Advanced Search

About Us


riot_hd.jpgWhen Warner Brothers Television's SUPERGIRLwanted to depict universal chaos (from an outer space invasion, of course), FILM Archives plumbed its news database for RIOTS AND MASS PANIC in contemporary HD-perfect playback as the Girl of Steel's adversaries watch the world fall to pieces.

50s_tv_commerc.jpgWhen GEORGE CLOONEY directed the feature SUBURBICON, he needed 1950s-style television atmosphere. FILM Archives answered the call with a mix of FULLY CLEARED MID-20TH CENTURY COMMERCIALS for kitchen appliances, beloved children's toys, and frozen food that American families viewed nightly during TV's golden age.

oj_simpson.jpgWhen DR. OZ decided to update his audience about the ongoing drama that is the OJ SIMPSON CASE, FILM Archives provided TRIAL OF THE CENTURY'S iconic moments and footage of follow-up developments in the never ending story of a fallen American football hero.

90s_computer.jpgWhen CNN's THE NINETIES great events documentary series set out to trace the rise of the internet giants, that network chose FILM Archives to paint the history of MICROSOFT, GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, and the many other high-tech names now so embedded in our lives and culture.

50s_halloween.jpgWhen ABC's THE MIDDLE comedy series designed a show open to include period footage of HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREATING, it dug into FILM Archives' vintage library and found monsters, ballet dancers, and comic book super heroes-that is, costumed 6 to 10 year-old boys and girls circa 1950-60.

One-Stop Stock Shopping

For nearly three decades these and scores of other production companies have called regularly on FILM Archives Inc. for its vast variety of moving images. A pair of energetic film collectors started the New York based firm in the mid-1980s, amassing an impressive collection and nicknaming their enterprise "The One-Stop Stock Library." Since then, FILM Archives has supplied the nation's top television shows, filmmakers, advertising agencies, documentarians, news organizations, and corporate producers worldwide with hard-to-find vintage and contemporary film and video clips in all media formats.

The "FILM" in FILM Archives stands for Fast Images Lotsa Movies, "a name we have grown into naturally over the years, along with our reputation for breadth of imagery and very rapid project turnaround," said Mark Trost, president and founding partner. Each day's numerous requests come from producers on the brink of deadline who needed their footage "yesterday," Trost noted. "And while we can't turn back time, we can deliver the needed image within minutes via digital upload." Clients also can search, view, and instantly download thousands of clips from FILM's website--aggregated by topic rather than isolated clip. "Apart from getting a time machine, you just can't get it faster than we can deliver it," said Trost.

Ultra-Speedy Turnaround

LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON, MYTHBUSTERS, E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY, WARNER BROTHERS, THE TRAVEL CHANNEL, FALLON ADVERTISING, MGM, CNN, BBC, RAI, NHK,

and scores of other customers know FILM Archives can deliver the needed footage on time and on budget. "Many of our top clients demand ultra-speedy turnaround. We take great pride in fulfilling those requirements."

Of course, it takes more than speed to satisfy this cream of the crop client base. In the media capital of the world, the certainty of knowing FILM Archives actually has the material at hand keeps high-end producers coming back for more.

Today FILM Archives offers clients online access to thousands of vintage and contemporary clips on virtually every subject, destination, newsmaker, lifestyle, and event, from turn of the 20th century until today. Need it fast? We can instantly upload master material to your ftp site, or ours. Special requests for footage not on the site are researched, digitized, and sent for client viewing within minutes of an email or phone inquiry.

FILM Archives' Ever Expanding Library

Our constantly growing library includes educational, government and industrial films; newsreels (from early 20th century through the early 1970s); silent comedies; television programs and commercials; theatrical shorts; exclusive collections of martial arts and drive-in horror movies; breathtaking travel and beauty footage shot by leading cinematographers, major news events including tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, and natural disasters, Mideast wars, political rallies and protests, economic recession and recovery, technology breakthroughs, and everyday activity with people at work and play from Cablevision's award winning News 12 Long Island news service.

To compress the often arduous task of viewing and selecting just the right shots for a production, FILM Archives maintains its own digitizing, uploading and film-to-video transfer facilities, enabling clients to view customized reels on desktop, mobile device or DVD within minutes of a request.

Realizing that certain producers have ongoing footage needs (i.e., syndicated TV series, cable documentaries or long-form industrial presentations), FILM Archives also offers significant volume discounts.

"We have been fortunate in cultivating a long, loyal, and expanding list of clients over the years," says Trost. "These talented pros know there are larger, higher profile footage firms out there, but they have discovered that we are the ones consistently delivering exactly the shots they need, exactly when they need it."