Preservation & Migration Seminar 2026

Among the BFI National Archive’s myriad television treasures sits the TVAM collection. A monument of British commercial breakfast television innovation, these recordings contain an exciting slice of UK heritage, traversing the period from early 80s into the 1990s. Programmes were recorded ‘as broadcast’ at the TVAM studios in London, many of which on the lesser used Panasonic alternative to Betacam, MII. As with so many videotape formats from the time, there are now complex challenges with obsolete machinery to overcome as well as physical degradation to contend with before any attempts can be made to digitise the programmes for long term digital preservation and access.

The proposed presentation will reveal how the BFI has taken the opportunity to incorporate one of its Archive Trainees into the investigative and process forming stages to prepare both themselves and operational colleagues for a workflow tailored specifically to the needs of a relatively rare videotape formats. On the seminar stage will be both the trainee Thom Walker and his mentor Charles Fairall, who together will discuss the journey so far, showing the successes and practical challenges encountered along the way.