Watch Video
Filmed performances, documentaries, interviews, and instructional videos can all complement the written sources you consult in your research. On this page, discover recommended streaming platforms, like Kanopy and Digital Theatre+, and learn how to locate titles on physical disc.
Finding Video Online and On Disc
University Libraries subscribes to a video streaming platform called Kanopy which contains more than 30,000 films and documentaries. Numerous titles relate to music, and they range across genres including classical, opera, ballet, musical theatre, jazz, popular, folk, and world musics. There are also several filmed concerts available as well as special collections like the Criterion Collection which will be of interest to those studying film scoring.
To find a particular film, use the Search feature located at the top of your screen. The Filters tab can help you narrow your search by subject, language, and availability of captions. You can also use Browse to explore films on a given subject, including films about music under "Music, Theater & Dance." After you have selected a film, you can explore similar films by clicking on "Details" and following its tags.
Kanopy also lets you setup a personal account where you can create and share a watchlist. Click the profile icon to create or log into an account. Use the Help and Support tabs to learn how to watch Kanopy films on your mobile device or television.
Aside from Kanopy, the Libraries also provides access to several other video streaming databases. Folkstreams and Library of Congress Digital Collections will be of most interest to those studying world musics and American art music. Meanwhile Digital Theatre+ and Dance Online will appeal to those studying spoken theatre, musical theatre, opera, ballet, and modern dance. Find other video databases provided by the Libraries at A-Z Databases.
Recommended Video Databases:
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Dance Online: Dance in Video Dance Online: Dance in Video provides 900 hours of video content covering the full scope of 20th and 21st century dance. The collection includes performances, documentaries, interviews, and instructional videos from the most influential performers and companies. The diverse content supports a wide range of courses, from dance history and dance appreciation to choreography, dance composition, and improvisation.
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Digital Theatre+ Digital Theatre+ is a collection of resources related to theatre, including video, audio, and text resources. There are nearly 300 e-learning resources such as interviews, lectures. and courses on a variety of topics. Some examples include acting, classical theatre, directing.
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Folkstreams The Folkstreams database provides access to more than 300 films from independent film makers on a wide range of topics. Topics includes African American Culture, arts and crafts, dress, ethnic and immigrant cultures, healing and medicine, religion, and social justice. The database partners are: iBiblio.com, The University of North Carolina, and The Southern Folklife Collection. See the Film Rights link within the database for information about classroom usage.
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Kanopy Streaming Films Kanopy is a film database containing more than 30,000 films from more than 1,000 producers. It includes the Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation, The Great Courses, News Day Films, and more. Music content includes productions of operas and ballets as well as documentaries about composers.
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Library of Congress Digital Collections Library of Congress Digital Collections serves as a portal to the 320 plus digital collections of the Library of Congress, providing links to each collection's home page. The collections include a wide range of materials such as books, collected papers, sheet music, images, and web archives. Music-related video collections include "The Carnegie Hall Collection of Conversations with Composers," "Great Conversations in Music," and "The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America."
In addition to Libraries databases, YouTube can also be a great place to watch videos related to music and the performing arts. Indeed many artists, actors, composers, orchestras, theatre companies, and record labels host official channels on YouTube where they post their latest content. Be sure, however, to prefer these official channels to pages where the copyright status of content is questionable or artists' rights are disrespected.
The Libraries also maintains an extensive collection of physical media on DVD and Blu-ray as well as playback equipment which you can borrow or use in-house. This includes numerous video recordings of operas and ballets as well as documentaries about music and the performing arts. Many titles on physical disc are not available on streaming and vice versa, so be sure to explore both.
Use OneSearch to find Libraries-owned video recordings and equipment just like you would other formats. Enter the title or keywords into the search bar, and then use filters on the left side of the page to narrow down your results. Select physical discs with the filter "Video Recording" under Content Type or choose "Streaming Video" to link to Libraries databases.
You can also use OneSearch to find playback equipment, or simply ask at the First Floor Information Desk what is available to borrow. Select the filter "Equipment" under Content Type and enter the type of equipment into the search bar above. The Libraries has loanable USB CD/DVD drives, speakers, and headphones. Videogame consoles stationed in Education, Music and Media on the Lower Level of Bracken Library can also play Blu-ray discs.
Recommended DVDs
Live Performances:
Jazz Icons Series features archival footage of jazz greats performing live in the 1950s and 1960s. All four volumes are available for check out.
The Coltrane Connection. Live performances from television broadcasts of the 1950s and 1960s.
Diana Krall Live in Paris. Filmed in 2002.
Jaco Pastorius: Loud and Outrageous. Live performance by the great fusion bass player.
Vintage Collection: 1958-1961 Television performances by some of the top talent of the era.
Documentaries and Other Jazz Videos:
Ken Burns' Jazz, the 10-part TV mini-series by Ken Burns (DVD Video 3523 to 3532)
Bird, biopic about Charlie Parker (DVD Video 10419)
Birth of the Blues, a 1941 film in which Bing Crosby portrays a Basin Street musician.
Blues in the night, a 1941 film by Warner Brothers about a traveling jazz band.
Ella Fitzgerald: the Legendary First Lady of Song
From the Mouthpiece on Back, a documentary about young jazz musicians in post-Katrina New Orleans.
The Glenn Miller Story (DVD Video 11925), 1953 bio-pic featuring members of Miller's band including Gene Krupa and Lionel Hampton
A Great Day in Harlem Interviews of the famous musicians involved in the 1958 photograph by Art Kane (below).
Hallelujah, the 1929 film with authentic performances and dancing, including a tap dance by the Nicholas brothers as children.
'Round Midnight, features saxophonist Dexter Gordon portraying an alcoholic jazz musician in New York and Paris.
Sonny Rollins: Saxophone Colossus, a film by Ball State professor Robert Mugge. Includes live performances and interviews (DVD Video 6351)
Stormy Weather, 1943 film featuring Cab Calloway and famous dancers The Nicholas Brothers (DVD Video 6313)
List of Jazz DVDs
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Jazz on DVDDVDs available in the Educational Technology and Resources Collection
Interlibrary Loan
Users are encouraged to search for items beyond University Libraries' catalog via RILM Abstracts of Music Literature and WorldCat. Materials not available in print or online may be requested through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow up to seven days for electronic delivery and up to fourteen days for delivery of physical items.