When the estate of a deceased film collector, or an industry professional, has agreed to submit the collection for cataloguing, a visit is undertaken by members of the Film is Fabulous! team. Each member has the requisite personal public liability insurance needed for the task.

The entire collection is removed from the property. The films, equipment, memorabilia, plus other formats such as reel-to-reel recordings, U-matic, and VHS tapes, are taken. A loan agreement is completed, to ensure the necessary permissions are in place.

The collection is taken to De Montfort University, to the archive within the Kimberlin Library’s Special Collections department. These state-of-the-art facilities are secure, fully insured, and only accessible by authorised personnel. The film cataloguing is supervised by Prof. Justin Smith of the Cinema and Television History Research Group. The work entails:

• Establishing the title, type, and duration of the film.
• Noting the information on any labels stuck to the can.
• Removing the reel of film from the can.
• Checking for signs of ‘vinegar syndrome’.
• Placing the reel on a hand-winder, ready for examination.
• Examining the leader for markings, including dates or codes.
• Noting the number and the type of splices within the film.
• Checking the film for scratches, sprocket damage and warpage.
• Inputting the data into a FIAF/FIAT metadata spreadsheet.

During the cataloguing process, rare and missing items are identified. This can include pre-war features films, and episodes of vintage television. In each instance, with the consent of the owner, digital scans are made by trusted third parties. These scans are returned to the copyright holders. In some cases, agreement is reached whereby the original print can also be returned to the rights holder.

At the conclusion of the cataloguing, the reels of film are removed from the facilities on campus, and returned to the film collector, or lodged with a film auction specialist. They can also be sold by tender. This process is run by the Film is Fabulous! team, via a network of collectors.

Film is Fabulous! Preserving film treasures for future generations.

24th November 2025