Skip to content

14.3 Event Types

14.3.1 Publication

Record one or more Event type, for example, “decision,” “manufacture,” etc., to express the nature of the Event’s relationship to the Manifestation. Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms.

For Manifestations, a Publication Event corresponds to a screening, broadcast, streaming, or the release of the Manifestation of a Work or Variant on a physical distribution medium or online.

A Publication Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g., publisher, distributor, broadcaster, etc. See Distributor (theatrical) and Agents.

A Publication Event may be associated with instances of Other Relationships (e.g., promotional material of the theatrical distribution, the advertising of the home video publication, etc.).

Record all the existing relationships of a Publication Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Publication Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Publication type
  • Publication date
  • Region

Publication type

Record the Publication type for Manifestations. Selection should be made from a controlled list of values, e.g.

  • Release
  • Publication
  • Distribution
  • Broadcast
  • Online Transmission (e.g. Internet, Intranet)
  • Pre-Release
  • Theatrical distribution
  • Non-theatrical distribution
  • Not for release
  • Home video publication
  • Unknown

For Manifestations, the Publication Event that originated the embodiment of a specific Work and Variant in a Manifestation, corresponds to criteria individuated to distinguish the boundaries between Manifestations. For this reason, conceptually, and also in practice, “publication type” overlaps the main definition of “Manifestation type,” as explained in the chapter about the Boundaries between Manifestations and Events and, as such, is already described. Institutions have the option to decide whether to repeat this information or not.

Publication date

Record the date on which Work or Variant, or Manifestation was released or otherwise made available. Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard. The date should be that of the specific event of the Manifestation publication, e.g. a moving image Manifestation may have Publication dates in separate Publication events - a Manifestation for its first theatrical release date of 1957, and then Manifestations for the broadcast date (in 1981) and streaming date (in 2020).

Region

Record the country or other political or physical geographic entity where the Publication Event took place (e.g. first projection in the framework of a theatrical distribution) or made the Work or Variant, or Manifestation available (e.g. distribution area).

If known and considered of relevance, record the name of the city or smaller geographic entity where the Publication Event took place.

For the treatment of the geographical names, see Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), or some other recognised standard.

If known and considered of relevance, record the name of the event that the publication was a part of (e.g., name of a film festival, distribution channel of a broadcaster, etc.)

If known and considered of relevance, record the specific restrictions for accessing the content (e.g. press-screening only, airplanes only, etc.).

14.3.2 Award(s) or Nomination(s)1

The bestowal of an award relating to the Work or Variant, or Manifestation. This excludes awards for Agents alone (e.g. "for lifetime achievement"), but includes awards for individual achievements within the context of a Work or Variant (e.g. "Best screenplay"). Awards will usually be associated at the level of the Work, except for cases where features of a particular Variant are explicitly mentioned (e.g. "Best audio commentary for the visually impaired") or the award relates to a particular Manifestation (such as a DVD edition).

An Award(s) or Nomination(s) Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. publisher, distributor, broadcaster , etc. See Distributor (theatrical) and Agents. If the award was given for the achievement of a specific Agent within the context of the Work or Variant or Manifestation, identify the Agent. Also used to identify Agents that have sponsored the award.

An Award(s) or Nomination(s) Event may be associated with instances of other Events during which award winners were selected (e.g. film festival).

Record all the existing relationships of a Publication Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Award(s) or Nomination(s) Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Award(s)/Nomination(s) date
  • Nomination only
  • Award name
  • Achievement

Award(s)/Nomination(s) date

Record the date the award was bestowed on an Agent associated with the Work, Variant or Manifestation. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Nomination only

Indicate if the Work, Variant or Manifestation (or a specific achievement in the creation of it) was nominated but not among the winners. This element can be realised in a system as a “flag.” If there was only a nomination, this element would be set to a logical value of “true.”

Award name

The name of the award or trophy, possibly including a numeric designation (e.g. 2nd Prize)

Achievement

A phrase describing a specific achievement for which the award was given, if not for the Work, Variant or Manifestation in total.

14.3.3 Production2

A distinct event in the course of production of a Work or Variant, including the main production event OR events that are separated in space and/or time from the main production event, or known with a greater amount of detail. Examples are dates and locations where castings took place; dates and locations of shootings or other recordings; or dates and locations of particular post-production activities.

May include year/date of shooting of non-professional, actuality or unedited footage.

A Production Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. production company, location scout, etc. Selection should be made from a controlled list of values. See Agents.

Record all the existing relationships of a Production/Publication Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Production Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Production Event type
  • Location
  • Region
  • Year/Date
  • Event details

Production Event type

Selection should be made from a controlled list of values, e.g.:

  • Casting
  • Outdoor shooting
  • Indoor shooting
  • Post-Production

Location

Any geographic name(s) or address(es) of the location(s) where the event took place

Region

The country or other large-scale geographic entity where the event took place

Year/Date

The year/date or time-span during which the event took place. Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.

Event details

Any further information about the event either in plain textual form, or as an instance of a data type from another schema

14.3.4 Rights/Copyright/IPR Registration3

These are optional, and it is for an institution to choose whether it has the resources or requirement to compile rights data. Further more detailed information on the subject of rights/copyright/IPR registration can be found in Rights/Copyright/IPR Registration.

14.3.5 Preservation/Restoration

A Preservation/Restoration Event is associated with a new Variant, Manifestation or Items resulting from the preservation/restoration process in which the contents of one or more Items (or fragments thereof) from Manifestations of a Work were transferred with the intention of restoring or reconstructing the content as originally intended, or safeguarding it from decay.5

This includes statements about past or future treatments scheduled for the item. If desired and if applicable, record one or more general types of past or future treatment activities (e.g. "added leaders", "cleaned ultrasonically", "tears repair", etc.). Selection should be made from a controlled list of values. See also Item Chapter.

A useful collection of technical metadata on digital Items as well as data collected during digitisation, can be found here. This spreadsheet was created by a Task Force in the CDC, headed by Elzbieta Wysocka.

A Preservation/Restoration Event has as typical Agent(s) the institution(s) or individual professionals that make preservation decisions. Selection should be made from a controlled list of values. See Agents.

A Preservation/Restoration Event can be in relationship with instances of Other Relationships (such as technical reports, documentation material, promotional material for the specific project, etc.).

For a more detailled discussion of the term restoration see also the Appendix.

Record all the existing relationships of a Preservation/Restoration Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Preservation/Restoration Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Preservation/Restoration type
  • Preservation/Restoration date

Preservation/Restoration type

Record the general type of the preservation/restoration activity performed. Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms, which may include:

  • Conservation / Repair
  • Image Digitisation
  • Sound Digitisation
  • Reconstruction
  • Image Restoration
  • Image Grading
  • Sound Restoration
  • Printing / Recording
  • Duplication
  • Transfer

Preservation/Restoration Date

Record the date or time span in which the preservation/restoration activity was performed. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Add in a note any information describing the preservation process in detail.

This can include:

  • Genesis of the project or reason why preservation was undertaken
  • Significant challenges
  • Relevant research (documenting sources of information related to content or production techniques)
  • Technical, aesthetic or ethical decisions
  • Recommendations for further work (details concerning limitations due to source material, resources, technology, etc.)

A Preservation/Restoration Event can be used in conjunction with Preservation or Restoration type Manifestations as relevant.

For further examples, particularly for scanning analogue items, see also the Items chapter.

14.3.6 Decision4

A Decision Event is an event in which a Manifestation of a certain Work/Variant is evaluated by a censorship body or an accredited rating agency.

A Decision Event may be associated with instances of Agent, e.g. in the role of the agency performing the rating or censorship, and also with instances of Other Relationships (e.g., the original censorship documents).

Record all the existing relationships for the Decision Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Decision event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Decision type
  • Decision date
  • Regional scope
  • Certificate number
  • Verdict

Decision type

Record the type or status of the decision event. Usually the term adopted is "censorship" or “revision” for decisions mandated by law, "rating" for decisions under a voluntary scheme. Further types may include special forms of evaluation, e.g. for tax privileges, as long as these are distinct from awards.

Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms, including ones such as:

  • Censorship
  • Revision
  • Rating

Decision date

Record the date on which the verdict was announced or on which the verdict was declared valid. Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.

Regional scope

Record the geographic region for which the verdict is (was) valid.

Certificate number

Record in Arabic numerals the number issued by the agency as a unique identifier of the act(s) of rating or censorship such as censorship visas or rating certificates.

Verdict

Record the outcome of the act of rating or censorship.

[INSERT ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES HERE FROM A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES]

14.3.7 Manufacture

A Manufacture Event represents a “common” event within which the embodiment of a Manifestation occurs, owing to the instances of a number of physical items that bear the same characteristics.

Therefore, the manufacture event of a moving image Manifestation corresponds to the activity within which it was fixed on a physical carrier, through particular technical processes such as film printing, telecine, video copying, digitisation, mastering, etc., or where it is saved to an “immaterial” medium, such as a digital file. Please note that this is different to the manufacture of the physical stock or video tape brand. For the specific stock/brand on which an Item has been manufactured see Stock.

A Manufacture Event may be associated with instances of Agent, e.g. a laboratory that prints all the copies for a theatrical distribution or a studio that masters the DVDs for a home video publication.

A Manufacture Event may be associated with instances of Other Relationships.

Record all the existing relationships for the Manufacture Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Manufacture event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Manufacture type
  • Manufacture date
  • Manufacture region

Manufacture type

Record the general type of the manufacture activity performed, for example, film printing, tele-cine, video copying, etc. Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms, including ones such as:

  • Film printing
  • Telecine
  • Video copying
  • Scanning
  • Mastering
  • Uploading

Manufacture date

Record the date or time span on which the Manufacture Event took place. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Manufacture region

Record the country or other political or physical geographic entity where the Manufacture Event took place (e.g. the region/place where the laboratory was located). (For the treatment of the geographical names, see Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), or some other recognised standard.)

If known and considered of relevance, record the name of the city or smaller geographic entity where the Manufacture Event took place.

14.3.8 Acquisition

Acquisition is the process of getting physical custody and a legal transfer of title (ownership) of an object or collection (such as through a gift, purchase, or transfer).

An Acquisition Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. the institution or a person or set of persons in charge of acquisitions for the institution, etc. and may also be associated with instances of Other Relationships.

Record all the existing relationships for the Acquisition Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

An Acquisition Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Acquisition type
  • Acquisition date
  • Acquisition source
  • Acquisition detail
  • Accession date

Acquisition type

Describes the means by which the Item was acquired. Select from a controlled list of terms, for e.g.

  • Donation
  • Legal deposit
  • Exchange
  • Loan
  • Purchase
  • Off-air recording

Acquisition date

The date on which the Item was physically, or contractually, acquired. Using this ‘entry date’ can be problematic, as items can arrive onsite before agreement is signed, or can arrive without any form of signature or indeed knowledge that it is in transit i.e. receipt of an unsolicited deposit. Therefore it is recommended to use the signature date. This date is distinct from an Accession date, which should be entered only once any required assessment has been completed, and the Item has been formally added to the inventory of the collection. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Acquisition source The name of the person or organisation from which the Item was obtained, indicating whether the acquisition was direct from, for example, the donor or via an intermediary or agent. Select from a controlled list of terms, e.g.

  • Donor
  • Depositor
  • Agent
  • Intermediary

Acquisition detail

Information describing the acquisition of the Item in greater detail.

14.3.9 Accession

Accessioning is the formal, legal act of officially accepting those acquired items into the permanent collection in accordance with an organization's collecting policy. This commits the institution to long-term preservation, care, and intellectual control.

Accession number

Usually an accession Number, which is unique to a collection, is given to a collection. Some systems automatically generate a unique accession number as some as a new accession record is created. This can be helpful as it covers all the items within the collection as a group, with individual reference numbers added for each title at the cataloguing stage.

Accession date

Captures the date on which the Item formally entered the collection of the archive. Often this definition is dependent on formal documentation within the archive’s collections management system, with a unique accession reference / identifier assigned. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

14.3.10 Loan

This section outlines the properties that are specific to Loan agreements, distinct from Acquisitions

Lender

Represents the person or institution from which the archive is receiving the loan. Where possible, this should take the form of a link to a record within the archive’s Agents (i.e. People, Organisations, etc.) authority dataset.

Lender type

Qualifies the relationship between the Lender and the Acquisition source – i.e. is the lender the legal owner of the item, or are they the authorised agent of the owner acting on their behalf.

Lender contact details Captures the contact details of the lender, primarily their postal address. Alternatively, where possible, this could be captured in the associated Agent record.

Loan start date

Captures the agreed date from which the loan commences.

Loan end date

Captures the end date of the loan, as defined prior to the commencement of the loan.

14.3.11 De-Acquisition

The de-acquisition and removal of a particular item from an institution's collection.

  • De-acquisition date
  • De-acquisition type
  • De-acquisition reason
  • Removal/transfer date

De-acquisition date

The date on which the Item was officially de-acquisitioned from an institution's collection

De-acquisition type

The type of de-acquisition, e.g. removal, internal transfer to another collection within the same organisation/institution, external transfer to another archive/institution, etc.

De-acquisition reason

This qualifies the De-acquisition type, giving the specific reason for removal, transfer, etc. For example, irreparably damaged reels, dangerously deteriorated nitrate, transferring heritage films as part of colonial restitution to their original countries, transferring to another archive to hold for preservation reasons, etc.

Removal/transfer date

The date on which the Item was physically removed from an institution's collection.

14.3.12 Inspection

The inspection of a particular Item for the purposes of assessing and recording the condition or treatment of the Item. This frequently ties in with a Preservation or Restoration of the Item.

An Inspection Event may be associated with instances of Agent in the role of e.g. inventory archivist, lab technician, projectionist, etc.

An Inspection Event may be associated with instances of Other Relationships.

Record all the existing relationships for the Inspection Event, if the information is known and considered of relevance.

Inspection Event information consists of the following sub-elements:

  • Inspection type
  • Inspection date
  • Inspection detail

Inspection type

The general type of inspection activity performed.

If desired and if applicable, record one or more general type(s) of the inspection activity performed (e.g. projection prep, inventory). Selection should be made from a controlled list of terms. This includes statements about past or future inspections scheduled for the item.

Inspection date

The date or time span in which the inspection activity was performed. (Dates should be formatted according to ISO 8601 or some other recognised standard.)

Inspection detail

Information describing the condition of the Item in greater detail. In many cases there will be fields embedded in Item records that relate to condition and different inspections. See Item Condition

  1. EN 15907, 6.12 Award, pp. 25-26. ↩

  2. Adapted from EN 15907 6.11 Production Event, p. 20 ↩

  3. EN 15907 6.15 IPR Registration, pp. 23-24 ↩

  4. EN 15907, 6.13 Decision event, pp. 26-27 ↩

  5. There is no designated separate Restoration Event in EN 15907, and as there can often be an overlap in the types of activity associated with both preservation and restoration, we extended the definition in the 2016 FIAF Manual. ↩