FAQs

 

Why Register?

Please Register to access the full functionality of the IWM Film website, including the free download, Your Account / Your Collection and clip creation options and new content notification options. See Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.   

You do not need to Register to search and view on the IWM Film website.

Which Browser to use

The following browsers are supported on this website:

  • Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 with Google Chrome (61 or higher), Microsoft Edge, Firefox (v55 or higher)
  • Mac OS X High Sierra with Safari 11.0 (or higher) or Google Chrome (61 or higher)
  • iOS 10.0 and later (including iPadOS), Safari and Chrome
  • Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and later
     

How to search

Search the IWM film collection, and personal Your collections which have been made Public, using the Search bar on the Home, Results and Record pages.

  • Use " " in your search to find specific strings of text ie "Women's Land Army" (the same search without " " find all instances where each individual word appears in a film record).
  • Use Boolean searches to refine your search  - either London AND women, or London women (assumed and) will find all instances where both words are in the same record; Female OR women will find instances with either word in a record; Churchill NOT London will find all instances with Churchill in a record, but not London.  Please use capitals for Boolean searches. 
  • Use * as a wildcard in your search to find words beginning with specific letters, for example   Pol* will find Poland, Polish etc.

Advanced Search - available via the Search bar on the Home, Results and Records page. Option to search via specific fields.

Filter and Sort - your search results using the options on the left hand side of the Results page. 

Save Searches -  via the drop down menu accessible by clicking on the star  next to the number of results for the search, or via the Receive notification of this search at the bottom of the searchresults page - name and save your search. Access Saved Searches - via the Search bar on the Home, Results and Record pages.  (Login to access Saved Searches).

Receive notifications of this search - via link at bottom of Results page.  To receive an email notification when more content on the subject of your search is added to the IWM Film site. 

RSS Feed - available via link Subscribe this search link at bottom of Results page. 

 

How to download complete media items.

Please Register/Login to download digitised film.

IWM Film offers free downloads of digitised films - these downloads are MP4 format with time-code, film number and IWM logo in picture throughout.  These downloads are supplied for evaluation and review only, please see Terms of Use.  For copies for any other use or on any other format please Contact Us

To download, click on the Records option, Blue Button    on the right hand side of the Record page of the digitised film of interest and select Download media

How to add complete media items to your personal Your collection. 

Please Register/Login to add a film to Your collections.

To save a film in Your collections click on Records options, Blue Button     on the right hand side of the Record page of the digitised film of interest and select Add to collection.  You can either add the film to an existing collection or create a new one.

To access film saved in Your collections select Your Account on the menu bar.

To edit or delete a collection, click on the three small squares to the right of the relevant film image in Your collections box  to access the Collections options menu. 

All new Your collections are Private. To share a collection, click relevant film image in the Your collections box, and then click on the three small squares next to Private to access the Collections options menu including the Share this collection options - you can choose to keep your collection Private; make a collection Public (available to all) or to Share with groups and users (share with specific groups and users by email invitation). 

How to select clips, save clips to your personal Your collection, share saved clips and download saved clips. 

Please Register/Login to select clips to add to Your collections and Download. 

Please note that the clip selection functionality is not available on mobiles and tablets - please access the IWM Film site using a PC or Mac to select, save or download clips.

To select a clip click on the scissor link    on the bottom right hand side of the film viewer on the Record page of the digitised film of interest. Use the sliders to select the clip(s) of interest.

To save your clip, click on Add clip to Collection, oMore  to add the clip(s) to Your Collections. You can either add the clip(s) to an existing collection or create a new one. 

To Download  your selected clip, click on Order clip for Download  and Place order .  You can check on the progress of your clip download order in Your Account  Your orders.  The downloads are MP4 format with time-code, film number and IWM logo in picture throughout.  These downloads are supplied for evaluation and review only, please see Terms of Use.  For copies for any other use or on any other format please Contact Us

You can also order a Download of a clip saved in Your collections  by clicking in the relevant film image in Your Collections  and then clicking on the three small squares to right of the film title to access the Collections options menu including the Download option, where you can choose to Order a Download, or Order a download for another user.

The clip will present with a time-code for the clip at the bottom left of the image ie 0:00 - 0:09. Click on this time-code to reveal the origin time-code ie 10:01:11:16 - 10:01:21:07 (0 mins 9.24 secs) which you will need to supply to order a copy of the clip.

Clip Reels

Please Register/Login to access the content of clip reels.

IWM Film Curators have compiled clip reels to assist you with your search – new clip reels will be added regularly.

To search for all clip reels please enter   clip reel   as a search term.

To access the content of a clip reel you must Register or Login

Each individual clip in a clip reel has an option to view (the clip), view original (the complete film) Add to collection (the clip) Order a download (the clip) and  Order a download for another user (the clip) – please click on the three small squares    to right of the film title to access the Collection item options menu.

Each clip will present with a time-code for the clip at the bottom left of the image ie 0:00 - 0:09. Click on this time-code to reveal the origin time-code ie 10:01:11:16 - 10:01:21:07 (0 mins 9.24 secs) which you will need to supply to order a copy of the clip.

Keyboard shortcuts: click on the small image of a keyboard in the top right of the Record page for information on keyboard shortcuts.

How to access films not yet digitised and viewable online  

Films which are not yet digitised and viewable online are presented with an image of a sheet of paper  on the Results page.

Subject to preservation priorities, films not available for viewing online may be viewed in IWM’s Film Archive by prior appointment – normally 3 to 7 working days’ notice is required. Please note that viewing facilities are limited and in demand.  There is no charge for viewing appointments for commercial users.

Subject to preservation priorities and copyright, IWM can supply time-coded DVD screener copies of non-digitised films - there is a charge for this service.

Please note that due to Covid-19 we are unable to offer film viewing appointments or DVD screeners at this time.

How to access films not yet catalogued and searchable online

Currently, for a small amount of the IWM film collection, the only content finding-aids are card indexes with associated documentation - this information may be researched in the IWM Film Archive by prior appointment. Please contact the film curators with details of your research who will be able to advise if there is any film material, not searchable online, that may be of interest to your project. There is no charge for curatorial advice, or card index and documentation research appointments.

Please note that due to Covid-19 we are unable to offer film research appointments at this time. 

Please Contact Us to discuss your project, current supply options and to obtain a quote for licence fees.