Events in the lifecycle of an audiovisual creation

Like most other intellectual or artistic creations, audiovisual works can undergo many stages of realisation, usage, modification and re-use. Introducing the concept of event allows us to capture details about these stages as machine-processable metadata.

From: Internet Movie Database Plain Text Data File alternate-versions.list, downloaded 02-Oct-2009.

Most current cataloguing systems for cinematographic works do not have data elements for events. Instead, statements about events are typically written into note fields. The text on the left is from such a note field, created by the designers of the IMDb for remarks about alternate versions.

EN 15907 defines six types of events for describing occurrences in the lifecycle of a cinematographic work. An event is characterised by time (however imprecise or unknown) and a location (however imprecise or unknown). It can be associated with agents (i.e. people, corporations), artifacts, or whatever may be of interest in its context. Note the absence of a destruction event, following FIAF's motto, Don't throw away film.

Photo: Detlev Balzer, 2005

A production event typically encompasses the shooting of a film and all subsequent stages of production and post-production. Any activity that creates a new variant or manifestation of a cinematographic work can also be described as a production event.

From: I Vitelloni (directed by Federico Fellini), 1953

Publication events encompass all kinds of public exhibition including premieres, festival screenings, TV broadcasts, etc. Publication on a carrier such as DVD, or on-line releases, also count as publication events.

From: I Vitelloni (directed by Federico Fellini), 1953

Awards are modelled as events because their bestowal occurs at a specific time. Awards are often associated with other events such as film festivals. An award can be specific to a person and/or to a particular achievement. It can also be specific to a particular version or manifestation.

From: Film-Oberprüfstelle Berlin, Record No. 7324 of 21-Apr-1934, kept at Deutsches Filminstitut, Frankfurt am Main.

Decision events cover all acts of censorship and all decisions made by agencies under a voluntary rating scheme. Decisions are usually specific to a particular manifestation of a cinematographic work. They can also give rise to a new variant in cases where the decisison results in significant changes in the content of the public release.