Thanks to the ubiquity of mobile devices, we no longer only capture the most special moments in our lives, but every moment, no matter how inconsequential. But decades before we were all filming our every move, the concept of capturing footage at home wasn't just novel, but revolutionary. Of course, cameras back then were gigantic, bulky, lumbering beasts that were also priced beyond the reaches of all but the most wealthy forward-thinkers. Thankfully, footage taken by many of these home video pioneers has survived to this day, and to celebrate the historical importance and strange beauty of the films, the BFI (British Film Institute) has teamed up with Ocean, the boutique DOOH media company, to broadcast these remarkable windows into the past across some of the largest digital billboards in the country.
The BFI has teamed up with Ocean to broadcast some of Britain's oldest footage across some of the largest digital billboards in the country
The initiative is part of the BFI's “Britain on Film” campaign, which launched earlier this week. Featuring home movies and local television archive footage from as early as 1902, the films form the backbone of a project which reveals hidden histories and forgotten stories of people and places from the film and TV archives of the UK. Of course, many of the videos might seem a little bewildering to our over-stimulated 21st century eyes, but there's an undeniable emotional power behind them.
The initiative is part of the BFI's “Britain on Film” campaign
For those wishing to watch the videos from the comfort of their own homes, the digital archive is live now on the BFI Player, giving everybody in the UK access to search for and watch thousands of film and TV titles about where they live, grew up, went to school, their family, friends, or any subject of interest. Archives clips relevant to the local region will be broadcast by Ocean on outdoor screens in Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London from August, with a Britain on Film trailer featuring across all the screens.
BFI – Britain on Film: Our Lives Our Stories
Ocean marketing director Richard Malton, said: “Britain on Film is a superbly intimate portrait of the diversity of British life revealed through professional and amateur footage of vanished landscapes, urban and rural communities. Ocean’s screens will put this content right back into the heart of the communities where it was originally filmed, through short clips of newsreels, advertisements and home movies, creating a deep link between the past and present of the country.” Robin Baker, head curator at the BFI, added: “For 120 years cameras have captured almost every aspect of life in the UK on film, but too often these have been inaccessible to all but the most determined researchers. Now Britain on Film is transforming access to films from the UK’s archives and making them available, no matter where you live.”
The films include the world’s earliest surviving home movies from 1902 and the first film to be used as evidence in a court of law
Of the films, which were discovered and cleaned up by experienced Britain on Film curators, some of the highlights include: The world’s earliest surviving home movies from 1902; the first film to be used as evidence in a court of law in Chesterfield Evidence (1935); forgotten TV show “The Bradford Godfather” (1974) featuring the founding father of the city’s Pakistani community; and Shetlanders dressed as walrus, sheep and Vikings celebrating an Old Norse Viking Festival in 1927. It's all fascinating stuff and truly lends an insight into the ordinary lives of these ordinary people from our shared past. And it's only the tip of the iceberg, with around 2,500 films available on the BFI Player.
The digital archive is live now on the BFI Player
A series of the clips will feature on Ocean’s digital out of home screens including Eat Street @ Westfield London, The Screen @ Southern Terrace and The Screen @ Canary Wharf, London; The Screen @ New Street in Birmingham; The Screen @ Cavern Quarter and Liverpool Media Wall; The Screen @ Arndale, Manchester; The Screen @ Trinity Leeds; and The Screen @ St Enoch, Glasgow. I myself will almost certainly be popping along to New Street at some point this week to check it out. After all, it's only a stone's throw from Five Guys, and the thought of combining triple-cooked fries with ancient home videos is too tempting to pass up.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK.
