Weymouth 2001

2001
1m

Colourful kites captured in the early days of online video.

This short video of kites flying over Weymouth Beach is a piece of online history. It is one of the oldest online videos in our collections and, by file size, it is one of the smallest.

In the early 2000s, before YouTube and high-speed internet connections, websites couldn't handle a great deal of video content. The files had to be small (i.e. low resolution) and often downloadable rather than embedded directly into the page. Those early days were a time of innovation and independence, with many specialist websites set up by fans about their chosen hobbies.

Brian Fattorini, an engineer and kiting enthusiast, managed aeolian.co.uk, a website dedicated to the UK kiting scene. He also commercially released kiting-related films which were references for kiters at the time.

This video was filmed during the 2001 Weymouth International Kite Festival. It features an introduction by comedian Jimmy Cricket, followed by colourful kites floating in the sky and kiters demonstrating their skills on the Weymouth beach. Those kite-flyers, kiteboarders, and onlookers offer us a glimpse into the vibrancy of the community at the time.

An amateur video about the 2001 Weymouth Kite Festival. Originally hosted on aeolian.co.uk, a website about the kite scene. Features an introduction by comedian Jimmy Cricket, followed by a montage of kites flying and kite-flyers and kiteboarders demonstrating their skills on the Weymouth beach.

Online Video

From viral memes to video essays, discover highlights from a new BFI National Archive collection...

First came the Cinema Age, then the TV Age, and now the age of Online Video. Digital film created for distribution online is today’s most dynamic, influential screen form. Encompassing much that’s new, from ASMR and Unboxing Videos to Twitch streaming and TikTok twerking, it’s also breathed new life into older film forms, filling our screens with fresh takes on advertising, journalism, satire, public information, campaigning, training and much else that’s been with us since time immemorial, and variously taking the forms of comedy, drama, documentary and animation. It’s become embedded into every aspect of UK (and world) society.

This unique collection of 50 online videos combines iconic highlights of British online video with other examples chosen to illustrate that sheer diversity. All were acquired by the BFI National Archive as part of the Lottery funded Our Screen Heritage programme. Our thanks to the Lottery, and lottery ticket buyers nationwide. for their support of this vital collecting and preservation work.