Chairman's Chatter

Ian Bateman FRPS, MPAGB, AV-AFIAP APAGB

As I write this, the run-up to Christmas is in full swing with festive displays in shops and Christmas adverts lling up the TV schedules. WNSoft is planning on giving us all a seasonal treat with Version 11 of PTE AV Studio, currently in the Beta testing phase.

If you’ve downloaded the Beta version, you’ll have had the chance to play with the new features such as animated text builds and displacement maps. While these are the two ‘big news’ additions, some of the more subtle tweaks, such as the ability to select the centre of a shape transition by clicking the screen, will be welcomed by many. I’ve already seen some sequences where the new text animations have been used, and they are certainly eyecatching. A note of caution though – as with any special effect, “less is more”, and it will be tempting to over-use these new ones. Not every line of text needs to y across the screen, and not every transition needs to use a displacement map! You will achieve a much greater impact by using these new effects sparingly so don’t go overboard with them!

Outside of PTE, technology to assist us in making AV shows continues to advance. Articial Intelligence has been a buzzword for ages, but recently a whole tranche of new tools have been launched. In photo editing software, new algorithms for removing noise and sharpening soft images have improved these tools dramatically, and by using AI techniques it is even possible to create completely new scenes by typing in your requirements. Not really photography as we know it and a headache for competition organisers in the years ahead.

The audio side has not been forgotten, and new AI developments have brought some new tools into play. Have you ever wanted to use the music from a song but didn’t want the lyrics? Try https://www.notta.ai/en/tools/ online-vocal-remover. This allows you to upload a song (for free, at least at the moment it is…), and the software will magically remove the singer’s voice, leaving just the music. Some songs work better than others, but well worth trying.

Adobe have also launched a new audio tool at https://podcast.adobe.com/ enhance (formerly known as Project Shasta). This allows you to upload a voice recording that may have problems such as background noise and echo, and enhance it to what they describe as “sounding as if it were recorded in a professional studio.” Again, this is free at the time of writing so well worth trying out. Click on the QR Codes below

Left QR Code for Vocal Removal

Right QR Code Adobe Audio Tool

Editor’s Welcome

Alastair Taylor ARPS DPAGB/AV

Welcome to this edition of AV News. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have pulling it together. Thanks to our various contributors. That said, you will nd a number of items written by myself (including a letter to the editor which hopefully will trigger some debate).

The theme of this edition is very much about our return to meeting in person. The National Audio Visual Championship, the Yorkshire AV Day and the joint meeting between the RPS AV Group and our new found friends in the RPS Travel Group which was titled “On the Road Again” were all physical meetings and I know that everyone who attended had a great time. I cannot stress enough the power of seeing AVs on the big screen with big sound.

At the joint meeting with the Travel Group I was particularly struck that my AV Return to Jungle Junction garnered a few laughs from the audience. I was surprised by that as I had never realised that the audience would nd it funny. Talking to Edgar Gibbs afterwards, we worked out that although we had seen it several time on Zoom, we had never seen it on the big screen and the experience, we agreed, shone a different light on the production.

Anyway, enjoy reading AV News. Keeps the articles and letters coming, and may I be the rst to wish you a successful 2023. I hope to see you in person!