About the Collection

The Philippine Film Archive currently holds over twenty-five thousand (25,000) audiovisual elements. A complete inventory and inspection of film elements are presently ongoing to determine the total identified and unidentified titles, numbers below are presented in terms of discrete elements.

Film - The film collection of over thirteen thousand (13,000) elements comprises a variety of 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm film reels from different depositors and donations, both locally and those expatriated abroad.

Tapes - Over eight thousand (8,000) Video Tapes, in U-Matic, Betacam-SP, Betamax, and VHS formats, come from deposits of public institutions and even private individuals.

Optical Media - (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs) are well considered in the digital assets (together with DCPs, .mov, .mp4s, and .avi formats in hard drives) which go beyond eight hundred (800) in the PFA collection.

Digital Collection - Aside from Films, Tapes, and Optical discs, the PFA also houses a growing number of Digital media in its collection. Housed in data storages, be it from data drives (Internal as well as External storages) to LTOs, containing raw files from scanned analogue films, video files captured from tapes, or even DCPs used in film screening in cinemas.

Artifacts - In order to view the analogue collection, the PFA uses available tools and machinery which were also used during the times when these formats were still widely used, such as Steenbecks, Moviolas, or an Animation Stand (all of which are in display as well in the museum section of the PFA). Not only in accessing analogue formats, the PFA also has equipment in playing digital movies like DVD players, Blu-ray players, digital projectors from 3,200 lumens up to 7,000 lumens, and also media players that hold film titles which would be connected to screens or projectors for exhibiting films to a large number of viewers.

Film Deposit Guidelines

Request to Deposit
  • Client, through a formal letter informs the PFA of its intention to deposit an audio visual materials.
  • Client must submit an inventory or list of AV Materials to be deposited
Approval
  • Request shall be submitted to the OCECEO for approval to initiate acquisition protocols
  • The film deposit agreement shall be signed by both parties
Initial Inspection
  • The PFA Acquisition team will visit the location of the AV Materials for initital inspection to determine the quality and quantity of films to be acquired
Pick-up and Hauling
  • The pick-up and hauling of the materials will be scheduled
Inventory and Reporting
  • The AV Materials will undergo initial cleaning, transfer to new containers and then inventoried.
  • The inventory and findings shall be reported back to the depositor for reference and record purposes

Procedure

  1. The client wishing to deposit to the PFA shall submit a letter informing his intention to deposit his audio-visual collection to the PFA. He must attach to the letter the inventory of all AV Materials subject of the deposit.
  2. The PFA shall submit a recommendation letter to the OCECEO for the approval of the acquisition. Once approved, the depositor must sign the Film Deposit Agreement.
  3. The PFA acquisition team shall initiate an initial inspection to determine the quality and quantity of the AV Materials and other special handling needed in the process.
  4. Once the acquisition plan is approved, the PFA shall commence the transfer of the materials to the PFA facilities on the agreed schedule.
  5. The AV Materials shall be inspected, cleaned and transferred to a new container and inventoried. The inventory shall be submitted to the OCECEO as part of the acquisition report and a copy of which shall be given to the depositor.

Salient provision in the agreement

  1. The depositor shall remain the owner of the deposited materials and the respective copyright to its copyright owners.
  2. The FDCP shall be allowed to exercise all preservation means which include but not limited to cleaning, rewinding, transfer of container and migration to a new medium.
  3. FDCP shall be allowed to utilize the film under its programs only, subject to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Rights Law.
  4. FDCP shall be allowed to create copies of the materials for preservation purposes only.
  5. In case of severe deterioration which requires disposal of the materials, the PFA shall inform the depositor to take back the material or dispose.
Procedure Requirement Office in charge Period
Submission of request Request Letter Inventory of Films PFA – Officer of the day 5 minutes
Recommendation and Approval Recommendation Form PFA – PFA Head 1 day
Approval Recommendation Form OCECEO 1 day
Initial Inspection Address and Location Map PFA – Acquisition team 1 day (for scheduling)
Pick up and transfer of Materials Address and Location Map PFA Acquisition team 1 day minimum (for scheduling)
Inventory and reporting Inventory Inspection sheet PFA Film Handling 1 week (may extend depending on the volume of the collection)
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18 October 2019, Friday