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2. Moving Image Works

2.1 Definitions1

Brief definitions of the standard CEN terms Work/Variant/Manifestation/Item used in the Manual were provided at the end of the Introduction (see Introduction). This and the following sections provide in-depth definitions of the terms as used in these guidelines, beginning with the highest level in the description hierarchy: Moving Image Work.

2.1.1 Moving Image Work

A moving image Work comprises both the intellectual or artistic content and the process of realisation in a cinematographic medium, e.g., what it is called, when it was made, who made it, who was in it, what it is about, etc.

A Work as a conceptual entity is the topmost level of description. It may be published or unpublished, complete (whole) or incomplete (unfinished or missing content), edited or unedited. It is intended to function as the “node” that relates all Variants and Manifestations of a Work to a common creation. A Work contains the characteristics that are inherited across any Variant, Manifestation, or Item derived from that Work. It also reflects the original intentions of its realisation, including: circumstances of the creation process such as date(s) and place(s) of production, most contributions by agents such as directors, screenwriters, production companies and cast members, as well as certain statements about the contents.2

The concept of moving image Work includes moving image realisations of events or performances – such as edited or unedited recordings of a play or concert performed in a theatre, a sporting event, a street performer, a medical procedure, etc.

In addition, moving images created by use of automatic devices such as surveillance cameras or vehicle-mounted cameras, can also be considered moving image works if they are subject to collecting or publishing activities.

The presence of artistic intent in the creation of a moving image entity is not a prerequisite for considering it a moving image Work. A moving image entity can be considered as a Work on a very broad spectrum of creative intent, from the classic fiction feature film at one extreme (with artistic input from dozens or hundreds of creative contributors), through amateur film (with a modicum of creative intent by one individual) and YouTube or TikTok content, to CCTV footage or other automatic recording outputs at the other extreme.

Works may have one-to-many relationships with instances of Variant and Manifestation/Item and many-to-many relationships with instances of Agent(s,) Event(s), Content(s), Subject(s) and Other Relation(s). 3

Works include:

Moving Image realisations based on new scripts or adapted from pre-existing textual works such as novels, plays, etc.

Example

Hamlet (UK, 1948, Laurence Olivier)

Hamlet (United States of America, 1996, Kenneth Branagh)

Example

Les misérables (France, 1958, Jean-Paul Le Chanois)

Les misérables (United States of America, 1998, Bille August)

Example

Trollflöjten (Sweden, 1975, Ingmar Bergman)

Il flauto magico (Italy, 1976, Giulio Gianini and Emanuele Luzzati)

Example

Tosca (Italy, 1939, Karl Koch)

Tosca (Italy, 1973, Luigi Magni)

Moving Image realisations of scheduled performances or events such as concerts, original theatre performances, sports events, etc.4 These are distinguished from cinematically staged theatrical or musical events for the purpose of creating a unique moving image work such as the Tosca and Hamlet examples provided above.

Example

Simon and Garfunkel: The Concert in Central Park (United States of America, 1982, Michael Lindsay-Hogg)

Example

Olympia 1. Teil – Fest der Völker (Germany, 1938, Leni Riefenstahl)

Olympia 2. Teil – Fest der Schönheit (Germany, 1938, Leni Riefenstahl)

Example

Marathon (Spain, 1992, Carlos Saura)

Moving Images created by use of automatic devices such as surveillance cameras, scientific or medical instruments, etc.56.

Example

Birmingham Town Hall Car Park. Camera 7. (United Kingdom, 2015, NCP)

Example

University College Hospital. Endoscopy – Colonscope. Patient HX3456. 2010 (United Kingdom, 2010, University College Hospital)

  1. For a discussion of other definitions of the “Work” and Variant entities, see Moving Image Works. ↩

  2. Adapted from the definition of a Cinematographic Work in EN 15907, 4.1.1, p.8. ↩

  3. Adapted from the definition of a Cinematographic Work in EN 15907, 4.1.1, p.8. ↩

  4. Adapted from the definition of a Cinematographic Work in EN 15907, 4.1.1, p.8. ↩

  5. Adapted from the definition of a Cinematographic Work in EN 15907, 4.1.1, p.8. ↩

  6. These are invented examples for illustrative purposes ↩