1.2 Core elements of description

1.2.0.1 Core elements of description¹

These core points of description are listed with their corresponding terms as presented in the manual. They represent an ideal minimum set of metadata for moving image cataloguing.

CORE CONCEPT	TOP-LEVEL ELEMENT	SUB-ELEMENT
Title	Title [Work]	--
Series / Serial 2	Title [Work]	Title Type = Series/Serial [Work]
Cast	Agents (e.g. Cast, Credits, Person, Organisation, etc.) [Work]	Agent Activity = Cast [Work]
Credits (including Production Companies)	Agents [Work]	Agent Activity = Credit (use term for actual role) [Work]
Country of Reference	Country of reference [Work]
*Original Format	Format of a moving image Manifestation [Manifestation]	Specific Carrier Type: [Manifestation]
*Original Length	Extent of a Manifestation [Manifestation]	Physical extent of a Manifestation
*Original Duration	Extent of a Manifestation [Manifestation]	Duration of a Manifestation
*Original Language	Language(s) [Work]	Language Term + Usage type [Work]
Year of Reference	Year/Date of reference [Work]	Date Type [Work]
Identifier	As appropriate: Work/Variant Identifier [Work/Variant] AND/OR Identifier [Manifestation] AND/OR Identifier [Item]	As appropriate: Identifier Type [Work/Variant] AND/OR Identifier Type [Manifestation] AND/OR Identifier Type [Item]
Subject/Genre/Form 3	Subject/Genre/Form terms [Work]
Content Description	Content description (synopses, shotlists, etc)

The concept of “original” in this manual indicates the first known manifestation of the Work, which is not determined by its release status. The concept of “original” must be flexible enough to be applied to released and unreleased Works. For a released Work, we tend to refer to the “original” Work as the first known release of the first known manifestation. For Works that are not released (e.g., a home movie), the “original” Work is simply the first known manifestation.

See Example 1. Feature film in 3-level, 2-level and 1-level hierarchies as an illustration.

Please see Elements of Description comparison comparison for a list of all elements described in this manual.

NOTE: For exchanging data, indicating the origin of the record is important (i.e., name of the institution supplying the record). This data is typically located in a dedicated field at the Work level and automatically generated by electronic systems. This corresponds to CEN EN 15907, 6.2 – Record Source.

1.2.0.1.1 Elements of description across Works, Variants, Manifestations, and Items

This section includes sample structures for how the elements can be applied across Works, Variants, Manifestations, and Items. Four models are provided, beginning with the more complete four-level model and ending with a simple one-level model. Models should be applied according to an institution’s system and also determined by the amount of information known about an Item.

Where there is a user need or requirement, some institutions may also develop database systems that pull through some data elements sitting in fields in one hierarchical or linked level to display and be viewed within another, e.g. duration from a Manifestation being visible within a Work record, or location details sitting at the Carrier level also displaying through in the linked Item record.

The full list of elements of description for each entity is set out in the following charts and diagrams, and in Chapters 1-3. See Examples of records containing core elements in the different levels of hierarchy for examples of real records which contain these core elements (as well as others) across the hierarchies.

Work/Manifestation/Item. Properties expressed in one record, with abstracts, contextual and object data stored in a single level hierarchy Distribution of the elements of description according to the four entities order.

Properties	(Work)	(Manifestation)	(Item)
Titles	Uniform, Preferred, Other Title information, Alternative, Supplied/Devised	Title proper	Title proper
Part	Monographic, Analytic, Serial, Collection
Content	Categories: fiction/non fiction; genre, synopsis, subject, etc.
Dates/Events	Creation, Production, Censorship, Copyright	Release, manufacture, transmission, distribution, etc.	Object creation, acquisition, accession, de-accession, loan, transport, etc.
Agents	Cast, credits, rights holders, creator, etc.	Distributor, broadcaster, publisher	Donor, Archive/archivist, technician, restorer, etc.
Rights context	Copyright holder and date	Platforms, territories, dates. Agents (distributors, license holder)	Transfer of ownership
Event types	Awards Censorship Production IPR registration	Pre-release, theatrical, non-theatrical, transmission, home viewing, internet, not for release, censorship etc.	Acquisition Reproductions Disposal
Format general		35mm film, digital cinema, blu ray, etc.
Format specific			16mm film pos, 35mm lavender separation, ProRes422 HQ, etc.
Condition report			Pristine, not for projection, heavy scratches, etc.
Storage location			Home location, current location, previous location
Conservation recommendations			Urgent transfer required, relocate sub-zero, etc.

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1. Adapted from CEN TC 372 EN 15744 element set ↩

2. EN15744 definitions “A series is a group of separate items related to one another by the fact that each item bears, in addition to its own title, a collective title applying to the group as a whole. A serial is a type of “short subject” work which is characterized principally by the episodic development of a story”. This Core Concept is referencing the name of another Work that a Work may be “part of”, where the latter has been conceived within the context/intention of being an element of a Series or Serial. It is not being used here as a Work/Variant Description Type. (See D.1 Work/Variant Description Types) ↩

3. Form = Fiction, Non-fiction, etc. Some institutions may incorporate these as a genre term, whilst others may have them as a separate category to genre. ↩