Sigridur Sigurthorsdottir, Summer 2018

Sigridur Sigurthorsdottir, Harry Ransom Center, UT-Austin, Summer 2018, NEH

I spent the summer working as an intern in Harry Ransom Center under the guidance of their film curator, Steve Wilson. My internship was centered around their Robert De Niro Collection, more specifically the moving image material related to De Niro's A Bronx Tale, which he directed in 1993. The archive has a vast amount of material related to the title and my job was to identify the moving image elements, research methods of dealing with large collections and make recommendations for the collection. I assessed over four thousand items, categorized them based on their function in the filmmaking process and made suggestions regarding their potential research value. To conclude this project I made a presentation and report for involved staff at the archive. I took part in some smaller projects on a day to day basis as well, one of which involved examining HRC's moving image database. For this project I prepared a document relating relevant metadata standards and potential alterations in the current structure of the metadata fields. I gained some great experience and insight into collections management and working with film materials while at HRC. The institution was a great place to spend the summer working and learning in such an interesting and prestigious archive.