Ephemeral film

Ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is film made for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time. That is, the genre excludes most well-known film genres such as western film and comedies, and is composed of e.g. advertising films, educational films, industrial films, police training films, social guidance film, government-produced films, home movies and amateur films, among others. Prelinger estimates that the genre includes perhaps 400,000 films and, as such, is the largest genre of films, but that one-third to one-half of the films have been lost to neglect. Many ephemeral films are also grouped under the term "orphan films," since they lack copyright owners or active custodians to guarantee their longterm preservation. The films are often used as b roll in documentary film, for instance the social guidance film The Terrible Truth appears, desaturated in Ron Mann's film... full article at wikipedia