1983
NMPFT Doors Open
1983 The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, opened its doors to visitors on 16th June 1983. The remit of the Museum was the art and science of images and image making. Colin Ford, then Head of Museum, held the view that by understanding how images are made, you appreciate the ideas being expressed and the intentions and skills of the image makers. In terms of accessibility for audiences, a Yorkshire base for the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television was ideal. In the 1980s, there was a broad government policy of locating ‘national’ institutions in the regions where the majority of people live, following the success of the National Railway Museum in York. Bradford is approximately in the centre of Britain; 14.5 million people live within a two hour journey. Since opening, the Museum has attracted audiences of over 1 million a year, and soon became the most-visited national museum outside London.
1983
First IMAX Cinema in Britain
1983 In addition to the pioneering interactive displays and a major retrospective of photographer Yousuf Karsh’s photographic portraits, the Museum launched one of its biggest attractions: Britain’s largest cinema screen, IMAX. For the first time visitors were transported to locations beyond their wildest dreams with a screen measuring five storey’s high and boasting six channel sound. In 1984 the IMAX auditorium was the venue for the start of the Museum's series of notable interviews with important figures from film production, including Alan Bennett and Martin Scorsese.
1985
Working with Artists
1985 Internationally acclaimed artist, David Hockney undertook a project at the Museum in which visitors watched him create a 'joiner' photographic montage based on the outside of the building. Later that year links with artists were enhanced when the Bradford Fellowship was introduced. This collaboration between the Museum, Bradford College, and the University of Bradford, is an opportunity for artists to produce a body of work for exhibition at the Museum. The Fellowship helps to extend the Museums collections through the acquisition of work produced by the Fellows.
1986
New Television Galleries
1986 To mark the 50th anniversary of the first public television service, two innovative interactive television galleries were developed. These incredible exhibits gave visitors a rare opportunity to operate cameras on a studio set with programmed sound and lighting, use vision mixers, experience reading a news item from an autocue and discover how the chromakey technique works.
1989
The Kodak Gallery Opens
1989 To celebrate the 150th anniversary of photography the Museum exhibited some of the 10 000 items of equipment acquired from its Kodak Museum collection to illustrate the astonishing story of popular photography from its invention to the present day.
1989
Development of Live
Broadcasting Studio
1989 An industry standard television studio was launched and used by TV AM for outside broadcasts. The National Museum of Photography, Film and Television featured the first ever live broadcasting studio in a museum. These facilities were later used by Nickelodeon, BSc students and, recently, for a hugely acclaimed outreach project called Youth TV. This is a sponsored programme of workshops designed to introduce young people from inner-city Bradford to television programme-making.
1992
Pictureville Cinema
1992 The Library Theatre, situated next to the Museum, was converted into a spectacular 306 seat cinema. This development enabled the Museum to extend its cinema programme, showing an eclectic mix of the history of cinema and contemporary work from across the world of film. In 1993 a Cinerama screen and projection system was installed. Dating back to 1952, Cinerama was the first wide-screen film presentation process. It utilizes three projectors and a deeply curved screen. Pictureville is the only public cinema where such films can be screened in the UK.
1993
TV Heaven
1993 This was a unique gallery enables visitors to view classic British television programmes from 1946 onwards. TV heaven makes accessible the museums extensive collection of classic television programmes, many of which are not available to watch anywhere else. It was an immediate success.
1999
NMPFT re-launched
1999 The Museum's landmark building, fronted by a new glass atrium soaring the full height of the structure, was opened by special guest Pierce Brosnan. The Museum, an astounding 25% bigger than before, the Museum is a contemporary space to explore and engage with the technologies of the future, to learn and create, to understand and be inspired. The IMAX cinema was now capable of showing remarkable 3D films. The Museum launched a striking new 120 seat cinema, the Cubby Broccoli.
2002
Bond, James Bond
2002 A remarkable exhibition, created by the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television celebrated 40 years of the world's best-known movie phenomenon - the James Bond films. This was an unmissable exhibition for film lovers, Bond fans or visitors mad about production and design. The exhibition included original objects, from Oddjob's deadly bowler to Jaws' menacing teeth, stunning concept drawings, storyboards and costume designs from all the movies which revealed the creative talents that have made James Bond an international icon. It toured to London, the United States and Canada.
2003
BBC in Bradford
2003 The Museum opened a functioning BBC tri-media studio. For the first time, visitors can watch journalists producing material for the BBC West Yorkshire website as well as gathering news items to be broadcast local or national radio or TV. This studio also includes a television interview point with video editing equipment and radio studio that can be observed.
2006
New Experience
TV Gallery Opens
2006 Experience TV is the Museum's new £3 million interactive gallery dedicated to the past, present and future of television. From John Logie Baird's original apparatus to a Jim'll Fix It badge, Experience TV contains many of the objects that make up the story of TV. Important televisions and studio cameras sit alongside Wallace & Gromit and the Play School toys to create the only gallery of its kind in Europe with hundreds of objects from NMPFT's collections on display.
2006
National Media Museum Launch
2006 On 30 November the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television became the National Media Museum to reflect the rapidly changing media world. To celebrate the important role that media plays in our daily lives the National Media Museum launched Media Matters, a national search for the UK's most iconic media moments.