Please note that visual sources (including films, images, and maps) can constitute primary or secondary sources -- or even both at the same time. This is because visual sources can be created both to document current events and/or to interpret and curate the topics they are examining and they are are created in particular contexts -- historical, cultural, social, political, etc.; with available technologies and tehniques; and for particular audiences.
See the The Film, Video and Streaming Media Collections Research Guide which provides crucial information for finding and accessing online/digital/"streamable" films.
For a focused search for films in UC Library Search, use "Advanced Search" and limit your search to "Library Catalog" (via the radio buttons along the top of the search box). Then use the drop-down menu beneath "Material Type" (the top option in the menu on the right) to change "All Items" to "Video/Film."
*A note on subscription-based streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix. Unfortunately, we cannot – generally -- buy group streaming rights from Amazon and Netflix, but renting a movie is often not very expensive and a website like this can identify streaming services/prices for various titles: https://www.justwatch.com.
Some Netflix Original educational documentaries are also available for one-time educational screenings: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/57695. To find out which titles are available for educational screenings, go to the "Only On Netflix" section of media.netflix.com. From here, navigate to "All Alphabetical" and look for the grant of permission indicated on such films’ details page.
Online (Streamable) Film Databases that UCSD Library Subscribes to include:
The videos come from leading producers such as the BBC, California Newsreel, Criterion Collection, First Run Features, Kino Lorber and PBS, with more content added each year. Many of the films are from independent and specialty producers, with a focus on documentary films.
The UCSD version (ucsd.kanopy. com – where the link on the Databases A-Z list goes) includes the films that we subscribe to. However, Kanopy has more films – which you can find here: www.kanopy.com – and recommend for purchase.
Contains outstanding educational programs. Many programs from the History Channel, Biography Channel, BBC, PBS and other news channels are included in this collection.
Stream documentary and social issues films. Topics covered include business and economics, health care, humanities, performing arts, and social sciences.
This collection provides a space for visual anthropologists of today to showcase and disseminate their most compelling work. With a focus on curating award-winning titles from contemporary ethnographic film festivals, this content will capture students’ attention by connecting them with topics familiar to their own time and place.
Provides the largest and richest collection of video available online for the study of American history, with 2,000 hours and more than 5,000 titles on completion. The collection allows students and researchers to analyze historical events, and the presentation of historical events over time, through commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries.
Library of over 2.5 million digital images and their corresponding metadata. Covers many time periods and cultures, and documents the fields of architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, anthropology, ethnographic and women's studies, as well as many other forms of visual culture
