The goal of this assignment is for you to have the experience of being the investigator and seek connections between primary sources, instead of reading other people's interpretations. Read through the assignment prompt provided by your instructor in Quercus and remember these key requirements and contact your TA or librarian for help.
Click on the tabs to learn more:
Limit your Date Range - 1895-1968 Select a historical phenomenon that falls withing the timeframe of this course, but try filtering by the most relevant date(s).
"A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject you've chosen to study, or by people who were observers of, or participants in that event or topic." - E.H. Brown - Writing about History, UofT Writing Advice
The goal of this assignment is for you to have the experience of being the investigator and seek connections between primary sources, instead of reading other people's interpretations. If you need help or want to just brainstorm, definitely reach out to the librarian.
The primary source resources need to meet the following criteria
The materials were created during (or close to the time) you are examining. Pick the most relevant time period (e.g., specific date, phenomena or a range of time)).
You must be able to access primary sources tied to your topic in some form (e.g., digitally, physically, or as reproduction). Use the CIN201 guide to explore collections for inspiration based on TOPICS or PHYSICAL FORMATS.(e.g., articles, photographs, audio or moving images, film reviews, personal or business documents)
How do the primary source resources connections to your topic? Can they support or disprove your analysis and arguments?
To find primary sources, remember you need to restrict your search results to materials published close to the time of your film or event. If they are published later, they are secondary sources.
Business Documents
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Production and Marketing Materials
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Professional Association Documents
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Personal Documents
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Government & Legal Documents
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Content in Newspapers & Magazines
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C) Limit use (or avoid) Secondary Sources If you supplement your research with secondary sources, ideally only use them to: Identify facts, keywords or citations to incorporate into your search strategies for primary source materials. Find reproductions of primary sources For example, if you are interested in examining a film director or film - use secondary sources that contain reproductions of images, text, film, or documents.
Secondary Sources are documents and creative works (images, film, audio) that analyse primary source materials and provide context on the circumstances that surround them.
REMEMBER: The purpose of this assignment is to apply your own analysis and commentary on the topic or event so it is crucial to avoid the insights made by authors if you decide to use secondary sources.
Instead, use secondary sources to
To find primary sources, remember to restrict publication date for your search results so you explore materials created or published close to the time of your film or event.
If the materials are published or created later than the time period being studied, they are secondary sources because they provide analysis of that subject or event and may have access to information and context that was not available at the time.
4) Remember Cite your Sources Remember to review the assignment instructions available in Quercus and contact your TAs, instructor, or the Cinema Studies Librarian with questions about identifying a research topic and finding primary source materials. PLAN AHEAD & KEEP TRACK: Check what information needs to be tracked for the resources you are using (URLs, name of special collection, unique identifiers like a document or episode number)
CIN201 SEARCH TIPS for Film History Essay
Use the buttons on the sides to move through the tips (PDF version is available)
FIND INSPIRATION / CHOOSE TOPICS
IDENTIFY YOUR RESEARCH TOPIC / QUESTION
1. Cover the Ws (Who, What, When and Where questions)
2. What's the significance? (How or Why questions)
3. Creating Your Question
What Kind of Evidence Do You Need & Can Access? (Primary Source Materials)
WHERE TO LOOK
KEYWORDS
FILTER BY DATE #1
FILTER BY DATE #2 - Use the tools
Working with Primary Sources
The goal of this assignment is for you to have the experience of being the investigator and seek connections between primary sources, instead of reading other people's interpretations. If you need help or want to just brainstorm, definitely reach out to the librarian.
"A primary source is a document that was created at the time of the event or subject
you've chosen to study, or by people who were observers of, or participants in that event or topic."
- E.H. Brown - Writing about History, UofT Writing Advice
To find primary sources, remember you need to restrict your search results to materials published close to the time of your film or event. If they are published later, they are secondary sources.
Secondary Sources are documents and creative works (images, film, audio) that analyse primary source materials and provide context on the circumstances that surround them.
REMEMBER: The purpose of this assignment is to apply your own analysis and commentary on the topic or event so it is crucial to avoid the insights made by authors if you decide to use secondary sources.
Instead, use secondary sources to
To find primary sources, remember to restrict publication date for your search results so you explore materials created or published close to the time of your film or event.
If the materials are published or created later than the time period being studied, they are secondary sources because they provide analysis of that subject or event and may have access to information and context that was not available at the time.
On this page, find primary source collections organized by categories:
Be sure to limit the date range to locate materials created in the time period you are examining that falls between 1895-1960.
See navigation menu on left for more search tips:
Primary source materials often come in the format of digital copies of printed and writen documents, photographs and artworks, or audiovisual materials. When you submit a keyword search, databases reads the details in the item record (e.g., title, author, format) but it also reads the text displayed on the scanned pages. It's important to use the language that is relevant to that time period and location, but also select language that would be used for different types of audiences.
For example, a contract disputes with a studio would be described in different ways if searching within fan magazines, newspapers, trade / industry magazines, or court transcripts.
Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request. Use Boolean Operators to improve your search:
Remember that searching historical scans of publications you need to use the language that would be most appropriate for that time period.
Don't forget there are different types of content within newspapers and magazines
Be sure to limit the date range to locate materials created in the time period you are examining that falls between 1895-1960.
Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request. Use Boolean Operators to improve your search:
Remember that searching historical scans of publications you need to use the language that would be most appropriate for that time period.
If you end up with huge number of results, choose one theme, format, publication title, or specific date for a smaller pools of results to review.
Use the Date / Year of Publication Filter to Narrow your Results
Be sure to limit the date range to locate materials created in the time period you are examining that falls between 1895-1960.
Identify Formats that will have the Most Relevant Information for your Research
Don't forget there are different types of content within newspapers and magazines
IMPORTANT - these materials must be created or from the time period you are examining, (e.g., an interview at the time of the film's release, not 20 years later)
Be sure to limit the date range to locate materials created in the time period you are examining that falls between 1895-1960.
Enter search terms on separate lines e.g., enter title of film on the top line, director's last name below, so as to articulate your search request. Use Boolean Operators to improve your search:
Remember that searching historical scans of publications you need to use the language that would be most appropriate for that time period.
Don't forget there are different types of content within newspapers and magazines
Film Indexes contain profiles on specific film titles, key figures in the film industry (directors, actors, composers, writers, etc.), and particular companies. You will find one record for the films unless there have been remakes of the work.
The AFI Catalog, the premier, authoritative resource of American film information, covers the history of American cinema comprehensively from 1893 to 1993, with full or short records for films from 1994-2015. New records are added each year by the AFI's editorial team.
Film Index International is produced in collaboration with the British Film Institute (BFI) and provides in-depth indexing of over 125,000 films from the first silent movies to the latest blockbusters and biographical information for more than 900,000 personalities. It includes records on films from over 170 countries and has extensive coverage of international film awards and prizes. Its rich content also includes searchable plot summaries, full cast and crew lists as well as references to periodical articles on film and film-makers.
When searching in online databases or publications for film titles or directors, place quotation marks at both ends of the title or name. Using quotation marks instructs many databases to search solely for particular words that are in that exact order, but be careful of spelling.
e.g., "Within Our Gates" AND "Oscar Micheaux"
Film Reviews can be found in newspapers, scholarly journals, popular magazines and industry or trade magazines.
Have any questions or aren't able to find resources - contact Cinema Studies Librarian Kate Johnson
Also scroll down to explore the National Cinemas and Newspapers sections of this guide.
Also see CineFiles (UC Berkeley) tab for more marketing materials, including press kits, exhibitor manuals, distributors materials. CineFiles (UC Berkeley) CineFiles is an ongoing project of the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)'s Film Library and Study Center.
Explore the digitized records belonging to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):
Film-focused content can be found in various special and archival collections.
Cinefile online database contains scanned images of reviews, press kits, film festival and repertory theater program notes, newspaper articles, and other ephemera. Some documents are restricted due to copyright and require a free account for access. In the top right corner of the page, a login link will allow you to connect (or set up) your free Cinefile account. Read about CineFiles accounts, our privacy policy, and more.
Check out the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers's SMPTE journals (see next tab)
Newspapers can also be great source for news on technology: Proquest Historical Newspapers
Media History Digital Library's Technical Journals Collection (1916-1965) covers "... improvements in film stocks, sound recording, color reproduction, cameras, lenses, lighting and other hardware."
The following engineering journals were published by professional association for Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Use them to find the cutting edge research on technology for your time period, but remember to identify keywords from that time period, not current terminology or brand names.
These articles are accessed through IEEE database which can provide citations and an individual PDF. Browse by year using the links below.
Some of this content can be found via Media History Digital Library if you prefer browsing through the journals pages.
Access IEEE's Advanced Search
To limit your search to Moving Image Engineering journals, combine two methods:
This will pull in search results from all the journals published by SMPTE within a time span
Don't forget that you can explore newspapers from different countries, regions, and cities. Newspapers have a long history of being the first place where people could find out what was going on in the world or their local community.
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