NYPL
Featured NYPL projects
This week's top NYPL projects, carefully handpicked by Visie's expert curators, showcase the best in style and innovation.
NYPL · Treasures Bill of Rights
The New York Public Library examines its historic copy of the Bill of Rights in this documentary short. The project features associate director Julie Golia, who provides historical context within the library's wood-paneled interiors. Produced with a clean, observational framing, the film uses live-action techniques and natural light to capture the archival exhibition. Establishing shots detail the library's exterior architecture, alongside close-up imagery of the manuscript on display.
NYPL · Treasures Sor Juana
The New York Public Library explores the historical significance of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz through a documentary-style feature centered on the library's Treasures exhibition. The project highlights rare archival volumes and historical documents, offering a scholarly look at Latin American literary history. Filmed within the library’s architectural galleries, the piece utilizes a clean, live-action technique to document the cultural preservation efforts led by curator Paloma Celis Carbajal. The production, featuring contributions from Toby Jacobs, emphasizes the library's role as a repository for cultural heritage.
NYPL · Treasures Columbus Letter
The New York Public Library presents a digital production exploring the historical significance of Christopher Columbus’s letter to the Spanish court. Featuring insights from NYPL president Tony Marks, the project documents the institution's collection of rare manuscripts and archival artifacts. Captured with a cinematic aesthetic, the piece utilizes live-action technique and clean framing to present the exhibition within the library's interior. This production serves as an educational record of the institution’s historical holdings.
NYPL · Treasures Political Prisoner
This documentary feature for the New York Public Library explores Elizabeth Catlett’s sculpture, Political Prisoner, currently showcased within the library’s Treasures exhibition. The film provides an archival perspective on the piece, moving from institutional exterior shots of the NYPL to detailed close-ups of the carved wood sculpture. Featuring commentary from curator Delilah Scruggs, the production utilizes a clean, live-action technique to document the historical significance of the work. The footage captures the exhibition environment, framing the sculpture against the library’s extensive archives to create an educational record of the collection.
NYPL · Mapleson Cylinders
This documentary short from the New York Public Library examines the Mapleson Cylinders, a rare collection of early opera recordings. The project highlights the archival preservation process through a discussion with librarian Bob Kosovsky, set within the library's wood-paneled facilities. Produced by NYPL with production from Toby Jacobs, the film utilizes a live-action technique to bridge historical exhibition displays with modern research. The piece maintains a clean and warm aesthetic, allowing the archival audio elements to serve as the primary narrative anchor. It provides an overview of the collection's significance within the digital media landscape, focusing on the intersection of library science and historical preservation.
NYPL · Treasures Audubon
The New York Public Library explores its historical archives in 'Treasures Audubon', a documentary-style video piece detailing the significance of John James Audubon's 'Birds of America'. The work provides an educational window into the institution's rare manuscripts and gallery spaces. Produced by the NYPL, the video utilizes a clean, live-action technique to bridge the gap between archival history and the viewer. Through a combination of architectural exterior shots and intimate interior sequences, the piece offers a focused look at the cultural legacy housed within the library.
NYPL · Treasures Astro Caes
The New York Public Library presents a short documentary profiling the rare 16th-century astronomical text Astronomicum Caesareum. Featuring curator Ian Fowler, the film examines significant historical artifacts currently held within the institution's collection. The project captures the library's interior gallery spaces and the intricate details of illuminated diagrams, utilizing an analogue film aesthetic and live-action technique to document the exhibition. Production was led by Toby Jacobs.
NYPL · Treasures Winnie the Pooh
The New York Public Library presents a short documentary feature exploring the historical origins of the Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals. The film centers on a conversation with assistant curator Charles Kindell-Carter, who details the significance of the artifacts housed within the Polonsky Exhibition of the New York Public Library's Treasures. Shot on location, the piece utilizes live-action technique and a warm, clean aesthetic. The cinematography moves between the institution's notable architecture and intimate, natural-light-lit close-ups of the historical objects displayed in their glass cases.
NYPL · Made at NYPL Sally Wen Mao Composing Poetry & Prose
This documentary piece follows poet and writer Sally Wen Mao as she explores her creative process within the storied halls of the New York Public Library. Captured in a horizontal format, the film leans into the architectural details of the space, contrasting shots of ornate vaulted ceilings and grand stone corridors with intimate scenes of the author at work. Produced by Toby Jacobs, the project utilises natural light to illuminate the library's scholarly environment, highlighting bookshelves and intricate woodwork. The piece serves as a portrait of a creative professional engaged with the historic site.
NYPL · Made at NYPL Annette Gordon-Reed Uncovering History
The Made at NYPL documentary series profiles the intellectual connections between notable figures and the institution's historic collection. This installment follows author and historian Annette Gordon-Reed as she navigates the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue, moving from the landmark exterior into the quietude of the reading rooms and archives. The film utilizes a clean, live-action technique to contrast the sweeping scale of the library’s architecture with the intimacy of a bookshelf-lined study space. The production, featuring contributions from Toby Jacobs, documents the personal process of research within this scholarly environment.
NYPL · Made At NYPL Hernan Diaz Creating Fiction
The New York Public Library presents a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process in 'Made At NYPL: Hernan Diaz Creating Fiction.' The documentary features novelist Hernan Diaz as he discusses his routine and the development of his novel, Trust, while positioned within the institution's reading rooms. Produced by Toby Jacobs, the piece utilizes live-action technique and natural light to capture the environment of the library. The film highlights the library's historical interior, focusing on the interplay of light across classic wooden desks and the signature green reading lamps.
NYPL · The Milstein Stacks
This editorial video piece highlights the architecture and scholarly environment of The Milstein Stacks at the New York Public Library. Produced by Toby Jacobs, the film explores the landmark interior, focusing on the scale of its coffered ceilings, brass lighting, and marble corridors. The documentary-style footage utilizes clean, steady tracking shots and natural lighting to emphasize the atmosphere of the institution. Scenes transition between quiet reading areas and the surrounding public plazas, documenting the daily activity within the historic space.
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