An in-house studio to digitise, restore and edit audiovisual footage

Apart from our space at OMHP, we also have a digitising studio around the corner, at in the University Theatre in the Nieuwe Doelenstraat (16-18). Run by Bruce Gray and Hannus Taken, two seasoned Media Studies staff retirees, DigiLand has both the equipment and expertise to provide a learning experience with digitalising almost all audiovisual footage, including original 8mm and 16mm formats, VHS and DVD, minidisc and betacam. The studio is dedicated to help students and other people with their (learning) projects regarding digitising, editing, archiving and disseminating audiovisual footage.

Interested in learning more about the practice of digitalization in DigiLand? Please email the studio at digilandstudio@gmail.com or fill in our booking form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Bruce and Hannus are always willing to create an individual learning trajectory for students or to provide a workshop or workshop series for groups, for example in the context of a university course or extracurricular program.

At the same time, although largely focused on (media studies) students and staff, people from social and journalistic organizations, educational and cultural institutions, and government and private collections could also request a quote for our digitizing services. The studio is committed to the disclosure, recording and dissemination of (alternative) film histories and (alternative) film heritages from all walks of life.

After helping with film lighting in Hollywood, and chauffeuring the stars of Los Angeles, Bruce Gray moved to Amsterdam in the 1960s to direct documentaries and act in theatre plays: ‘I didn’t pick Amsterdam, it picked me’, he jokes.
With the digital revolution on the horizon, all of Amsterdam - from the squatters and the artists to the junkies and brokers, was under siege. In 1966, along with Otto Schuurman, a lecturer of documentary film at the Nederlandse Film Academy, and a bakfiets full of film, Bruce Gray knocked on the doors of the University Theatre to ask for some room. A space to preserve our city, a living bridge between a VHS player and an iMac. The University Theatre obliged. Films were screened, theatre groups rehearsed, and an archive was established.
But back then, the city was a bit of a mess. ‘The buildings were collapsing, houses were falling apart. A lot of junkies around the Nieuwmarkt, Zeedijk was criminal… I used to work at De Moor, a coffehouse for hookers that became a cultural centre. I learnt photography there,’ says Hannus Taken, a dear friend of Bruce and the studio. Hand on our heart, in Amsterdam, anything can become anything.
Just as a riverbank becomes a dike, a celluloid becomes an mp4. In some way, Amsterdam has always been a city of possibility, where the lines between reality and revolution are blurry. Luckily, our story is deeply intertwined with the story of Amsterdam, fitting culture in a room. Founded by Bruce Gray, our studio preserves the free spirit of the city, that always makes space for knowledge, art, and love.
At DigiLand, our activities involve:
- Digitising media for both our own use and that of others
- Preserving a rich archive
- Repurposing old media into new projects
- Teaching digitisation through workshops
Las Vegas by Bruce Gray (Betacam)
The Photography Project by MTA, New York (Hi8)
Portraits of Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst Winners, from 1989-1996 (Umatic)
Jean-Michel Basquiat at The Whitney (Betacam)
Nieuwmarkt Protest Against Metro, and Squatting Movement (16mm)
Zapatistas Documentary, 1980, Farmers in Mexico Losing Land (16mm)
Lion of the West in Nederlands, 1984 (Umatic)
Grateful Dead Cover Bands in America, 1985 (Betacam)
Terrytoon Animations by Joost Ranzijn (16mm)
Stopera by Monsterdam (8mm)
Want to build your own digital archive? Here is our price list.
Price Class 1 (VHS, Hi8, MiniDV)
1 Tape: €15,50
5+ Tapes: €14 per tape
10+ Tapes: €13 per tape
Price Class 2 (Umatic, BVU, DVCam, Betacam, Super 8mm, 16mm)
1 Tape: €25
5+ Tapes: €23
10+ Tapes: €21
WeTransfer: Free.
For other delivery methods, contact us at digilandstudio@gmail.com

Meet DigiLand

Some of our Clients

Educational clients (selection)

Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image (Media Studies, UvA) | Theatre Studies (UvA) | Musicology (UvA) | Conservation and Restoration (UvA)

Other clients (selection)