ARTICLE: HOW ARCHIVE FOOTAGE CAN ELEVATE PRODUCTIONS
There has been a real appetite and demand this year for highly polished, dramas, historical series and gripping documentaries for audiences to consume via streaming or traditional linear television platforms. One winning secret ingredient in these stellar productions is cleverly blending in archive footage to elevate production value and bring a story to life.
We take a look at just a few reasons why you should consider using archive footage in your productions:
Enhance Storytelling
Archive footage instantly transports the viewer back to a particular moment in time and can really captivate and bring scenes alive, absorbing the viewer in to the storyline. Just a few short clips of historical footage of street scenes or crowd shots, interspersed in to filmed sequences can transform the overall narrative and storytelling elements.
Historical accuracy
For productions with scenes or entire stories based around historical or real- life news events, there’s no doubt how archive footage helps recreate and introduce a slice of reality and authenticity to scenes. Providing visual factual evidence through archive clips amplifies and creates a visually engaging and historic backdrop, whilst also giving credibility to the final production.
Saving Costs and time
Often, acquiring footage for certain scenes can significantly save time and money, when managed well. Prioritise and plan out carefully your exact archive needs, and which clips are integral to your production. Be aware of any licensing terms and additional costs associated to ensure you maximise efficiencies. Certain footage companies, like Screenocean have dedicated research experts who know the archive inside out, saving you time and effort trawling through hours of footage.
Evoke emotion and nostalgia
Incorporating historical footage can enhance the emotional resonance of a story by connecting viewers to real-life events or cultural moments. Stories using emotion help us connect, relate and become easily transfixed as scenes unfold and play out.
If you would like to learn more about the full range of historic news and unique archive collections within Screenocean’s archive, please drop us a line here. We would love to help.