Issuu

The RPS National Audio Visual Championships will be held this year on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September. The Championships are to be held at Leeds Trinity University (LS18 5HD), a compact university, outside and north-west of Leeds city centre, offering easy parking and a modern and comfortable auditorium with refreshment facilities. There are a number of hotels nearby, as well as Leeds/Bradford Airport (should you wish to y up). The nearest hotel is the Premier Leeds/ Bradford Airport Hotel. As has happened at the previous Nationals and Internationals, attendees are expected to make their own accommodation arrangements. We anticipate plenty of entries, though we will try to avoid pre-selection if at all possible. We estimate that we will start on Saturday at around 10:00 am and run through until around 5:30pm. As in the past, the RPS AV Group AGM will be held on Saturday, starting at 6:00 pm. We are hoping to have a Championships dinner on Saturday in a local restaurant, hopefully on the same basis as the one at Stafford i.e. we will need to know numbers beforehand but you will be able to choose your meal on the night. Sunday projection will start at 10:00 am and run through until midafternoon, followed by judging and presentation of awards. We would hope to nish by around 5:00 pm Our judges this year are Martin Fry (England), Marion Waine (Wales) and James Hamill (Northern Ireland), who, I'm sure you'll agree, will form an experienced and excellent jury. Closing date for entries will be August 31st and we hope to use the same systems as for the Internationals, so you can enter and/or book to attend on-line if you wish. But we'll also take postal entries and bookings if you want. Keep up to date with the event by looking at the website:

www.rps.org/NAVC

AV News 208 | May 2017

In This Issue 2

Chairman's Chatter

Howard Bagshaw

Editors’ Welcome

Editors

Multimedia in AVs

Martin James

A Personal Journey

Alan Tyrer

A Guide to Scanning Film

J & M Gee

AV Hint and Tips

Malcolm Imhoff

PTE 9 Has Been Released

Tony Collinson

Visiting Foreign Festivals

Ron Davies

Dear Editors ...

A Distinctive Approach

Andy Golding

Editors AV News

The Third Image

Howard Bagshaw

Here Comes the Judge

Malcolm Imhoff

Alastair Taylor Production Editor

Which Category Are You In?

Richard Brown

Northern AV Group

Howard Wilson

Midland Counties AV Comp

Martin Fry

25th East Anglian AV Comp

Graham Sergeant

Bring Down the Curtain

Stuart Clark

As I See It ...

Ian Bateman

Depth of Field in Photoshop

Keith Scott

Competition Results

Future Events Diary

AV Group Chairman Howard Bagshaw

Secretary Alan Tyrer

Scott Antony Copy Editor

Subscriptions are open to all at £22 per year including postage. Please contact: David. R, Neal, Treasurer 16 Fern Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. TN38 0UH 01424 712394 dgmail22-avg@mybtinternet.com

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AV News 208 | May 2017

Chairman's Chatter Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB Our winter season of events, competitions and meetings is coming to a close. We're moving into a time of 'getting out and about', taking pictures and holidaying - the time to get those photographs and ambient recordings for your next AV productions. But do a bit of forward planning. You've got some great pictures that could make an interesting AV, but have you got all the pictures you need? Scribble down a few ideas about how the AV will ow, what's the story, are there other photographs or sound recordings you could make at this stage? Even as you're photographing, think through the story of how you might use them, take more and different photos, just in case. We are enormously sad at the departure of one of our keenest AV workers. Maureen Albright ARPS lost her ght with declining health and passed away on 7th March. For many years she was at the heart of AV, organising events, competitions and instruction for those new to digital photography and the magic of PTE. She was an avid Facebook user and regular contributor to the PTE Forum. Our thoughts and condolences are with Robert. For many of us PTE is the core of our AV production and Igor and his team have again produced an upgrade. I've yet to try out all the new features but will certainly test them and le them for future use. One aspect that could be interesting is the ability to create video in 4K format. The RPS now assesses IFS (images for screen) distinctions on a huge, 4k monitor. How long before weâ€™re all using 4K, together with a 4K projector for our competitions? Meanwhile Multimedia distinctions are assessed on a standard projector and don't forget that there is a distinctions assessment on 27th October, so let Andy@rps.org know if you are thinking of applying. I can con dently say we won't be using 4K projection for the RPS Nationals this year. We have had to move to a new venue (Staffordshire Uni sold it's Stafford site) so will be at Leeds Trinity University on the weekend of 23/24 September. This is outside Leeds centre, has easy parking, is near the airport and is also the venue for the RPS Great Yorkshire days. We have a tiered lecture theatre, big screen and good sound. Again we will be running the event, providing refreshments etc, but leaving the accommodation up to you. Fortunately there are a number of good hotels nearby, the Premier Airport hotel being the closest. Keep an eye on the website for information about rules, entry dates, etc - www.rps.org/NAVC

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AV News 208 | May 2017

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AV News 208 | May 2017

Multimedia in AVs Martin James I'd never considered my AVs to include 'multimedia elements' until I read the article on de nitions in the last copy of AV News. An interesting and informative read but I still consider that an Audio Visual is simply an experience made to entertain or inform an audience no matter how its source content is achieved. Most people reading this will likely not have heard of me or seen any of my work. Much can be characterized as generally fast-paced and containing anything from time lapse, stop motion, animation, drawings and anything else I think would enhance the audio visual experience. All of these things can now be deemed 'multimedia elements' â€“ who knew? I have also made a few conventional AVs but I prefer to keep my audience alert, afraid they will miss something if they blink. Unlike more traditionallypaced AVs, the images in my productions are usually replayed between 3 and 25 images per second. As you have probably gathered, I am not exactly what you would call an AV traditionalist. I started with photography 11 years ago via my local Newport Photography Club (NPC) in Shropshire. It wasn't long before I was experimenting with time lapse photography and soon discovered that an intervalometer device - essentially a remote shutter release with an inbuilt programmable timer - could do all the laborious work of taking shots at timed intervals. I was soon producing time lapse sequences of everything from train journeys to cloud formations and just about every type of ower opening which happened to be growing in my garden.

Tattoo Magic Page 4

AV News 208 | May 2017 Back in January 2010, a certain Messrs. Alastair Taylor and Howard Bagshaw gave a presentation to the NPC, showing work from their Stafford AV Group. Hence two months later I entered my rst AV into the club's annual competition, where Alastair was the judge. Although my time lapse featurette didn't place in a winning spot, I had enjoyed the whole AV experience and so continued experimenting with different photographic techniques. These efforts paid off the following year when I won the NPC Shield with Tattoo Magic (1) in which I animated body tattoo images to a fast tempo sound track. My most successful time lapse based AV to date is 28 Days Later (2) in which I took a complete photographic record of a caterpillar metamorphosis from chrysalis to the nal emergence of a 6Spot Burnett Moth. The metamorphosis only took 25 days but as I had decided to set it to the sound track from Danny Boyleâ€™s apocalyptic movie '28 Days Later', I used a little artistic licence for the title! At the 2016 RPS International Audio Visual Festival at Cheltenham, the production was highly commended and awarded an FIAP Ribbon.

28 Days Later

Another technique I use regularly is to shoot in 'burst mode' for sport or any subject involving fast-paced action, including where I am moving relative to the subject. I reason this will surely yield at least one or two decent shots for any upcoming competitions, out of the 4,000 or so typically taken at an event. I had been attending the infamous 'Tough Guy' endurance race near Wolverhampton for a couple of years and had amassed hundreds of action shots, many taken in the sequential 'burst mode'. It occurred to me that this could be a perfect source of material with which I could create a different kind of AV from any others I had previously produced. I spent a long time selecting and processing the best images from the 'Tough Guy' event. I'd also been learning about photographic 'morphing' techniques, the inclusion of which, I reasoned, might offer a unique type of transition between roughly similar images. The most labour intensive part of the process turned out to be the weeks involved in syncing each of the 900 shots to the soundtrack. The end result I called Heroes (3) and its success in the NPC AV competition encouraged me to enter it into this yearâ€™s Midphot. (Photographs courtesy Martin James) Page 5

28 Days Later

AV News 208 | May 2017

A Personal Journey Alan Tyrer ARPS, CPAGB/AV I am interested in all types of photography but my main interest is AV. In 2015 my wife Bev and I attended the PAGB AV assessment day in Steventon to see how things worked and the standards required. Then in September that year we were at the RPS National AV Championships at Stafford. As a fairly new entrant at national level I had entered a couple of sequences to see how they would fare. Some senior gures in the AV world were very supportive and suggested I submit work to the RPS for assessment at LRPS level. I decided I would apply and soon we went to the RPS headquarters in Bath and was rewarded with the Licentiate. Flushed with success I decided to apply for the PAGB/AV distinctions and achieved my CPAGB/AV in Oxfordshire in May 2016 - an event that was so popular it was held over two days. I then decided to try my luck at ARPS level. This was a much tougher challenge but I took advantage of the RPS advisory function, submitting six AVs for anonymous critique by a member of the Distinctions panel. I got useful advice although was not told which sequences were most likely to succeed. So I made alterations where I had agreed with the advice and nervously selected three AVs for the assessment. As a mature person I was surprised at how nervous we both felt. The day began with a successful application for LRPS and I was next up as the rst of ve applications for ARPS. I was surprised at the degree of detailed analysis that the ve adjudicators used in making their determination but was delighted that despite an intense critique my submission was successful. It’s not necessary to attend your assessment but I feel it gives an insight into what the assessors are looking for and their deliberations in coming to a decision. The process of considering and applying for a distinction is a personal journey of learning. By submitting your work for scrutiny you run the risk of having your ego dented. It was stressful attending these events but I felt it was worth the effort, although I am not so sure I would be as keen if I hadn’t succeeded! Certainly it’s a valuable exercise but I would de nitely suggest using the RPS advisory service to get an understanding of the standards and process involved. And it’s important to be philosophical about your chances. Be prepared to have another go if at rst you don't succeed! The PAGB called for submissions for an AV assessment in 2017. I expressed an interest straight away but sadly there were not suf cient applications to make it feasible this year. I do hope AV producers will think about applying for RPS or PAGB distinctions or they might cease to exist due to apathy. And the next RPS AV assessment day will be on Friday 27th October 2017 in Bath. Page 7

AV News 208 | May 2017

A Guide to Scanning Film Malcolm Gee ARPS, DPAGB & Jenny Gee LRPS, DPAGB For over half a century weâ€™ve been taking pictures, mainly colour slides, and often with an audio visual project in mind. Transparencies were originally kept in an assortment of boxes, large and small, but we soon graduated to storing them in archival-quality, hanging wallets in ling cabinets. This system has served us well, taking up less space and allowing us to sort images, whilst keeping them in good condition. When in 2006 we were planning to produce our rst audio visuals, AV production was moving from lm to the digital format. We therefore purchased a Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED scanner, which is capable of producing scans from both 35mm and 120 lm formats, mounted or un-mounted. Since then we have developed the following procedure for producing digital scans from our extensive library of lm images. The Apple Mac desktop computer that we use for scanning is the same age as our scanner, so we have no software compatibility problems. However, many users of current computers may nd that their older scanner software is no longer supported. To get over this problem, Hamrick Software (www.hamrick.com) produces a number of versions of their VueScan scanner driver, which allow newer operating systems to drive old scanners. They are available as unlimited free trial downloads, which watermark the resulting scan. Purchasing the Professional edition, which Fig 1 supports lm and slide scanning, currently costs $79.95 including unlimited, future updates. A user guide is available on their website, and Figures 1 & 2 illustrate some of the wide range of adjustments available in two of the main software driver menu windows. Currently VueScan supports 2,500 scanners from 35 manufacturers using Windows, Mac OSX and Linux operating systems. Lasersoft Imaging (www.silverfast.com) also market similar software, but itâ€™s much more expensive.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 To avoid a lot of tedious post scanning work, it is important to ensure that your lm images are as clean as possible, and free from dust, prior to scanning them. We use PEC-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner, which is an archival cleaner, and will remove all non-water based stains from colour and black and white lm. It will also remove fungal growth. It dries almost instantaneously, with no emulsion swelling, and leaves no residue. It is currently available from Firstcall Photographic Ltd., and costs £10.49 for a 2oz bottle. This might seem expensive, but you only need a drop or two per slide. We apply it sparingly, using Johnson’s cotton buds, which will absorb the dirt, but will need to be changed regularly. Alternatively, you can use PEC Pads, which are 10cm square lint free cloths, available from Amazon at £10.99 per 100. To achieve the best results remove the lm from its mount, if possible, and lay it on a clean, lintfree surface. Using just enough PEC-12 to wet the bud or wipe, stroke the lm surface systematically, treating the non-emulsion side rst. Immediately prior to scanning dust can be removed from the lm surface using a Kenair Air Duster from www.wexphotographic.com. This also prevents dust contaminating the scanner. We set the scanner to scan at maximum resolution (Fig 1) with all the optional software image enhancement adjustments turned off. This means you have complete control of the scanning process and can avoid artifacts or anomalies occurring. Our preference is to scan one slide at a time using the ‘single’ option rather than the ‘batch’ mode. To optimise results, we pro le our scanner using a Kodak Ektachrome IT.8 target slide, corresponding to the lm stock used (Fig 2). The IT.8 target slide is scanned prior to a new batch of transparencies being processed, and all the scans have this pro le applied to them.

Fig 2

By default the scanned digital les open directly into Adobe Photoshop and a number of adjustments are then carried out. The Levels command is used to remove any colour casts that have developed over time, and to adjust the images to a common neutral colour balance.

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AV News 208 | May 2017

Diaporamus Interruptus Malcolm Imhoff FRPS, FACI(M) I've seen quite a few AVs recently where the music has been cut off before the end and the sequence ends very abruptly. Sometimes this is down to the producer. Obviously it's better if the music comes to a natural end, but in other cases the problem could be avoided by simply introducing a gentle fade out to the music track and a second or two of silence. However, I have discovered that PTE will almost always stop playing the AV before the end unless you take action. Having set up the Project Options as normal, and having inserted all your images, sound le and completed your project, have a look at the end of the timeline.

Figure 1

Figure 2

If you look at my example in Figure 1 you can see that the play cursor has come to a halt at the end of the last slide (the blank), whereas the music actually continues for six or seven seconds after this. This seems to be the default setting in PTE. What should happen of course is that the AV should continue playing at least to the end of the visible waveform and preferably to the end of the sound le. What you need to do is grab the right hand edge of the blank on the slideline (blue in my Figure 2 example), and drag it so that it lines up with the end of the audio clip (pink in my example). It seems to be an inbuilt feature of PTE determined by the "default slide duration" and you need to do this tweak for every project. Page 11

AV News 208 | May 2017

PTE 9 Has Now Been Released Tony Collinson LRPS, DPAGB I have been asked to write a series of articles dealing with aspects of PicturesToExe version 9, the software of choice for many of the world’s leading AV workers. The articles will start at a very basic level and will include information on some of the features that enable us to produce Slide Shows. Now I know there are various discussions going as to what we call these productions, whether it should be Sequence or Multimedia Presentation or various other names. From my point of view I will be referring to them as Slide Shows for the simple reason that if we are hoping to include others without a background in the art of AV then Slide Show has a meaning that is generally understood. If we are to encourage others to get involved, titles will not help; showing them a good presentation will. Following some two years or more in development, PicturesToExe version 9 is now available from WnSoft at a cost of $139 for the De-luxe version and $69 for the Essentials version. For those who have version 7.0 and onwards an upgrade is also available at a cost of $39 and $30 respectively. Anyone who purchased a copy of version 8 on or after the 1st November 2016 is eligible to receive a free upgrade to version 9. If you intend to create slide shows with a soundtrack then I would seriously recommend that you purchase or upgrade to the Deluxe version. This has been a major rework of the software by Igor and his team at WnSoft and the foundations have been laid to make PTE 9 available for multiplatform use some time in the future. Mac users watch this space; they are not there yet but are working on it. When rst running PTE 9 you will discover that a demonstration slide show opens and the images can be seen in the Slide List. The soundtrack can be viewed by selecting the Timeline. If for any reason it does not open on rst starting, then select the Help tab on the top left tool bar and in the drop down menu select Open Sample Project. To view as a slide show simply select the Preview button on the top right tool bar, making sure your speakers are turned on. In this rst article the best way forward is to start producing a slide show from the point of view of the software. Firstly, I would endorse Malcolm Imhoff’s article in the last edition of AV News. It is important to be organised and placing copies of all the items relative to our proposed slide show in a dedicated folder will save valuable time later. I would stress it’s best to keep all original les in whatever ling system is used to ensure safe-keeping.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 With PTE open, the rst requirement is to create a New Project. This is done by selecting the File tab on the top left tool bar and New. This will open a box asking for a Project Name, the title of the slide show, and the Aspect Ratio. By default the Aspect Ratio is set at 16:9 but there are various options available from the drop down menu. My own choice is 16:9 but some may prefer the 3:2 AR, the same as images generally taken on a DSLR camera or even 4:3 AR as in past versions. The choice is yours and there is also an option for a custom Aspect Ratio. By selecting OK, PTE will set the rest of the Project Options according to the inherent defaults within the software. Two of those default settings include Mouse Cursor and Navigation Bar options, which are set at Auto Hide Mouse Cursor after three seconds and likewise for the Navigation Bar. In order to make sure that they do not show at all during the slide show, select the Project Options button on the bottom left tool bar, then, under the Control tab un-check the box adjacent to Show Navigation Bar. From there select the drop down box adjacent to Mouse Cursor and select Hide (see Fig 1) and close the Project Options by selecting OK. To make sure that future New Projects have the same defaults, a template can be made by selecting File>Templates>Create Template From This Showâ€Śand naming it My Blank Project. The template will then be saved in the default folder. From there re-select File>Templates but this time select the Manage Templates option. Now select the arrow at the right hand end of the long box Blank Template and from the drop down menu select the newly created My Blank Project. To complete the process, select Use Template For New Projects and OK (see Fig 2).

Fig 1

Fig 2

If there are any areas of PTE 9 you would like me to address, please contact the editors and pass the information on and I will endeavour to cover them in future issues. Page 13

AV News 208 | May 2017 PTE 9 Has Now Been Released continued ... For beginners I have produced a tutorial disc at a cost of £10 plus £2 postage on how to create a basic slide show using PTE 9. The disc runs on a PC and has over two and three-quarter hours of videos, which also cover copying music in Widows 10 and iTunes, Cropping and Saving Images, Pan, Zoom and Rotate, Finding Lost Files, Transitions and Personalising Preferences. The introduction video to these tutorials can be found on my website at www.tcdigitalphotography.co.uk or visit my YouTube channel AVTonyLeeds for other videos. For those already familiar with PTE who want to know what’s new in PTE 9, details can be found at www.wnsoft.com/en/picturestoexe/whats-new-9.

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Visiting Foreign Festivals Ron Davies FRPS, FIPF, EFIAP, FACI(M)

I can, of course, only write from my personal experience of attending such festivals, and for me the prime bene ts gained are the friendships and camaraderie; the travel experiences, many of which have been hilarious; the opportunity to see work from other cultures; the techniques used and the exchange of ideas. When I started in AV in 1985 the British AV scene was dominated by documentaries. The general French view of them being summed up by one Frenchman’s comment, “He was born, he lived, he died - Bof!” For my part I wanted to follow my Celtic heritage of storytelling – human-interest stories in the rst person rather than documentaries narrated in the past tense - and the Continentals were more sympathetic to what I was trying to achieve. The rst foreign festival I entered was at St. Etienne in France, where I submitted a sequence, in English, which weeks before had won the Bronze Medal in the RPS International. It didn’t get through pre-selection. Gerard Desroches, one of the jury members at the RPS event, persuaded the organisers that they had made a big mistake and ever since then the French AV’ers, or diaporamistes, have been extremely helpful. They’ve translated my scripts and recorded voiceovers for me in French and in return I’ve edited their Franglais scripts into English and recorded for their diaporamas.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 My efforts at French are met with amused appreciation, although I don’t really understand the response, after speaking to a charming young lady in my best French, she said “Sorry, I don’t speak German!!” Travel experiences alone have made attending these festivals worthwhile. The journeys to venues throughout France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Romania and Hungary have ranged from interesting to bizarre. Trips to Romania and Hungary stand out; ying into Budapest in Hungary with Peter Coles, then by rail to Romania, which meant rst nding the right station in Budapest - there are seven of them! Then buying train tickets in dollars at extortionate prices, all conducted in Hungarian with lots of arm waving and gesticulation. Next arriving at the Hungary-Romania border and having the compartment turned over by a Romanian soldier with a Kalashnikov, and our baggage searched by a zealous customs of cer. Arriving at Timisoara station at 4 o’clock in the morning, seeing drunks sleeping off their excesses and being surrounded by half a dozen unsavoury looking characters - mercifully they were only taxi drivers vying for our custom. There are so many stories I could tell of travels with Peter Coles, Colin Balls, Willem van den Berg and many more - such experiences may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I’ve certainly enjoyed them all.

Epinal at Night (Photograph courtesy Ron Davies)

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AV News 208 | May 2017 Visiting Foreign Festivals continued... Another important reason to go is to see sequences from other cultures that we would not normally see in the UK. The Eurofestivals, sadly no longer in existence, were held in rotation in France, Belgium and Germany. The juries for these consisted of all the authors present. Everyone gave a mark out of 50 and made comments, which were translated almost instantaneously into all languages represented. The variations in appreciation were sometimes staggering and made me concentrate on what the Poles, Italians and Hungarians, in particular, were seeing that I was not. Discussions with other AV-makers helped considerably and led to my being able to view and assess sequences from a wider viewpoint by taking into consideration cultural differences. The sequences produced by the leading Hungarians fascinated me. They had realised that to the rest of Europe, Hungarian was virtually impenetrable, much like Welsh! They produced sequences with no text but with images, imagery and symbolism that put over complex content and made it understandable. I learned a lot from them in that they made me realise the power of imagery and symbolism, which can bene t all sequences not just those without text. Another idea came from the fact that Peter Coles hated seeing a still image of someone purportedly speaking when of course no lips were moving. The Belgian Jacques van de Weerdt overcame this problem in a sequence that involved a courtroom scene. When you heard the barrister speak, the image on the screen was the judge, when the accused spoke you saw the barrister, etc. Another idea, picked up at an Italian festival, was to photograph people’s shadows and thereby produce silhouettes to represent characters from a bygone age. At the end of each festival I’ve asked my companions “What have we learned?” and it’s surprising what has registered, almost by osmosis. As a result of the friendships made worldwide I’ve had the opportunity to judge, lecture and show my work in Australia and New Zealand and to judge in Europe and Argentina. Notable coming festivals are the Trophee de Paris in May and Garda from June 23rd to 25th. Where else can you watch international AVs in an Italian palace and have a pizza, a beer and gelati on the lakeside during a lunch break? Or go to Epinal later in the year and sample a Moselle wine on the banks of the Moselle river. I would encourage anyone to at least sample the experience of a foreign festival, the people are friendly, the communal meals are interesting and the discussions as varied as you want to make them.

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Visiting Foreign Festivals Ron Davies FRPS, FIPF, EFIAP, FACI(M)

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AV News 208 | May 2017 Dear Editors continued ... Thoughts from New Zealand I am one of your overseas members based in New Zealand. Firstly, I must compliment you on your new edition of the AV News; I feel a sense of newness and enthusiasm for the future of AVs in general. And I think the idea of placing a selection of AVs on line is an exceptionally clever idea. Please continue to work towards that goal. I do hope you get national support as well as international support from members such as myself. We have similar issues in New Zealand but on a much smaller scale of course. There are very few AV groups around NZ and other than internal competitions for those speci c groups we only have two NZ National competitions. The rst is the Jack Sprosen Memorial AV Salon, which is run on behalf of the Photographic Society of New Zealand [PSNZ] and hosted by different photographic clubs and societies across NZ on a rotational basis. That competition is open only to PSNZ members. No video is allowed whatsoever. The other competition is the Tauranga AV Salon, hosted by members of my club here in Tauranga and open to members of the RPS AV Group, Australia, South Africa and PSNZ members. It allows video clips up to 20% of the total length. AVs in both competitions are limited to just 5 minutes. The problem that we face in Tauranga is that members nd dif culty in sharing AVs made for competition until the competition is concluded. So there is little discussion, interaction or advice to participants as club members do not want to share issues with others who may well be judges of the very competition for which their AV is entered. Therefore the ability to view AVs which are anonymous and which allow and encourage constructive comments are exceedingly rare. So your proposal would be of great personal bene t from my perspective. You may nd that AV News bene ts by people from NZ and elsewhere becoming subscribers in order to view the AVs and seek that informative, constructive feedback which is lacking here at present. Do keep up the good work. Kindest regards. Paul Byrne APRS, APSNZ, AFIAP President, Tauranga Photographic Society, New Zealand Editorsâ€™ note: The eighth Tauranga International AV Salon is now open for entries by invitation, including RPS members. AVs should be no longer than 5 minutes and the closing date is June 7th. For the guidelines and rules visit: http://taurangaphot.org.nz/tga-av-salon. Page 18

AV News 208 | May 2017 A Response to ‘It’s an AV not a Film’ (Malcolm Imhoff’s letter, pg.17, Issue 207) It was good to read Malcolm’s views on the relationship between AV and lm (or video if you prefer) in the last edition, and undoubtedly we see eye-to-eye on most of the issues. I think I should have been more precise in my use of the phrase ‘the nal effect’. Of course those fast-moving stills create a different illusion when projected at a constant 24 frames per second, but we do get perilously close to creating illusory movement with some of the things we can do with PicturesToExe nowadays. If I dare use my own King Krak and the Dragon as an example - there’s no true video in it at all. (I have still to nd the courage to take that step myself, but I vigorously applaud the skilful merging of stills and video by those who have tried it, such as Howard Bagshaw in his recently successful programme Kelpies.) In Krak there are images (in particular the ones appearing in the view nders of the tourist cameras at the end) that may look like video – there is spatial movement in those seemingly untreated ‘photographic’ images - but they were quite simply animated using PhotoShop combined with PicturesToExe. Ironically I have just had a very similar experience to Malcolm, in that I entered Krak this year in the IAC’s British International Film Festival, slightly in trepidation as to whether it would qualify. To my astonishment I received noti cation that it had gained ve stars and been awarded the Cavendish Prize! I can’t account for the difference in our respective outcomes but wonder if “the times they are a-changin’”, and that the lines between the two branches of our medium are becoming steadily more blurred - a consummation devoutly to be wished, though I know that not everyone will share my view! Andrew N. Gagg FRPS ——————–—— Sound Effects In a previous issue someone was asking where and how to get sound effects. Howard produced many CDs speci cally for this reason. I have the full list and can duplicate any CDs needed. They cost £6 each + p&p. Popular ones have been: ‘Water, Wind and Weather’, ‘Sounds of People’ and ‘Sounds of Steam’. If anyone wants one, or has a speci c requirement, they can contact me on hgandsw@talktalk.net or 01925 75 3303. Howard’s Tutorial CDs are also still available. Finally, thank you both for continuing to produce our magazine. Best wishes. Suzanne Gregory Page 19

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AV News 208 | May 2017 In each and every shot the light and the mise en scene (what you include in the frame) are of essential importance. Light should be considered throughout as a part of the story-telling process – the narrative of light, then re ected in the character of music, voice, atmosphere and sound effects. Every shift from at light to dramatic light should re ect meaning; every scene controlled for mood in image, light and sound. Light should never be there simply to illuminate for exposure. Your decisions on light source, time of day, angle of the sun or the positioning of arti cial light should be dictate your choices. Audience engagement is dependent on the qualities of the sound, the images and their interaction. The soundtrack is at the core of the structure and when impeccably recorded and balanced will embrace the audience as signi cantly as the visuals. Music and sounds should be considered for their cultural and historical signi cance in relation to the subject, action and place, not merely added for atmosphere. Similarly, a narrator must be chosen with extreme care; accent, ethnicity, gender, timbre of voice – all will in uence the meaning of the work. In documentary the voices of the subjects will be the most convincing to hear and to relay their own story. Across the production, sound and images should work together to produce more meaning than could be drawn from either alone. Sound shouldn’t describe what is evident in the frame but should enable us to know what lies beneath and beyond the surface. The editing is all-important. This is where the story or experience is nally tied down. It is valuable to have had a written proposal in order to review the concept, the aims, the intended audience and the affect you wanted to instil. The editing should now bring all this to fruition. Transitions should be in keeping with the dramatic structure; languid, leisurely in the calm setting of scenes or to dwell on signi cant spaces and subjects. Then moving to more rapid cuts when tension arises, and all directly linked to the soundtrack. The rst edit, the rough cut, should be tried on a trusted and frank, small audience. Their feedback in terms of understanding of the piece, clarity and pace will be invaluable in creating the ne cut. Test again. Then comes the nal cut. Always be prepared to edit out your favourite shot if it doesn’t serve the story. Finally, the title is highly signi cant. Ideally this should come rst and be held in mind, like your written proposal. It indicates to the viewer how to approach the work, the state of mind to be in. From title to credits every sound and every image should serve to heighten the experience you intend, ultimately leaving your audience wanting more and knowing more.

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AV News 208 | May 2017

The Third Image The rst in a regular series where AV producers illustrate a favourite â€˜third imageâ€™ created in the dissolve between two of their photographs. The guest producer this edition is Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB

Image 1

Image 2

Below: Use of Photoshop Layers - for details, see page 24

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AV News 208 | May 2017

The desired effect (Images courtesy Howard Bagshaw)

The Third Image In the days of tape/slide the only transition available was the dissolve, but much was made of those dissolves where, in moving from slide 1 to slide 2, the combined, intermediate image was also aesthetically pleasing, this was the 'third image'. In this digital age we have other options for our transitions, but we still love to see that third image; I recently saw some gorgeous ones in Malcolm Imhoff's Watercolour. Similarly Ron Davies' Hedd Wynn to see some great examples. Digital makes this easier as we have a greater opportunity to crop and reposition our images. Overleaf is my work ow - it works for me and may also work for you. If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll try to help.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 The Third Image continued ...

 I start by taking all my images in RAW format and convert them in Adobe Raw Converter (ARC). If you shoot in jpeg, you can also bring them into ARC if you've 'ticked the right box' in Photoshop (slightly more dif cult in PS Elements, but still possible). I nd that I can do almost all the image correction, colour, contrast, brightness, noise reduction etc in ARC, both on the whole image and selectively on parts of the image.

 In Photoshop, I then prepare to create 'stacks' of my images, as layers, in one or more .psd les. The rst thing I do is to create a new, blank image, making it the exact pixel size I want for the AV (e.g. 1920 x 1080 px). This is the background for my 'stack'.

 I then send my rst image from ARC to Photoshop, but as a 16-bit image and as a 'Smart Object'. This is set by clicking on the blue text at the bottom of the ARC screen, which brings up a dialogue box.

 As I create images in the raw converter, I bring them into Photoshop and add them as a new layer onto my image stack, by dragging and dropping. They are likely to be too big when dropped onto the background layer, but can easily be rescaled and cropped to a visually pleasing image.

 The next image is dropped onto the stack, but so that I can line it up with the previous image I reduce its opacity to 50%. In this way I can see the previous image and adjust the new image so that they visually harmonise and maybe create that pleasing third image. It is enormously helpful when lining up horizons, for example.

 I regularly save the 'stack' as a .psd image, usually calling it something like 'Kelpies-01.psd' so that I know what it's about.

 The reason for working this way is that by bringing in the pictures as smart objects I can re-manipulate any of the layers at any time. Rescaling the image does not loose any quality, changing the crop is easy as the whole image is still available. And by double clicking on the thumbnail of the image in the layers palette, it will re-open in ACR and I can make further, non-destructive adjustments to that image.

 Depending on the background size and whether or not I've added further adjustment layers in the 'stack', I usually nd that I can have a stack of 1015 images in one .psd le.

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 When I'm happy with the images I use Save for Web to save each of the images in the stack. Remember, what will be saved is what you see on the screen at that moment; there is no need to 'merge' or atten any les. Just hide the layers you don't want to see by clicking on the eye symbol next to layers you want to hide. In a single 'save' the image is converted to 8-bit, to the sRGB colour space and saved as jpeg at your chosen compression all saved in the same folder. The default le name will be that of the .psd (e.g. Kelpies-01), so for each of the images, as I save them, I just add a unique suf x, e.g. Kelpies-01-01.jpg

 Of course I have saved the .psd le, so at any stage I can re-load it into Photoshop for compositional or further post-processing adjustments to any of the images in the stack. Just remember to re-save changed les. ——————————————————

Here Comes The Judge Malcolm Imhoff FRPS, FACI(M) I rst wrote an article for AV News on judging AVs some years ago and I'm afraid not a lot has changed! Judges still come in for a lot of criticism. We often see AVs that do very well in one competition and zilch in another. Why is that, and how does the producer nd out? Much as we may feel like it you can’t harass the judges! The rst thing I'd like to say is that it is important that you do participate in festivals and competitions. There seem to be quite a few folk producing AVs whose work we don't often see in competitions. Only a minority are going to win awards so why bother? Because it is one of the main ways of letting other people see your work and making it available to a wider audience than your family and camera club. The second thing I'd like to try and do is clear up the confusion that sometimes exists between judging for competitions and assessment for distinctions. Success in a competition may be a guide to possible success in an application for a distinction, but not necessarily. And vice versa, holding a distinction certainly does not guarantee success in a competition. With distinctions for the PAGB and RPS there are speci c criteria that have to be met, especially in terms of technical quality, and the applicant should be aiming at an appropriate level.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 Here Comes The Judge continued ... But in a competition every AV is up against every other AV rather than up against some predetermined standard. Occasionally you hear a judge say something like "I've seen other AVs on Venice (say) and this isn't as good.” Mistake. The other ones aren't in the competition. Thirdly there is a big difference in judging as a member of the audience, the so-called ‘popular vote’, and making selections as an appointed judge or panel member. Maybe we should call them "selectors" rather than judges? Naturally as a member of the audience we will judge on a fairly super cial level, based on an overall impression with personal likes having a strong in uence and entertainment having a high priority. On the other hand a ‘proper’ judge has to concentrate throughout, simultaneously aware of all the elements making up the presentation, technical and non technical, watching, seeing, listening and feeling. And all this often in the dark with, if they're lucky, one minute to make notes, and sometimes having to get up and spout something constructive and meaningful immediately. No wonder most judges are exhausted at the end of a festival! So how do I judge? My method is simple and I hope as objective as possible. First of all I consider all the elements and technical factors that make up the AV: the idea, photography, sound and production. I don't do this by using a numerical scoring system as I think that this harks back to the idea of comparing an AV to an arbitrary standard. Such scoring can also rely on the weighting given to particular elements - the inference being that the top mark is perfect, as if there is such a thing. There's also the classic situation where an audio visual interpretation of a piece of music would score zero for the voiceover because there isn't one. At this stage I am aware of anything that detracts from what the producer is trying to convey: a few images not sharp, poorly composed, of doubtful relevance, glitches in the sound track or mixing, transitions that are out of character with the mood and compete for my attention. Assuming I then have a short list of excellent programmes I look for the ‘added value’, which may be a strong message or emotion, a production that makes me sad, laugh, cry, or think. Like many fellow judges I usually use the ABC method to arrange what is often a large number of productions. ‘C’ would be those that have signi cant shortcomings and which don't need to be discussed at length. ‘A’ would be anything that is potentially in line for an award, and if any of the panel have given an ‘A’ that automatically goes into the shortlist.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 The ‘Bs’ are everything else, often a substantial number, which need to be discussed or considered further. All these will have strong points and weaker features. I feel strongly that these ABC rankings are for the judge and jury only and should not be communicated to the producers. The method is solely a means for managing the exercise and it can be very misleading, not to say discouraging, for an entrant - especially a newcomer - to be told that their production got a ‘C’, which they then take as meaning it has no merit at all. On the other hand feedback is very important if we are to improve. In the video world all those who enter IAC competitions such as BIAFF receive a detailed, written critique of their work. A massive task but the work seems to be spread over a large number of judges. In our Great Northern Festival the entrants in the New Horizons section receive on the spot comments immediately after their sequence has been played and written feedback follows. I think I'm right in saying that with distinctions those who fail get feedback, those who pass don't. Maybe this is an area we need to develop. Certainly one of the best places to get comments on your work is at an AV Day, so it would be nice if there were more of these. Could the RPS AV Group be a force for making this happen? In the old days the Brown, Brown and Atkins Summer Schools were an excellent and intensive series of workshops and practical sessions where residents could receive hands-on instruction and a personal critique of their productions. Any volunteers? So what makes a good judge? Well I don't think it is necessary for a judge to be a person of letters, someone who often wins awards, or even a practising AV producer. I know many people who I would consider good judges who are none of these. On the other hand we all know that there have been problems in assessing applications for distinctions by non-AV specialists, who may have expertise in photographic prints for example but bring their preconceptions and prejudices to the table. The ability to recognise technical excellence is obviously an advantage, but I would argue that impartiality, objectivity, sensitivity to the intentions of the producer and, above all, imagination are much more important. And what other questions do we face. Should there be more ‘standardisation’ across the board in the process of judging? What is the role of the organisers of a festival in specifying to the judges what awards are required, and what the criteria are for making them? Or should we leave it entirely up to the judges? Anyway, over to you - if you have any views or opinions on judges and judging do put pen to paper and contribute to the debate.

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AV News 208 | May 2017

Which Category Are You In? Richard Brown FRPS For as long as I can remember, most international AV festivals have had entry and award categories such as documentary; theme; music, poetry or song and humour. Quite how or why these categories came about is probably lost in the mists of time. But since FIAP has always seemed quite keen on them it may be that it had something to do with their introduction. What purpose do these categories serve and to what extent are they an asset or a distraction? Let’s start by looking at the most commonly encountered categories and what they encompass. Documentary: One of the more straightforward ones to understand. We are all familiar with the fact-based documentary format from endless TV programmes in this genre. Natural History: Usually a sub-set of documentary since most nature subjects tend to be treated in this way. Music, Poetry or Song: Reasonably self-explanatory. An AV that takes as its starting point a written or musical work, either the producer’s or a third party’s, and illustrates or interprets it visually; or possibly a sequence that includes other elements, such as biographical information about a composer or poet, but is mainly based on the work or works concerned. It’s important to differentiate the Music category, where the soundtrack is the basis of the sequence, from Photo Harmony, where it is relatively incidental. Humour: Self-explanatory. Fiction: A sequence based on a story or happening which is not factual. Essay: A tricky one. My interpretation would be something like a visual progression of images intended to make a statement of some kind; allied to Photo Harmony but could also include words, whereas Photo Harmony is generally only music. Theme: Possibly the most vague and misunderstood category. Since every AV has to be about something or other, a slightly ippant view would be that Theme is anything that doesn’t t into any of the other categories. Interestingly, the latest iteration of the FIAP entry che has dropped Theme altogether in spite of the fact that historically it has tended to be one of the best-supported categories.

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AV News 208 | May 2017 These categories are designed to cover pretty well all of the types of sequences usually entered into AV festivals. Even so, there are still some productions that donâ€™t t neatly into any one of them. For instance, my own AV The Power of Memories starts off as a documentary, then it has a somewhat fanciful semi- ashback section which could also be a music interpretation and it ends with a bit of metaphysical musing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I generally entered it in Theme!

The Power of Memories Another AV, The Gasman Cometh, is both humorous and a song, so could be entered in either category. Since Humour is usually less well supported, I backed the more attractive bet. An analysis of the 2015 Adelaide festival shows that the entry numbers in each category were Documentary 37, Theme 47, Music, Poetry and Song 29, Natural History 10 and Humour 14. So from a purely statistical point of view, if you want a category prize you would be well advised to work in either Natural History or Humour. From my perspective as a judge categories donâ€™t have much impact on the overall process. The top award winners, and often the lesser prizes such as ribbons, are divorced from the categories they were entered under anyway. The category awards themselves can be a little more troublesome.

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Around the AV GROUPS The March Meeting of the Northern AV Group Howard Wilson, Secretary Held at our usual Snods Edge venue near Shotley Bridge, the meeting was chaired by Ron Henry and came shortly after the release of PTE9. So the choice of speaker turned out to be inspired in that Jeff Evans, President of Whitley Bay PS, is a beta tester for PTE and has been involved in not only testing but in writing instructions for this and previous versions. As usual we began with membersâ€™ own sequences, which in general just get better. Cowboy by John Patton was rst up and is the story of a young man and his highland cattle - a very good documentary. Other AVs included Interlude, getting away from modern busy life; The Seeing Eye, a beautiful Beatrix Potter documentary; Stones and Sand, an interpretation of the song; Muddy Mayhem, a race through mud; No Time to Stand and Stare by our relative newcomer, David Niman; Winter Visitors, showing birds and people; Images of Uig, with lovely seascapes, and Cappadocia by Jim McCormick. Following each sequence we had written comments from Eddie Spence of The Leeds AV Group read by committee members. These prompted good discussion and were generally well received; weâ€™re most grateful to Eddie. Jeff Evans started his presentation by listing the various changes and improvements to PTE9, which, during the day, he guided us through using well-constructed demonstrations. Interspersed with these, Jeff showed several locally inspired AVs from his own work over the last 15 years, with much use of PTE features. He closed his presentation with a sequence put together as an exercise using short lengths of royalty free music, with pictures that matched the mood. This, I thought, showed the work of a master of this type of AV. John Harbron was then invited to talk about and show his winning sequence The Wild North, inspired by the splendours of our region, which was awarded the George Pollock Medal at the Great Northern AV Festival. This was a particularly good day, with a superb speaker and lots of good AVs. Our next meeting will be held on 21st October, when the speaker will be Bryan Stubbs ARPS from the Leeds AV Group. Please visit our website at www.thenorthernavgroup.co.uk

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Midland Counties AV Championship 2017 Martin Fry FRPS, EFIAP/b, AV-EFIAP, BPE5*, APAGB As I sat down to watch the smooth running of the 28 sequences at the Priory Centre, Burton upon Trent, I started to reminisce. Its 33 years since I rst entered the Midland Counties AV Championships, which showcases some of the best work in the country. I had just won Cheltenham Camera Club’s rst AV competition and following an AV workshop, led by the late Sir George and Lady Doreen Pollock who were pioneers in this eld, I decided to enter. The event was organised by Bob Standing and took place at Aston and Erdington’s Photo Society venue. My sequence, Forever Autumn, was shown last in the morning session. Perhaps the word shown should be corrected to played or performed, because in those days we brought and set up our own gear, projectors, ampli ers, speakers and the control unit. Some were on early Imatronic units, others like myself and the young Richard Brown, were using a manual Purlock Duo-Fade. This unit went in front of the projectors with two irises that opened and closed the images using wires, while pressing buttons to change slides! The producer was the performer and as the slides dissolved we created the magical third image, something never really recreated in this modern technological world. Projection was on one of the three screens all different sizes with the judges moving their chairs to sit in front of the ‘performing’ AV! Breakdowns were commonplace and nerves were jangling as the rst to last slide went into the projector gate. Were the slides going to pop out of focus, slip in their mount or jam in the projector? Was the mono sound going to be clear or hiss with noise? Was the tape going to pick up the pulse and so on. That year the inspirational Clive Atkins won with Eight Minutes to the Whistle, a documentary about the quarrymen of North Wales. So, what may you ask is all this to do with this year’s event? Well there in the programme was number 7, Memories of Slate by Malcolm Imhoff. Could it be about the same location, nicknamed Aston and Erdington Valley in the 1980s. To my delight it was, but like everything times have moved on. The old chapel was barely noticeable and the houses weathered over the years. What a contrast to the world of AV, which has advanced beyond belief. One projector now achieves multiple effects and a sound system shared by all on the day provides a professional show for everyone, whether beginning or advanced. True we all have our own ways to communicate the messages and are still on the magical journey, but it’s great to just sit back, watch and admire the work as the sequences ow from one to another with no nerves! Page 32

AV News 208 | May 2017 AV is a powerful medium and this year’s productions showed the whole range of possibilities. The rst by John Holt was Coming to America, which hit the pressure point at this volatile time of world history. Another Day in Paradise by Alastair Taylor turned beauty into sheer destruction with the tsunami and deservedly received a judge’s award. Another such went to Gordon Nickin, with a superb documentary that told the story of the proud New Zealanders who fought in World War 1. Other productions enlightened us about history, from famous artists to musicians, historical transport to castles and cathedrals. Sandra Johnson won the best AV by an intermediate worker with the story of Salisbury Cathedral. Then there were places of interest, interpretations of songs and poetry, Alan Tyler’s The Gallery, which built suspense through the use of strong monochrome images, and nally Kelpies by Howard Bagshaw. This sequence saluted the Scottish mythical beast and the huge sculpture at Falkirk with super photography and video elements - a polished production that both audience and judges deemed the overall winner. As I went away fully inspired and re ecting on an excellent day of AVs and judging, I wondered if I should get out the old Duo-Fade! No, AVs are now simpler to make with no specialist equipment needed, although of course you still need a good idea and imaginative work. But as the MCPF President Mike Chapman summed up “AV reaches more of the senses that any other form of photography” - so why not have a go yourself at this great art form?

Winters Gift (Photograph courtesy Martin Fry) Page 33

AV News 208 | May 2017

The 25 th East Anglian Audio-Visual Competition Graham Sergeant FRPS Staged at the Margaretting Village Hall, Ingatestone, in the heart of the Essex countryside, Saturday, March 18th, 2017 saw the ever-genial Dick Williams hosting a very Special Day in the AV Calender: the 25th Anniversary of the East Anglian Audio Visual Competition. Starting the day’s Celebration was an onscreen introduction to Ian Bateman FRPS, MPAGB, APAGB, AV-AFIAP and Malcolm Imhoff FRPS, FACI(M) – both well-known, highly experienced and respected Judges. Their considerable experience and expertise was much appreciated with 50 entries submitted to make up a varied programme, and a very full day’s enjoyment for the capacity audience! In addition to the introductions, the audience was also treated to a piece of timely ‘Performance Art’. Accompanying the visual of a champagne bottle being uncorked on-screen, a shower of bubbles was released into the path of the beam being projected onto the screen. This bit of fun was organised by the highly competent projection team under the leadership of another stalwart of the Essex AV Group, Keith Leedham. A very welcome feature of the event was that half of the entries were eligible for the Vic Hainsworth Award for the best entry from relative newcomers to AV. This Award is for workers who don’t have RPS or PAGB Distinctions or who haven’t won any major AV Awards thus far. It was good to see that the Organisers were encouraging newcomers in this way at a time when numbers overall have been declining in the AV World. This year’s winner was Sisters by Roger Gage – a humorous story about sibling rivalry. In the past twenty- ve years since the beginning of the East Anglian Competition, digital AV has become a very sophisticated medium and mastering its techniques is no small matter. It could be that since technology and software have advanced so much, some people have been put off exploring the delights of the medium. However, on the positive side, the technology has opened up new horizons and programme possibilities especially in documentaries. Indeed, Broadcast TV is using many of the techniques now well established in AV such as the elegant ‘compression’ of information by the use of beautifully photographed still images with relevant movie footage combined with a highly creative soundtrack. AV producers have also discovered that modern DSLRs have not only opened up the world of movie footage but rather than being con ned to Voiceovers and Vox Pops in their productions, they can now create impact by including Lip Sync and Talking Heads (the byword here, of course, is relevance!) Page 34

AV News 208 | May 2017 Some traditionalists argue that if AV producers want to use movie footage then they should join a Video Club. Arguably they are not only doing a technological ‘King Canute’ but are denying themselves the opportunity to enhance their productions by using a number of exciting, new tools. Among some of the Award winners we saw the modest use of movie footage – once again the keywords being relevance and moderation, rather than using movie footage merely as a gimmick, just because it’s available. Among the main medal winners, the Bronze went to Di Burns: Miss Helen, an ‘edgy’ production dealing with the subject of parental abuse within a family and the long-term consequences. The Silver went to Melanie Chalk’s Abney, a revealing and unusual study of a Victorian Cemetery. The Gold went to Eric by Jenny and Malcolm Gee – a beautifully produced piece of social history that told the story of Eric, the last Reed Gatherer (for thatching), who lived and worked for some forty- ve years in the Norfolk Wetlands.

Winners Jenny and Malcolm pictured with the judges Many other submissions had a ne display of skills in common, notably the ability to tell a story, beautiful photography, well-recorded sound tracks, meticulous attention to detail and high levels of skill in the often neglected but vital area of editing. In their very different ways all of them held the attention of the audience, while at the same time providing rst class entertainment. I would also like to pay tribute to the two Judges, Ian Bateman and Malcolm Imhoff. Not only did they carry out their duties with great skill, honesty and integrity but above all, objectivity. It was good to see their choice of the Gold Medal winners endorsed by the Popular Vote. Finally, many thanks are due to Dick Williams and his team of willing and ef cient helpers who always make these days run so smoothly. Thanks also for the Commemorative pens for all the winners! All in all it was a memorable 25th Anniversary and we can now look forward to the next twenty- ve years! Page 35

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AV News 208 | May 2017 Not only was Ralph an example and inspiration to like-minded enthusiasts but his productions and shows gave great pleasure. In appreciation and acknowledgement of his dedication to AV he was awarded the Dobson Henry Medal by the RPS AV Group. Ralph’s life ended in his 97th year and together with Evelyn, who encouraged and supported him throughout, he will be remembered with affection, gratitude and esteem. The sorrow and sympathy expressed for her and the family was re ected in the attendance at Lawnswood Crematorium on 7th March. —————————————————————————————————-

As I See It … Ian Bateman FRPS, MPAGB, AV-AFIP, APAGB The first of a regular series where some of our top AV producers share their ideas and insights. What is the appeal of AV for you, how long have you been producing AVs and how has your interest evolved? I rst became aware of AV not by seeing a show but by reading an article in Camera magazine in the early 1980’s. It described the technique and effects that could be obtained by dissolving the images from two projectors, and reviewed the competing equipment that was available. The most affordable was the GAF Electrofade system, so I bought one from the Jessops branch in Whiteladies Road, Bristol. It was a fairly basic and used a stereo cassette tape to play a mono audio track on the left stereo channel, and the analogue signal for the projectors on the right channel. I made several AVs on this before even joining a camera club. Eventually everyone standardised on Imatronic until digital took over. The only transition available in slide/tape was of course ‘dissolve’, and I believe that the AV workers who have evolved from this era still pay more attention to the ‘third image’ than people who have come on board since the digital age – it’s a bit like being educated by the Quakers! What is an AV? I think this de nition is continually evolving. In its purest sense, it’s still a sequence of images with an accompanying soundtrack, but you only have to look at the entries at an AV Festival to realise that style and subject matter can be as different as chalk and cheese. With the inclusion of video clips, ambient recordings, interviews etc it’s possible to produce a documentary of broadcast quality. At the same time a much simpler ‘photo harmony’ AV might include images of such stunning quality that the two forms would be equally ranked. Page 37

AV News 208 | May 2017 As I See It continued ... Do you think there should be limits to the inclusion of third-party images or to other media beyond still photographs; if so, what limits? I don’t believe that there should be any limits other than the imagination of the producer. To produce a documentary sequence on a historical gure, it goes without saying that archive images will have to be used. The skill in this case would be in the actual production and how creatively the third-party images are used. I realise that for a photographic distinction the panels are looking for skill in photography, and hence limit third-party images so that the overwhelming proportion of images are original, and I accept this viewpoint. Festivals however shouldn’t have this restriction, so it’s entirely possible that a Gold Medal winning AV wouldn’t be suitable for a photographic distinction. Interestingly, it’s only recently that video clips have appeared despite the fact that DSLR cameras have been able to record high-quality videos for several years. The challenge has been how to include a video clip that seamlessly blends with the still images without looking like an unnecessary add-in. Howard Bagshaw is a master of this, and his Kelpies is an excellent example of how video can be blended into an AV with clever use of masks and overlays. Should the production of an AV - the assembly of its elements - be the primary measure of its quality, or should that measure be the producer’s own photography? It’s always going to be a bit of both – I’ve seen some AVs with brilliant photography that are let down by a mundane soundtrack and a predictable pace, and vice-versa. Is AV a retirement hobby? It’s a hobby! Certainly when you visit an AV Group or Festival the attendees aren’t usually in their rst ush of youth, but the same can be said for camera clubs in general. It would be nice to see some younger faces at these events, but with the pressures of career and family it’s not surprising that the people who have passed that stage of life have more time to indulge in hobbies and pastimes. Is AV an art form? I would say most de nitely it is. There are a whole variety of technical skills required for an AV, but ultimately it’s the artistic side that drives the concept. Page 38

AV News 208 | May 2017 What are the issues facing the wider adoption and appreciation of AV, and how might those issues be addressed? The biggest challenge is encouraging more people to ‘have a go’. As we’ve seen, the age pro le is what it is, and the danger is that as AV-makers drop out of the game there won’t be enough newcomers to replace them. I’m a proponent of encouraging ‘non-AV’ camera club members to try making ‘photo harmony’ sequences to learn the basics, in the hope that some will get hooked and move onto more complex productions. I know that other AV Group members disagree with this and think it dilutes the gene pool, but in my view the biggest opportunity lies within the club world. Outside of this, it’s more dif cult with the instant appeal of videos that can be immediately uploaded to Facebook, YouTube and the other platforms. The RPS tried to attract this sector with a focus on Multimedia rather than traditional AV, but its fair to say that no oodgates have been opened as yet. How might RPS support for AV be improved, if at all? The one thing that crops up frequently is a need for more assessment advice days so that people aspiring for a distinction can get expert advice. On the other hand I know that when these have been run there has only been sporadic support, so it’s the ‘use it or lose it’ argument. Now that there is a separate distinction for video workers, it would be a good idea to re-focus on the traditional AV category rather than have it as a sub-set of Multimedia. It’s been heartening to note that there has been some speci c AV coverage in recent Journals, so more of this would be good. Do you think that there should be, and currently is, a common and consistent approach to AV judging? This is always going to be a contentious issue, as it is in general photography. Most AV judges are very experienced and know exactly what to look for by virtue of having made highly regarded sequences themselves, but there is always that degree of personal preference that comes into play. I’ve recently had an AV that came rst in one international competition but didn’t even get accepted for another, so you just have to go with the ow!

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AV News 208 | May 2017

Depth of Field in Photoshop (Part 1) Keith Scott FRPS Last November I attended the Great Yorkshire RPS AV Sunday at Trinity University Leeds, which is always admirably arranged by Bryan Stubbs ARPS, the AV Group Organiser for Yorkshire. I presented a sequence as a draft for constructive comments to a very well informed audience. The sequence in question was made entirely from scanned 35mm colour negatives. Remember those things? Funny, dull, orange strips of tri-coloured, light sensitive layers on acetate-based material, which we developed by dunking in wet chemicals before making prints in total darkness! This article concerns photographs from a trip to North Africa around twenty years ago. It was common practice for many photographers, myself included, to carry two camera bodies, one loaded with transparency lm for making AVs, and one loaded with negative lm either colour or black & white for making prints. In this sequence many of the images had a very restricted depth of eld, which in some cases were produced post exposure using various Adobe Photoshop techniques. Of course true depth of eld is a factor of optical physics, governed by the relationship of focal length, aperture, magni cation, acceptable circle of confusion etc. determined at the moment of exposure. However we’re not getting into physics in this article. So, the aim of using a shallow depth of eld is to have an object of interest in a sharp plane of focus whereby other objects within the picture are less sharp. Usually, but certainly not always, this effect is used to create a sharp foreground subject and a less sharp, or even well blurred, background. Sometimes the effect is reversed depending on the image requirement, but in my case the foregrounds generally contained people and were of most importance. So the people were kept sharp whilst the backgrounds from slightly soft to very blurred. May I stress that making a longish AV with scanned negatives is very time consuming and isn’t to be embarked upon without commitment. Scanning a large amount of negatives whilst making sure all images have a consistent colour, contrast, and saturation takes a long time. However my interest at this event was really to see how each image projected onto a screen 6 metres wide x 3.4 metres high (16:9 wide screen format). I was pleasantly surprised at the projected quality, which was much better at this huge size than I’d expected. So the origins of this article stemmed from a question raised by one of our regular attendees from North of the border: how was this limited depth of eld achieved post exposure? Page 40

AV News 208 | May 2017 Photoshop is such a versatile tool that similar results may be achieved with different techniques, although sometimes such techniques may have subtle but important differences. In the case of my scanned negatives I used three very different techniques, all of which provided sharp foreground gures with soft backgrounds. One technique, perhaps the easiest, gave a slightly dreamy halo or ghosting effect around the main subject, whilst the second technique produced depth of eld effects more closely resembling those obtained optically at the point of exposure, which of course appeared most natural. The third technique produced totally blurred backgrounds without any halo/ ghosting effect. For this issue I’ll explain the rst of these methods. Slight Halo or Ghosting Effect Open your image into Photoshop, which will be titled ‘Background’ in the layers palette. To work non-destructively don’t alter this layer, always work on duplicates. For this technique two duplicates are required, therefore tap Ctrl+J twice. You should now have two other layers entitled Background copy or Layer 1, and Background copy 2 or Layer 2. Select the topmost copy and using the most appropriate tools make a precise selection of your main subject i.e. the subject that you wish to remain sharp. The tools used to make your selection depend on your personal preferences but also on the strength of colour or contrast that differentiates your subject pixels from the background pixels. Where the contrast is suf ciently different either the ‘Quick Selection Tool’ or the ‘Magic Wand’ may suf ce, but where the subject and background tones or contrast are similar then the ‘Pen Tool’ may be the best option. I work with a graphic tablet so prefer to use the pen tool for making complicated selections; it’s the most accurate method and easier to use than a mouse. With your selection active create a layer mask. This can be achieved by clicking on the ‘Layer Mask’ icon at the bottom of the layers palette, which looks like a black rectangle with a circular hole in the middle, or via the main menu at the top of your screen i.e. ‘Layer’, ‘Layer Mask’, ‘Reveal Selection’. Either method will result in a mask that shows your selected subject but hides the rest, but it allows the underlying layer to be visible. Now select the underlying layer (Background Copy or Layer 1). Create a full width rectangular selection from the top of your image with the bottom of the rectangle sitting behind your main subject plane. Page 41

AV News 208 | May 2017 Depth of Feld in Photoshop continued ... Feather this selection to avoid any abrupt changes from sharp to un-sharp. The amount of feathering will depend on your image size and personal preference. Use the ‘Gaussian Blur’ lter to apply an appropriate level of blur. For best results repeat this process with several overlapping rectangular selections progressively building different levels of Gaussian blur towards the top. The very slight ‘halo’ or ‘ghosting’ effect around the main subject can be adjusted to either decrease or increase this effect by slightly changing the overall size of the blurred image. To achieve this in a controlled manner click Ctrl+T to put the blurred image into ‘Transform’ mode then adjust the ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ percentage values equally in the scales at the top left of your workspace. Adjustments of only ½ to 1 percent increase or decrease is normally plenty, depending on the size of your image. When satis ed with the effect save the image as a .psd le before attening and cropping. By saving a .psd le you can always return to edit this image if necessary without loss of quality. After saving as a .psd, atten the image then crop to suit the size for your AV sequence i.e. 1920 x 1080 pixels or 1400 x 1050 pixels etc. Finally save the image as a .jpg with an appropriate name. I daresay that’s suf cient to absorb for this issue and next time I’ll cover the other two techniques for altering the depth of eld post exposure: creating more natural depth of eld effects and deliberately producing totally blurred backgrounds. Next Time ... From this …

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To this ...

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AV News 208 | May 2017

FUTURE EVENTS

For full details of all future events visit: http://www.avnews.org.uk

May

September

20 May Trophee de Paris Studi Raspail, 216 Boulevard Raspail, Paris 14 http://tropheedeparis.fr

23/24 September RPS 20th National AV Festival Leeds Trinity University Organiser - Howard Bagshaw Closing Date - 31 August 2017 http://rps.org/special-interest-groups/ audio-visual

21 May North Wales and Wirral AV Group Challenge 321 Judging Capel Curig, North Wales, LL24 0EE http://www.challenge321.org/#

October 21 October RPS North Group AV Day Snodds Eend, Shotley Bridge, DH8 9TJ Organiser - Howard Wilson

May 3 June Cine Camera Club de Cannes 1st International Festival of AV 64 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France http://cannes4c.com

21/22 October Irish Photographic Federation IFP Championships Clonalkin, Dublin Contact - Lilian Webb

17 June Phot Club of Triel sur Seine 4th La Coupe Lumiere International Theatre Octave, Mirbeau, Rue Cadot 78510, Triel-sur-Seine, France http://lacoupelumiere2.1cd1.com/ index.php/en 23/24/25 June Gruppo Fotograpico 5th Garda International AV Festival Palazzo Pincini Carkotti, Garda, Italy http://www.g oscattogarda.it

December 1/2/3 December 23rd Great Northern Festival Hough End Centre, Mauldeth Road West, Chorlton, Manchester , M21 7SX http://www.av-group.org.uk/gnfestival/ web2/index.html 9 December AV Makers South Africa International Competition - Life https://av-makers-southafrica.wikispaces.com/Life+-+2017

The RPS AV Group Committee - Officers Chairman

Howard Bagshaw howard.bagshaw@ntworld.com

01889 881503

Vice Chairman

Edgar Gibbs

edgar.gibbs@ntworld.com

02920 564850

Secretary

Alan Tyrer

abtyrer@gmail.com

01472 504882

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