b0b.dev - the intro film

A short film in eight parts that cuts archive footage against the present: newsreel and government film from 1945 to 1987 beside the cameras, data centres, launches, crowds and hearings of the years since. Every panel carries its source, burned into the frame. Archive footage is public domain or CC0; contemporary stills are public domain, CC0 or CC BY, with the author credit on screen as the licence requires. Frames marked ERC-1155 are from the author’s own films. The narration is part of the file, spoken by the Piper “cori” voice (UK English, trained on public-domain LibriVox recordings); under it are the archive films’ own sound and a bed made for this film. Nothing licensed from anyone runs under the narration.

Download the film (MP4, 1280×720, subtitles burned in).

Sources, in order of first appearance

• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · NUREMBERG · 1945 · NARA · PD · source
• ROBERT H. JACKSON OPENS FOR THE PROSECUTION, NUREMBERG · 21 NOV 1945 · PD · source
• PENTAGON PAPERS CHART · INTERLOCKING LEADERSHIP POSTS, NORTH VIETNAM · PD · source
• WASHINGTON NATIONAL RECORDS CENTER · STACK AREA · UNDATED · PD · source
• PENTAGON PAPERS · PART IV.A.5, P.99 · MAP OF ETHNIC GROUPS · PD · source
• THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT · COVER · PUBLISHED 22 JULY 2004 · PD · source
• SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN · OFFICIAL SENATE PHOTO · 15 NOV 2004 · PD · source
• AARON SWARTZ · PHOTO JASON SCOTT · 27 OCT 2011 · JASON SCOTT · CC BY 2.0 · source
• ERC-1155 · TENSOR · 2024 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · HUAC · 1947 · NARA · PD · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · J. EDGAR HOOVER, FBI CHIEF · 4 OCT 1937 · PD · source
• CCTV CAMERAS, MATUNGA (W), MUMBAI CITY NETWORK · 3 MAR 2018 · CC0 · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · NIXON AND HUAC EXAMINE CHAMBERS MICROFILM · 1948 · PD · source
• J. EDGAR HOOVER, FBI DIRECTOR · PHOTO M. S. TRIKOSKO · 28 SEPT 1961 · PD · source
• SEN. JOSEPH MCCARTHY · UNITED PRESS PHOTO · 1954 · PD · source
• MCCARTHY AND ROY COHN AT THE ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS · 12 MAR 1954 · PD · source
• CCTV CAMERAS ON A ROOF EDGE · 20 MAY 2025 · CC0 · source
• POLE WITH SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, SAARBRÜCKEN MAIN STATION · APR 2020 · ΜKÖFF · CC BY 4.0 · source
• ERC-1155 · FROGWIZARD · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• NSA HEADQUARTERS, FORT MEADE, MARYLAND · NSA PHOTO · UNDATED · PD · source
• OPERATION IVY · 1952 · US DOE FILM 0800012 · CC0 · source
• J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER · 1944 · PD · source
• PLEIADES SUPERCOMPUTER · NASA AMES NAS FACILITY · 10 APR 2015 · PD · source
• NSA UTAH DATA CENTER, BLUFFDALE · FROM AN EFF AIRSHIP · 27 JUN 2014 · CC0 · source
• MQ-9 REAPER OVER SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN · USAF · 29 NOV 2008 · PD · source
• NASA GLOBAL HAWK, REMOTELY PILOTED · EL NIÑO RESEARCH FLIGHT · 2015 · PD · source
• DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER · OFFICIAL PORTRAIT · 29 MAY 1959 · PD · source
• NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY AT NIGHT, AERIAL · TREVOR PAGLEN · 2013 · CC0 · source
• ERC-1155 · T A R L AN · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• PLEIADES SUPERCOMPUTER RACKS · NASA AMES, BUILDING N-258 · 2 DEC 2008 · PD · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · EXPLORER 1 · 1958 · NARA · PD · source
• CIA FILM · A POINT IN TIME: THE CORONA STORY (1995) · NARA · CC0 · source
• CIA FILM · THE CORONA STORY (1995) · CAMERA AND IMAGERY · NARA · CC0 · source
• NASA BLACK MARBLE · THE AMERICAS AT NIGHT · SUOMI NPP, 2012 · PD · source
• CORONA SATELLITE IMAGE OF BEIJING · 20 SEPT 1967 · CIA/NRO/USGS · PD · source
• ALLEN DULLES · US GOVERNMENT PORTRAIT · DATE NOT RECORDED · PD · source
• LANDSAT 9 LIFTS OFF · VANDENBERG SFS, CALIFORNIA · 27 SEPT 2021 · PD · source
• STARLINK SATELLITES OVER TÜBINGEN TOWN HALL · 24 APR 2020 · CC0 · source
• ERC-1155 · WATER BUFFALO · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• ISS EXPEDITION 40 · CALIFORNIA CITY LIGHTS AT NIGHT · 10 AUG 2014 · PD · source
• STARLINK TRAILS ACROSS A BLANCO 4-M TELESCOPE EXPOSURE, CTIO · 2019 · NOIRLAB/CTIO/AURA/DELVE · CC BY 4.0 · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · CUBAN CRISIS · 1962 · NARA · PD · source
• ADLAI STEVENSON SHOWS AERIAL PHOTOS TO THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, 1962 · PD · source
• MRBM LAUNCH SITE 2, SAN CRISTOBAL · ANNOTATED RECON PHOTO · 1 NOV 1962 · PD · source
• POWELL UN SLIDE: ALLEGED MOBILE BIO-WEAPONS FACILITIES · 5 FEB 2003 · PD · source
• JFK READING COPY, CUBA ADDRESS, P.2, HAND-CORRECTED · 22 OCT 1962 · PD · source
• JOHN F. KENNEDY · OVAL OFFICE · PHOTO CECIL STOUGHTON · 11 JULY 1963 · PD · source
• COLIN POWELL · OFFICIAL SECRETARY OF STATE PORTRAIT · JAN 2001 · PD · source
• POWELL UN SLIDE: ALLEGED ALUMINIUM TUBE FOR ENRICHMENT · 5 FEB 2003 · PD · source
• ERC-1155 · MAP · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• UNIVERSAL NEWSREEL · PEACE MARCH · 1967 · NARA · PD · source
• USIA FILM · THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON · AUG 1963 · NARA · PD · source
• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. · MARCH ON WASHINGTON · AUG 1963 · USIA/NARA · PD · source
• OCCUPY WALL STREET MARCH TO WASHINGTON SQUARE, NYC · 8 OCT 2011 · OCCUPYTVNY (YOUTUBE PYO_NVXPQXG, MIRRORED IN ARCHIVE.ORG OWS-YOUTUBE COLLECTION) · CC BY 3.0 · source
• PROTEST AGAINST THE IRAQ WAR, LONDON · 27 SEPT 2003 · CC0 · source
• WOMEN'S MARCH ON WASHINGTON FROM THE VOA ROOF · 21 JAN 2017 · PD · source
• PROTEST AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE, MINNEAPOLIS · 26 MAY 2020 · FIBONACCI BLUE · CC BY 2.0 · source
• OCCUPY WALL STREET, ZUCCOTTI PARK · D. SHANKBONE · 17 SEPT 2011 · DAVID SHANKBONE · CC BY 3.0 · source
• ERC-1155 · STREAM · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• PROTEST AIRSHIP OVER THE NSA UTAH DATA CENTER · 27 JUN 2014 · GREENPEACE · CC BY 3.0 · source
• MARCH ON WASHINGTON, AERIAL VIEW OF CROWD AND STAGE · 28 AUG 1963 · PD · source
• NIXON ON WATERGATE · TRANSCRIPT BINDERS DATED 30 APR 1974 · NARA · PD · source
• SENATE WATERGATE COMMITTEE HEARINGS · THOMPSON, BAKER, ERVIN · 1973 · PD · source
• NIXON RESIGNATION LETTER TO SECRETARY KISSINGER · 9 AUG 1974 · PD · source
• NIXON BOARDS ARMY ONE AFTER RESIGNING · PHOTO O. ATKINS · 9 AUG 1974 · PD · source
• SEN. FRANK CHURCH · CONGRESSIONAL PORTRAIT · 1961 · PD · source
• PRESIDENT CARTER WITH SEN. FRANK CHURCH · 12 AUG 1977 · PD · source
• IRAN-CONTRA HEARINGS · 1987 · NARA ARC 11161 · CC0 · source
• HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HEARING, RAYBURN 2118 · 26 MAY 2006 · CC0 · source
• REAGAN RECEIVES THE TOWER COMMISSION REPORT · 26 FEB 1987 · PD · source
• CHAIR'S GAVEL AND NAMEPLATE, SENATE INTELLIGENCE HEARING · 30 JAN 2012 · MEDILL DC · CC BY 2.0 · source
• ERC-1155 · THESQUID · 2024 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source
• ERC-1155 · CHAPTER 18 SILENT TALK · 2023 · THE AUTHOR'S OWN FILM · source

Read the report · Continuity · The Epstein–Maxwell Record · The map