Film sales

We would like our database to have the most complete possible overview of early films made in the Netherlands. In some cases, we know that a certain film exists, based on the source material, and that is why it has been added to the database. Yet it is very possible that we do not have any footage from this film in our collection.

Yes: a limited version of our catalogue is available online. Due to copyrights restrictions it is not possible to access films, photo's and posters through this version. The full access version of Eye’s film catalogue can only be viewed in the Eye Study.

A part of the film collection can be viewed online:

YouTube – Eye’s Collection Channel
Eyefilm – The history of Dutch film
EFG - Films from the First World War (check the box for ‘Eye Film Instituut Nederland’ as the provider).

Eye's entire digital collection is only accessible in the Eye Study.

It is possible to view an analogue print at the viewing table, provided that the quality of the footage is good enough. It is not possible to view negatives.

It is possible to have a film scanned. This will be a HD/2K (1080x1920 resolution) scan, made at the original frame rate of the film.

It is possible to order a still from a film that has been scanned. Only HD scans provide stills that are of good enough quality to be used for small-format printing. But HD scans are not sufficient for large-format prints. It is possible to have a new scan made from the analogue film print; this type of scan does meet the quality requirements for large prints.

To order footage from our photo and poster collection, please contact our photo and poster service.

This information can be obtained from Eye Sales Collection by emailing us at sales@eyefilm.nl.

Before we can deliver a file that has been made from a film, the film footage first has to undergo a long and expensive process. The Eye film collection consists largely of analog film footage: 35mm or 16mm film rolls stored in canisters.

The original films are often fragile, and are stored in special vaults where the temperature and humidity levels are controlled. Some of the films are made of so-called nitrate film; due to the high flammability of this material, a separate license is required for storing it, and specific requirements apply to this license.

Before the digitization process, the films are conserved in analog format. That means that a new negative, master, and projection copy need to be made. The resulting new conservation copy is the one that is then scanned in HD/2K quality, using a special scanner; there are very few such such scanners in the Netherlands.

This scanner creates DPX files, in which each film frame (24 per second) is a separate scan. DPX files cannot be played; they first need to be converted to files that can be played. Finally, our digital content is made accessible by putting it on an online platform. This is managed by an external company that is able to deliver the material in a variety of ways. Every few years, the digital content of the archive needs to be upgraded in order to meet the ever-changing digital requirements. This long journey is very expensive, and that is the reason for the price of the files.

If there are no rights to a film, we charge an access fee for the use of its valuable conservations and digitizations.

We strive to conserve and digitize films in a way that does justice to the original film footage as much as possible. Maintaining the original color and frame rate have a high priority in this process. We therefore does not generally encourage the modifying of film footage, for example the colorization of black and white film (or vice versa), or the speeding-up or slowing-down of the images, or the making of changes to the original editing. However, we understand that such modifications is sometimes desirable for technical, aesthetic, or content-related reasons. We therefore permits this, on the condition that the credits mention that this has been done by the party that ordered the footage. A short statement such as “Image processing done by ___” is sufficient.