History 30 years of archive culture

ONCE UPON A TIME, DOCUMENTALISTS

It’s the early 90s. In the offices of Le Chaînon Manquant there are neither computers nor cell phones. Nor are there many of what were then known as documentalists.

The reason for this? While one crosses the Channel to the BBC, another peels back newspapers at the BnF to make headlines.

The advent of the Internet has served as a springboard for Le Chaînon, which has embraced the novelties of the digital age: exploiting new sources while renewing its research tools and methods. The team has also diversified: in 30 years, documentalists have become researchers, and have been joined by an equal number of legal experts.

Today, as in 1992, this team of enthusiasts is Le Chaînon’s greatest asset.

FROM JEANNE D’ARC TO OSS 117 VIA BNP AND CHANEL

Who would have thought that Luc Besson’s Joan of Arc would mark the first turning point in the history of Le Chaînon? This César-winning feature will be the first in a long line of successful dramas to which Le Chaînon will contribute its expertise. OSS 117, Boîte noire and Les Tuche will all be scrutinized by our researchers and legal experts.

At the same time, Le Chaînon is investing in documentaries, and exploiting the dynamism generated by new distribution platforms, starting with Chambre 2806 : l’affaire DSK produced for Netflix in 2020.

Le Chaînon also plays a role in France’s cultural dynamism, participating in major exhibitions: the permanent exhibition at the Monnaie de Paris in 2017 and Effets Spéciaux at the Cité des Sciences in 2017.

In addition to these cultural projects, Le Chaînon has taken part in a number of landmark advertisements, including BNP Paribas in 1995, for which it negotiated the image rights of a number of celebrities for the first time. This was followed by DS Citroën in 2009, Chanel n°5 in 2013, and more recently Louis Vuitton Twist Campaign 2022.

RIGHTS OWNER RESEARCH, RIGHTS CLEARANCE AND LEGAL SECURITY

Over the past 30 years, audiovisual production has been transformed. While today a multitude of images and videos circulate freely and are available with just a few clicks, rights of use and intellectual property have never been as important as they are today.

To meet a growing demand from our customers, particularly fiction producers and luxury houses, we recruited our first legal expert in 2017.

The team has since gradually expanded to offer comprehensive support from A to Z. Today, clearance goes beyond archive-related rights, and Le Chaînon offers new services, always tailored to our customers’ needs.

FROM RESEARCH TO REALIZATION

Le Chaînon continues to advise and guide you in our historic core business and in all key areas of audiovisual research.

We also do script analysis and clearer detection, contracting, and set clearance.

Le Chaînon also offers translation services, as well as editing and directing. For 3 years now, the SNCF has called on Le Chaînon to produce corporate films.

AND TOMORROW?

From Telex to the Internet, Le Chaînon has been enriched by new technologies and methodologies, which have transformed our business.

Our ambitions for the future? to offer even more comprehensive support, multiplying our fields of action and developing our services to meet all your requirements, even the wildest, in France and abroad.