The Contemporary Promotion of Artists' Film and Video in the UK

Principal Investigator : Julia Knight
Co-Investigator: Geoffrey Nowell-Smith
Postdoctoral Research Fellow: Peter Thomas
Transcription/Support: Maisoon Rehani
Support: Mark Smith

Project Summary

This project intends to research contemporary developments in the promotion and distribution of artists' film and video with specific regard to questions of funding, exhibition and technology.

The research context

This project will be a continuation of an existing AHRB funded project - Independent Film and Video Distribution in the UK. The research question structuring the existing project is: With regard to independent film and video in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s, what was the role of distribution as a mediating institution between film/video makers and their audiences and how effectively was it carried out? It has become evident that some significant changes started to occur at the end of the 1990s with regard to the distribution of artists' film and video which fall outside the scope of our existing project. These changes and their impact form the focus of this application.

During the 1980s Britain boasted a number of independent film/video distributors - such as London Filmmakers Coop (LFMC), London Video Access (LVA, which became LEA in 1994), Circles (which became Cinenova in the 1991), Cinema of Women, British Film Institute (BFI) and Albany Video - who operated according to a traditional model of distribution. That is, each organisation housed a physical distribution library and compiled a catalogue which was sent out to potential customers who might hire/buy the work listed. Dating back to at least 1976 there has also been a curatorial approach to distribution. Initiatives such as the South West Independent Film Tours, the ACGB Film/Videomakers on Tour, video sell-through packages, and videotheques, together with Film and Video Umbrella (FVU), have promoted particular selections of artists' film/video through curated packages/shows or public access schemes. Whilst this approach is not conventionally thought of as 'distribution', it has played a key role in delivering work to audiences.

Although our research has shown that curatorial initiatives frequently cut across and undermined the work of distributors, funders and filmmakers alike have identified traditional distribution as a necessary and important activity. Both the LFMC and LVA set up as distributors before expanding their activities. At the film/videomakers open meeting at the National Film Theatre in October 2001 shortly after the closure of the Lux's Hoxton Square premises, safeguarding the future of the Lux's film/video collection (formed from a merger between LFMC and LEA) was identified as the key priority. Similarly, in response to the London Artists' Moving Image Review, conducted in spring 2002, the Arts Council issued assurances that the future of the Lux's distribution library was never in question.

Yet, in recent years there has been a significant shift away from maintaining traditional distributors in favour of the curatorial approach. In 2002, for instance, the Lux listed distribution as its core activity. A year later it was presenting itself as a project-based organisation, with distribution forming only a minor element of its work. Part of the rationale for this was that changes in the UK exhibition infrastructure had rendered the traditional model of distribution unviable. At the 'Staying Alive' meetings held last June in support of Cinenova, aimed at finding a way for the organisation to continue in the face of its recent loss of funding, there was a general consensus that the organisation should re-invent itself as a promotional agency and research resource because it was unsustainable - and would not attract funding - as a traditional distributor.

There have also been two significant technological developments. Firstly, the wide take up of internet marketing practices, in particular email lists and websites. Secondly, the development of DVD technology: artists' film/video is starting to be distributed on DVD (eg Peter Gidal, Andy Warhol, Stan Brakhage) and recent exhibition projects have transferred the selected work to DVD for screening (eg On General Release, A Century of Artists' Film in Britain, Pure Screen). This latter development has revived debates about medium specificity, quality of the viewing experience, accessing new audiences and mass distribution. Concurrently, concerns have been raised about long-term maintenance of 16mm collections in the face of dwindling resources.

These changes raise key questions about what work will be selected for 'distribution' and how artists' moving image work will reach potential audiences in the future, together with issues regarding delivery medium, viewing context, and who will constitute the audiences for the work.

Our existing project is the only in depth study of distribution practices across the UK 'independent sector'. While the research has proved very productive, the project brief only extends to the end of the 1990s.

The proposed project is of importance because:

1. It will develop an understanding of contemporary developments in the promotion and exhibition of artists' moving image work.
2. It provides an invaluable opportunity to improve knowledge about distribution mechanisms and promotional practices before physical records are lost and individuals' memories fade.
3. It will assess the implications of DVD technology for the distribution/exhibition of artists' moving image work.
4. It will contextualise recent developments against the history of independent film/video distribution in the UK during the preceding two decades.
5. The knowledge and understanding developed will be of interest to moving image artists, curators/programmers, funders and promotional organisations.

The research questions

1. How have recent changes with regard to funding, exhibition and technology affected the promotion and distribution of artists' film and video in the UK?
2. How effective have those changes been in delivering work to audiences?
3. What audiences are being developed as a result of those changes?
4. What are the longer-term implications of those changes, with particular regard to the availability of artists' moving image work?

The aims and objectives

1. To examine the reasons for, outcomes and future implications of diminishing support for the traditional model of independent film/video distribution.
2. To analyse the current effectiveness of the curatorial approach to promoting artists' moving image work in terms of reaching audiences.
3. To examine the role of the relationship between the exhibition venue and the curatorial agency in the light of recent shows/touring programmes.
4. To analyse the impact of the wide take up of email and web-based marketing practices.
5. To examine the impact/implications of DVD as a screening platform for artists' film/video, both in terms of gallery and home viewing.

Research methods

The project will conduct research into the two key 'distribution'/curatorial agencies in the UK for artists' film and video - FVU and the Lux - to examine their current strategies for delivering work to audiences, as well as addressing how this changed landscape repositions the British Film Institute (BFI) in its funding and distribution roles. It will also examine other curatorial initiatives (eg Pure Screen) and conduct case studies of recent shows (eg Shoot, Shoot, Shoot, On General Release, and A Century of Artists' Film in Britain) with regard to their utilisation of DVD/digital screening platforms, together with DVD publishing initiatives by artists and 'distribution' organisations. These projects are now the main avenues through which artists' moving image work is promoted and delivered to audiences.

The situation of Cinenova as it has developed over the last 2-3 years and its future viability will also be analysed. Its library houses a significant amount of women's experimental work and the historical significance of that collection is widely recognised. But its future - whether the collection will remain together and accessible to the public - is currently uncertain but of concern in a number of quarters. Such research will draw out some of the key debates shaping current distribution practices. It will also be necessary to examine arts funding strategies and approaches to accessing funding that have developed in recent years, with particular reference to the Arts Council, BFI, LFVDA and charitable grant-giving bodies. This will provide evidence of the funding priorities that have informed the current promotion and 'distribution' of artists' film/video.

To address the research questions listed above it is intended to continue with the dual approach developed for our existing project. Firstly, analysing the relevant records, such as - for curatorial agencies, distributors and specific shows - funding applications, marketing literature/initiatives, project documentation/correspondence, venue correspondence, contracts, artists files, board meeting minutes, box-office/attendance figures, and audience feedback. For funders, it will be mission statements, policy documents, funding initiative documents, client correspondence and so on. The second approach will be interviewing workers and board members from the organisations, together with individuals who have been involved in particular exhibition projects and DVD publishing initiatives.

These methods provide the most appropriate means of answering the research questions as they will yield information about the role of e-marketing and to what extent it is replacing paper-based forms, the rationale for the shift from supporting traditional distributors in favour of curatorial initiatives, what role remains for/is being developed by the BFI, the nature of contemporary audiences for artists' moving image work, strategies for maintaining existing film/video collections, the extent of the take-up of DVD as a screening platform, how work is selected for shows/packages. This is the kind of information needed to assess the impact of the changes taking place.

Some of this information has already been made available to the research team via the existing project, but has not been analysed or evaluated as it falls outside that project's scope. Also, all the contacts with the necessary organisations and interviewees will have been made by the end of the existing project. Thus the additional material relating to this continuation project will be readily accessible. In order to achieve a fuller understanding of the impact and implications of the recent changes outlined above, the project team also hopes to undertake some preliminary comparative analyses with the situations in other countries. This research would be funded by the University of Luton. Given that the proposed project will be drawing on and maximising existing contacts and material easily available to the research team, combined with complementary funding from the host institution, in order to broaden our knowledge of moving image culture in the UK, the project represents extremely good value for money.

The research outcomes will be an understanding of:

1. The current strategies being developed to promote artists' film/video in the UK.
2. The role of funding institutions in shaping those strategies.
3. The impact of recent technological developments in terms of creating, and delivering work to, audiences.
4. The implications of the shifting balance between curatorial and traditional approaches to distribution.

(November 2003)