The Netherlands through the eyes of the amateur cinematographer

The amateur film collection contains films made between 1910 and the present day. It consists of family films, travelogues, fiction films and animations. The films were intended to be shown at home or at film clubs in the Netherlands. They have become a much-loved subject for historians and media makers.

The collection spans more than 100 years, with peaks in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s. In the thirties the smaller 8mm film format came onto the market. This made filming cheaper and easier. As a result, the number of amateur cinematographers increased dramatically in those years. During the Second World War film stock was scarce, but the last roll of film was often saved to record the liberation. From the eind of the sixties onwards a new format came onto the market: super8 film. The film was in the form of a cassette, was easier to use and became even more popular. By this time few amateur film makers filmed with the more expensive 16mm film. This format was adopted by professional documentary and television film makers who wanted to film outdoors with a smaller camera. The use of super8 declined after the eighties. You can see this in the statistics. People switched to video (VHS and video8). The collection contains few analogue or digital videos. The collection continues to grow, but mostly films from the period 1930-1980 are donated.

Number of films per year

The first amateur film maker in the Netherlands was the children's book author Dick Laan. He made films in the 1910s and 1920s, in which children mostly played the leading role. Dick Laan also made films commissioned by Scouting and various documentaries, such as about the disappearance of Zaanse windmills.

Dick Laan (By Anonymous - Laan Dick (1939 - 1941), North Holland Archive, Image collection of Heemstede, Inventory number: 4912, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122290271)

But amateur film only really got started in the 1920s with the arrival of the smaller 9.5mm and 16mm formats, and later in the 1930s the 8mm format.

Number of films in 8, 9.5 en 16mm format over time

The collection of amateur films from Sound & Vision doesn't just reveal a history of domestic life in the Netherlands and its former colonies. The amateur cinematographer also went on excursions in the Netherlands, and sometimes to far-off destinations.

Number of films per location for the top ten locations

The collection consists mostly of family films, travelogues, fiction films and animations, but also other genres, such as corporate films.

Number of films per programme genre for the top ten genres (Genre 'amateuropname' is excluded because it is redundant)

The most frequently occuring subjects reflect the character of these genres. There are also surprising subjects, such as 'paranormal healing' (approximately 20 films from the 1960s by Gerard Croiset).

Number of films per subject for the top ten subjects (Subject 'amateuropnamen' is excluded because it is redundant)

They are often images that were never recorded by professional cameras and now turn out to be so valuable for our history. The collection also contains films made by hobby film makers. These are films that were planned in advance with a scenario and script, and were often given title cards or music. Most of these film makers were members of one of the many film clubs in the country.

The collection contains a few thousand amateur films and also a number of videos. Approximately half are in colour. Most are silent.

This dataset is part of the Sound & Vision catalog Open Data dataset. This colllection has been made available as Linked Data, with the support of DC4EU and CLARIAH. The collection can also be viewed in the Media Suite. A number of films can be played without needing to log in.