Screen Worlds and the Mediatheque turn one
ACMI Mediatheque
This week we celebrate the new-and-improved ACMI, one year on.
Almost eight years after ACMI first opened its doors and following four years of planning, ACMI 'came of age' with a major redevelopment bringing unique, engaging entertainment and learning experiences to the rich cultural landscape of Melbourne and indeed Australia.
This next phase for ACMI included two exciting new offers; the addition of the free permanent exhibition Screen Worlds: The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture and a screen culture resource centre, the Australian Mediatheque, both now centrepieces of the ACMI experience on a daily basis.
Reflecting on that time, with two openings within days of each other, the feeling was fever pitch. Staff and contractors were in a flurry, working around the clock to get the spaces and events ready for the grand unveiling - the biggest since the centre opened.
When the day came and with the red carpet rolled out in Federation Square, the famous faces, with umbrellas in tow, braved the flashbulbs. They included Cate Blanchett (in that dress that went on to grace catwalks and fashion magazines as far away as Bulgaria for months afterward), Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Adam Elliot, David Gulpilil, Chris Masters and everyone from television luminaries to game developers.
With the public and media eyes firmly locked on ACMI for the day, the resoundingly positive response that followed was thrilling to hear. Media dubbed Screen Worlds as an "electronic wunderkammer", "engrossing", "ambitious, original and entertaining", "groundbreaking" and US film critic Leonard Maltin described it simply "amazing".
Similarly, the Australian Mediatheque one year on has proved an invaluable resource for everyone from locals to tourists, school to tertiary students, researchers to curious passers-by. It does so by providing an access point to thousands of titles and materials from over 100-plus years of the moving image, drawing on the combined collections of the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), ACMI and our screen culture partners.
To date, there are over 500 titles on the view-on-demand system and this number is growing all the time. The most popular categories searched to view-on-demand have emerged as Advertising, Television and Historic Films.
Not surprisingly it is a little film by animation genius Adam Elliot that has stolen the show (and our hearts) with over 800 views alone. Uncle (1996, 6mins) is a 'clayographie' made by Elliot during his time as a VCA student and is the first of his trilogy of short films - Cousin (1998) and Brother (1999) followed - long before the Academy Award®-winning Harvie Krumpet (2003) or his first feature length masterpiece Mary and Max (2009).
Living Melbourne 1896-1910, which chronicles the first film productions in Melbourne and was compiled by the NFSA has been viewed over 400 times. There's a stack of material that has been viewed over 200 times and, perhaps surprisingly, 50% of those are advertisements (for a laugh, search the 1959 Caltex ad to see how far women have come), television programs (such as Blankety Blanks and A Country Practice) or historic items. Feature films such as Crocodile Dundee remain in the top search items, particularly when tourist traffic is high such as during the Australian Open. Student short films and children's films are steadily popular too, as is content from our supporters such as the ABC and Australian Children's Television Foundation.
Curated packages have also been highly viewed. They allow you to see similarly themed items and often serve to add depth to ACMI's current programming, providing compilations of materials that expand the visitor experience to shows such as Tim Burton: The Exhibition or encourage viewing of our ACMI in the Regions digital stories.
We'll be celebrating the first birthday of the Australian Mediatheque with a visit from its patron, legendry Aussie director Fred Schepisi. To mark the occasion, we also asked some ACMI staff members to reflect upon their favourite moments, highlights, anecdotes and impressions from the first year of Screen Worlds on the ACMI Blog.
One year old and both Screen Worlds and the Australian Meditheque are considered successes; used for the reasons they were created and enjoyed by the audiences they were created for.
Perhaps you have not yet visited Screen Worlds or explored the Australian Mediatheque. If that's you - what are you waiting for? These are free experiences, open every day of the year with the exception of Christmas Day. See you there.
Published Friday, 17 September 2010
|
|
|
