|
The Collection
What does your collection hold?
AP Archive holds over 500,000 moving image news stories from 1896 to the present day.
Return to the top
What does your archive specialize in?
With footage from every day since 1963, AP Archive holds more current and historical news footage than any other organisation. Over 80 bureaux around the World mean that we have the pictures of every major event in the last 40 years including, the Vietnam War, conflicts in Iraq and the Indian Ocean tsunami. Furthermore, our extensive entertainment coverage means that we have the footage of the star that you are after, whether in interview, at the awards ceremony or in the law courts. We also have large amounts of material on wildlife, fashion, sport, technology and the wacky and the bizarre.
Return to the top
What do you have on the premises?
We at AP Archive take pride in the fact that we have every shot from every story since 1990 at our fingertips. Although we have copies of much of our older material on site, all of the masters, whether on film or videotape, are safely stored in environmentally-controlled storage facilities. These can normally be retrieved within three hours. Whatever footage you are after, we will aim to meet your deadline.
Return to the top
What format is the footage held on?
Since the mid-80s most footage has been archived on Betacam SP and/or digi Beta. Some older material is held on 16mm film, BVU (hi-band u-matic tape) and one-inch tape. In London it's in the PAL colour system, NTSC in North America.
Return to the top
What format can I get footage on?
Any format you want. As most of our customers are in the television business, Betacam SP is still the norm. But we have in-house facilities to duplicate on many different formats, which keeps costs and delays down. 16mm film transfers are done out-of-house and do take a little longer.
Return to the top
Can I get sports material from you?
Although we do not generally have sporting footage from major events (often due to exclusive broadcasting deals), we get behind the scenes at important championships, interviewing the top athletes and watching them in training. If you cannot find the footage you are after in our database, contact us because our sister company SNTV (Sports News Television) may be able to help.
Return to the top
Do you have still pictures?
Yes, but we will not have shot them ourselves and therefore cannot license them. However, The Associated Press does have a stills sales division and they can be reached at www.apimages.com.
Return to the top
What is a story?
A story is the cut 'piece' or 'item' which we originally sent out to our news subscribers. It would then automatically find its way, within a day or so, into the archive. Each story has a unique 'story number'. Let us know the story number whenever you contact us about that story. The average length of a cut story is two minutes, but it might have started out as a 20-minute shoot that was then 'cut' [actually, edited electronically] in a logical order to create a cohesive, self-contained item. There are a few stories that are less than a minute long, and some older ones which run for more than 15 minutes. A finished, two-minute story might contain up to 25 shots.
Return to the top
What does "shotlist" mean?
The part in a database entry that gives a list of what the footage actually contains, shot by shot, along with a detailed storyline. This helps researchers decide whether or not the material is what they are looking for before they actually see it, which at the moment can only be done by ordering a copy.
Return to the top
Why do some items on the database have a story number and some don't?
The AP Archive database actually contains several different databases in a number of formats, with the result that the information they contain may be in a different order or have different fields. This is partly because APTN was formed by the merger of two companies (WTN and APTV) which had different database systems.
Return to the top
Do you own the rights to all the stories in your database?
No. The archive contains three types of story: [1] stories we own or represent [2] stories that contain AP or represented footage and footage from other sources [3] stories made up of footage none of which AP owns or represents. Most of the stories are in category [1].
Return to the top
What is a keyword?
We often use generic terms to help with a search, especially if there are relevant words that could but didn't appear in the original shotlist or storyline. For example, the story may be about a disaster, and so 'tragedy' has been added to the keywords. Another example: stories about Kosovo, Bosnia or Croatia will probably have the key term 'former Yugoslavia' added, to help people who want an overview of the Yugoslav conflict. You could also try terms like 'wacky' or 'animals' or 'economics' in your search.
Return to the top
Can I search in other languages?
No. The database is only available in International English.
Return to the top
Can I see the pictures on the world-wide web?
No. With over 500,000 stories, totalling over 15,000 hours, that just isn't possible - yet.
Return to the top
How do I place a request?
This website contains an online request system, through which you can send the list of stories that you want to see and in what format, straight to members of our Sales and Research team, who will contact you to confirm your request. Alternatively, fax or email your request or, to speak to a friendly voice (in English, French, German or Spanish) give us a ring:
Email: info@aparchive.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 7482 7482 - Worldwide except North America
+1 212-621-7400 - North America
1-866-863-7470 - North America (Toll Free)
Fax: +44 [0] 20 7413 8327 - Worldwide except North America
+1 212-621-7489 - North America
Return to the top
How much do you charge for footage?
This depends on several factors:
1. How the footage will be used - whether it will be in a television programme, a feature film, a corporate video, on the internet, etc.
2. Which territories the pictures will be shown in.
3. What licence period is required.
4. How much footage is being used.
What information do you need? Do I have to fax or email the whole entry?
If you use our online request system, then all of the information will be sent to us, although there is a comments box, so let us know if you only need part of a particular story. If you send us a request by email, fax or phone, we only need the story number (though, if you have the full shotlist, that saves us time finding it).
Return to the top
Can I have a ratecard?
Sorry, we don't provide a ratecard to our clients, as all the possible permutations of territory, medium and licence period make it unfathomable to all but our highly trained team. However, let us have details of how the material will be used [e.g. "UK, terrestrial TV, five years" or "North America, cable tv, three years"] and we'll get back to you promptly with prices.
Return to the top
Do you have special rates for certain channels?
Yes. We do favourable licensing deals for programmes being made for some channels. So, if you are making a programme for A&E, BBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel or National Geographic Channel, to name but a few, then let us know and we will give you their discount rate.
Return to the top
What web browsers does the web database support?
For Windows PCs we recommend Firefox 1.5. (Versions 1.0, 1.0.7 may be used but are not recommended).
MS Internet Explorer 6 or higher.
For Apple Mac OS X we recommend Firefox 1.5. (Versions 1.0, 1.0.7 may be used but are not recommended).
For Apple Mac OS 9 Please contact info@aparchive.com for more details
Return to the top
|
