Research Guides: CIN201: Film Cultures 1: Art & Industry: Database Search Tips (ProQuest, MHDL, etc.)

Research Databases

Have topic in mind? Need to explore for inspiration?

Learn how to use the following databases to access various type of resources (text, images, audiovisual) and successfully filter your results (e.g., format, year, language, and more). By understanding what these collections hold and how their search tools work, you will be able to connect with the best primary source materials for your assignment. .

ProQuest Search Tips for CIN201
- Interdisciplinary database, has entertainment specific databases and film indexes (profiles on films and key people or companies)
- Wide range of source and document types (Trade or popular magazines, journals, newspapers, advertisements, archival collections & more)
- Location focus: US & UK/Western Europe
- Time: 1800-current
- Filter by Year, Language, Document Type, Subject, Publication
Media History Digital Library (MHDL) - Search Tips for CIN201
- Collection of digitized film and broadcasting magazines and materials
- Trade and industry magazines, pressbooks, fan magazines, technical journals & more
- Location focus: US (Hollywood), Canadian and select international resources
- Time: 1890s-1970s (rough time span, but covers whole project limits)
- Filter by Year, Publication Title, Collection, Format
Margaret Herrick Library Digital Collections - Search Tips for CIN201
- Digitized items from the Academy of Motion Pictures library and archives
- Correspondences, photographs, scrapbooks, industry publications
- Location focus: US (Hollywood)
- Time: 1800s-2014 (most sources are pre-1960s)
- Filter by Collection, Format, Subject, Creator
Gale Archives Unbound - Search Tips for CIN201
- Interdisciplinary database containing archival materials including multiple film history collections, newspapers, FBI files, manuscripts, monographs
- The Motion Picture Production Code (or Hays Code) files for rating a selection of films
- FBI files on Communists in the US Motion Picture Industry
- Location focus: International from an American/British lens
- Time: collection dependent (see page on Gale Database Tips for specific dates)
- Filter by Source Type, Document Type, Languages, Person
MPPDA Archive - CIN201 Search Tips
- Records from the MPPDA relating to industry and trade associations for Hollywood
- Correspondence, office records, business memos, forms
- Location focus: US
- Time: 1922-1939
- Filter by Person, Transcripts
CineFiles - CIN201 Search Tips
This is database contains scanned images of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase program notes, newspaper articles, and other documents from the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)'s Film Library and Study Center's extensive collection. Some documents are restricted due to copyright and require a free account to access. https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/users/sign_up [dates vary]
Harry Ransom Center Digital Collections (CIN201)
Learn how to explore HRC digitized holdings with materials tied to literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts which is based at University of Texas at Austin (including movie posters, archival materials for film productions)

Remember the Assignment 2 section in this guide also groups together online collections from various sources (e.g., Media History Digital Library, the Margaret Herrick Library, Museums, Galleries, Archives, Universities) so it is easier to browse by:

Topic (Film Industry, People, Films, Technology, National Cinemas)
Format (Newspapers, Fan & Popular Magazines, Trade / Industry Publications, Audiovisuals and Marketing)

Research Guides

CIN201: Film Cultures 1: Art & Industry

Research Databases

Libraries

Policies

Connect