Issuu

AV News 211 | February 2018

In This Issue 2

Chairman's Chatter

Howard Bagshaw

Editor’s Welcome

Alastair Taylor

GNAVF 2017

Editor

The Attraction of the North

Bob Sherrard

Matthew Loney’s Miracle

Judith Kimber

Greater than the sum ...

Howard Bagshaw

The role of Editing in AV

Graham Sergeant

Our Journey So Far

Linda and Edgar Gibbs

Browned and Gagged

Lilian Webb

Obituary for Mike Hardwick

Editor

Our Third Image

Malcolm and Jenny Gee

Letters to the Editor

Around the AV Groups

XXXVIII Pomorskie Sotkania z Diaporama

Jeff Morriss

Life Competition

Jeff Morriss

Hints and Tips

Malcolm Imhoff

Master Class

Malcolm Imhoff

Working with Colour

Keith Scott

Future Events

AV Group Chairman Howard Bagshaw

Secretary Alan Tyrer

Editor AV News Alastair Taylor

magazine @avnews.org.uk

Subscriptions are open to all at £22 per year including postage. Please contact: David Neal, AV Group Treasurer 16 Fern Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. TN38 0UH 01424 712394 david-neal@talktalk.net

Page 1

AV News 211 | February 2018

Chairman's Chatter Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!! The RPS AV Group is celebrating its 40th birthday. On 10th September 1977, twenty-eight A-V Newsletter readers met in Kenilworth, under the Chairmanship of Sir George Pollock and decided to form an Audio-Visual group within the RPS. For convenience, they decided that the group would formally start functioning on 1st January 1978. The subscription was to be £2 per annum, to include six issues of the Newsletter and the Chairman was to be Charles Mitchell FRPS. The A-V Newsletter had been produced since mid-1976, by Lady Doreen Pollock and the rst issue supporting the newly formed RPS A-V Group was in fact issue 10 of the Newsletter, comprising 8 pages of hand typed news, run off on a Mimeograph machine. Incidentally, I have used the convention of the time, where Audio and Visual were hyphenated, hence Audio-Visual and A-V, something we lost somewhere along the line. So, what were the contents? It seems that readers had been asked their views of the periodical and it appears many didn’t recognise that they needed to be the contributors (plus ça change). Many felt that there was too much technical information and too little information about the creative side of the A-V medium. Articles included a report on the London Festival of Diaporama, the invitation for ‘foreign correspondents’, the numbering of slides in a diaporama and a two-page letter evaluating different dissolve units. A page of Calendar events included 8 UK festivals, courses or meetings generally held over a weekend, in the rst half of 1978 alone, and 6 foreign festivals including those at Vendome, Mechelin, Epinal and Vichy. Forty years on and things have changed. Maybe it’s the cost, the average age of current AV workers, or the reduced need because of easier communications, but there is no way we could sustain 8 AV residential events in six months. On the other hand, we might have become lax in not providing more in the way of courses, “how to do it…” sessions. I was reminded of this recently when a senior RPS member said that she had always thought about making AVs and if she joined the group would she get instruction in how to make them? I had to admit, rather shamefaced, that she wouldn’t. I would very much welcome any thoughts on this and any ideas about offering instructional courses, both in the mechanics of making AVs and/or in the creative aspects of AV production. Page 2

AV News 211 | February 2018

AV News 211 | February 2018 Finally, can I wish you all a very happy and productive New Year. I look forward to seeing you at AV events and ‘Festivals’ around the country. How about coming to Leeds for example, for the Great Yorkshire day, fantastic attendees’ sequences and a dodgy speaker in the afternoon.

Editor’s Welcome Alastair Taylor LRPS Welcome to AV News 211. Those with a keen eye will notice that my fellow editor Scott Antony has decided to step down from the role of copy editor and it would be most remiss of me not to express my gratitude to him for his hard work over the past year in helping us move AV News forward. I am particularly grateful for his keen eye and attention to detail as well as his introduction of some new themes for our journal. It has been great working with Scott although it is with more than a little trepidation I move the journal forward knowing that my inevitable typos and production errors will soon be noticed. I appreciate the eagle eyes of our readers and if any of you would like to offer a proof reading service, then do please get in touch. With thanks to Linda Gibbs for acting as proof reader for this edition. AV News continues to evolve. I was particularly pleased to receive an article from Judith Kimber who has enjoyed recent success at the National AV Championships, the Irish Photographic Federation AV Championships and most recently the Great Northern AV Festival for her excellent production Mathew Loney’s Miracle. In her article, Judith tells us about her thought process and shares her approach. It is great to have a new AV worker in our midst. Judith has certainly made me review my approach to AV. With the help of Andrew Gagg, we have a new image to illustrate what I am calling the AV Masterclass. We ended up with a mortar board and cane having dismissed the hammer and sickle, and skull and crossbones on the way! Malcolm Imhoff has agreed to write a series of articles on sound production which I hope you will nd interesting. Contact the editor at: magazine@avnews.org.uk Finally on behalf of our secretary Alan Tyrer, I need to make a correction. On page 11 of AV News 210 there is an error in the AV Group AGM minutes. The date of the next AGM will be 22 September 2018 during the International AV Festival in Cheltenham and not 22 October 2018 as printed in the minutes. Thanks to those of you who spotted the error. Page 3

AV News 211 | February 2018

GNAVF Winner as well as Gold Medal Winner at the 35th Irish Photographic Federation’s National Audio Visual Championships Matthew Loney’s Miracle by Judith Kimber with IPF judges Andrew Gagg and Richard Brown. Photograph courtesy of Lillian Webb Great Northern Results Winner

Mathew Loney’s Miracle

Judith Kimber

Second Place

In Search of Christina

Richard Brown

Third Place

One Stroke at A Time

Colin Balls

Howards Gregory Memorial Trophy

In Search of the Blues

Alan Boothman

AV Dialog Prize

Mathew Loney’s Miracle

Judith Kimber

Highly Commended

Dendrochronology

Andrew Gagg

The Raven

Brian Harvey

Walking in Memphis

Liam Haines

A Place of Pilgrimage

Malcolm Imhoff

An Urban Oasis

Tony Collinson

The Night I Fell for You

Keith Leedham

Commended

Page 5

AV News 211 | February 2018

The Attraction of the North Bob Sherrard LRPS In his summing up of the 23rd. Great Northern AV Festival, Chairman of the panel of Judges, Howard Bagshaw applauded the large numbers in attendance that had made the weekend so enjoyable and the competition entries that had tried something different in their production. Sixty one sequences were viewed over the weekend. Most notable was Mathew Loney's Miracle by Judith Kimber who by using scripted monochrome images and producer composed music re ecting the pace and mood told an emotional story. On second viewing, for it had been shown at the recent RPS National in Leeds, the story became more apparent and justi ed the rst place and AV Dialog prize for the best story without words. Winner of the audience vote and silver medal was the excellent In Search of Christina by the highly experienced Richard Brown. The production told the story of the search to nd an unknown girl who features in an Autochrome photograph made in 1913 by Mervyn O'Gorman and was brought to prominence recently on an RPS poster. Back on the theme of being different was Timelapse Notes from North Wales by Stephen Lewis. Opinions ranged from "over use of a gimmick" to "a quite beautiful way of present stunning landscapes". Judge Andy Polakowski chose it for special mention. Brian Stubbs favoured for his special mention The Old Fashioned Way, the latest production by Malcolm and Jenny Gee, relating a day on the Norfolk Broads, narrated in a very personal way. Always there by Graham Sergeant and Carole Speight was social history at its most poignant and the choice of Howard Bagshaw for his special mention.

Page 6

AV News 211 | February 2018 The Perfect Husband by Graham Sergeant and Carole Speight was the last sequence shown and received the biggest laugh. A number of people expressed a view that more humorous work would be a welcome addition to audio visual festivals and given recognition by a special award. The New Horizons category encourages newcomers in audio visual to enter a competition and receive judgesâ€™ constructive feedback. Jean Mills received the audience vote and the Sir George & Lady Pollock Medal for her AV entitled For the Love of Sarah, a well researched and narrated story of how a family commemorated the tragic loss of a daughter.

Above: An attentive and appreciative audience On Friday evening, Liam Sanderson from The Wales High School, Shef eld presented short lms of many different genre's produced by the students in Film and Media Studies. Many of the lms had won awards and were a credit to the pupils and teaching. It was interesting to make the comparison with audio visual production techniques. This was the fourth festival that I have attended and was well up to its usual high standard. The entries as usual demonstrated huge range and variety. The administration, venue, new screen, sound system, image quality from the loaned Canon projector and catering were all excellent. I enjoyed my weekend 'up north' mingling with familiar faces who enjoy sharing their hobby, enthusiasm and experiences. I can recommend it to others and hope to return. Left: A trio of Presidents Robert Albright (RPS), Garth Tighe (L&CPU) and Gordon Jenkins (PAGB) Photographs courtesy of Malcolm Imhoff Page 7

AV News 211 | February 2018

Matthew Loney’s Miracle Judith Kimber LIPF AV is a very new art form for me – but for someone who loves photography, storytelling and music it’s the perfect medium. I love thinking through the big picture – seizing on an idea, developing a story, pinning down the direction of the narrative thread. I also love working on the tiny details – choosing the exact crop for a photograph, adjusting the length of a slide again and again and again, altering a note of the score to create the right emotional effect. And for me, creating the right emotional effect is the most important thing at every point in the process. The idea for Matthew Loney’s Miracle sprang from a photoshoot that I did one October afternoon on the beach at New Smyrna, Florida, near the home of my partner, John. I had in mind an imaginary historical character who had left his home in Kilcloud, County Down, in tragic circumstances and sailed to a new life in America. Matthew, in his Irish linen shirt, black hat and dark trousers is seen walking on the pale, sandy beach with a book in his hand.

There was an appealingly atmospheric quality to the prints from this shoot, and they made me think that perhaps there was a bigger story here that could be developed. Page 8

AV News 211 | February 2018

On his next visit to Belfast, the ever-co-operative John gamely dressed in Matthew Loney's full Irish suit for some shots at the Ulster Folk Museum, one of the few places where walking round in a turn-of-the-century hat and waistcoat looks perfectly normal. And in the same week a quick change of out t in the car at Tyrella Beach led to some nice images of Matthew with the Mournes in the background. With an overall structure in place – a bereavement leading to emigration from Ireland to America – I began to invent details. I added the idea of the ring, rst seen on his wife Sophia's nger during the happy start of the story, later thrown down in despair by Matthew on the County Down beach, and nally found again, miraculously, in Florida. I used a cast silver heart ring that I'd made myself – it’s not at all historically accurate, but I liked the fact that it was handmade and my own work. I decided that Sophia would play the harp, drawing attention to her ngers, and hence the ring, and allowing me to use a harp as a key part of the musical score. Daffodils appeared in the teaching charts behind Matthew in his school, giving me the idea that he would pick a daffodil as he walked happily home from work, and that this would later be shown, withered and decayed, as Sophia died.

Page 9

AV News 211 | February 2018 Matthew Loney’s Miracle continued ... Sophia's face is never seen, except in the photograph Matthew packs. Her hand is, and it's my own hand here, shot sometimes with a remote and sometimes by a trusty assistant - many thanks to John and to Hope for helping with this. Working from a large number of potential images, I organised them into groups for each of the dramatic scenes I wanted to show: Matthew teaching in his school, Matthew walking home, domestic details, and so on. I edited each group with the aim of producing a characteristic style, re ecting the mood of the scene in question.

The shots of Matthew in mourning are dark and grainy; the Florida beach shots, conveying a very different meaning, are much lighter and brighter. It took several weeks to compose and record the music. I began by creating little melodic motifs for both Matthew and Sophia. These are settings of their names (D E G F# for “Matthew Loney” and B A D for “Sophia”), designed so that the motifs would t together in harmony when needed – you can hear them together in the "love" scene and in the nal beach scene. Then I created short complete pieces for both Matthew and Sophia. Matthew's is played at the very start. Sophia's is heard when we rst see their house. Photographs courtesy Judith Kimber Page 10

AV News 211 | February 2018 For the sadder scenes, I developed the motifs and melodies to incorporate different modes, more dissonant harmonies and altered rhythms, as well as moving into different keys to create a satisfying overall tonal structure. For the Irish part of the story the music uses techniques, features and instruments which would have been familiar in Ireland in the early twentieth century (with a few liberties taken). Once the scene moves to Florida I started using a more open harmonic style, with sparser chords designed to convey the impression both of a bigger, more open landscape and of a new start for Matthew. I worked backwards and forwards between the images and the music, constantly adjusting slide lengths, tempi, and visual and musical transitions. I treated it as a lm music composition task, but with the unusual luxury of being able to alter the images when I wanted the music to have priority. It was a thrill for me to see the project on the big screen at the NIPA AV Festival in January 2017. It was also an opportunity to take note of audience feedback, and I made a few adjustments and additions for the new version, submitted for the RPS competition. The news that Iâ€™d been awarded the George and Doreen Pollock Medal astonished and delighted me. My aim had been simply to take part competently, and perhaps to bring a little tear to the eye of someone in the audience, so this unexpected recognition has been enormously encouraging. Iâ€™m hugely grateful, and already at work on my next idea.

Page 11

AV News 211 | February 2018

Greater than the sum of its parts... Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB Judging AV competitions is an interesting and taxing challenge. There has been a lot of discussion about the ‘correct’ way of doing this, in an attempt to make the judgements more ‘accurate’ and transparent. In issue 209 of AV News, Charles Hulse expressed concern about the ABC system, commonly used in Europe to judge ‘live’ AV competitions. He advocates a numerical system, perhaps separately grading a number of features of each AV such as photography, audio and production. He also lists a large number of features which we should be looking for in an AV, which is a very useful guide to what can make a successful AV. Given unlimited time, as often happens when competitions are judged remotely (i.e. judges are sent a disk of AVs and sit alone in a darkened room for a week to judge the entries), there is opportunity to watch each AV several times, recording a score for each of the various components. Some mathematical magic can then be used to aggregate the component scores. Of course, in a ‘live’ competition such as the GNF, with about a minute between AVs, recording numerous component scores and making notes becomes almost impossible. So, there is a pragmatic problem with a ‘compartmentalised’ approach to judging an AV in such a situation. I am also not convinced that compartmenting the judgement makes it any more accurate. As Aristotle said “πάντων γὰρ ὅσα πλείω μέρη ἔχει καὶ μὴ ἔστιν οἷον σωρὸς τὸ πᾶν”, which roughly translates as “The totality is not a mere heap, the whole is different to the sum of the parts”. We all feel this to be true, for example the success of a party is more than the quality of the music and the quantity of the drinks. The impact of a painting is more than the purity of colours of the oil-paint and the brush-strokes. And music is more than an aggregate of individual notes, as Eric Morecombe memorably noted about his performance, “I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.” I feel the same with an AV presentation, all the components of the pictures, sound and story come together, in uenced also by the environment in which it is shown (room ambience, audience, picture size, etc), so that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Page 12

AV News 211 | February 2018

Page 12

AV News 211 | February 2018 I believe that it is that overall impact which we should be judging and a nine point scale (A,B and C, with optional ‘+’ or ‘-‘) gives a good reference to subsequently negotiate, with the other judges, a list of the entries from ‘best’ to ‘worst’ and from that to decide the award winners and if the competition requires it, those that should be ‘accepted’. Of course, different judges will have differing views of the grading of an AV, not because they have failed to notice some poor photography, or a particularly good sound-track, but because in their mind they balance the many attributes slightly differently. Judgement generally gets ‘better’ the more AVs you see, there is really no substitute for experience. At the GNF recently, we used ‘ABC’ to help collated our thoughts; below is random section of the spreadsheet showing our scores for 8 out of the 61 entries, which shows an example of our divergence (H=Howard, A=Andy, B=Bryan). A+

A-

B+

B-

C+

C-

(9)

(8)

(7)

(6)

(5)

(4)

(3)

(2)

(1)

A AB

H A

HAB

Overall 7 14

11 17

13 24

20 H

We used these raw scores to discuss, perhaps modify an individual score up or down a notch and nally negotiate our way to a list of award winners. Fortunately, our negotiations were somewhat speedier and less acrimonious than those for Brexit! And what of the entries for the GNF? We had two distinct competitions to judge, the New Horizons for up-and-coming workers and the GNF for the more experienced. All the entries were very competent, and we commented on the huge variety of subject matter and approaches. Within the New Horizons, sometimes the quality of photography was less than perfect. It’s hard to exclude that ‘favourite photo’ but if it isn’t technically perfect, it’s better to leave it out. However, the range of innovative ideas was great to see and heartening for the future, as improving technical quality is fairly straightforward, but coming up with those ‘different’ ideas is much harder. Page 13

AV News 211 | February 2018

The Role of Editing in AV Graham Sergeant FRPS Most AV makers come from a Camera Club background. While membership may develop skills in photography, to produce AVs they also need other equally important skills that demonstrably are often over-looked or neglected. These include nding (and evaluating) ideas, scripting, sound recording and editing. AV production is a multi-skilled and time-consuming activity. Apart from being aware of the many skills involved, it's vital to develop self-criticism. It's also worth seeking experienced AV producers to provide some objective and constructive criticism. Editing In my view, Editing is one of the most important skills in AV. It's worth noting that most directors in the Features and Documentary lm industry initially trained as lm editors. Why so? It is because editing involves structuring and building a production from the major components listed above. (Typically, AV producers will perform all these skills themselves). In the following, for clarity, I will refer to the AV producer as the 'Editor/Director'. This term could also apply in the other major media based on sound and images. The main stages in AV, Photoharmony, Film and Video production. 1. It is essential that the Editor/Director is clear about the message or story to be told. 2. Consider if your idea or project has 'legs' and is 'do-able'. Consider if a visual medium (with sound) is appropriate for tackling your subject, or if a panel of photographs or book would be more appropriate. 3. Develop your idea into a script or scenario. 4. Photography - choose a form or style of photography relevant to the subject. Think about the best aspect ratio, colour/mono, infra-red, movie/ stills (or a combination of these). Generally, in documentaries, simple unmanipulated images carry the most veracity. Above all avoid gimmicks and the irrelevant use of 'special techniques' for the sake of it â€“ you can guarantee that your audiences will notice them and become either irritated or 'turned off' by them!

Page 15

AV News 211 | February 2018 The Role of Editing in AV continued ... Stop and Think! The latest additions in AV are movie footage and 'lip sync'. Used well they can greatly enhance a production. Before using these features, ask yourself WHY? If you can't think of a good reason – then probably it's best avoided! 5. Sound - a narrator can 'set up' a subject or link sub sections in a production. 'Vox Pops’ ('voices of the people') can add colour and variety to your story-telling. Music can enhance 'mood' and straight cutting 'on the beat' can help create 'pace' If you're not musical or if your voice or delivery is poor, be realistic and selfcritical. Seek advice and be prepared to use other people. We've probably all seen otherwise excellent productions, (especially photographically), awed by shortcomings in these respects. Given the huge amount of time that you will be investing in your production, you owe it to yourself (but above all your audiences!) to pay attention to these critically important details. The First Assembly In the rst assembly the Editor/Director will create the AV, video or lm initially from the material already shot. At this point, but often before, the Editor/Director will also consider the other components beyond the images to tell the story, notably narration, Vox Pops, music and sound effects, text and the possible use of animation or captions where appropriate. In some cases, and especially in Photoharmony productions the Editor/ Director may start off inspired by one or two pieces of music. The job of the editor will be to ' t' the music and images together. If so, the images must t the mood and tempo of the music throughout. Music often needs editing since there can be problems when an editor tries to nd images to ll an 'over-long' piece of music. The (free download) Audacity software showing a Waveform can be invaluable in 'seeing', as well as hearing where edits can be made in a music track. Since edits can be easily reversed, experimentation is a practical and desirable proposition. The Second Assembly (Revisions, 'Fine Cut'. Structure) Structure You will now have all the component parts assembled including sound, music and effects. Now is the time to stand back and review your production. Is the running order appropriate? Do you need to re-jig? Are there sections that, on re ection, are irrelevant or do they just need trimming? As the Editor, have you stayed 'on message' and avoided irrelevant side-tracks? At this stage and if possible, don’t be scared of bringing in other critical eyes! Page 16

AV News 211 | February 2018 Pace & Tempo Are the movie shots (if used) and still images on screen for about the 'right duration'? It is worth remembering that if you shot key material as 'talking heads', over-use may produce an impression of visual blandness and repetition. This can be overcome by using relevant visual 'cutaways' and extracts from 'talking heads' used as voice-overs. A variety of Vox Pops may also help to maintain the interest of the audience. Consider if the production needs narration to clarify points being made or perhaps to link sections. Another option for the Editor is to use ‘Visual Montages’ where a succession of images are selected to build up an overall impression or picture of the subject being portrayed. The other virtues of montages are that they can compress information and cut to music, can provide light relief from what can be turgid and relentless ‘heavy messages' that have been known to appear in some documentaries. Creating 'Atmosphere' and 'Mood' The creation of 'Atmosphere' or 'Mood' in a production is perhaps one of the most dif cult aspects to nail. It has to do with all the elements involved in a production, especially music, sound effects and the pace created in the editing. Often the rst step is an awareness on the part of the Editor. Probably one of the most useful tips in developing editorial skills is to view as many productions as possible, to seek the advice of highly experienced AV producers, but above all, to be critically aware. A good starting point is to attend AV festivals and competitions where you are sure of seeing a very wide range of work. Finally, make plenty of notes on what you consider to be the 'good' and 'bad' points! Conclusions In the days of analogue technology, AV suffered from a limited range of tools: a couple of projectors, a reel to reel tape recorder or latterly a cassette recorder to carry the sound track and pulses to control the timing of the ubiquitous 'dissolves' between the projectors. 'Straight cuts' between the slides was virtually impossible. The use of movie footage and 'lip sync' was a distant dream (or to some purists, a nightmare). Over the past few years, digital technology has revolutionised not only AV production but all 'image plus sound' media. Today we have a wide range of high quality tools that used with skill, relevance and discretion, mean that we now have an elegant, sophisticated medium that can rival much of what can be seen on television and elsewhere. Freed from the shortcomings of the earlier technology and the restrictions imposed by time slots (as in TV), the creative possibilities are endless! Page 17

AV News 211 | February 2018

Our Journey So Far Linda Gibbs MPAGB AV-AFIAP & Edgar Gibbs FRPS MPAGB AV-AFIAP For those about to start reading, don't worry it is not our life story, but for the last thirty years it could well be, as Audio Visual has been a considerable but enjoyable commitment during that time. It all started in March 1985 when Edgar went to Gwynfa Camera Club, where he was Secretary, and saw David Harris and Terry O'Connell giving an AV presentation. He thought it was brilliant, and went home and told Linda. We both went to the next AV evening at Gwynfa Camera Club, when the lecturer was the late Phil (the Headmaster) Davies, and we were hooked. So with two slide projectors and a Pollock Novar dissolve unit purchased we were on our way. It was a great combination for us as Linda had been to art college and the production, script writing and sound aspects of AV really appealed to her. However, it was another year or so before we got really involved with the AV Community. At the time Edgar was working for Glamorgan County Council as he was on a "sandwich" degree course in Civil Engineering. Here he met Owen Gibbs, (no relation) the Assistant County Surveyor. On nding out that Edgar's hobby was photography and that we had discovered AV, he introduced us to the South Wales RPS AV Group, of which he was the Organiser. In just over a year Owen talked us in to taking over running the Group which we did from the beginning of 1989 to 1996. During that time we were asked to put on AV days. For the rst one held on 30 September 1989 Richard Brown, Keith Brown and Clive Atkins had offered to be our guest speakers. They came as a â€œready made packageâ€?, which meant that any apprehensions we had about putting on an AV day were very much alleviated. Other guests over the years included Colin Balls, Peter Coles, Ron and Linda Davies, Harry Duckmanton, Martin Fry and Dave Carpenter, Howard and Suzanne Gregory, Mike and Lavinia Hardwick, Brian Jeffs, Keith Leedham, Sid Pearce and Clive Rathband. We also had a number of signi cant guests at our evening meetings including Dini and Gijs van Gent from the Netherlands, who were on holiday touring around Britain in their camper van. Not long after we started going to the South Wales RPS AV Group, but before we took over organising the Group some of the members mentioned to us that there was an AV weekend taking place at Dyffryn House and would we be attending. Dyffryn House, is about 15 minutes drive from our house and is now a National Trust property. However, in the late 1980s/early 1990s it was a conference centre run by the local authority. One of the courses was photography/AV and the course leader was Richard Tucker. It was a residential course, running from the Friday evening to the Sunday afternoon. Page 18

AV News 211 | February 2018 On our rst weekend there we thought we were in heaven. We watched AVs made by those attending as well as by Richard himself, stayed up talking AV until the early hours, and really started to learn about the medium. It was not long before we were introduced to the many aspects of AV production, including the need to edit our images. One of our earliest AVs was about the Brecon Jazz Festival. We had visited the Festival and were determined to show all of the photographs taken, which meant we had to use two pieces of the live music we’d recorded at the Festival. Richard showed us how to edit our production and convinced us that only one piece of music was required. We still needed to use quite a lot of the images as he cut the transitions to the beat of the music. It was at this point we understood that sound is as important as the images. On another occasion we took an AV about Swansea to show Richard, who gently took Edgar aside and said "it was ok, but he needed to improve his photography”. Much to Edgar’s relief, we quickly realised that Richard meant photography for AV, which has very different requirements to single image photography. It was at one Dyffryn AV weekend that we met Martin Fry and Dave Carpenter who were the Saturday evening guest presenters. Their approach to AV was certainly a great in uence on us and it was Martin and Dave who suggested we should attend the RPS National AV Championships (NAVC) in Sutton Bonington. This was in September 1987, where we rst met the wider AV community, many of whom were to become great friends. In 1988 we drove over each day to the RPS International AV Festival (IAVF), which was held in the Redwood Lodge Hotel, Bristol. The rst one we attended for the whole weekend was held in Bath in 1990, when the Gala dinner took place in the Pump Rooms. To Linda's horror, the Festival programme indicated that trips were available for the wives of participants, as an alternative activity to the AV sessions. Needless to say Linda was only interested in seeing AVs. We then started entering and attending International AV Festivals in mainland Europe. These included Epinal, Hayange, and Thionville in France, St Gallen and Meyrin in Switzerland, Mechelin in Belgium, Renkum in the Netherlands and Legnano in Italy. These visits were a superb experience and opened our eyes to many styles of AV. Whilst at Epinal, Peter Coles heard Linda say, after seeing a really creative 4 projector AV, “now that's what I call AV", and quoted her in a subsequent edition of AV News. We carried on going to national and international AV competitions as well as AV days throughout the country. We found that AV days were helping us to improve our knowledge and skills in AV, and by now were also enjoying giving presentations to camera clubs in South Wales and the other side of the Severn Bridge. Page 19

AV News 211 | February 2018 Probably our most memorable award was when we were in Australia in 2007, attending the Adelaide International AV Festival and won the silver medal plus best sound for Talbot House. In 2008 we were awarded a FICS (International Federation of Sound Hunters) medal at the 2008 RPS IAVF. Although we had been guest speakers at AV days, winning these awards for sound combined with retiring in 2009 increased the number of requests for us to make presentations at AV days, which we gladly accepted. As members of the Magic Lantern Society we named our talks the “Digital Magic Lantern Show”. We even gave a presentation of our work at an AGM of the Magic Lantern Society, held in the theatre of the Magic Circle HQ in London. As well as awards, we’ve gained a number of distinctions. Edgar has a Fellowship in AV from the RPS, the only one to be presented as a combination of digital and slide/tape. We also have a distinction (Artiste) from The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), for our successes in International AV competitions. In October 2012 we were jointly awarded a Master in AV from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. Additionally, we have judged and continue to judge AV Competitions at national and international level, together and independently. We are also both on the PAGB approved judges list for AV. Edgar was on the RPS AV Distinctions Panel for two years and after that he spent a number of years as the AV Group representative on the RPS Advisory Board, waving the AV ag positively whenever he could. He then offered to become Vice Chair of the RPS AV Group Committee. This led to Edgar volunteering to be Chair of the 2015 NAVC and Linda agreed to be Chair of the Jury. The following year Edgar offered to take take over as Director of the 2016 RPS IAVF, re-introducing FIAP patronage. He has agreed to continue in this role for the 2018 IAVF. In 2016 Edgar received a certi cate and a badge from the RPS recognising 27 years volunteer work for the Society. Nevertheless, Edgar is keen to point out that even though you'll see his name as the lead for organising events we work as a team, and Linda has also contributed to making these events a success and will continue to do so. To bring things upto-date we are now back organising the South Wales RPS AV Group. Through AV we’ve made friends with some wonderful people all over the UK, mainland Europe, South Africa and Australia. We were so pleased when we went to South Africa in 2014 to be able to give presentations in Cape Town, Knysna, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. And in 2015 we were pleased to be invited to go back to Australia, this time to judge the Adelaide International AV Festival, also giving AV presentations in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Page 21

AV News 211 | February 2018

Page 23

AV News 211 | February 2018

Browned & Gagged! Lilian Webb, IPF AV Co-Ordinator. Richard Brown, FRPS, FIPF, FACI(M), APAGB and Andrew Gagg, FRPS were the judges at the 35th Irish Photographic Federation’s National Audio Visual Championships and 6th International Audio Visual Competition, which was held on the 21st and 22nd of October in Clondalkin, Dublin. On the Saturday , there was a reduced number of attendees from the north and south east on account of Storm Brian but we were happy to welcome them on the Sunday along with Dom Reddin, the IPF President. Eighteen sequences were shown in the National Section with 29 sequences in the International section. These were from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, England, Wales, Northern and Southern Ireland. Andrew and Richard gave very helpful comments on the national entries with all the entries judged by lunch time on Sunday. The judges then showed some of their prize winning sequences for the next hour, followed by applications for distinctions in audio visual. As usual there was a get together for an evening meal on the Friday and the Sunday with a Gala dinner on the Saturday. We were delighted to have Linda and Edgar Gibbs, Bev and Alan Tyrer, Ron Davies, Malcolm Imhoff, Julie England, and Dave and Trish Cooke joining us from across the Irish Sea. International Gold Medal

Judith Kimber, LIPF

Matthew Loney’s Miracle

Best Sound Production Best 1st Time Entrant and Best Photography

Pat Collins

Island Of The Pelicans

Michael Linehan, FIPF

A Grand Canal

Best Club Andorra Trophy Best Humour Trophy

Celbridge Camera Club

The Incredible Arthur

Lilian Webb, AIPF

Two Of The Three

Best Script Trophy

Margaret Finlay, LIPF

The Fields

Best Overall Kieran O’Loughlin Memorial Trophy

Yvonne Acheson, LIPF

A Canvas of Blue

National

Page 24

AV News 211 | February 2018

Mike Hardwick – 1937-2017 Mike Hardwick, died in September after a short illness. Throughout his life Mike and two main passions – sport and photography, particularly the making of audio-visuals. He was born in Stanwick in Northamptonshire and became a pupil at Kimbolton School. It was here his love of sport was encouraged and he excelled at it. He was captain of the school’s football and cricket teams. He also represented the school and the county in cross country running. Indeed, throughout his life he continued to play a variety of sports - squash, tennis, badminton and golf, which he was still playing until a short time before his death. After school he trained as a draughtsman. He married Lavinia in 1961 and they moved to Leicestershire, where their son was born in 1967. The following year Mike’s work took the family to the West Midlands and he studied to become a Chartered Engineer, working in both the private and public sector. A chance meeting with Clive Atkins in the early 1980’s introduced him to AV and he and Lavinia worked as a team producing and showing their work to clubs and societies. They sometimes entered local and national competitions, but it was their love of the hobby which was the main driving force. With the demise of analogue and the beginning of digital they retired from the scene for a few years, but returned to it about 10 years ago, with new found interest. He was a great family man and took delight in his two grandchildren. Mike enjoyed travelling and together with Lavinia they were fortunate to visit many parts of the world- which usually meant yet another AV. He had been fortunate throughout his life to have exceptionally good health and so it was a great shock to everyone who knew him when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in July, dying about two months later. He is survived by Lavinia, their son Jonathan and two grandsons, George and Thomas, and is sadly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Page 25

AV News 211 | February 2018

Our Third Image Malcolm Gee ARPS DPAGB, Jenny Gee LRPS DPAGB Occasionally we like to create the illusion of movement in our AV productions but without using video. The possibility of doing this arose when we took a trip on a vintage Swiss paddle steamer. It was achieved by taking a number of images of the steam engine in motion and then stationary. All the images were taken handheld on a Canon Powershot G10, camera, with an image stabilized lens. A shutter speed of 1/25th of a second was used throughout, resulting in any moving engine parts being blurred. The Align function in Photoshop was used on two selected uncropped images, one with the engine stationary, and the other in motion (Images 1 & 2 respectively â€“ enlarged portions). Alignment was necessary, to correct for any slight variation in framing, due to the camera being handheld. Turn to page 49 to nd out how to use the Align function in Photoshop.

The rst aligned image (in focus) Photographs courtesy Malcolm and Jenny Gee Page 26

AV News 211 | February 2018

The resulting composite image is then cropped to the required pixel dimensions for use in the AV production. When cropping the image ensure that you have selected an area common to both of the aligned image layers. The two separate layers can then, in turn, be selected and made visible, attened, and then saved as individual images. In addition to taking the images of the paddle steamers engine, a Sony PCMM10 digital sound recorder was used to record the sound of the working engine. At a later stage in AV production, the resulting sound clip was edited using Adobe Audition software, and inserted into the soundtrack. Finally, using PictureToExe software, the two images of the steam engine, stationary and in motion, were inserted into the timeline as a number of repeats, and the duration and transition times adjusted to synchronize them with the cycling engine beats in the soundtrack. The overall result â€“ a repetitive transient third image â€“ providing a very convincing impression that the piston was moving and the steam engine actually operating.

The second aligned image (blurred)

Page 27

AV News 211 | February 2018

Letters

to the Editor…

Scoring Spreadsheet – A Response Dear AV News Here is my response to Edgar Gibbs in the Letters page of the last issue and Andrew Chadwick in this one. First to Edgar’s points: as I say in the article - if it is felt that a pure ABC system is best, then split the scores 0:0:100 for Sound, Vision and Overall. That system also gives the judges a chance to register an Overall score. I don't believe one split is better than another – it’s up to the organisers and judges to decide that. At the end of the day, the judges have the nal say after discussing the merits of each entry. I don’t see how numbers in any way dictate which way the judges will decide to go. Numbers are quantitative and I prefer them to the more vague ABC assignments. Anything that makes the judge’s job easier should be welcomed and that is what the spreadsheet does. It can act as a pure ABC system and also as a means to add additional information to help the judges e.g. by including the scores for Sound and Vision but not having them used to compute the rankings as per a 0:0:100 split. Re Andrew's comments, his characterisation of judges was interesting and was covered in a tasting paper I saw many years ago. Yes, some personality types do tend to react very strongly to variations in the qualities of an AV (or a beer or anything really) and will tend to go from one extreme to the other. They use almost the entire scale and they can dominate the results when that happens. That paper recommended that judges of that type should not be used. Other judges can be too conservative and bunch their scores very closely. Maybe we should have a personality test to sort out judges! We need judges who use a reasonable spread of scores without going overboard. As Andrew has stated, in one real life judging situation I supplied, the inclusion of score normalisation made no difference. At other times it may be useful where there is great variation in judge’s scores. The spread of quality will depend on the competition, with entries in internationals usually being of a high standard. In such a competition it would not be unusual for a large percentage of entries to be bunched in the middle, with few marks less than 4 or 5 and some with marks greater than 7 or 8.

Page 28

AV News 211 | February 2018 Andrew raises the subject of objective versus relative judging which was also touched on by Edgar. It was our practice in a professional judging environment to judge each beer on its own merits – an absolute method. This was agreed on by all of the sensory analysts in the company. I can’t quite see how relative judging would work. Yes, if I’m judging a panel of 20 prints on a wall I can rank them relatively, but I can’t see all of the AVs at the same time. Remembering all of the complex details of previous AVs (for a relative judgment) is beyond the capabilities of most humans. When judging on an absolute basis the ranking mark is computed from the scores of all judges. There is no reason why judges can’t change their scores as they go (which allows for some relativity) and the spreadsheet is no barrier to doing so. Life and judging wasn’t meant to be easy! Charles Hulse FRPS AV-EFIAP AV-FAPS ——————————————————— Combining Judges Scores Dear AV News In AV News 209 of August 2017, Charles Hulse proposed a nine-point numeric system for judging AVs. A score of between one and nine is awarded to three aspects of an AV, audio, visual and overall. These aspects are weighted, for example 20% for audio, 20% for visual and 60% for overall, to produce a nal score. As the scores are numeric it is very easy to devise a spreadsheet that will combine individual judges scores and come up with a nal ranking. This seems like a very sensible and exible system. Edgar Gibbs’ reply defending the currently more popular ABC system which appeared in AV News 210 did not sway my opinion. It seemed to me that he had not appreciated how similar the two systems are in all respects apart from in the decision of the nal ranking, where the numeric system is superior. However the thing that interested me was the spreadsheet devised by Ian Bateman that Charles mentioned. This uses averaging, or to be precise the arithmetic mean, to combine the judges’ scores. This seems a reasonable idea, but under some circumstances can give misleading results. The problem is that the opinion of a judge who uses the full range of marks can outweigh that of his more moderate colleagues. Figure 1 (next page) shows a simple example for three AVs called A, B and C

Page 29

AV News 211 | February 2018 Combining Judges Scores continued ...

Section 1 uses the method in Ian Bateman’s spreadsheet. Judge 1 uses the full range of marks whilst Judges 2 and 3 are more conservative. The nal ranking shows sequence A as the winner, B second and C third. However, look at how the individual judges ranked the AVs. Even without working out their individual weighted scores, it is obvious that Judge 1 ranked the AVs in the same order as the combined ranking. However Judges 2 and 3 both ranked them in exactly the opposite order. To remove this possible unfairness the judges’ scores need some form of normalisation before combining. One fairly straightforward method is shown in Section 2. Judge 1’s scores for the audio aspect of all AVs are scaled so that the lowest is zero and the highest is one and the remainder lie in proportion in between. This is repeated for the other two aspects and then for the other two judges. These normalised scores are then averaged. The nal ranking now re ects the ranking given by Judges 2 and 3. Charles was kind enough to send me some real-life scores that I could compare the ranking using a straight mean and my normalisation method. There was virtually no difference. However this was not surprising as all three judges had used a very similar limited range of scores with over 96 % lying between 5 and 8. As I stated earlier, the effect I am describing only becomes apparent when the range of scores used by one judge differs markedly from the others. There is a good argument for using the full range of marks as it produces a much clearer nal ranking. So why don’t judges do this? Firstly, because there is confusion between absolute and relative marking. In any competition the entries are being judged against each other and the score is simply an indication of ranking relative to the others, not a judgement on the standard of the entry. In the real-life set of scores there were no scores below 4 and only three out of 117 scores were 4 suggesting the judges were subconsciously giving an absolute mark. Page 30

Page 29

AV News 211 | February 2018 Combining Judges Scores continued ...

AV News 211 | February 2018 Thoughts on Photo Harmony Dear AV News In AV News 210, NAVC impressions you refer to little or no Photo Harmony in the entries and referred to other comments in that issue. When I read "Master or Servant" by Andrew Gagg, I found the history of AV as he saw it interesting, remembering some of my own experiences of the neighbour's holiday pictures. However when I reached his statement about Photo Harmony "There is no obvious link between the images" I despaired. In his other comments he appears to be saying that Photo Harmony has no place in our work. But is that not where all AV workers start? I know I did! Even those members of my club who only make one AV a year to support our one AV competition in a season have a theme to their work. We can't all immediately move from producing individual or panels of images to a documentary with music, sound effects, commentary, archival images etc. Then Edgar Gibbs in his article "The Audio Visual Arts" helpfully reminds us of the PAGB de nition of Photo Harmony, but goes on to say that good quality sequences are now rare. Whilst I bow to Edgar's great experience, is the rarity due to the more experienced AV workers producing sequences for competitions and only entering documentary work? I have attended the NAVC for several years but not entered a sequence recently after receiving discouraging comments on a Photo Harmony entry I made in my early years of AV. I have no problem with documentaries and I am increasingly producing them, but I also make Photo Harmony sequences starting both with images and then looking for suitable music, and by using music and then looking for the images. The Chairman's report in the November 16 issue has the number in the RPS AV Group at around 200. If we want to encourage photographers to become AV workers do we not need to encourage all levels and types of work? Neil Smith

Page 33

AV News 211 | February 2018 Keep up the Good Work Dear Editors, It's regrettable that you had little feedback on your August issue - but, it's the nature of man only to complain, so if you had little feedback, I would take it that you are doing a good job! First, you should know that your August issue is the only copy of AV news that I have not thrown away after reading, and indeed I have kept it on my desk with several pages bookmarked. At last several AV issues are being tackled intelligently, and with common sense, so are worth keeping to hand. Of particular interest and importance is the question of judging. Please pursue this to an intelligent conclusion if at all possible. Poor judging (has done more harm to the whole AV cause than can be measured. It is taking a long time (as they are probably discovering) for some promising authors to get over this, but your article on 'Harmonising Judging Methods' and the response it has generated from Edgar Gibbs (who I hugely respect as a judge) in the current issue is brilliant. Please, please pursue this, and get some intelligence, common sense and fun back into the AV thing. (especially the fun!) Only good judging can achieve this. You should know that your November issue is now on my desk (and will remain so) with several pages bookmarked. Thank you. Chris Carne.

Around the AV GROUPS Northern Audio Visual Group Ian Gregory The Northern Audio Visual Group held their AGM at the St Johnâ€™s Church Hall, Snods Edge on Saturday 21st October 2017 with an attendance of 43 members. Ron Henry ARPS was elected to the Chair for the next twelve months and Anne Harbron as secretary. The retiring Chairman, Geoffrey Darling and Secretary Howard Wilson APAGB were presented with gift vouchers in appreciation of their previous hard work. After the completion of the AGM twelve members sequences, of a high standard, were shown to an appreciative audience. The sequences had been sent to Ron Davies FRPS, FIPF, EFIAP, FACI(M), prior to the meeting for him to view and make written comments. The respective comments were read out to the audience at the end of each sequence and were well received by all. Page 34

AV News 211 | February 2018 After lunch the Guest Speaker, Bryan Stubbs ARPS, showed professional and entertaining sequences, starting off with a very amusing one about a previous meeting at Snods Edge, of some years ago. Members past and present were the stars of the show and it brought back fond memories and gave great amusement to everyone! Bryan’s AVs all had a story to tell and it was obvious that considerable research and preparation of the scripts and music had gone into each one, matched with equally high-quality photography. The slides for a couple of the sequences were Bryan’s own drawings, which was very different and showed his depth of artistic talent coupled with his ability to tell a story. Bryan’s sequences covered a wide variety of subjects and were informative, thought provoking and emotive. Bryan explained that when taking photographs, he has in mind an AV with a story to tell. Therefore, taking the pictures is an important part of the planning stage. The last sequence featured some of Bryan’s drawings and the narrative was from a “Goon Show” sketch which had everyone laughing and was a great way to nish off a successful event. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to those who had made it possible, especially the ladies who provided tea/coffee and an excellent lunch. The next meeting to be held at Snods Edge, which will include a talk on the use of Light Room for the preparation of AV’s, will be on 17th March 2018. Details at the Northern AV Group web site www.thenorthernavgroup.co.uk

Guest Speaker Bryan Stubbs and new Chairman Ron Henry Page 35

AV News 211 | February 2018 RPS Great Yorkshire AV Day â€“ Impressions from a rst time visitor. Geoff Freeman. On arriving at the venue, Leeds Trinity University I was immediately struck as to what a great venue this was. The registration desk was 'manned', (pardon the sexism) by two most welcoming ladies who ef ciently handed us our badges greeted us most warmly. First impressions always count so much, and this rst contact positively con rmed this maxim. Tea, coffee and biscuits on entry were most welcome. Other attendees I chatted with prior to the mornings event were engaging and friendly. The venue was spot on, with a great auditorium and a screen which wouldn't have looked out of place at an Imax Cinema, well almost!! The MC for the AV day, Bryan Stubbs, conducted events with great professionalism and good humour, which, considering the length of the days content, went a long way to adding to the days ow and enjoyment.

Above: Visiting lecturer from Northern Ireland James Hamill

Page 36

AV News 211 | February 2018 Suf ce to say that the mornings content of various AVs was of a rst-class standard, and I was most interested to hear the varied comments, critiques and feed back from the audience after each AV, all conveyed with constructive comments and advice (well mostly). Having limited AV experience, I must say that I was very impressed with all of the morning sequences, and it recon rmed my initial thoughts from the meeting at Snods Edge, that AV is not just about the technicalities of the production process, but just how informative and educational the subject matter and scripts can be, with all kinds of subjects covered. We moved on to lunch where the standard of the buffet provided was both well presented, generous of portion, and most enjoyable. Other members of the group who I talked with over lunch were again engaging and friendly. The afternoon presentations by James Hamill were without doubt outstanding, and so very well put together that the afternoon passed all too quickly. Again, the variety of the subjects covered was entertaining and at the same time educational. I would single out the sequences of the Empty Chest and the rst ascent of the Matterhorn as my personal favourites. Most poignant. In conclusion, my overall opinion of the Leeds AV Day was of one lled with informative and technically outstanding sequences, presented with good humour and involving lively debate and constructive advice from participating delegates. A most enjoyable day. You never know I may now be tempted into the dark arts of AV myself!!!

Page 37

AV News 211 | February 2018 Hailsham Photographic Society AV Bob Sherrard. Hailsham Photographic Society has recognition in the Sussex and Kent regions as being active in audio visual production. There is a nucleus of Society members who produce sequences for the annual competition. These productions cover a wide range of topics from natural history to documentary, travel and photo harmony to humour. For members who do not work in audio visual media we take their submitted images and work them into short miscellanies. All these productions are then compiled into the 'Colour Show' to which regional club members and the public are invited to attend. The funds raised from this event go to a local charity and help to fund the annual Society program. The Colour Show started in 1963 and has established a reputation as being a very different and varied form of entertainment attracting up to ve hundred people over three shows in early March each year. This year the shows are on the 2nd and 3rd March 2018 at the Hailsham Community Centre. More details are on the Society website. It's often said by people attending the show for the rst time that they didn't know what to expect from the Colour Show but having seen it they are wanting to return again next year. It's good to experience an appreciation of our hobby. Beacon Camera Club AV Group Peter Warner ARPS The Beacon Camera Club AV Group was launched in 2016 and has been slowly and steadily growing. As a camera club Beacon has grown over the last six years from around 40 to 140 members and one of the innovations for the growing club has been the establishment of nine â€˜Special Interest Groupsâ€™ of which AV is one. In addition to a top of the range projector, the club has also invested in a high quality PA system so we have all the necessary hardware to show off our work at its very best.

Page 38

AV News 211 | February 2018 This season we are meeting on a monthly basis, on the rst Monday of the month (unless it is a Bank Holiday when we will meet on the third). We meet at the new Malvern Vale Community Centre in Malvern Link. The programme has a mix of practical, hands on workshops, members AV evenings and visiting speakers. We are keen to develop links with other clubs and in November we were delighted to welcome the Worcestershire AV Group who showed us some of their thought-provoking work, helping us to widen our horizons. on the potential of AV. Howard Bagshaw is coming to talk to the group in April and we have a sound and recording workshop in February. We hold an annual competition, which will be judged by Martin Fry this season, and it is good to see the standard of our work steadily improving. Last year, as a practical challenge, we took a poem and built an AV around it. We selected three poems, two on the subject of 'Frost' and one on â€˜Autumnâ€™. The members chose one of the poems to interpret through images, voice and sound. For many members this was the rst attempt at using voice recordings. One of the highlights of last season was a group outing to the Severn Valley Railway 1940s weekend. Next month we are looking forward to seeing members' audio visual interpretations of the day at one of our meetings. Our philosophy is that of a learning club, keen to share expertise between members and beyond. If you live locally and, regardless of your level of ability, are interested in joining our enthusiastic, up and coming group, please contact Peter Warner on peter@peterwarner.co.uk

______________________________________

XXXVIII Pomorskie Spotkania z Diaporama Jeff Morris AV-AFIAP AFIAP LRPS APSSA I had the privilege to attend the 38th Pomeranian meeting with Diaporamas in Szczecin, Poland, in November. It was held over a three-day period with shows of the entries every day. The subject matter varied from images set to music or song through story telling to documentary. I could understand most entries and only a handful of Polish language entries left me guessing. Two French language AVs had good English subtitles. The venue is a medieval castle used for all sorts of cultural events. It has a comfortable theatre with excellent audio visual equipment.

Page 39

AV News 211 | February 2018 XXXVIII Pomorskie Spotkania z Diaporama continued ... The organization was rst-class. On the rst evening all the 46 entries were shown to the three judges and a small audience. On the next day the shortlisted entries were shown again with a similar audience. One of the judges, Cezary Dubiel, entertained the audience with eight of his productions at the same event. Some of his work I had seen before and some was new. One sequence had the audience rolling in the aisles but unfortunately I could not follow the Polish jokes. At noon on the third day a capacity audience of photographic enthusiasts met to hear the results being announced. Apart from myself, there was an author from Slovakia and a couple of Polish authors present. After the formal announcements and medal presentations a reception where red and white wine owed was held. This was followed by the award-winning entries being shown for the third time. The process was different from any other I have ever attended but it worked very well. The judges had much more time for deliberation than there is with events like the Peter Coles or RPS Internationals. For what it is worth, comparing the list of potential winners that I made with the nal result showed good agreement, with only a couple of surprise omissions. Every judge is subjective, if only in a small way, and therefore no two juries are going to arrive at the same result and I take my hat off to any jury. It is not a science, after all. Looking at the results, this jury had a leaning towards story telling, but not necessarily straight-forward stories. Ones with subtle humour like The Little White Village or Ghost Town with its sub-plot got recognition. Excellent photography and attention to editing like that in the winner, Serenissima, and Red Steel were recognized. Slide shows, pretty pictures set to music or a song without a storyline did not feature unless the sum of the parts made it exceptional, as in Lalena. It was noticeable that very little use was made of video clips. Where they were included, they were generally appropriate and did not dominate the production. It was pleasing to nd that over 40% of the entries were given acceptances. This common-sense approach has taken hold since the RPS International broke the 30% barrier in a salon with FIAP patronage (71 out of 122). The latest FIAP ruling (needs to be con rmed) appears to be that no minimum or maximum limit is set on acceptances but should rather be based on the overall quality of the works. The Photo Club of the Republic of Poland is planning a special meeting to celebrate their 40th anniversary in 2019. Do try to participate and make an effort to be there. I enjoyed my visit to Poland and the Castle and can recommend a visit to a bunch of friendly and enthusiastic AV makers. Page 40

AV News 211 | February 2018

AV Makers South Africa “Life” Competition Jeff Morris AV-AFIAP AFIAP LRPS APSSA Narrative AV Results Winner

The Land God Made in Anger Howard and Carol Bagshaw

Best from ZA

Celebrating Life

Nico Jacobs

Acceptances

Life on the Edge The One and Only Fresh Start A Quiet Garden The Quick and the Dead

Alastair Taylor Edwin Bailey Mary Hunter (ZA) Alan Lyons Eric Thorburn (ZA)

Open Section Results Winner

Confession

John Hodgson

Best from ZA

Live Life Now A Life Saved

Luana Laubscher Len Cousins (ZA)

Acceptances

Human Impact The Fallen (Wasted Lives) Remembered Bribes de Souvenirs Like Mirrors Feeling Good

Gail Stent Ian Bateman Alan Tyrer Ron Davies & PeterColes Jacek Zaim Ger Sauer

Page 41

AV News 211 | February 2018

Fig 2, an image without a white border and they eye is drawn elsewhere

Fig 3, breaking the rule to give a different impression Just occasionally you may want to break the rules. In Maggie's last AV we wanted to show some forty year-old pictures as part of the sequence. They were actually colour slides but we converted them to black and white with sepia toning to give the impression of age. To further enhance the illusion we made them look like enprints by giving them a white border (Fig 3 above). And yes, that's me cooking on our Primus stove in Buttermere in 1969!

Page 43

AV News 211 | February 2018

Sound for AV Malcolm Imhoff FRPS FACI(M) I'm planning a series of features on the subject of sound in AV on the lines of Keith Scott's excellent master classes in Photoshop. It's an aspect of Audio Visual production that many of those who come to AV from a photographic background nd a bit of a challenge, so my aim is to cover some of the basics. I've got plenty of ideas but if there is any particular topic or issue you would like me to explore do get in touch. The Importance of Sound I would argue that sound is at least of equal importance to the other elements of AV, the visuals, the production, and of course the idea, possibly more. When I think of the AVs that have made the most impression on me it's the ones with a memorable soundtrack that I recall: Peter Coles' Sarah, Colin Balls' Portrait of the Author, Keith Leedham's Slainte Mhath, James Hamill's Mountains of the Mind, and more recently Malcolm & Jenny Gee's Eric, to name but a few. The power of the soundtrack comes partly from the nature of the voice used, partly from the choice of music, and also from the technical quality of the production and the mixing of the various components. WAVs versus MP3 You'll no doubt be aware of the difference between RAW images, TIFF les and JPEGs. RAW images are uncompressed and contain all the data the camera saw at the taking stage. TIFFs can be compressed, but in a "lossless" format, so that all the information is still there when the picture is retrieved. JPEGs on the other hand are highly compressed in a "lossy" format so that an awful lot of information is discarded permanently to achieve the small le sizes. It's exactly the same with sound les. WAV les are uncompressed. MP3 les are compressed and any editing and subsequent saving will result in further loss of sound quality. Always try to work with WAV les when mixing your soundtrack as you can keep changing and saving with no degradation of quality. Page 44

AV News 211 | February 2018 If all you have is an MP3 le, I would recommend that you convert it straight away to a WAV and do any manipulation on this. If you are concerned by the size of the sound le in your AV then you could do as many AV workers do, save the nal mixdown as an MP3. In my "Queen of the Hills", the WAV soundtrack was 125MB while the MP3 was 28MB, quite a saving. I don't think anybody would be able to hear any difference. Understanding CODEC The other thing to bear in mind is that MP3s come in different shapes and sizes determined by the COmpression/ DECompression software (CODEC). In my sound editor there are 40 of these to choose from! (Fig 1 right). I would recommend that if you are saving your sound le as an MP3 you should choose the highest quality and lowest compression available. On my system this is 320 kbps, 44100 Hz, Stereo 8.8:1 (Fig 2 below). "kbps" is the "bitrate" or how much data is transmitted per second and the higher the better as lower bitrates such as 128 kbps will remove more of the upper frequencies. The "Hz" number is the sampling frequency, so that the audio is sampled 44100 times a second and these samples are used to reconstruct the audio when playing back. "44100 Hz" is "CD quality", and was chosen as it is more than twice the rate of the human hearing range. Less than this and you're talking about cassette tape quality. The "8.8:1" number is the compression ratio similar to the quality slider in Photoshop when saving JPEGs. This is the lowest available to me - any more and you may start to hear unwanted artefacts such as the "space invaders" sound that Howard Gregory used to warn us about. Clearly, if you are getting your MP3 music le from the internet you may have no control over the quality and compression rate used. Quite often very low quality les are what you get from a download as these have to be manageable by people with slow broadband speeds, but that's the subject for another article. Page 45

AV News 211 | February 2018

Photoshop – Working with Colour Keith Scott FRPS Have you ever wondered why your projected sequence looked different at an event to when viewed at home? Brightness, contrast, or colour issues! Could this be the fault of the event organisers, their equipment, or perhaps your own? Some AV workers depend solely on their monitor for visual assessment without actually projecting their sequence before sending to an organised event. This is absolutely ne if everything about your system is correctly calibrated, and your colour pro les and saved image les are ideally suited to projection. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Our primary connection with a PC is the monitor, however monitors vary enormously in price, speci cations and quality. The basic standard colour gamut for personal computers is the sRGB standard prepared in 1998 by the International Electro technical Commission (IEC). However, the range of colours that can be expressed using sRGB is relatively narrow. In particular it excludes the range of ‘highly saturated’ green, cyan, and blue encompassed by Adobe RGB 1998 used typically by colour print workers. Most ‘standard’ computer monitors can only display between 75% and 85% of the Adobe RGB 1998 colour space. Furthermore different monitors set to factory default look slightly different prior to system calibration. Complicating things further is the issue of graphics cards, computer hardware components which communicate with your monitor. Again these vary enormously in speci cation, price, and quality. Some cards are more technically suited to Adobe Photoshop than others. See the following Adobe information regarding Graphic Cards. https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html Page 46

AV News 211 | February 2018 Graphic cards and monitors are instructed how to interpret colour information by colour pro les. These are software les generated at calibration with .icc or .icm le extension. There is little difference between .icm (Image Color Matching Pro le) and the .icc (International Color Consortium) both can be used on Windows or Mac. Photoshop and Lightroom recognize both types. Microsoft and Mac systems contain default colour pro les to allow an uncalibrated monitor to work, however these are side-lined at start up (boot) when the system loads its calibrated pro les. Other factors also effect projected image quality especially at events; effectiveness of room blackout, size of screen, re ective value of screen material, viewing angle, Lumens output of projector, and whether or not the computer/projector combination is calibrated, preferably within the same room and conditions as the event. Considering all the above there is little wonder that projected sequences may not always match an author’s expectations. As AV workers we should remove as many variables as possible by calibrating our system/monitor before editing images. We should then ensure that our colour gamut and AV sequence les are properly suited to projection, the rest is then up to event organisers at which point the author relinquishes control. Colour management is actually quite complex, it also begins before we take or edit any photographs. However we are not getting into scienti c detail but will discuss in simpli ed terms system/monitor calibration and simple Photoshop colour settings. The rst thing required is a calibration device, and there are many different models on the market, the most popular being made by X-Rite or Datacolor. Visit the following manufacturer’s site for information about speci c models. http://www.xrite.com/categories/calibration-pro ling http://www.datacolor.com/photography-design/solutions/display-calibration/ The calibration device you use will depend on your budget, and what you intend to calibrate i.e. monitor, projector, or printer. My own personal choice is the Datacolor Spyder 5 Elite, this calibrates my monitor, laptop, and projector. I’ve used ‘Spyders’ for many years since version 1. They always perform reliably and give great results. Whatever calibration device you choose it should not be used on a ‘cold’ monitor. Always allow the monitor to warm up rst, carry out the calibration after using the computer for half an hour or more to maintain consistency. The process of calibration will vary slightly depending on make and model, however instructions are usually very straightforward. Monitor performance may drift with time. Therefore recalibrate your system at frequent intervals, every four to six weeks is a reasonable time period for most users. Professional photographic retouching or graphic arts with critical criteria will require more frequent recalibration. Page 47

AV News 211 | February 2018 Photoshop – Working with Colour continued ... Back inside Photoshop we need to choose the colour settings for our workspace, tap Shift+Ctrl+K to open up the colour settings box. A workspace is an intermediate colour space used to de ne and edit colour in our images, you can choose to load your own ‘saved’ colour pre-set, perhaps your monitor calibration but this isn’t necessary. It’s generally advisable to choose a setting tested and proven by Adobe Systems e.g. either sRGB IEC1966-2.1 to match your calibration, or Adobe RGB 1998. Photoshop ships with a large range of colour settings but many can be ignored as they’re ‘specialist printing ink’ settings and not required for AV use. sRGB is suitable for images intended for web publication or projection as used in an AV sequence because this de nes the colour space of a standard monitor. This is also a suitable choice when your images originate from consumer cameras because these generally use sRGB as their default colour space. Adobe RGB 1998 is the choice for images from professional-level digital cameras (many SLRs and system cameras) because they can use RAW les and the wider gamut RGB colour space. This is recommended when editing images for printing because this wider gamut includes some printable colours not encompassed by sRGB, although such printable colours may not be visible on a ‘standard’ monitor. Wider gamut monitors are available that will display Adobe RGB or beyond but such monitors are often several times the cost of a standard monitor. For AV use a standard monitor is adequate. Using the red arrows on the adjacent image as a guide; top arrow indicates the ‘Work Space’ drop down menu, in this instance sRGB IEC1966-2.1 is selected for AV use. Any new document created will now automatically have this colour space allocated. Moving downwards to the middle arrow. This indicates the drop down menu for ‘Colour Management Policies’. Select ‘Preserve Embedded Pro les’ to ensure that any image opened will preserve its original embedded pro le even if its pro le does not match the work space. Preserve Embedded Pro les is the Photoshop default setting. This is important if you shoot images in RAW format or Adobe RGB and do not want to lose any of the wider gamut colours in conversion, especially if you wish to make prints or carry out extensive editing. Page 48

AV News 211 | February 2018

FUTURE EVENTS

Page 50

AV News 211 | February 2018

FUTURE EVENTS

Page 51

AV News 211 | February 2018

FUTURE EVENTS March 2018

March 2018

2 March 2018 Wilmslow Guild AV Group “Fiesta” www.wilmslowguildav.org.uk committee@wilmslowguildav.org.uk

17 March 2018 East Anglian AV Competition Email: dickwilliamsav@yahoo.co.uk

2/3 March 2018 Colour Show (An AV Extravaganza) Hailsham Photographic Society www.hailshamphotographicsociety.co.uk 5 March 2018 Jim Henson Trophy AV Competition Ludshott Photographic Club Judge: Graham Sergeant FRPS. Closing date: 11th February 2018. www.ludshottpv.org.uk 12/13 March 2018 IAC Peter Coles International AV Competition Email: mewaine@chasingthelight.co.uk

18 March 2018 Mid Thames AV Day Speaker: Keith Leedham FRPS 18 March 2018 Worcestershire AV Group AV Day Speaker: Howard Bagshaw ARPS 19 March 2018 (Monday) Bridgend 5-8 Competition Judge: Howard Bagshaw ARPS

April 2018 15 April 2018 RPS Day Great Yorkshire AV Day Speaker: Howard Bagshaw ARPS Email: bryan@stubbsav.com

The RPS AV Group Committee Chairman

Howard Bagshaw howard.bagshaw@ntlworld.com

01889 881503

Vice Chairman Edgar Gibbs

edgar.gibbs@ntlworld.com

02920 564850

Secretary

Alan Tyrer

abtyrer@gmail.com

01472 504882

Treasurer

David Neal

david-neal@talktalk.net

01424 712394

Martin Fry

frycorner@btinternet.com

01452 857964

Andrew Gagg

gagg@gaggf2s.com

01905 748515

Page 52

Publication Information AV News is published quarterly by the AV Group of the Royal Photographic Society. It is distributed free to Group members and is available to others for an Annual Subscription of £22 in the UK, £25 in Europe and £27 elsewhere – contact David Neal at: davidneal@talktalk.net Copy Deadlines

Publication Dates

27th September

1st November

27th December

1st February

27th March

1st May

27th June

1st August

Please note that the copy deadlines are the absolute latest. To ensure publication in the next issue please send copy as early as possible. Any items concerning Audio Visual and Multimedia are welcome, including reviews, technical details, events, photographs, letters and queries. All contributions should be submitted to the Editors at: magazine@avnews.org.uk The views expressed are solely those of the contributor and not necessarily those of either the Editors or the RPS AV Group. Distribution: AV News is forwarded to RPS AV Group members using the labels produced by the RPS Membership Department in Bath. Any member not receiving their copy should contact Bath. However, the Secretary will be pleased to post single copies to those members who have failed to receive them. Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright holder. Printed By Mensa Printers, Arundel Lane, Shef eld. S1 4RF

Annual Subscriptions Standard

£120

Family

£180

Overseas (under 65s)

£108

65 and Over

£55

25 and Under

£55

Student

£55

Disabled

£55

Life (from)

£950

JOIN ONLINE www.rps.org OR CALL 01225 325733