"The biggest + most disruptive series of AI-fueled breakdowns have been the server outages that have disrupted service to the MHDL search engine Lantern. These crashes are the result of LLM bots crawling the website, scraping the scanned trade papers + fan magazines to train their next gen models."
AI and Archives. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs.
By Eric Hoyt, Kahl Family Professor and WCFTR and MHDL Director The past year has been a time of AI-powered breakdowns and breakthroughs for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR)...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
June 8, 2026 at 3:53 PM
"The biggest + most disruptive series of AI-fueled breakdowns have been the server outages that have disrupted service to the MHDL search engine Lantern. These crashes are the result of LLM bots crawling the website, scraping the scanned trade papers + fan magazines to train their next gen models."
Okay, #MediaHistory friends, this looks like a great epub about film history and the evolution of digital humanities. #History #film #research #archives #newmedia
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Understanding Visual Culture Through Silent Film Collections – Journal of e-Media Studies
Staff and researchers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) are eagerly anticipating some well-deserved time in the coming weeks and holiday breaks to explore latest advancemen...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
November 27, 2024 at 9:15 PM
Okay, #MediaHistory friends, this looks like a great epub about film history and the evolution of digital humanities. #History #film #research #archives #newmedia
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
“AI and Archives: Breakdowns and Breakthroughs:” great post by Eric Hoyt of Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research with updates on the Media History Digital Library
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
AI and Archives. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs.
By Eric Hoyt, Kahl Family Professor and WCFTR and MHDL Director The past year has been a time of AI-powered breakdowns and breakthroughs for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR)...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
June 4, 2026 at 10:16 PM
“AI and Archives: Breakdowns and Breakthroughs:” great post by Eric Hoyt of Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research with updates on the Media History Digital Library
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
... despite this being a popular narrative, my advisor, when he was a grad student, went through the Douglas Papers at the WCFTR and discovered that not only was Douglas not the person who made that decision, but that Douglas had been complicit in the blacklist for years.
July 17, 2026 at 6:41 PM
... despite this being a popular narrative, my advisor, when he was a grad student, went through the Douglas Papers at the WCFTR and discovered that not only was Douglas not the person who made that decision, but that Douglas had been complicit in the blacklist for years.
Eric Hoyt, Kahl Family Professor and WCFTR and MHDL Director on 'AI and Archives. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs', Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20... - bot, cuts and film history in archives
#AI4LAM
#AI4LAM
AI and Archives. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs.
By Eric Hoyt, Kahl Family Professor and WCFTR and MHDL Director The past year has been a time of AI-powered breakdowns and breakthroughs for the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research…
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
June 3, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Eric Hoyt, Kahl Family Professor and WCFTR and MHDL Director on 'AI and Archives. Breakdowns and Breakthroughs', Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20... - bot, cuts and film history in archives
#AI4LAM
#AI4LAM
The 16mm film is now on archival reels (thanks to WCFTR!) so now I can display the old reels.
November 13, 2024 at 2:28 PM
The 16mm film is now on archival reels (thanks to WCFTR!) so now I can display the old reels.
Before boxed sets and VHS collections, we were lucky to have access to all the Zone scripts, publicity, and watch episodes in preview rooms at the WCFTR, the official archives for MGM, WB, RKO, and all of Rod's files. It's 8 miles from where I'm writing!
www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Arti...
www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Arti...
June 17, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Before boxed sets and VHS collections, we were lucky to have access to all the Zone scripts, publicity, and watch episodes in preview rooms at the WCFTR, the official archives for MGM, WB, RKO, and all of Rod's files. It's 8 miles from where I'm writing!
www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Arti...
www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Arti...
Even more exciting: the WCFTR team has uncovered a seemingly lost short film! And it's sad and queer! I share details on Jean Béranger's LAFCADIO (1948), below, ahead of its UW-Cinematheque screening, w/Bresson's PICKPOCKET, this Sunday @chazenartuw.bsky.social. cinema.wisc.edu/2025/01/24/t...
The Re-discovery of LAFCADIO
The following notes on Lafcadio were written by Dr. Zach Zahos, Public History Fellow at the WCFTR and alumnus of the department of Communication Arts at UW-Madison. On Sunday, January 26, Lafcadio wi...
cinema.wisc.edu
January 24, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Even more exciting: the WCFTR team has uncovered a seemingly lost short film! And it's sad and queer! I share details on Jean Béranger's LAFCADIO (1948), below, ahead of its UW-Cinematheque screening, w/Bresson's PICKPOCKET, this Sunday @chazenartuw.bsky.social. cinema.wisc.edu/2025/01/24/t...
New blog post from the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research: "Expanding Film Culture’s Field of Vision: Chuck Kleinhans, Julia Lesage, and Jump Cut” 🔥🔥
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Expanding Film Culture’s Field of Vision: Chuck Kleinhans, Julia Lesage, and Jump Cut
We’re thrilled to share one of the exhibits from our “Expanding Film Culture’s Field of Vision” website! The Chuck Kleinhans, Julia Lesage, and Jump Cut collection at the WCFTR documents …
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
February 27, 2026 at 10:17 PM
New blog post from the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research: "Expanding Film Culture’s Field of Vision: Chuck Kleinhans, Julia Lesage, and Jump Cut” 🔥🔥
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
...and the blog post (oops!)
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Reconstructing the Postwar U.S. Campus Film Society Movement with the Amos Vogel Papers
Tanya Goldman The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is one of many institutions that house materials related to the great cineaste Amos Vogel (1921-2012). A man of capacious taste...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
February 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
...and the blog post (oops!)
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
I'm very proud to be a part of the WCFTR team!
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education […]
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education […]
Original post on mastodon.benpettis.ninja
mastodon.benpettis.ninja
September 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I'm very proud to be a part of the WCFTR team!
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education […]
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education […]
Journal of e-Media Studies release its new special issue dedicated to historical research of early cinema. Seems fantastic. wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Early Cinema Compendium – Journal of e-Media Studies
Staff and researchers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) are eagerly anticipating some well-deserved time in the coming weeks and holiday breaks to explore latest advancemen...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
November 26, 2024 at 7:58 PM
Journal of e-Media Studies release its new special issue dedicated to historical research of early cinema. Seems fantastic. wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Listen to me, UW-Madison PhD Maureen Mauk, and WCFTR archivist Mary Huelsbeck talk about Faye Emerson’s career in this @aca-media.bsky.social episode: aca-media.org/episode58
November 14, 2024 at 4:19 PM
Listen to me, UW-Madison PhD Maureen Mauk, and WCFTR archivist Mary Huelsbeck talk about Faye Emerson’s career in this @aca-media.bsky.social episode: aca-media.org/episode58
Last year I spent many hours digitizing film pressbooks, most dating to the 1960s, for the Media History Digital Library. I wrote a WCFTR blog detailing the origins and research value of this pressbook collection, and how to freely access it, here: wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
New at the Media History Digital Library: The Wilkinson Pressbook Collection
By Zachary Zahos The Media History Digital Library has recently returned from a trip to that most fabled and misunderstood decade, the 1960s, with a treasure trove of freshly digitized film pressbooks...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
January 7, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Last year I spent many hours digitizing film pressbooks, most dating to the 1960s, for the Media History Digital Library. I wrote a WCFTR blog detailing the origins and research value of this pressbook collection, and how to freely access it, here: wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
caught versions of The Love Tapes, Remembrance, L.A. Link, The out Tapes, and One-on-One: Arnold and Ahneva at the wisconsin film fest tonight. really nice program from WCFTR
April 10, 2025 at 3:41 AM
caught versions of The Love Tapes, Remembrance, L.A. Link, The out Tapes, and One-on-One: Arnold and Ahneva at the wisconsin film fest tonight. really nice program from WCFTR
More research on LAFCADIO, the lost, queer French avant-garde film recently rediscovered at the WCFTR—plus a clip of the opening ~2.5 minutes! wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Lost & Found: Jean Béranger’s “Lafcadio” (1948)
Zachary Zahos In the course of an average day, archivists at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research handle one-of-a-kind materials, whose historical value draws researchers from across the...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
February 7, 2025 at 5:28 PM
More research on LAFCADIO, the lost, queer French avant-garde film recently rediscovered at the WCFTR—plus a clip of the opening ~2.5 minutes! wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu/index.php/20...
Local PBS ran TZ Saturday mornings. Clean, unedited copies. After inquiring it lead back to the WCFTR. They aren't as open to unbridled visitors like I was, unless it's for research. I'd get a screening room, scripts, stills, 16mm print, & spend the afternoon. Donated archival poster boxes to them.
June 20, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Local PBS ran TZ Saturday mornings. Clean, unedited copies. After inquiring it lead back to the WCFTR. They aren't as open to unbridled visitors like I was, unless it's for research. I'd get a screening room, scripts, stills, 16mm print, & spend the afternoon. Donated archival poster boxes to them.
I have contacted quite a few outlets beginning with UCLA, but a melancholy sense of "who cares about some cartoons" was detected at every turn. The WCFTR is my last hope of preservation.
I know, it's a toss up between Bugs and Daffy. You just hope they're starring in the same feature.
I know, it's a toss up between Bugs and Daffy. You just hope they're starring in the same feature.
Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research | Wisconsin Historical Society
Learn how to access the archival collections of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
www.wisconsinhistory.org
September 19, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I have contacted quite a few outlets beginning with UCLA, but a melancholy sense of "who cares about some cartoons" was detected at every turn. The WCFTR is my last hope of preservation.
I know, it's a toss up between Bugs and Daffy. You just hope they're starring in the same feature.
I know, it's a toss up between Bugs and Daffy. You just hope they're starring in the same feature.
The Rod Serling Foundation is located in his home state at Syracuse New York.
This place, the WCFTR is here in Madison Wisconsin, and is the archive for WB; MGM, RKO, Columbia and others. It is the Film arm of "our"state historical society.
Here is a link. You can check it out.
This place, the WCFTR is here in Madison Wisconsin, and is the archive for WB; MGM, RKO, Columbia and others. It is the Film arm of "our"state historical society.
Here is a link. You can check it out.
Feature Film Database
This table of Feature Films provides title information for all feature-length films held by the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. You can use the search box to filter the table by title,...
wcftr.commarts.wisc.edu
August 3, 2025 at 8:08 AM
The Rod Serling Foundation is located in his home state at Syracuse New York.
This place, the WCFTR is here in Madison Wisconsin, and is the archive for WB; MGM, RKO, Columbia and others. It is the Film arm of "our"state historical society.
Here is a link. You can check it out.
This place, the WCFTR is here in Madison Wisconsin, and is the archive for WB; MGM, RKO, Columbia and others. It is the Film arm of "our"state historical society.
Here is a link. You can check it out.
THE APPLE (Iran, 1998) 🎬
📅 Sun, March 9 | ⏰ 2 p.m. | 📍 Chazen Auditorium
Cinematheque presents The Apple, Samira Makhmalbaf’s powerful docu-drama about 12-year-old twins imprisoned by their parents in Tehran. Part of At the Chazen: Treasures from WCFTR
🎟 More info: cinema.wisc.edu/at-the-chaze...
📅 Sun, March 9 | ⏰ 2 p.m. | 📍 Chazen Auditorium
Cinematheque presents The Apple, Samira Makhmalbaf’s powerful docu-drama about 12-year-old twins imprisoned by their parents in Tehran. Part of At the Chazen: Treasures from WCFTR
🎟 More info: cinema.wisc.edu/at-the-chaze...
March 3, 2025 at 9:34 AM
THE APPLE (Iran, 1998) 🎬
📅 Sun, March 9 | ⏰ 2 p.m. | 📍 Chazen Auditorium
Cinematheque presents The Apple, Samira Makhmalbaf’s powerful docu-drama about 12-year-old twins imprisoned by their parents in Tehran. Part of At the Chazen: Treasures from WCFTR
🎟 More info: cinema.wisc.edu/at-the-chaze...
📅 Sun, March 9 | ⏰ 2 p.m. | 📍 Chazen Auditorium
Cinematheque presents The Apple, Samira Makhmalbaf’s powerful docu-drama about 12-year-old twins imprisoned by their parents in Tehran. Part of At the Chazen: Treasures from WCFTR
🎟 More info: cinema.wisc.edu/at-the-chaze...
I'm very proud to be a part of the WCFTR team!
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education
news.wisc.edu/a-global-hub...
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education
news.wisc.edu/a-global-hub...
A global hub for Hollywood history
UW–Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research preserves priceless materials from the entertainment industry.
news.wisc.edu
September 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
I'm very proud to be a part of the WCFTR team!
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education
news.wisc.edu/a-global-hub...
UW-Madison ran a profile on the WCFTR, highlighting archival collections (plus digitized materials!) as well as recent successes, challenges, and ongoing fundraising efforts given the uncertainty facing higher education
news.wisc.edu/a-global-hub...