Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Media Archive for Central England (MACE) is the public sector screen archive for the East and West Midlands. 

We are a non-profit making company limited by guarantee and an independent registered charity.

MACE is part of a network of public moving image archives that collectively preserve the UK’s moving image heritage.

We are also an integral part of the network of public archives and record offices across the Midlands.

MACE is governed by a board of directors who are also trustees of the charity.

Moving images have now been around for over 100 years.  They have recorded the way we live and entertained us throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.  Our history is reflected in these images and cultural artefacts and the loss of even a small percentage of them is a loss that we all feel.

This is why MACE is committed to ensuring that the moving image heritage of the Midlands is preserved for future generations to enjoy and study.

Our aims are to collect, document, preserve, and subsequently provide access to the moving image heritage of the East and West Midlands.

In addition we provide an information service to help people who are looking for film as well advice on how to care for moving image materials outside the archive.

Although we provide many archive related services, our primary aims are to provide:

• A place where moving image can be preserved
• Opportunities for communities of the Midlands and beyond to experience & enjoy them
• An information hub for all things relating to moving images in the Midlands
• The opportunity to connect people with their moving image heritage

THIS WEBSITE
MACE has catalogued over 45,000 titles on the website. 4000 of these titles have video and this number grows weekly. We also hold a number of, as yet, un-catalogued collections. Contact us if you have a specific query or to find out more.

ARRANGE A VIEWING APPOINTMENT
If you have a research interest you can visit the archive to view titles from the collections free of charge. Contact us if you would like to make an appointment

VIEWING COPY FROM MACE
Subject to copyright permission, are able to produce one-off viewing copies of titles on DVD for you to watch at home. We call this our Bespoke DVD Service. This specialist service is dependent on the condition of the material, the format it is held on as well as obtaining permission from the copyright holders to copy it.

MACE SCREENINGS
MACE conducts screenings across the East and West Midlands of titles taken from its collections and partner archives. These screenings offer opportunities to see programmes of material often not seen in decades and have made a real stir in the communities that they have touched.

MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES
MACE material is often used in exhibitions organised by museums, and libraries across the Midlands.

TELEVISION
Look out for MACE's name during the credit sequence at the end of a programme containing archive material.  Material from our collections can regularly be seen in programmes, both nationally and around the world.

Since the invention of film in 1895 life in the Midlands and its changing landscape has been recorded on film, video tape and digital media.  These moving images have the capacity to show us how people in the Midlands used to live and MACE exists to try to ensure that as many of these important cultural artefacts survive and can be enjoyed now and in years to come.

MACE provides a place where moving image materials can be properly looked after.  Our collections are constantly expanding as we receive donations and deposits from a range of different sources.

As well as providing a place where moving images can be cared for in the midlands we are keen to ensure that moving image collections, wherever they are held, receive the best care possible.  We are therefore happy to work with private individuals or with institutions to maximise the life span of the moving images that are in their care.

We also provide advice on where to find specific films or collections, so if you would like our help in a search you're conducting then please Contact Us.

MACE has eight members of full time staff, two freelance staff and three regular volunteers. To read more about the team,including contact details, see About MACE.

The moving image has had a huge impact on people's lives over the last 100 years.  Film was the great new art form and recording medium of the 20th century.  Amateur film making has been a possibility since the 1920s and enabled thousands of people to record events that were important to them as well as respond creatively to the medium. Television transformed our understanding of current affairs and introduced a new form of home entertainment. 

Whether the moving images are produced by amateurs or professionals they have the potential to open a unique window on the way we have lived our lives.

For these reasons MACE is committed to preserving the moving image heritage of the Midlands for future generations to enjoy and study.

The Midlands, is an area comprising central England that borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. It is administered as the Government Office Regions of the West Midlands and East Midlands, and compromises of the following counties:

East Midlands:

Derbyshire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire (except North Lincolnshire)
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Rutland

West Midlands:

Herefordshire
Shropshire
Worcestershire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
The Metropolitan county of the West Midlands including the metropolitan boroughs of the city of Wolverhampton; Dudley; Walsall; Sandwell; the city of Birmingham; Solihull and the city of Coventry

The material in the collection is hugely varied and ranges from early examples of film production through to DVDs produced by school children using digital technology.  The collection includes films and videos produced by both amateurs and professionals. 

We care for an ever growing number of small collections, reflecting the life and experience of the Midlands. The largest single collection in our care was donated by ITV and consists of over 60,000 individual items of regional television from the past sixty years. 

Although we are constantly increasing the number of entries on our database, it does not contain references to all the titles that are held at MACE, so if you are looking for a particular Midlands related title not catalogued on the website then please contact us.

You can, everyone and every organisation can.

MACE will acquire material from anyone and from any organisation that wishes to deposit moving images that relate in some way to the East and West Midlands.

We have material deposited with us from private individuals, county record offices, museums, industrial and service companies, broadcasters, producers and artists.

MACE has many years' experience in assessing the cultural value of moving images and will make an informed decision about how material you may have fits into the film making history of the Midlands.

If you are part of a community organisation or historical group based in the Midlands, you may be interested in Full Circle. MACE may be able to help you find and realise the potential of films and videos currently tucked away in attics and shed, cupboards and garages in your community.

The moving image is the greatest recording medium of the twentieth century: it can bring the past to life with a breathtaking immediacy.

Our concern at MACE is that films and videos are disappearing fast.  We want to stem the tide by working with organisations across the midlands to help them find and 'save' their local community's moving image heritage.  But that's not where it ends: once saved relevant artefacts will be duplicated by MACE and usable copies will be returned to the community, where, subject to copyright permissions, they could be used for research, in exhibitions, screenings and education work.  In the meantime, MACE will ensure the long term preservation of the materials found so that they can go on being used by future generations.

In order to achieve this MACE has developed a major Heritage Lottery Funded project, FULL CIRCLE, which will enable us to support organisations over a three year period as they conduct searches for film in their communities and begin to make use of these precious historical documents.  In turn, it is hoped that this will build an interest in local history and develop a sense of belonging and a pride of place in people throughout the midlands.  

If your organisation is interested in being a partner in FULL CIRCLE, click here to contact Senior Curator, Kay Ogilvie.

Both film and video tape are physically fragile materials.  They are easily damaged if wrongly stored or subject to excessive use.  These threats increase as the material gets older.

MACE has a team of experienced professional archivists who work to recognised standards in the conservation and preservation of materials in our care. 

The main principle of preservation in reproductive media such as film and video tape is to protect the best copy of the material (the master) in the collection by copying it to create a sub-master, which is subsequently used to produce further copies for viewing purposes.

The master copy is then held in environmentally controlled storage conditions and is not disturbed until a new sub-master copy needs to be made.  In doing so the life span of the moving image is maximised for future generations to enjoy.

Sometimes we encounter nitrate film which requires special treatment and, if the importance of the subject matter warrants it, we will arrange for duplication to film at a specialist laboratory. 

For further information about the dangers of nitrate film visit our Resources page.

The underlying theme of material archived at MACE is its relationship with the Midlands and its potential for future generations to enjoy and study.

As we continue to develop our collection we want it to reflect how the region has changed and is changing and to show how people lived and are living in the region.

This means that we are interested in films and videos that show the region or things happening in it. We want to reflect how people from the region led and lead their lives so material about any aspect of work or industry is important as are home movies, on either film or video.

We are just as keen to consider amateur material for inclusion in the collection as titles produced by professionals. Equally, the format that the moving images are held on or the date that they were produced does not affect our decision to acquire collections as our primary focus is the moving images themselves.  

Though our main collecting focus is on the tapes and films themselves we are also interested in collecting obsolete and current examples of associated technology as well as documentation that relates in some way to film production and consumption (amateur or professional) in the East and West Midlands. 

MACE is a publicly funded organisation which delivers its work though a mixture of year on year core investment as well as funding generated by applications to specific organisations for individual projects.

MACE's key core investors are the regional agencies of the UK Film Council: EM Media and Screen WM.

MACE delivers most of its activity through funded projects. Key project funders have been the Heritage Lottery Fund, the UK Film Council Lottery, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England, and the regional strategic agencies for museums libraries and archives: MLA East Midlands and MLA West Midlands.

We also generate income from the supply of material to media professionals, creative practitioners, museums, libraries and other non-profit companies. All of this income goes back into supporting our charitable aims.

MACE's collections are of limited use unless we know what images are contained within them and have an effective method of identifying what might be of interest to someone researching a specific subject.

Once film and video in our care have been viewed and researched the information we have collected is entered on our database.  The way in which that information is entered is guided by internationally recognised standards for the cataloguing of moving image titles in public archives.  There is more information about these standards in The Moving Image Archive Framework document published by the Film Archive Forum.

You can search the database using the simple search tool, which appears at the top of every page on the site, or the advanced search for more specific enquiries.

When information is entered on the database against a particular title it has been rigorously checked.

The information is only as good as the sources that we work from and therefore mistakes can occur. If you identify an error on the database please contact Phil Leach who will be able to make any necessary adjustments to the database.

MACE can, subject to copyright clearance and licensing/transfer fees, supply media professionals and creative practitioners with footage from the collection. As a not-for-profit organisation in the public sector, all income derived from these sales is used to preserve the collection and ensure it is accessible to the public.

MACE has a team of highly experience professionals who can guide you through the whole process of acquiring archive material from research, accessing viewing material to licensing. 

Past programmes featuring material from MACE’s collection include Michael Wood’s History of England (Mayavision); When Playboys Ruled the World (ITV Sport); The Secret Life of the National Grid, Flog It!, The Secret Life of Airports, Andrew Marr’s History of Britain, Nation on Film, Panorama and Silent Britain (BBC ); and Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics (Warner Bros).

Footage archived at MACE can most recently be seen in The Betty Driver Story (ITV) and the television and internet advertising campaign for www.ancestry.co.uk

But the supply of material doesn’t stop at TV programmes. MACE has also provided moving image as a back drop for a performance by the Kaiser Chiefs which was released on DVD - highlighting that archive material can be used in a variety of creative mediums.

ITN Source licence clips of the ITV regional collection to television productions, however if you are a researcher or producer, please approach us initially, if you see material of interest, as viewing screeners and the access of broadcast quality material is made through MACE.

MACE offers a viewing and access service to all non-profit organisations at a discounted rate.  As a non-profit making company in the public sector itself, MACE uses all income generated to preserve the collection and increase accessibility to the public.

MACE has a team of highly experience professionals who can guide organisations through the whole process of acquiring archive material from research, accessing viewing material to supply. 

MACE has recently provided material from its collections to Worcestershire County Museum, Birmingham Music Archive, New Art Exchange, Nottingham; Sessions House, Northampton; www.multistory.org.uk; New Walk Museum, Leicester; The Herbert Museum & Art Gallery, Coventry; The Museum of Childhood, Sudbury; Newark Houses Museum, Leicester; Solihull Library; Coventry Archives and the Worcestershire Record Office.

MACE is committed to working with teachers and other educational professionals to explore ways in which titles in its collections can be used in both the formal and informal education sectors. We are constantly looking to develop partnerships with schools and colleges and if you are interested please Contact Us to introduce yourselves.

MACELive (MACE's frequently updated blog)

We are continuing to frequently update our highly popular blog, MACELive which will be refreshed with a new look very soon. At MACELive you can read about our latest acquisitions and community screenings, more about specific titles from the collections, share your own comments and read about all our latest news.

Twitter

We also regularly use Twitter @macearchive to tweet links to specific titles and events we are collaborating on or attending.

Latest News - Blog & Twitter Feed

If you wish to glance out our news stories, why not click LATEST NEWS (left) to browse our MACELive and Twitter Feed.

Facebook

You can also link to our Facebook page at the bottom left of our footer. And why not also 'Like' a title from the collection you've seen so that a link can be shared with your Facebook friends?

Enewsletter

You can sign up to our enewsletter at the foot of every website page.

Contact Us

We welcome questions and comments. Please Email us here or if you would prefer to phone, please call 01522 837750.