Chairman's Chatter

Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB

This is going to be something of a rambling piece as it’s my last ‘Chairman’s Chatter’. It was way back in September 2010 at the RPS Internationals that I was approached to join the AV Committee. An hour previously I had won the competition. Won the competition with ‘Migrant Mother’, which was a huge shock to me, to the RPS President and to many of the audience as well. Needless to say, I was on cloud nine, I’d WON the International. Everyone congratulated me, Peter Coles did caution me however, “Now you’ve won, there’s nowhere further to go, it’ll be all downhill now”. So, I agreed to be on the committee under Keith Scott’s Chairmanship. Four years later Keith stood down as Chairman and I took up the role and now it’s time for me to hand over the reins to someone fresh.

I must say, it’s been an interesting time for AV. I would say that the general direction is that more people in photographic clubs are making AVs, as a way of presenting their photography, but fewer people are showing that work to a wider audience. Certainly, there has been a gradual decline in numbers belonging to the RPS AV Group, some speculating that, in tight nancial times, the cost of belonging to the RPS puts a number off. Fortunately, our excellent treasurer, David Neal (soon to retire), manages to balance the books, even with a declining income, though the slowly increasing cost of AV News and postage is going to need some thought in the future.

Without doubt, what we can achieve technically in an AV has increased. Ten years ago we were largely seeing the digital equivalent of a tape/slide show. But software has developed, animation has come along, as well as the ability to incorporate video seamlessly into our productions. Camera technology has also developed to an amazing extent. I remember 50 years ago using a roll of 1000 ASA slide lm, high contrast and grain the size of golf balls. Now we anticipate our digital cameras taking noise-free images at 1000 ISO and more. We have specialist cameras which can strap to your skis/head/scuba gear, drones which can gets shots from hundreds of feet in the air and of course the phone. The ubiquitous phone camera which has largely seen off the compact camera and is even seeing the decline of the serious photographer’s DSLR.

The aim of the Group is to support its members, and the opportunity to watch the best AVs in the country and the world is a key plank to that. The RPS Nationals and Internationals have continued to be prestigious events and well attended. A signicant move over the recent past has been to separate the competition from the ‘domestics’, leaving attendees to source their own accommodation. This has meant a change in venue for both the IAVF and the NAVC, in both cases I believe for the better with excellent and large screen projection, impeccable sound and tiered auditoria. I’m glad that attendances have held up and look forward to seeing you at the Nationals in October.

Twenty years ago, there was an extensive regional structure with RPS AV meetings being held around the country. Even 9 years ago these RPS sponsored meetings had dwindled as AV meetings were being organised by other bodies. We now have only three regional groups which meet; South Wales struggles on with small numbers; Yorkshire does a fantastic job with two well attended and lively meetings each year and Northern Ireland meets on a regular basis, obviously to good effect as they seem to be winning everything at the moment. To all those who have organised and attended these events, can I express my gratitude.

We Need A Treasurer

After many years as treasurer, David Neal is standing down in October. We are in serious need of someone who is prepared to be treasurer for the group. The job involves managing and reporting on the group’s budgets. As a committee member you would have three meetings a year, though David has recently been attending using Skype. Expenses are paid.

David is willing to support the new treasurer until he/she ‘has their feet under the table’. The nance department of the RPS at Bristol is also very able and willing to help with any small or major matters. Note that you do need to be a RPS member.

PLEASE Consider supporting the group if you have ability in this area. David will be able to tell you more of the detail: his contact details are at the back of this AV News.

Chairman's Chatter continued

I would like to think that the RPS website is also a valuable resource and communications channel for our members, but I often hear members saying that they don’t use it because they can’t nd what they want. The RPS is in the process of redesigning its site, but in the meantime, remember that a quick shortcut to the AV group’s component is rps.org/av , only 11 keystrokes away from everything you ever want to know. Can I express my gratitude to Alan Tyrer for, amongst so many other things, keeping the website up to date.

Another RPS benet has been the availability of distinctions. When I started on the committee there had been a lot of upset about the management of the process and the RPS decided to completely review the system as well as what, in their view, constituted ‘good’ AV. So, after a lot of discussion, AV work would be assessed through the ‘Multimedia’ distinction panel. Unfortunately, numbers putting their work forward for assessment have been consistently low, but credit to the RPS and thanks to the RPS President Robert Albright, they have continued to offer and subsidise the process even with low numbers. The hope that ‘Multimedia’ would attract video workers has not materialised and the current membership of the distinctions panel reects that most of the work assessed is Audio Visual. I would hope that we continue to get applicants and remind you that before entering, you can always get free advice from panel members or through the RPS Distinctions department. I still believe that an RPS Distinction is the pinnacle of recognition as an AV worker.

For many members, who perhaps already have distinctions and are unable to get to AV competitions and events, the main benet of the RPS group is probably the regular newsletter, this AV News. I have always been in awe of the skills and dedication of those who have edited and contributed to the magazine. I think that our current editor, Alastair Taylor, is doing a wonderful job and you will have noticed subtle changes to the style of the magazine, in part through the ideas of Andrew Gagg, our ‘layout and fonts’ man. I hope you enjoy the magazine, but if there are things you feel should be different, please don’t mutter to yourself, let the editor know. He’s pretty good at most things, but he isn’t a mind-reader.

Which brings me sadly to a close. I will thank more fully everyone in my Chairman’s Address at the AGM, but I must thank Carole who has supported me and tolerated all manner of silliness while I’ve been doing the job. I’m giving up the Chairmanship, but not giving up making AVs, going to events and to festivals. So, I look forward to seeing you and all your wonderful AVs very soon.

Alastair Taylor ARPS CPAGB/AV

Audio Visual workers are generous souls. I base this comment on my experience of club photography where it is normal practice to be obsessed with “gear” maintaining some secrecy on how the result was achieved and where it was taken. AV workers are just not like that. In fact I don’t think we should ever be compared with your “normal” photographer. It’s not that we aren't normal, just that we tend to look at things through a different eye; perhaps more concerned with the overall production than the single image. In fact an AV which comprises of a series of perfect images doesn't always gel if the story line isn't right or the transition between images doesn't work.

All of that said, I think the AV community has been enrichened by the growth of photo harmony where often we see some very good images, many of which would stand up on their own in a single image portfolio or competition. Sometimes the author needs to forget the white margins and accept that best practice is to have images of the same size so that the overall production seamlessly takes us on a journey. I observe that the best photo harmony pieces are often put together by an accomplished AV worker. Perhaps we are normal after all.

When it comes to AV News, without the generosity of the AV community, there would be nothing to publish. Those of you who read AV News from cover to cover (and I know you all do!) will notice that I am very dependent on a small number of contributors. They know who they are and through this welcome I extend my thanks and gratitude.

This brings me on to my main point. Do please extend your generosity to providing me with a few articles. I like to explore the thinking behind award winning productions and use these as feature articles. Sheila Haycox provided me with an interesting article on her sequence Recognition with some excellent images and the story behind the AV. I need more of these articles please.

So please open up and bare your soul. Tell everyone what was going through your mind and how you came up with the idea. What drove your thinking? How did you go about the production. Where did you start? What are you proud off? What challenges did you overcome? Thanks for your generosity.

Contact the editor at: magazine@avnews.org.uk