Protecting The Past For Future Generations With A Huge Downloadable Vintage Short Film Archive

​The public imagination is shaped by the experiences we each have throughout our lives. The things passed on from parent to child, the things taught in our schools, the stories we share, they all contribute to the way we think about the world and the way we perceive each other. When cinema was created, a new kind of storytelling entered the cultural sphere. For the first time a repeated story identical in every way could be broadcast to the world at large. Silent films were even accessible no matter what language you usually spoke. Although outdated and often no longer exciting, the art of vintage cinema is as fascinating as it always was and now, we can study it for its pivotal moment in history.
 
What began in 1983 is now a huge vault of classic films made in the golden age of moving pictures. Because of the nature of these old devices, the media is not completely reliable and with diminishing numbers of copies on old-fashioned tape, and fewer people knowing what to do with it, converting the contents into something more modern and durable seemed to be a true noble cause. The Prelinger Archive now holds over 30000 individual films, of which 9200 are available immediately online. Why not help the preservation effort by creating an archive of your own?
 
A massive selection obviously means a huge scope of content types. You will find the things you might expect, entertainment and information videos, but there are also home recordings and public government broadcasts. The amount of social and historical evidence on offer with these recordings is invaluable, with excerpts from history and social settings made permanent for us and our ancestors. We can explore the evolution of film making and the challenges of making acceptable content for mass audiences.
 
The videos are available to watch partly on the Internet Archive and partly on their dedicated YouTube channel. It will take a good while to sift through the entire catalogue, so here are some examples to give you a taste of what you’ll find.