AP relies on PFT to digitise archives

PFT is using its 'Clear' technology for the digitisation drive.

The Associated Press (AP) has joined forces with Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) to digitise its video archive, in an effort to make the content available to new audiences across modern digital platforms.

AP Director of International Archives Alwyn Lindsey said, “A legacy of being on the frontline of breaking news for more than 160 years is a fantastic archive. Ours is one of the finest visual documents of the events and people that have shaped the modern era. Today’s market is driven by giving customers breadth of content, ease of access, and value for money. While we have already digitised around 10% of our archive, it has been a top priority to get all of our most saleable archive footage online and make it available to our customers, wherever in the world they may be. To make this happen, we needed a partner who could handle our global business needs and a project of this scale, and for that reason, we chose Prime Focus Technologies”.

The AP’s film and tape archive is said to contain approximately 70,000 hours worth of footage, which includes over 1.3 million global news and entertainment stories, in 16mm film and videotape, dating back to the beginning of the 20th Century.

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The undertaking is part of AP’s multimillion-dollar upgrade to its video business which will see the Associated Press switch its entire newsgathering, production and distribution systems to High Definition (HD) to continue to meet the technical, editorial and business needs of its customers in the digital age.

PFT will use its skill-set to digitise AP’s film and tape archive, before it begins to catalogue, manage, transcode and deliver AP’s content to a multi-media audience. PFT has decades of experience in digitising archive content, partnering with organisations such as the British Movietone Library, British Film Institute, Imperial War Museum, IMG, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Eros International.

The project will be driven by Clear, PFT’s widely recognised content operations platform and supporting services. Newly digitised content will appear every day on AP Archive’s website, thanks to dedicated connectivity between PFT and AP.

Vice President and Head of PFT UK Aine Healy commented, “PFT is delighted to be working closely with AP to make its valuable archive of footage available to the world, and to preserve it for generations to come.”

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