The Archive Room

AI and the Fight to Protect Archive Footage — with Rachel Antell and Laura Rooney - (Audio Only Version)

Generative AI is producing 34 million synthetic images every day. For archives, documentary producers, and footage researchers, that changes everything about what can be trusted, what can be licensed, and what history will look like on screen. In this episode of The Archive Room, we sit down with Rachel Antell, Co-Founder of the Archival Producers Alliance (APA), and Laura Rooney, Executive Director of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA), to discuss the Trust in Archives Initiative — the most significant collective response the archive and documentary community has produced to the AI challenge. TAI has published a practical toolkit designed for archive professionals, footage researchers, and documentary producers. We go through all four components in detail: the Due Diligence Checklist for authenticating archive footage in an AI-saturated landscape; two adaptable licensing templates that protect collections from unfettered AI use; a shared taxonomy so the whole field is finally speaking the same language; and a ten-consideration framework for any archive being approached by a tech company wanting access to their collections. We also get into the access paradox — how the footage archives need to make public to serve researchers is now the same footage being scraped without consent — and what the IMLS defunding means for institutions already operating on the thinnest of margins. Plus: the moment a major streaming platform responded to a TAI licence by asking for unfettered use of generative AI on the licensed material. The Trust in Archives Initiative is a coalition of the Archival Producers Alliance, the Association of Moving Image Archivists, the Society for American Archivists, FootageFest, FOCAL International, and the Digital Object Authenticity Working Group. TAI is running a free four-part webinar series on the toolkit. Register below. Assessing Authenticity: Due Diligence in the Age of AI | 16 June https://www.eventbrite.com/e/assessing-authenticity-due-diligence-in-the-age-of-ai-tickets-1988961465284 [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/assessing-authenticity-due-diligence-in-the-age-of-ai-tickets-1988961465284] Content Licensing: Navigating Rights in the Age of AI | 23 June https://www.eventbrite.com/e/content-licensing-navigating-rights-in-the-age-of-ai-tickets-1988961933685 [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/content-licensing-navigating-rights-in-the-age-of-ai-tickets-1988961933685] Strategic Engagement with Technology Companies | 8 July https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1988962119240 [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1988962119240] Speaking the Same Language: Taxonomies for AI-Generated and Altered Media | 14 Julyhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/taxonomies-for-ai-generated-and-altered-media-tickets-1988962319840 [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taxonomies-for-ai-generated-and-altered-media-tickets-1988962319840] More at trustinarchives.org | archivalproducers.org | amianet.org This episode is presented by Silver Salt Restoration — the UK's foremost film and television restoration company, and a John Gore Studios company. Find them at silversaltrestoration.com. The Archive Room is a video podcast about archive footage — the people who preserve it, license it, restore it, and fight for it. Hosted by Dominic Dare and Sandra Coelho. Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podbean.

How to Make Money From Your Content Library with Matthew Frank - Audio Only Version

Matthew Frank has spent over 30 years at the top of television rights and distribution. He built RDF Rights from the ground up, ran Zodiak Rights as CEO generating revenues exceeding $80 million across 200 broadcasters worldwide, and now runs Rocket Rights and Rights Booster, helping content owners exploit their libraries across VOD platforms, FAST channels, and YouTube. In this conversation Matthew breaks down exactly how the content monetisation landscape has shifted and where the real opportunities are right now. He explains why linear broadcasters are no longer the gatekeepers they once were, how FAST channels and YouTube are reshaping what distribution actually means, and why brands are becoming the new commissioners of content. We also get into the story behind Wife Swap — the format that nearly never got made — and the remarkable case of French YouTuber Inoxtag, who turned a 9 million subscriber following into a 50 million view documentary that sold out 200 cinemas in France before it ever hit YouTube. Whether you are a documentary filmmaker, archive manager, rights executive, or content owner trying to navigate a fragmented market, this episode gives you the frameworks and honest industry intelligence you need.

She Found the Secret NYPD Surveillance Footage of John and Yoko — with Rosemary Rotondi

What does archival research really look like on some of the most powerful documentaries of the last decade? Rosemary Rotondi is a New York based archival producer and researcher with over 30 years of experience. Her credits include Attica (Oscar nominated), John & Yoko: One to One (Apple TV+), and American Murder: Gabby Petito (Netflix, 90 million views worldwide). In this episode she takes us behind the scenes of all three films. We hear how she tracked down NYPD surveillance footage of John and Yoko at anti-Vietnam War protests in the New York municipal archives, how Attica footage had simply vanished from upstate New York's small local archives through years of neglect and lack of resources, the story of a film crew who felt threatened filming drone footage outside the prison, and the reality of working on the Gabby Petito police body cam case — including what happened to the officer in that footage two years later. Rosemary also reflects on the emotional toll of working with traumatic archive material, who makes the ethical decisions around disturbing images, the stark lack of diversity in true crime documentary coverage, and what it actually takes to break into archival research. If you work in documentary film, care about film history, or want to understand how archival storytelling really works — this is essential listening.

Gordon Craig: Inside Fremantle's Secret Archives (Ep.11) - Audio Only Version

Fremantle makes Got Talent, X Factor, The Price Is Right and Baywatch. But behind those formats sits one of the most extraordinary broadcast archives ever assembled, stretching back over 100 years and spanning drama, documentaries, news and entertainment across every continent. Gordon Craig has spent nearly two decades at Fremantle overseeing archive licensing, home entertainment and in-flight sales. In this episode he opens the vault on how a commercial TV archive at this scale actually works: the reality of digitising tens of thousands of tapes, why a production's rushes policy can make or break a licensing deal years later, what it takes to clear talent across global format shows, and why Gordon once uploaded 28,000 clips to YouTube simply because there was no search engine. We get into the Thames Television archive, running since 1968, which contains news footage, landmark documentaries and celebrity interviews that still sell around the world today. We talk about the Take That Netflix documentary, the Angela Davis jail interview, the remastering of The Sweeney and Baywatch, and the complicated rights picture facing anyone licensing a clip from a modern co-production. Gordon also shares his take on fast channels, AI and whether authentic archival footage can hold its ground. The video version of this episode is available on YouTube. Search The Archive Room or find the link at lolaclips.com. The Archive Room is hosted by Dominic Dare and Sandra Coelho, produced by LOLA Clips

Tom Jennings: Peabody Winner on Making 42 Archive Films Without a Narrator (Ep.10) - Audio only Version

Tom Jennings is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of 1895 Films and one of the most decorated documentary filmmakers working today. A Peabody and Emmy Award winner, Tom has written, produced and directed more than 500 hours of programming and pioneered a format that now spans 42 films: no narrator, no modern interviews, pure archive from start to finish. His work includes Diana: In Her Own Words, Apollo: Missions to the Moon and a Peabody winning film on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this episode Tom takes us through the full arc of his career, from print journalist covering the OJ Simpson trial to the moment he cut a ten minute proof of concept reel and snuck into the Television Critics Association to pitch it. He explains how that single meeting with National Geographic in 2009 launched a format the industry had resisted for fourteen years. We go deep on what it actually takes to build an archive film: throwing a wide net, going through every single tape, and why the Christa McAuliffe rehearsal footage that won the Challenger Emmy was sitting on tape 39 of a 40 tape collection that most producers never finished. Tom talks about the seven hours of Diana tapes locked in a publisher's office in London, the funeral home phone call it took to clear a song, and why he steers clear of fair use. He also speaks candidly about what AI can now do to historical voices, why it sits like a loaded gun on the table, and what that means for audiences who trust archive films to tell the truth. An essential listen for documentary makers, archive producers, rights professionals, researchers and anyone who wants to understand how the most powerful non fiction storytelling gets made. The Archive Room is produced by LOLA Clips. Find us on YouTube for the full video version, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode.