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Support for BBC Motion Gallery
Search Tips
Here are some tips for getting better results from your searches.
Choose Words Carefully
Use specific words to describe exactly what you're looking for. More general terms
give a larger number of results, so try to narrow your search.
For example:
Try "Buckingham Palace" instead of "London Tourist Attractions"
Watch for words with more than one meaning. If you're looking for information on modelling, make sure you specify fashion or clay.
Excluding Words
Excluding Words: To exclude words, precede them with "NOT" (in all capital letters). No results containing those words will show up in your results. For example, if you want to see video about "dogs" with no mention of "poodles", search for "dogs NOT poodles".
Or
By default, search will return results that match all of the words you type in. For example: the search "New Zealand kayaking biking", finds results that contain all of these terms, not those that contain just some of the terms.
If you are equally interested in two or more alternatives, use "OR" in capital letters. For example, search for "New Zealand kayaking OR biking". Search will interpret this as: new AND zealand AND kayaking OR biking.
Word Order
To search for an exact phrase, just put quotation marks around two or more words. For example, search on "Read my lips".
back to topAdvanced Search Tips
Boolean searches
EXAMPLES:
city AND taxi - searches for clips keyworded with both terms “city” and “taxi” (the same result can be achieved with spaces between keywords: city taxi)
city NOT taxi - searches for clips keyworded with the term “city” but not with the term “taxi” (this would exclude clips of taxis in cities)
tiger OR lion - searches for clips keyworded either with the term “tiger” or “lion”
tiger OR lion NOT zoo - searches for clips keyworded either with the term “tiger” or “lion” but excludes clips keyworded with "zoo" (useful to find only lions or tigers in the wild, not in captivity)
Search by collection
Search for clips from a specific collection. This can be used to search within a specific supplier's clips or to exclude a specific supplier from a search. Owner names must be entered exactly (ie "Sony pictures entertainment" not "Sony" or "Sony pictures"). EXAMPLES:owner:”bbc motion” AND car - searches for Paramount Pictures clips keyworded with the term "car"
tiger NOT owner:”national geographic” - searches for clips keyworded with the term “tiger,” excluding those clips from National Geographic
Searches for clips based on the color or color effect in the film. Can be one of:
• Color
• Black and White
• Sepia
• Muted Color
EXAMPLE:
sports AND color:Color - searches for clips keyworded with “sports” and are shot only in “color”. Please note, this will be changed to accept "colour" and "color" shortly
Search by shot type
Search for assets based how the video was shot. Can be a combination of the following:
• aerial
• crane
• fish-eye
• hand-held
• highlight-reel
• montage
• pan-left
• pan-right
• push-in
• push-out
• rack-focus
• soft-focus
• static
• steadicam
• tilt-down
• tilt-up
• tracking-left
• tracking-right
• zoom-in
• zoom-out
EXAMPLE:
city AND shotType:fish-eye - searches for clips keyworded with the term “city” and shot with a “fish-eye” lens effect
Search by era
Searches for the era (decade) the asset was shot in or shot by a studio to appear to be from a certain era. Possible values are:
• 1920s
• 1930s
• 1940s
• 1950s
• 1960s
• 1970s
• 1980s
• 1990s
• 2000s
EXAMPLE:
rocket AND era:1960s - searches for clips keyworded with “rocket” from the 1960’s
Search by audio
Searches for clips which include audio (sound). Please check with your rights and clearances department for availability of sound licensing.
EXAMPLE:
hasAudio:true AND travel - searches for clips with audio and are keyowrded with "travel"
Searches for clips by broadcast standard. PAL and NTSC can be found using the search filters on the search results page, but for specific formats use these modifiers. Search on the following acceptable values:
• 1080i
• 1080p
• 720p
• 480p
EXAMPLE:
europe AND broadcast:1080p - searches for clips keyworded as “europe” and only those clips with a broadcast HD standard of “1080p
length
Searches for the length (or duration) of the clip in milliseconds. There are 10,000 milliseconds in every second, so multiply the number of seconds by 10,000 find the amount of milliseconds. For example, to search for a clp that is 30 seconds long, type "length:30000" into the serach field.
A range of clip lengths can also be searched.
EXAMPLE:
length:[10000 TO 30000] - searches for clips with a duration between 10 and 30 seconds
long
FAQs
- Why does my search contain no or very few results?
Check that you have cleared your filters from your previous search. You can do this by clicking the Motion Gallery logo in the top left corner of your page. - How can I contact BBC Motion Gallery?
BBC Motion Gallery staff can be contacted by either telephone, email or fax. To view phone numbers or send an email choose the contact us link on any page. - How do I remove my name from the BBC Motion Gallery email marketing list?
When you register, you have the option of receiving email notices and special offers from BBC Motion Gallery. Of course, if you decide at any time to opt out of our emails, you may alter your preferences in your 'My Account' section of the BBC Motion Gallery website. - How do you protect the privacy of the information I submit to you?
We don't sell, share or divulge your personal information, including your email address, with other companies unless you have given us permission to do so. For a complete overview of how we protect your information, see our Privacy Policy - What does "rights-managed" mean?
Rights-managed products are licensed and the fee is based on your specific use. The fee is calculated from several factors including the duration of your licence, the territory covered, and the medium the footage will be used in. - What does it mean when the clip I've selected is "letterboxed"?
If the shot you have selected is "letterboxed", this means it was shot for wide screen usage. We can alter the aspect ratio of a wide screen shot to match the standard 4:3 television size at your request. - Does my browser need to accept cookies?
Cookies are used by many websites to store small amounts of information locally to your web browser. This information is used to improve your experience with the site and is not dangerous to your computer or used in any other way. Accepting cookies will improve your overall experience and enable full functionality throughout the BBC Motion Gallery site.
Registration
Why Register?
Registration with BBC Motion Gallery provides various benefits, including:
- Access to the legendary BBC archive, containing over a million hours of footage
- Unlimited access to all Clip Bin features
- The option of receiving email newsletters about new content and special offers
- Personalised service from a BBC Motion Gallery sales representative
- Offline credit account and invoice payment for qualifying customers
Sign In
If you are a registered user, sign in to BBC Motion Gallery by typing your username (your registered email address) and password and clicking 'Sign In'. You will find a 'Sign In' option at the top of every BBC Motion Gallery webpage.
If you have forgotten your password:- Select the 'Sign In' option at the top of any BBC Motion Gallery page.
- Enter your email address in the 'Username' field.
- Click 'Forgot your password?' BBC Motion Gallery will then email your password to your registered email address.
Changing Your Personal Information
To change your BBC Motion Gallery user profile information:- Log in to the site. There is a 'Sign iIn' option at the top of every BBC Motion Gallery page.
- Click on the 'My Account' link at the top of any BBC Motion Gallery page.
- The account 'Overview' page will automatically load.
- Amend your details, and select the 'Save User Information' button.
Changing Your Password
- Click on the 'My Account' link at the top of any BBC Motion Gallery page.
- Choose the 'Change My Password' link in the pop up window.
- Click 'Save New Password'.
My Orders
If you have made any purchases you will find a record of them here. They will be listed with their order number, the date you purchased them and a link to the receipt page for the purchase. From this receipt page you will be able to access the clips you have purchased and download them again if necessary.
back to topShowreels
Showreels are previews of our finest footage. Select the 'Showreels' tab to browse breathtaking compilations from our vast and diverse collections, including our various represented archives. To view a showreel, simply select the title, and you will be taken to the details page.
back to topWhat is a Clip Bin
A Clip Bin is a way of storing, sorting and sharing clips selected from the BBC Motion Gallery website. You can run multiple Clip Bins simultaneously and access their contents at any time by clicking on the 'My Bins' link available on every page of the site. By clicking on this link, you will be able to manage your bins at any time. Use this to create, delete or email your bin.
back to topAdding to a Clip Bin
Select your clip by marking the checkbox in the right hand corner beneath the icon, then use the Clip Tools drop down menu.
back to topSupport for BBC Archive
BBC Archive - Performing a Simple Search
Enter your search keywords in the 'Search' field and click the 'Go' button.
You may use Boolean operators (e.g. AND, OR, NOT) in this search box. Please note that spaces will be interpreted as 'AND' by the search engine as a default.
Phrase searches can be specified by surrounding your search terms with quotation marks (e.g. "New York")
back to topSearch Criteria
The top section of the page gives the number of items returned.
You will notice that from here you can search within these results by adding extra
search keywords and clicking ‘Go’. This is useful for narrowing down searches which
return large result sets.
Search Results
This section of the page shows the catalogue items that have been returned as a
result of your search.
ID: The unique identification number that is applied to each programme. Please note
there may be more than one catalogue item for each programme.
Title: The main title for the programme.
Broadcast (Airdate): The first broadcast date for the programme.
View Programme Details
You can view the details of a single item by clicking the title – this will take you to the Programme Details page.
back to topSearch Results - Programme Details
Cataloguing Detail
The film card information which has been input into BBC Archive, where the item is only available on film can usually be identified by the following annotation:
Full Cataloguing: Some programmes have been viewed and catalogued in detail. These are mostly documentary, current affairs and news programmes. There may be several pages of cataloguing and detailed shot listing.
Partial Cataloguing: These programmes only have a brief description. This is usually the case for programmes which have on-screen presenters, or those containing content which may not be licensable.
CBS News Items: These have a section (MEDIA ID) which shows information about the tape materials that have been logged for each story. B-roll/rushes/outtakes may be listed here.
CBS News Film Items: Most CBS News film items referenced on cards are not listed in BBC ARCHIVE. This covers the period approximately mid-1950s - mid-1970s. Those film cards which have had data in BBC ARCHIVE but which are only available on film can be identified by the following annotation:
************Entered by CBS Filmcard Logger *****************
CBS Film Transfers: Your CBS research results may return an ID number such as FX980325. The FX reference denotes a film item that has been transferred to a videotape format. FX items do not give detailed descriptions (usually just a summarised title) but a Motion Gallery researcher may be able to track down an original film card with more detailed listings.
Please note that purchased programmes and repeats/re-runs are not catalogued.
back to topMetadata
For each result there is also a set of standard metadata which includes titles, durations, stock types etc. You will notice that this differs depending on the type of item you are reviewing. To get more information about metadata, please e-mail your local sales office and the team will be happy to answer your questions.
back to topAbbreviations
Listed below are some common abbreviations and shot listing terms you might see in
the main text of the cataloguing.
| b/w | black and white |
| bldg | building |
| cpyrt | copyright |
| demo | demonstration |
| dep acty | dependent actuality |
| disco | discussion |
| doc | documentary |
| dr | doctor as a title only |
| ex lib | ex library |
| ext | exterior |
| f/g | foreground |
| ftge | footage |
| fx | effects |
| gfx | graphics |
| govt | government |
| HOC | House of Commons |
| HOL | House of Lords |
| HOP | Houses of Parliament |
| incl | include/includes/including |
| ind acty | independent actuality |
| int | interior |
| intro | introduce/introduces |
| intv/intvs | interview/interviews |
| MD | managing director |
| min | minister |
| MOS | Man on street (see also Vox pop) |
| MP | Member of Parliament |
| OB | outside broadcast |
| ph | phonetic |
| phono | telephone interview |
| pre rec | pre recorded |
| presser | press conference |
| prof | professor as a title only |
| prog | programme |
| rep | reporter/report |
| rpt | repeat |
| rxd | recorded |
| sec | secretary |
| SIL | silent |
| SOF | sound of film |
| sp s | specially shot |
| thru | through |
| tightly ed seq | tightly edited sequence |
| txd | transmitted |
| v/o | voiceover |
| vox | short interviews, usually with members of the public (see also MOS) |
Camera dimensions and movements
| 2 SHOT | two people in shot |
| A/A s | air to air shot |
| AERIAL | shots from the air |
| BCU | big close up |
| CS | close shot |
| CU | close up |
| EXT | exterior |
| FISHEYE | shot with round lens |
| G/A s | ground to air shot |
| GV | general view |
| HAS | high angle shot |
| HELI | shots from a helicopter |
| INT | interior |
| LAS | low angle shot |
| LS | long shot |
| MACRO | extreme close up |
| MCS | medium close shot |
| MICRO | microscope shot |
| MLS | medium long shot |
| MONTAGE | compilation of shots |
| MS | medium shot |
| PAN | panning shot, L-R or R-L |
| POV | point of view |
| TELE | zoom into distance and focus |
| TILT | tilt shot, up or down |
| TO CAM | coming towards camera, or reporting to camera |
| TRAS | tracking shot |
| U/W | under water shot |
| VARs | various shots |
| VLS | very long shot |
| W/A s | water to air shot |
| W/L s | water to land shot |
| W/W s | water to water shot |
| WAS | wide angle shot |
| WS | wide shot |
Keywords
The text of every catalogue item is supported by five sets of classification terms which help make searches more accurate and complete. By clicking the ‘Keywords’ link you can see all of the classification terms associated with the catalogue item you are looking at.
Tip: If your search term does not appear within the text description of your search result, chances are the search term is one of the classification terms. Looking at classifiers may also help you generate other search terms and ideas.
Programme Genres: These are the programme categories which have been applied to the catalogue item.
See also: 'Advanced Search Help - Genres'
Programme Ideas: Keywords that describe the overall theme or subject of the programme.
Lonclass: Keywords that describe the subject of shots within the catalogue items.
Telclass: Keywords that describe the subject of shots within the natural history catalogue items.
Contributors: People who were involved in the making of the programme, such as directors, actors, musicians, producers, reporters, etc.
back to top