Film Studies Research Guide 

What's Here

This page provides information on:

• How to find films and videos in Orbis
• Guidelines for using films in the classroom
• How to find films available outside Yale

Most videos at Yale are in the Film Study Center (FSC), located in the Whitney Humanities Center at 53 Wall St. The Film Study Center's database provides a number of easy ways to locate its films, but doesn't cover films in Bass or other Yale libraries.  Please note that the FSC is not Yale's video store: it supports the academic study of films.  Its use and loan policies aim to preserve that role.

Bass Library has a collection of DVDs for general interest and entertainment.  They are all listed in Orbis.

Several other libraries also have videos, including Sterling Memorial Library, the Divinity Library, the Music Library, and the Arts Library. These videos are listed in Orbis; the majority are documentaries or provide instructional support, rather than videos of feature films.

Finding Videos at Yale

To find videos at Yale, the simplest method is to perform a Keyword search in Orbis for the title, director, subject or other terms, plus the word videorecording. The results will include DVDs, VHS tapes and Laserdisks.

However, this approach will not include 16/35mm films or videos available online.  The most comprehensive approach is to do a keyword search for the title, director, etc.  But instead of adding "videorecording" to your search terms, wait until you get the initial results.  Then click on the Post Limits button.  Find the limit labeled Item Type, scroll down the list, and select Projected Medium. When you click on Set Limits, Orbis will re-run the search, retrieving the entries that present the film regardless of the physical format.

If you are searching for films by a particular director or actor, remember to put the name in quotation marks.

Example Orbis Keyword Searches

• "lee ang" videorecording
• shakespeare branagh videorecording
• "civil war" videorecording
• "streep meryl" videorecording

If you are looking for videos on a particular topic, you may get better results by performing an Advanced Search.

Guidance on Classroom Use of Videos

The Library supports the Statement of Best Practices for Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators, developed by the Society for Cinema and Media Studies.

Finding Video Recordings Outside Yale

• See also Film and Video Archives, Collections, and Institutions.

Best Video (Hamden, CT)

Best Video has one of the most extensive rental video collections in the country.

DocuSeek Film & Video Finder

DocuSeek is a search site for independent, documentary, educational and social issue video and films.

Facets Video

Facets Video is one of the country's largest distributors of art, classic, cult, foreign and hard-to-find videos. The Facets Video Library has tens of thousands of titles available for either purchase or rental.

Find Any Film

Although the website is based in (and funded by) the UK, FindAnyFilm.com provides information about the availability of films from across the globe in all formats, such as whether a film is out in Blu-Ray or can be downloaded.  The service can also alert you when a format is available (or available in the UK, at least).

WorldCat

WorldCat is a "union catalog" showing the holdings of thousands of libraries in the US and some abroad.  It allows one to limit a search to videos either by selecting "Visual Materials" as a format from the Advanced Search screen, or by doing a Basic Search and then selecting the "Visual" tab.

Other Film and Video Archives and Collections

Use these resources to locate film and video collections, film stills and photos, archival and manuscript collections, and other primary source film materials.