Description
Research, analyze, record, and interpret the history of cinema and moving-image media using sources such as studio and distributor records, scripts, production files, trade publications, reviews, footage, posters, and oral histories, and share findings through teaching, publications, curation, and public programs.
- • Organize filmographic data and evaluate the authenticity, provenance, and significance of sources.
- • Gather materials from film archives, studio and distributor records, scripts, production notes, trade journals, reviews, photographs, and surviving footage.
- • Trace the development of film genres, technologies, industries, and movements across periods and regions.
- • Conduct research to inform identification, preservation, and restoration of films and related artifacts.
- • Teach film history and conduct research in universities, museums, archives, and cinematheques.
- • Publish or present findings through books, articles, catalogs, lectures, screenings, and conferences.
- • Speak to festivals, community groups, and societies to promote film heritage and preservation.
- • Prepare or review program notes, catalogs, and exhibits to ensure historical accuracy.
- • Research the cinema of specific countries, regions, studios, filmmakers, or time periods.
- • Contextualize films within social, cultural, political, economic, and technological frameworks.
- • Select research topics independently or in response to curatorial, academic, or production needs.
- • Organize and maintain databases, timelines, and digital assets for dissemination online and in print.
- • Research and write materials for retrospectives, film series, and public programming at museums and archives.
- • Advise productions, curators, and publishers on period accuracy, credits, and archival sources.
- • Translate or commission translations of subtitles, reviews, and archival documents.
- • Compile biographies and filmographies of filmmakers, performers, and craftspeople.
- • Conduct interviews and oral histories with filmmakers, critics, archivists, and crew.
- • Recommend acquisitions, preservation priorities, and display selections for film collections.
- • Coordinate cataloging, metadata standards, and finding aids for film and ephemera collections.
- • Edit journals, catalogs, or program notes related to film history.
- • Oversee or assist with proper storage, handling, and conservation of film prints, tapes, and digital files.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
