British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Jane Austen, Charles Darwin, and the history of aspect ratio: recent additions to the Moving Image Gateway

This Gateway includes over 1,900 websites relating to moving image and sound materials. These have been subdivided into over 40 subject areas. To suggest new entries or amendments, please contact us by email or telephone.

Jane Austen’s World
Personal blog which features hundreds of links to a variety of resources about the life and work of Jane Austen and the Regency era. The extensive list of podcasts includes readings of the books, discussions by writers and academics as well as items on the television and film adaptations of the novels, such as this interview with Andrew Davies about his adaptations of the novels for television in which he explains why putting a seduction scene at the beginnning of ‘Sense and Sensibility’ was not done simply to shock the ‘Jane Austen faithful’.

Endless Forms
A series of audiovisual podcasts produced by the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to accompany the exhibition of the same name exploring Charles Darwin’s life, work and legacy, particularly with regard to the impact of his theories on the artists of the late nineteenth century. Presented by academics from various disciplines, the sixteen part series builds a complex and fascinating picture of Darwin’s ideas and how they were disseminated, interpreted, and sometimes misunderstood.

Filmmaker IQ
This site features tutorials, courses, interviews and videos covering all aspects of the filmmaking process as well numerous resources on film history, with a particular focus on how changing technology has shaped the course of the movies since the beginnings of film. All the videos are professionally made, engagingly presented and accompanied by text and well-chosen images and feature quizzes in order to reinforce the learning process. Also available on YouTube and Vimeo

Northpod Law
Excellent podcast presented by Benjamin Knight and Kirstin Beswick, two barrister members of Central Chambers in Manchester, who discuss the latest legal rulings, developments and news with their guests. The new format (as of 2016) features episodes which are around 30 minutes long. The previous more discursive version (often over an hour long) is still available on the previous site here. A very useful resource for law students.

Science Friday
Also known as Sci Fri, this popular American science podcast and radio programme has covered all aspects of science since 1991. One of the first US radio science talk shows, the programme has over the years featured such names as Carl Sagan, Jane Goodall, Sylvia Earle and Oliver Sacks and has a reputation for groundbreaking and original science reporting. According to the site, the show’s founder and executive producer Ira Flatow was the first person to use the word ‘podcast’ on the airwaves. Archives go back as far as 2004 but there is also a substantial amount of video content. A section of the attractively laid out website features a range of educational resources, mainly aimed at primary and secondary school level.

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