Choice of Original Release Title in Country of Origin as Main Entry (Introduction)
Although the intent of this online help is not to prescribe the choice and form of access points , per se, it is impossible to provide guidelines for descriptive cataloging of archival film and television materials without addressing this issue.
Virtually all North American film and television archives follow the recommendations of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), that the primary access point, or main entry , for moving image material be that of original release or broadcast title in the country of origin. FIAF defines the country of origin as the country of the principal offices of the production company or individual by whom the moving image work was made. Because of the complex interrelationships of persons and corporate bodies in the creation of a moving image work, film and television archivists believe that only main entry by original release or broadcast title can provide the level of consistency and standardization requisite for any national international networking or sharing of cataloging data.
This online help provides guidelines for situations when it is impossible to determine an original release title. In such cases, it is essential that the source of the title be carefully documented in the note area and that the level of cataloging be made clear to the user. See 0B. Sources of information and 0D. Levels of detail in the description .
The concept of uniform title does not apply when describing actual moving image materials. These materials are always entered under or identified by their original release title. Variant titles, e.g., translated titles, rerelease titles, reissue titles, titles on the item or accompanying material, etc., are noted and linking references from variant titles to the original release title are provided. However, institutions that are describing other materials such as books about moving image works, stills, scripts, etc., may wish to use uniform titles (which would in all cases be the original release title) as file organizers.
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