Florentine Films Archives Inventory (#20193)

unc seal
Manuscripts Department, Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
block Descriptive Summary Including Abstract
block Administrative Information
block Online Catalog Terms
block Biographical Note
block Collection Overview
plus Series Descriptions
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
Processed by
Tim Pyatt and Roslyn Holdzkom
Date Completed
January 2001
Encoded by
Roslyn Holdzkom
Back to Top

Descriptive Summary Including Abstract

Title
Florentine Films Archives (#20193)1981-1997
Creator
Florentine Films.
Extent
About 4900 items (763.0 linear feet)
Repository
Southern Folklife Collection
Abstract
Archival records and original film footage of Florentine Films and Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and cinematographer. On some projects, Burns worked with Amy Stechler Burns, Stephen Ives, and others. Projects documented include: Brooklyn Bridge (1981), The Shakers (1984), Huey Long (1985), The Statue of Liberty (1985), Thomas Hart Benton (1988), The Congress (1988), The Civil War (1990), Empire of the Air (1991), Baseball (1994), Thomas Jefferson (1996), The West (1996), and Lewis & Clark (1997).
Language
English.


Back to Top

Administrative Information

Access
No restrictions.
Much of the collection is unprocessed and requires staff assistance or creation of viewing copies prior to use. Potential researchers should contact Manuscripts Department reference staff in advance of their anticipated use of the collection.
Usage Restrictions
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Provenance
Received from Kenneth L. Burns of Walpole, N.H., in 1991, with an addition in November 1994. Received from Florentine Films in March 1998 (Acc. 98050), March 2000 (Acc. 98590), and January 2001 (Acc. 98821).
Processing Note
This finding aid describes the administrative records of Florentine Films by project. A complete inventory to the archival film footage is not available. The original film shipping lists are available for some projects. Please consult with reference staff.
Back to Top

Online Catalog Terms

Baseball (Television program).
Baseball--United States--History.
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975.
Bridges--New York (State)--New York.
Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.).
Brooklyn Bridge (Television program).
Burns, Amy Stechler.
Burns, Ken, 1953- .
Civil War (Television program).
Clark, William, 1770-1838.
Congress (Television program).
Documentary films.
Empire of the air (Television program).
Florentine Films.
Huey Long (Television program).
Ives, Stephen.
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826.
Lewis & Clark : the journey of the Corps of Discovery (Television program).
Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806).
Lewis, Meriwether, 1774-1809.
Long, Huey Pierce, 1893-1935.
Radio--United States--History.
Shakers--History.
Shakers: hands to work, hearts to God (Television program).
Statue of Liberty (New York, N.Y.).
Statue of Liberty (Television program).
Thomas Hart Benton (Television program).
Thomas Jefferson : a film by Ken Burns (Television program).
United States. Congress--History.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
West (Television program).
West (U.S.)--History.
Back to Top

Biographical Note

Florentine Films was founded in 1976 by Ken Burns, Roger Sherman, Buddy Squires, and Larry Hott, who work independently under the Florentine Films name. Florentine Films often works in cooperation with other organizations to produce films on various subjects.

Ken Burns is a documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and cinematographer. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1953 and graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., in 1975. In 1981, he produced and directed the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge. He then made several other award-winning films, including The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God; The Statue of Liberty, also nominated for an Oscar; Huey Long, the story of the turbulent Southern dictator; The Congress: The History and Promise of Representative Government; Thomas Hart Benton, a portrait of the regionalist artist; and Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. Burns also produced and directed two films, William Segal and Vezelay, which explore the question of search and individual identity through the work and teachings of philosopher and painter William Segal.

Ken Burns was also the director, producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer of the television series The Civil War, which was the highest rated series in the history of American Public Television, attracting an audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990. He was the director, producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer of the Public Television series Baseball (1994), which was then the most watched series in PBS history, attracting more than 45 million viewers. In the fall of 1996, The West was released, followed by Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997); Frank Lloyd Wright, co-directed and produced with his longtime collaborator Lynn Novick (1998); Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1999), co-produced with Paul Barnes; and Jazz (2001).

Back to Top

Collection Overview

Archival records and original film footage of Florentine Films and Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and cinematographer. On some projects, Burns worked with Amy Stechler Burns, Stephen Ives, and others. Projects documented include: Brooklyn Bridge (1981), The Shakers (1984), Huey Long (1985), The Statue of Liberty (1985), Thomas Hart Benton (1988), The Congress (1988), The Civil War (1990), Empire of the Air (1991), Baseball (1994), Thomas Jefferson (1996), The West (1996), and Lewis & Clark (1997).

Back to Top

Organization of Collection

1. Brooklyn Bridge
2. The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God
3. Huey Long
4. The Statue of Liberty
5. Thomas Hart Benton
6. The Congress
7. The Civil War
8. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio
9. Baseball
10. Thomas Jefferson: A Film by Ken Burns
11. The West
12. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Back to Top

Series Descriptions

1. Brooklyn Bridge, 1981.

Academy Award nominated history of the Brooklyn Bridge. Contains primarily correspondence and copies of grants.
Box 1-2
Brooklyn Bridge

Back to Top

2. The Shakers: Hands to Work, Hearts to God, 1984.

Multiple award winning hour-long history of the Shakers religious sect that has produced beautiful architecture and crafts. Contains minimal documentation; primarily transparencies pertaining to titles and credits.
Box 3
The Shakers

Back to Top

3. Huey Long, 1985.

A 90-minute award winning portrait of the turbulent life and times of Louisiana's colorful politician, Huey Long, known as the "Kingfish." Contains scripts, interview transcripts, and timing sheets.
Box 4
Huey Long

Back to Top

4. The Statue of Liberty, 1985.

An Academy Award nominated 60-minute history of the Statue of Liberty. Contains scripts, interview transcripts, and cue sheets.
Box 5-6
The Statue of Liberty

Back to Top

5. Thomas Hart Benton, 1988.

A 90-minute portrait of the life and work of Thomas Hart Benton, one of America's best and most controversial painters. Contains film logs and related notes.
Box 7-10
Thomas Hart Benton

Back to Top

6. The Congress, 1988.

A 90-minute history of the United States Congress with two dozen interviews, rare archival footage, and movie clips. Contains scripts, filming schedules, and logs.
Box 11-14
The Congress

Back to Top

7. The Civil War, 1990.

A nine-part, eleven-hour history of the American Civil War as told through the lives and experiences of the people who lived through it.
Box 15-22
The Civil War: Notebooks (logs)
Box 23-24
The Civil War: Cue sheets
Box 25
The Civil War: Titles

Back to Top

8. Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, 1991.

A two-hour history of the people who made radio. Contains scripts, interview transcripts, and logs.
Box 26-30
Empire of the Air

Back to Top

9. Baseball, 1994.

A nine-part series on the history of baseball. Contains papers, logs, and cue sheets.
Box 31-50
Baseball: Papers
Box 51-59
Baseball: Logs
Box 60
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 1
Box 61
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 2
Box 62
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 3
Box 63
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 4
Box 64
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 5
Box 65-66
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 6
Box 67
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 7
Box 68
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 8
Box 69
Baseball: Cue sheets, Inning 9
Box 70
Baseball: Miscellaneous papers and materials pertaining to other projects

Back to Top

10. Thomas Jefferson: A Film by Ken Burns, 1996.

A two-hour film about Thomas Jefferson.
Box 71
Thomas Jefferson: Scripts and script drafts; "Ossie Notes"; Thomas Jefferson timeline; narrations; voices; continuity records
Box 72
Thomas Jefferson: Interviews
Box 73
Thomas Jefferson: Music; DuArt timing sheets; still and live log; camera rolls logged; tiny trims
Box 74
Thomas Jefferson: Shot codes; mixing cue sheets; rerecording cue sheets

Back to Top

11. The West, 1996.

A nine-part series on the American West.
Box 75-76
The West: Interview transcripts and bin printouts
Box 77
The West: Edit decision list; clearance rights; master quotes (1)
Box 78
The West: Mater quotes (2); scratch quotes; consultants' responses; interview bins by person; episode 5 EDLs; episode 6 EDLs
Box 79
The West: List of western collections; source materials (books, photocopies of books and articles); banner
Box 80
The West: Shot log; episode 4 clip in cut; maps
Box 81
The West: Archival selex; archival logging sheets; camera and sound roll logs; video logs
Box 82
The West: Original camera rolls; original camera rolls timing sheets; archives and scenics by tape number; camera log; select reel log; scenics by camera roll; delivery deadlines and specs; the Dayton Duncan memos
Box 83
The West: Negative cutting; book persmissions; appearance releases; location releases; final music cue sheets; features; features log; features bins
Box 84
The West: Subject reports; state reports; finish notes; music log; music for scratch session; sound fx pages; NEH (1)
Box 85
The West: NEH (2)

Back to Top

12. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, 1997.

A four-hour film on the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.
Box 86
Lewis & Clark: Draft scripts; A& B logs for music/sound editors; titles; voices; EOL; tiny trims
Box 87
Lewis & Clark: Interviews; live select reeel log; voice over log
Box 88
Lewis & Clark: Stills camera roll log; camera roll log; stills log; extra logs and lists (add on list; what to do list; narr. dat./session list, maps)
Box 89
Lewis & Clark: Rerecording cue sheets; mising cue sheets; fx sheets

Back to Top