Films on Demand is a library of educational video content including excerpts and full-length documentaries, television series, performances, archival films, and newsreel footage. Films on Demand features content from A&E, PBS, BBC Learning, National Geographic, ABC News, NBC News, CNBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, HBO Documentary Films, Open University, Bill Moyers, California Newsreel, Annenberg Learner, TED, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, and other producers.
The Films on Demand library is a subscription collection whose content is immediately accessible to students and faculty. The platform can be accessed from the library's A-Z Database list.
For specific searches, keywords, excerpts and series titles can be entered into the platform's search bar.
The advanced search option is useful for filtering content by producer, copyright year, and more.
Films can be browsed by subject or producer by selecting the three-bar menu icon next to the Films on Demand logo.
To share a link to a film, select the "Share" icon in the results listing or video page. This is a more stable link sharing method than copying what appears in the URL bar.
*Note: if you are having difficulty accessing a Films on Demand video using a link that was provided to you, try opening Films on Demand from the A-Z Database list prior to clicking on the link.
In the pop-up window, select "Link" and then "Copy."
Setting up a Films on Demand account allows the user to save videos into custom playlists or folders. After opening the platform, select "Your Profile" and then "New user? Sign up."
Films on Demand has three similar options for saving and organizing content. All can be found by selecting "Add to" under the video player.
"Favorites" allows the user to save content into folders, whereas "Playlists" allows the user to add videos to customized playlists. While these options are similar, playlists offer more flexibility, as they allow the user to add custom segments, and the entire playlist can be shared with one link.
Teachers can also create "Classes" in Films on Demand, where videos can be added to particular classes in the same way that they are added to playlists. Students who sign up for their own Films on Demand accounts can be "added" to a Films on Demand class, which will appear on the "Classes" section of their account.
For more information on tools and features available in Films on Demand, refer to their product support page.
Some users have experienced problems with Films on Demand links presenting a login page that requires a Films on Demand username and password. If you experience this error, try navigating to the Films on Demand platform from the A-Z Database List. The Films on Demand Master Academic Collection link on the A-Z Database List will route you to the platform through CAS authentication. After getting to the Films on Demand platform via the A-Z Database List, try the film link again.
Occasionally, films leave the Films on Demand platform. If you try a film link and are presented with an error message indicating that the film is no longer available, please email Megan Goldfarb at goldfarbma@vcu.edu.
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