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An anonymous buyer who acquired a folder of discs at the August auction of Tippett Studios materials has uploaded images of 90 non-duplicated discs to the Internet Archive. Some clips can be viewed online, while most material is available as downloadable ISO disc images; the contents and their rights status have not been fully detailed.
An anonymous buyer has uploaded digital images of 90 non-duplicated discs from Tippett Studios’ archives to the Internet Archive, making materials from the closed Berkeley effects and animation studio available to browse or download. The donor, who uses the name TippettFan, says the discs were acquired at an August auction and digitized because some of their contents were not otherwise available online.
The upload includes .ISO image files, which reproduce the contents of discs and can be downloaded for examination. The archive also has a smaller selection of material that can be viewed directly online, including computer-generated creature tests and a 2008 interview with studio founder Phil Tippett. The report describes the full collection as several gigabytes of files.
According to the donor’s account, the folder of CDs and other discs was spotted at the auction of studio property and purchased for an undisclosed sum. TippettFan said the archive contains images and other material connected to work such as RoboCop, Starship Troopers and the original Star Wars, alongside publicity stills from Catwoman. Those descriptions come from filenames and the report; the entire collection has not yet been catalogued in detail.
The studio’s closure was followed by a two-day auction of props, memorabilia and artwork. The online upload is a separate effort by the buyer of the disc folder, rather than an announcement from Tippett Studios. The donor’s post identifies the files as disc images from the studio archive; it does not establish that every item has been authenticated or cleared for unrestricted reuse.
A Public Record of Studio Work
The archive offers fans, researchers and film historians a way to examine materials that might otherwise have remained difficult to access after the studio’s closure and the dispersal of its physical collection. The reported contents include behind-the-scenes images, animation tests and other production-related records, which can help document how effects work was developed and preserved.
That access is not the same as a complete or professionally managed institutional archive. The available material is in large part downloadable disc images, and users may need technical tools and time to identify what is on each disc. Still, the upload creates a public point of access to a body of work associated with Tippett’s long career in film effects and stop-motion animation.
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From Closure to Auction
Tippett Studios was founded by Phil Tippett, whose animation and effects work includes films such as Star Wars, RoboCop and Starship Troopers. Film Stories reported that the studio had been facing financial difficulties before it closed on August 28. The report places the closure in August but does not specify a year in the supplied material.
After the closure, studio props, memorabilia and artwork were sold over two days. That sale prompted concerns that some materials could end up in private hands and become harder for the public to see. The disc folder later acquired by TippettFan was among the items at the auction; the newly posted digital files preserve copies of those discs, not the physical objects sold there.
“I quickly realized that some of this information wasn’t available online and might not ever be in the future in such high resolution.”
— TippettFan, the anonymous donor
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Cataloguing and Rights Remain Open
The archive’s complete contents have not yet been documented in the report, and it is not clear how much time it will take viewers and researchers to identify and describe the files. The donor’s count and descriptions are attributed to TippettFan; an independent catalogue or verification of each disc is not provided in the source material.
The source also does not specify the copyright or licensing status of the digitized material, whether the upload has been reviewed by rights holders, or whether any files might later be removed or restricted. The presence of files online should not be taken as permission to reuse them. The donor’s identity and the price paid at auction remain undisclosed.
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Researchers Begin Reviewing the Files
The collection is available on the Internet Archive for users to browse and download, with some clips playable on the site and most of the material supplied as ISO images. Film Stories said it planned to examine the files and report on material it considered of interest. Further details may emerge as fans and historians review the discs, but no formal catalogue, access plan or additional release schedule was announced in the source report.
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Key Questions
What has been uploaded?
Images of 90 non-duplicated discs from Tippett’s archives, according to the donor. Most are provided as downloadable ISO files, with a smaller number of clips available to view online.
Who uploaded the archive?
The upload is credited to an anonymous donor using the name TippettFan. The donor says they bought a folder of discs at the August auction and digitized its contents.
What kind of material is included?
The reported examples include creature animation tests, a 2008 interview with Phil Tippett, behind-the-scenes material linked to films including RoboCop and Starship Troopers, and slides of work on the original Star Wars. The full collection has not been catalogued in the report.
Can the files be reused?
The source report does not state the copyright or licensing terms for the material. Being available online does not by itself grant permission to republish or reuse it; users should check the archive’s item information and applicable rights before doing so.
Source: hn
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