.ebu.ch/departments/legal/pdf/leg_ref_coe_decl_archives_090999.pdf

http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/docs/index.htm


n. http://www.ebu.ch/trev_274-chalmers.pdf

25 The Media Exchange Format provides a basic format and a set of templates to create files, which are readable and writable with hardware decoders and readable by the Advanced Authoring Format, to promote media interchange based on common essence container formats and compression families. MXF Files are intended for sequential writing and for sequential and random access reading. Besides offering better interoperability - working with video and audio between different equipment and different applications - the other major contribution is the transport of metadata. By developing MXF from the beginning as a new file format, considerable thought has gone into the implementation and use of metadata. Not only is this important for the proper functioning of MXF files, it will also enable powerful new tools for media management as well as improving content creation workflows by eliminating repetitive metadata reentry. 26 A major push for the adoption of MXF and BWF came on June 18 2003, when the World Broadcasting Union (regrouping all Briadcasting Union, including the EBU) clearly endorsed both formats. The WBU urged the SMPTE SMPTE to complete its work on specifications. Further information on MXF as such: Bruce Devlin: MXF — the Material eXchange Format. To be found at: http://www.ebu.ch/trev_291-devlin.pdf

Wave Format — an introductio

. 27 That means, in terms of degrading quality the line may be Linear BWF (source material) -> MPEG 1LII -> MP3 -> RealAudio 28 More details in chapter 9. 29 Useful Links on this subject include: Film-First Film Preservation - http://www.film-first.org; The ECHO Project - http://pc-erato2.iei.pi.cnr.it/echo; PRESTO: http://presto.joanneum.ac.at/Public/brochure.pdf. 30 Presto Space is an FP6 project. It aims at building an integrated archiving system that will permit a fast, good quality and cost reduced archive digitisation. It intends to solve technical problems related to the processes, ranging from playback of films, video and audio-disks to storage. Management and control of digital preservation migration shall be strongly improved. Presto Space wants to propose full solutions for medium and small archives as well as optimisation of existing processes for large archives allowing to improve archive services and user access. 31 Further information under: http://www.digitaalplatform.nl 32 This applies particularly for archive based new (digital) radio and TV channels. Often public broadcasters could not even contemplate the investments for new channels without their archival holdings. 33 See www.memoriav.ch for details. 34 Greg Dyke announced on August 24 2003, that “everyone would in future be able to download BBC radio and TV programmes from the internet. The service, the BBC Creative Archive, would be free and available to everyone, as long as they were not intending to use the material for commercial purposes.” 35 See the previous chapter 6 for methods of priorisation. 36 A copy can be obtained here: http://book.coe.int/GB/CAT/LIV/HTM/l1858.htm or on the EBU website under: http://www.ebu.ch/departments/legal/pdf/leg_ref_coe_convention_heritage_protocole_081101.pdf 37 Annexe to the Special Topic of the 95th Ordinary Session of the Legal Committee (Geneva, 17-18 October 2002) which can be obtained from the EBU Legal and Public Affairs Department. 38 Documented at http://cm.coe.int/dec/1999/678/a2.htm and at the EBU website under http://www.ebu.ch/departments/legal/pdf/leg_ref_coe_decl_archives_090999.pdf . 39 Documented at http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/docs/index.htm in several languages on the EC Commission's website. 40 The Interdisciplinary Archive Group wrote the “Motion of Intent” in 2002 which was aiming at closer cooperation. 41 Free access meaning here “free research” up to a certain amount of time. 42 In a rather bizarre occurrence, the founders of Euronews (all EBU members at the time) could not agree to supply the new channel in 1993 with basic archive material. Euronews finally decided to buy a major package from Reuters. 43 Even though open prices over all material is not possibly with the great diversity of parameters included. However, a price bracket for standard pieces would facilitate editorial work. Prices for educational use are


often already clearly defined.

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