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Industry Partners

Trade organisations allied to the audio-visual archive industry are welcome to join FOCAL International on a reciprocal non-fee paying basis to encourage dialogue and communication that will support and promote the media industry.

For further details please contact Mary Egan, Director of Operations - [email protected]

A list of FOCAL members

AMCUP - Association of Media Content Users & Providers

The Association of Media Content Users & Providers is a trade organization established to celebrate the ever-growing spectrums of both media content production and the widening variety of multimedia platforms by merging together the professional communities of Content Users (researchers, clearance professionals, writers, directors, producers, editors and attorneys) and Content Providers (those who shoot, find, collect, archive, license and distribute), embracing all involved in the creation of third-party materials - television and film clips, photographs and music elements – as well as those who acquire them and include them in analog and digital platforms.

BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts - BAFTA - is a world-leading independent arts charity.

In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round, international programme of learning events and initiatives that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia.

BAPLA - British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies

Our vision

To be a clear and representative voice for the United Kingdom image licensing industry.

Who we represent

BAPLA represents image licensors.

Founded in 1975, BAPLA is the UK trade association for picture libraries and agencies, now incorporating a broad and diverse membership, including: sole traders; major stock, production and news agencies; SMEs; cultural heritage industries and technology companies.

A substantial percentage of images seen every day in print and digital media is supplied by BAPLA members.

What we do

Support

  • Represent members of all sizes and types
  • Support best practice amongst members in their business dealings
  • Encourage developments that assist members to connect with new and existing markets

Inform

  • Inform picture buyers and the creative industry about our members' collections, products and services
  • Provide members with relevant business information
  • Engage with members and the creative community to share and extend industry knowledge

Protect

  • Lobby at a national and international level to protect members' interests
  • Promote strong, fair and effective copyright and IP rights
  • Work with other organisations in the creative industry that share our objectives

We are committed to providing excellent services to our membership and to engage members in BAPLA's activities. To deliver this, we provide a programme of monthly events throughout the year, developed with members needs and interests in mind.

CLEAR Inc

Clear logo

Our group was founded in 1998 and consists of career path professionals in the areas of photos, stock footage, theatrical and television clip licensing, talent and estate clearances, music synchronization and master recording licenses, guild excerpt fees, script reports and script clearances. We are also known as The Clear Group or just Clear.

We provide business networking opportunities, educational seminars and group forums to share resources, information and further the common interest content research and intellectual property administration.

We also serve as a portal for the entertainment industry to find qualified and experienced research and clearance professionals.

Creative England

Creative England uncovers, connects and backs the best original storytellers; driving diversity, collaboration and growth in the creative screen industries.

Our vision is for England’s creative people and businesses to be the most innovative and successful in the world.

Creative England creates opportunities for new voices, products and services to emerge, helping to build inclusive, sustainable creative communities.

We showcase new and emerging talent. We invest in businesses, connect them to new markets and help them to create jobs.

We mobilise public and private resources to make this possible. We partner with commercial brands, like Sky Arts along with local authorities, universities and European bodies.

We invest in talented people and their creative ideas, nurturing our richly diverse games, TV, film and digital media industries. From direct investment and loans to business mentoring; we champion the best ideas of talented people and their businesses.

Creative Skillset

ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the screen industries. We work across the UK to ensure that film, television (including children's and high-end drama), VFX (visual effects), animation and games have the skills and talent they need.

We provide insight, career development and other opportunities to help grow and sustain the skilled and inclusive workforce which is the foundation stone of the UK's global screen success.

Our work includes:

  • Identifying skills gaps – current and future – across the screen industries and the whole of the country to provide an evidence base for investment in skills and training
  • Providing careers information
  • Mapping and quality-marking professional pathways to improve entry-level diversity and work readiness
  • Supporting development at every stage of a professional career in screen including through mentoring and offering bursaries.

FIAT/IFTA- International Federation of Television Archives

Audiovisual media dominates today’s global information society. We all are almost constantly surrounded by moving images and television stands out of this “media storm” as one of the most powerful and yet so familiar parts of everyday life.

Just think of all the TV images you have in your mind when looking back to the history of the last 60 years. Whenever something outstanding was happening, television was usually there. And not only for the political agenda, it was also there to entertain us, comfort us, make us laugh, cry, angry or happy.
But what happens with all these audiovisual memories? Where and how are they sorted and kept for future generations? You will find answers to these and a lot more questions when joining the Fédération Internationale des Archives de Télévision / The International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT/IFTA).

Founded in 1977, more than 250 members have joined our organisation that promotes co-operation amongst radio and television archives, multimedia and audiovisual archives and libraries, and all those engaged in the preservation and exploitation of moving image and recorded sound materials and associated documentation.

Film Archives UK

The Film Archive Forum represents all of the public sector film and television archives which care for the UK's moving image heritage. It represents the UK's public sector moving image archives in all archival aspects of the moving image, and acts as the advisory body on national moving image archiving policy. The Forum takes an interest in the preservation of nitrate film, acetate film and videotap; the training of archivists, acquisitions policy, standards for archives, copyright, co-operation with film laboratories, and contacts with foreign archives.

Film London

We work to sustain, promote and develop London as a global content production hub. We support the development of the city's new and emerging filmmaking talent. And we invest in a diverse and rich film culture.

Our aim is to ensure the capital is a thriving centre for a creative industries sector that enriches the city's businesses and its people.

IAMHIST- The International Association for Media and History

The International Association for Media and History is an association of scholars, professional film and television broadcasters, archivists and others who are passionately conerned about film, radio, television and their relations to history. We encourage scholarly research into the relations between history and the media as well as the production of historically informed documentaries, television series, and other media texts. Our aims are: to further the use of audio-visual media for teaching and research in history, and in particular to encourage the use of audio-visual media as sources for the study of history; to improve the preservation of audio-visual materials as documents, and to improve access to archive collections housing audi-visual materials; to provide a forum for discussion on any issues related to media and history.

IAMHIST holds biennial international conferences. The most recent were:

Media and Imperialism

Press, Photography, Film, Radio and Television in the Age of Modern Imperialism, Amsterdam, July 18-21, 2007

Projections of Race and Ethnicity: national Identities and Global Networks, Cincinnati, July, 2005

The History of the Future: Visions from the Past, Leicester University, July 2003

Changing Identities in Film and Television, Leipzig, Germany, July 2001.

Other events have included two very successful masterclasses in London and in October 2004 we held a one day seminar at the Imperial War Museum entitled It May be History, But Is It True?

More information can be found on our website www.iamhist.org or http://iamhist.net ;

IDA- International Documentary Association

Since our founding in 1982, the International Documentary Association (a nonprofit organization) has worked to promote nonfiction film and video, to support the efforts of documentary film and video makers around the world, and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the documentary. This is achieved through publishing our magazine, Documentary; hosting our many events; presenting an annual IDA Awards and offering services and educational opportunities of numerous kinds. We number over 2,800 members in nearly 50 countries worldwide, and more are joining every day. We welcome everyone to our membership, both the professional documentary community and documentary enthusiasts. We are producers, directors, writers, editors, camera operators, musicians, researchers, technicians and journalists; we are broadcast and cable programmers, festival organizers and distributors, academics, students and members of the general public who just love documentaries. The IDA serves as a global hub to the documentary community, networking our members together as they work throughout the world.

Industry Trust for IP Awareness

The Industry Trust (or to use our full name, the Industry Trust ofr Intellectual Property Awareness) was set up in 2004 to help promote copyright and all the good stuff it does to film and television audiences in the UK, and the importance of supporting the British Film and Television industries by buying the 'Real Deal'.

We're funded by more than thirty member companies, ranging from film studios to retailers, working together to spread the word about the positive role copyright plays in protecting creative ideas and securing the livelihoods of the 150,000 people who work in film and tv in the UK. We also support the important work of our partners including the Federation against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Alliance against IP Theft.

IASA - International Association Of Sound and Audiovisual Archives

The International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) is a professional association concerned with the care, access and long-term preservation of the world’s sound and moving image heritage. Through its active worldwide membership and training initiatives, IASA supports and advocates the development of best professional standards and practice amongst organisations and individuals which share these purposes.

Learning on Screen - the British Universities and Colleges Film and Video Council

We are specialists in the use of moving image and sound in education. Our unique services range from On Demand TV and radio, training, copyright advice and online scholarly resources.

London Film School

For over 60 years London Film School (LFS) has been the place for emerging creative talent to hone their craft, find their voice and engage directly with the vibrant UK screen industries. With a student cohort from every corner of the globe, LFS has always been a cultural hub where fresh voices, experiences and perspectives rub shoulders with tradition and history. The story of film has played out here at Shelton Street – the pull of celluloid, alongside the push of the new and the emergence of a digital world. Here, we take both seriously to celebrate a tradition of innovation.

Own-it

Own-it, Intellectual Property Advice Service, provides free advice, resources and events on intellectual propoerty for creative businesses including copyright, design rights, trade marks, patents, branding, licensing, royalties and contracts. Membership is free and members can attend events, access event pdocasts, templates of legal contracts, legal advice and book one-to-one IP advice sessions with lawyers.

PIAF

Piaf logo

PIAF is an association for French speaking libraries, researchers and every professional involved in the archives world. The organisation grew out of the first FOCAL French Chapter. PIAF organises conferences, screenings and is a contact point for finding a French speaking researcher.

PRA - Picture Research Association

Professional picture researchers & editor

It is our business to find the right image for your project, no matter how obscure the request. Wherever that image may hide, if it exists, we promise to uncover it.

As the Chairman of the long standing Picture Research Association which was founded in 1977. The Picture Research Association (PRA) is a professional organisation for picture researchers, picture editors, picture managers and anyone specifically involved in the research, management and supply of visual material to the media industry. Formed over 30 years ago as a professional trade association to assist image buyers in their tasks and raise the profile of this vital skill. These skills are endorsed by Creative Skillset, the industry body which supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative industries maintain their world class position.

Visual Researcher's Society of Canada

The Visual Researchers' Society of Canada (Association des Recherchistes en Audiovisual du Canada) exists to promote excellence in the field of visual research in all media. In a world awash in images, finding the right one for the right price has become a fine balance of art and business. Knowing what works and where to look for it are critical. The Members of the Society are dedicated professionals whose task is to do just that- find images that work for producers and publishers in all media.

The VRSC aims to raise the profile of visual research as a profession; to set quality standards for the conduct of visual research; and to set guidelines for the conditions of work. Above all, our aim is to improve the quality of work done by visual researchers. The Society provides a forum for members to exchange ideas and information. It is dedicated to developing the talents and skills of its members, providing a unique sharing environment in which we support each other to allow each member to work with the maximum of both imagination and business acumen.