FIAT/IFTA World Conference 2026

This presentation will reflect on the full trajectory from data preparation to public launch, culminating in the go-live of the Treasury Chamber mid 2026. We will share initial user responses and usage patterns, examining whether they aligned with expectations formed during development or revealed unforeseen behaviors and needs. In doing so, we aim to provide insight into how large-scale data transformation, ethical decision-making, and real-world user engagement intersect in the creation of a cultural heritage platform.
2 years ago in Bucharest, Sound & Vision presented its preparations for the mass-scale publication of audiovisual collections, supported in part by the EU Copyright Directive and its provisions for making out-of-commerce works accessible online. At that stage, the focus lay primarily on large-scale data processing: analyzing metadata quality, streamlining rights information, and implementing workflows to support sustainable data management and clearance activities.
In the past years, this preparatory work evolved into a series of concrete decisions about how data should be transformed, enriched, and ultimately presented to end users. This included choices about metadata normalization, contextual enrichment, and the balance between completeness and usability in the user interface. Particular attention was paid to how archival data—often complex, inconsistent, or incomplete—could be made accessible and meaningful without oversimplifying its context.
Alongside these technical and design considerations, ethical questions played a role. Decisions had to be made about what material could and should be published online, how to handle sensitive or potentially problematic content, and how to responsibly represent historical records in a public-facing environment. These considerations influenced not only rights clearance workflows but also data presentation strategies and access conditions within the platform.
To support collaboration between Sound & Vision and its external development partner, user archetypes were used to align discussions around user needs and expectations. However, also a very driver of development remained the data itself: its structure, limitations, and potential for reuse.

Between 1976 and 1980, the Radio and Television Department (SRTV) of the now-defunct Embrafilme - the state-owned company active in film production and distribution between 1969 and 1990 - produced, with the aim of promoting local cinema, two weekly programs, Cinemateca and Coisas Nossas, broadcast on TV Educativa in Rio de Janeiro, as well as medium-length documentaries designed for television. Cinemateca featured reports on the vibrant film activity in the country, especially in Rio de Janeiro, bringing together testimonies from filmmakers, actors, researchers, technicians, and audiences, along with behind-the-scenes footage and festival coverage. Coisas Nossas, in turn, was dedicated to the full screening of short films, accompanied by presentations and discussions.
The collection preserved by the Centro Técnico Audiovisual (CTAv) consists of 63 complete programs on U-matic tapes, as originally broadcast on television, in addition to film materials and audio tapes, including approximately 620 raw and leftover materials, mostly original 16mm reversal film stock with magnetic sound. The collection, which includes more than 3500 items, is currently being organized and cataloged by the CTAv team in partnership with the Audiovisual Historiography Research Group at Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF). The project has also resulted in the production of a documentary, currently in the editing phase.
CTAv began the process of digitizing the film materials in 2011. The content, gradually made available for free on CTAv’s social media platforms, has been used by researchers as well as documentary filmmakers, re-signifying and critically reexamining images created decades ago, when the relationship between the State and cinema in Brazil was radically different from that of the 21st century.

[Simultaneous translation POR-ENG will be available]

A significant portion of the collection managed by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), a federal public broadcasting company, was produced before the company was established. The state-owned company was created by Law No. 11,652 of April 7, 2008, and all assets previously managed by the Roquette Pinto Educational Communication Association (Acerp) and Radiobrás were transferred to EBC. Although the transfer of assets was provided for by law, this was not sufficient to avoid questions regarding the ownership of this collection. In addition to the legal aspects, the lack of existing documentation on the audiovisual and radio works created challenges for management, particularly regarding licensing, access, and distribution.

The growing interest among audiovisual professionals, teachers, researchers, and students in the content produced over the course of 100 years of Brazilian public broadcasting history calls for solutions to existing challenges and strategic decision-making to enable access to and dissemination of this collection.
Accordingly, the purpose of this presentation is to share the experience of the Archive and Research Management Department (GARPE)—which oversees EBC’s collection—in addressing these challenges and the measures being taken to find solutions that ensure broader access, dissemination, and licensing, not only for students and professionals in the audiovisual industry but for society as a whole.

NHK preserves more than 10 million items of program and news footage, and many older materials lack sufficient metadata due to past production practices. Missing metadata makes it difficult to locate footage, verify rights, and identify elements that may be perceived as problematic today. This is a challenge faced by archives worldwide. NHK’s primary solution to this issue is the MCG (Multi-use Contents Group) Reuse Advisors, a specialized team that ensures safe and responsible reuse of archival footage.
The MCG Reuse Advisors conduct detailed reuse risk management, including rights investigation, tracing original production staff when records are incomplete, and reviewing whether footage may cause misunderstanding or discomfort from a contemporary perspective. When the original material is unsuitable, they recommend safer alternatives. In 2025, the team handled more than 1,500 inquiries, demonstrating its essential role in supporting production teams and maintaining responsible editorial practice.
In addition to this core workflow, NHK has recently introduced AI Metadata-less Search, a tool that allows users to retrieve visually relevant shots by typing simple words such as “cat,” “grilling meat,” or “airplane.” While this AI system is not the main focus of our proposal, it increasingly supports the MCG and producers by improving discoverability—especially for metadata-poor footage—and helping teams find potential alternatives more efficiently.
Although the MCG Reuse Advisors remain the central decision-makers, the combination of expert human judgment and new technical tools contributes to a more reliable and efficient reuse process. This presentation will focus on NHK’s MCG framework, share case examples, and briefly introduce how emerging tools like AI search can complement, but not replace, expert evaluation. Together, these efforts illustrate a practical model for responsible reuse in diverse archival environments.