British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Project team (2005 – 2008)

As part of the project, new research was undertaken into audio-visual Shakespeare as a cultural and commercial phenomenon, using statistical analyses and historical trends to trace how the genre has positioned itself within the film and broadcast markets. The project also had a particular focus on Shakespeare and radio. The research project concluded in December 2008. The research team was made up of Senior Researcher Olwen Terris and Broadcast Researcher Eve-Marie Oesterlen. Up to 2007 Luke McKernan was the Principal Investigator, with Murray Weston taking over the post in 2008.

Olwen Terris was the Senior Researcher on the Shakespeare database project. She was formerly Chief Cataloguer at the National Film and Television Archive, London. Olwen is co-editor, with Luke McKernan, of Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive (1994) and, with Luke, programmed the complementary year-long season of Shakespeare on film and television at the National Film Theatre, London (1994-95). Before joining the NFTVA, Olwen worked for the BUFVC as Assistant Information Officer and then Database Manager. For the project, she researched Shakespeare on film and television, and video recordings of stage performances.

Eve-Marie Oesterlen was the Broadcast Researcher on the Shakespeare database project. She was previously Information Research Assistant at the Norddeutscher Rundfunk broadcasting corporation in Hannover, Germany. Eve-Marie is completing her PhD on Shakespeare’s late plays at the University of Hannover. Her research focussed Shakespeare on radio and television.

Murray Weston was Chief Executive, BUFVC. He was the Principal Investigator for the project during 2008. He has worked in theatre and opera, including four years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Luke McKernan is Curator, Moving Images at the British Library. He previously managed the BUFVC’s Information Service, database deliveries and research projects, including the AHRC-funded Cinemagazines and the Projection of Britain. He has written books on newsreels and early cinema and co-edited (with Olwen Terris) Walking Shadows: Shakespeare in the National Film and Television Archive (1994). His research into early films of Shakespeare led to the British Film Institute’s successful home video release, SILENT SHAKESPEARE (1999). He is an advisor to the project.