RPS AV News 212 - May 2018 by Royal Photographic Society

AV News 212 | May 2018

In This Issue 2

Chairman's Chatter

Howard Bagshaw

RPS International AV Festival

Linda Gibbs

Editor’s Welcome

Alastair Taylor

Bridgend 5 to 8 Competition

Chris Bryan

J & M Gee

26th East Anglian AudioVisual Competition EMAVG Annual Competition

IAC Peter Coles AVC

Marion Waine

NEMPF AV Competition

David Gibbons

NIPA 2018 AV Festival

Mark Allen

My Third Image

Martin Fry

In Search of the Blues

Alan Boothman

RPS AV Group (Ireland)

Raymond Hughes

Northern AV Group

Ian Gregory

Another Way to Judge

Charles Hulse

The Letters Page

Getting To Grips With PTE 9

Tony Collinson

Bolton Camera Club

Keith Atkinson

Hints and Tips, Masterclass

Malcolm Imhoff

Reducing File Size

Keith Scott

Future Events

AV Group Chairman Howard Bagshaw

Keith Watson

Secretary Alan Tyrer

Editor AV News Alastair Taylor

magazine @avnews.org.uk

Design Consultant Andrew N Gagg FRPS

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

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AV News 212 | May 2018

Chairman's Chatter Howard Bagshaw ARPS, MPAGB “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but I wonder if it ever was?” This quotation came to mind when I was considering the way we currently produce and show AVs. Did the early AV and Diaporama workers, with their manually controlled, iris arrangements, look back longingly at the earlier magic-lanternists who used their hands to fade between one image and the next? Did the Imatronic users look back with nostalgia to the “Bowden cable” brigade? And from our digital perspective, do we look back with affection at the analogue days. What brought this all to mind was a splendid evening we had at my AV Group recently, where Jeff Mansell and Phil Gee dug out their old analogue, tape slide equipment, blew off the dust and gave us an evening of entertainment; a blast from the past. Great credit to them, what we didn’t get were any dropped trays of slides or even the “...could we have the lights please, then we’ll start that again...”. Jeff had tried to get his Royale running, but it was being a bit temperamental, Colin reckoned it was probably a sticky solenoid. Phil got out his Royale, an early model with two projectors, but one which

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AV News 212 | May 2018 needed an outboard dissolve controller, tape player and ampli er. There was quite a lot of setting up, far too many wires, but they all seemed to go somewhere and most importantly it all worked. So, what of the AVs we saw? Technically the slides had suffered a bit with age, but many of the dissolves worked very well. What impressed me was the quality of the sound track, often better and more complex that ones we hear today. A credit to the time and effort spent in splicing tape and bouncing tracks down on a multi-track recorder. But more importantly, there was an inde nable magic of the show. Our current computers and projectors can produce a technically perfect show, but what we saw that night had charm, feeling, a level of excitement, which we all loved. Half the audience had never seen a slide/tape show and, following a bit of explanation of the process, Jeff gave everyone an opportunity to cross-fade a few slides. Jeff reckons that with PTE, he really misses the tactile aspect of using a fader to control the image changes. None of the perfect, even, digital fades, these fades could be lovingly controlled, speed changed during the fade, a slight pause, bending the change to the music. Perhaps someone could invent a simple fader, connected by USB to the computer and persuade Igor to create an option to add manuallycontrolled fades to a PTE show. Now wouldnâ€™t that be nostalgic! And talking of nostalgia, Richard Brown has made it, heâ€™s 60 this month. All our best wishes, from the whole AV community to you Richard.

Photographs courtesy of Miles Caven from Staffordshire AV Group Page 3

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Linda Gibbs MPAGB AV-AFIAP Publicity and Communications Co-ordinator RPS International AV Festival 2018 A Message from the Festival Director Edgar Gibbs, FRPS, MPAGB, AV-AFIAP, successfully led the 22nd Royal Photographic Society International Audio Visual Festival in 2016, and is once again taking on the role of Festival Director for the 23rd Festival. Re ecting on the previous Festival, Edgar commented: "In 2016 the audience was treated to a range of excellent international Audio Visual programmes and I am looking forward to receiving this yearâ€™s entries. It is an event not to be missedâ€?. Above: Edgar Gibbs, Festival Director, introduces the Mayor of Cheltenham, who opened the 2016 Festival. Photograph courtesy Malcolm Imhoff FRPS Important Dates If you would like to attend The RPS 23rd International Audio Visual Festival 2018, it will be held on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September 2018. Entries for the Festival can be sent to the Director from Wednesday 1 August 2018. No entries will be accepted after Friday 24 August 2018. The International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) The aim of FIAP is the promotion of photographic art through various photographic events. FIAP was founded in 1946 by Dr M Van de Wijer, a Belgian, who wanted to establish links between different national photographic associations throughout the world. The rst Congress took place in 1950 in Bern, Switzerland, to of cially establish the foundation of FIAP when delegates from ten countries attended. Page 4

AV News 212 | May 2018 Today FIAP is af liated to more than 85 national associations over ve continents and represents the interests of nearly one million individual photographers. The 2016 Festival was granted FIAP patronage, and attracted the submission of 122 AV programmes from 14 countries. The application for FIAP patronage for the 2018 Festival has also been successful and as far as the Festival Director is aware, it will be one of only a few AV festivals with FIAP patronage in 2018. To have your AV programme played at this prestigious Royal Photographic International Audio Visual Festival is really special as the quality must be of a suitably high standard. With the limited number of FIAP patronised AV festivals, it is anticipated that there will be a large number of entries again this year. As much as the Festival organisers would like to show every entry it is unlikely that this can be achieved. FIAP use the term "preselection" and they require at least one member of the Festival Jury to make the decision about which AV programmes will be shown over the Festival weekend. It is part of the judging process and is a principle supported by FIAP. If necessary, pre-selection will be carried out by the Chair of the Jury. How to Enter The Festival Please go to www.rps.org/iavf where you will nd a link that will take you to all the information you need, including the entry form and information for entrants. Please read the 'Information for Entrants' document carefully to ensure that your AV programme, completion of the entry form and submission of other documentation fully complies with the Festival rules. Attending the Festival Being in the audience at an International AV event is always a great opportunity to see excellent International AV programmes, but it is also a great social opportunity to meet up with friends within the AV community and catch up on the latest news. Please visit www.rps.org/iavf to access the link that will take you to another website where you can complete the booking form so that you can order your Festival session tickets, lunches and a place at the Festival Dinner on the Saturday evening. The Venue for the 2018 Festival In 2016 the Royal Photographic Society International Audio Visual Festival was held in Dean Close Preparatory School, Cheltenham, England. It proved so popular that the Festival is returning there again this year. The full address of the venue is The 1914 Centenary Hall, Dean Close Preparatory School, Lansdown Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 6QS. The Hall has a raked auditorium allowing excellent viewing of the AV programmes. Page 5

AV News 212 | May 2018 RPS International AV Festival 2018 continued ... Edgar Gibbs said: “I’m delighted that once again Epson has agreed to loan the Festival a top of the range digital projector which retails at around £7000. Authors will be able to see their AV programmes projected on to a 16' by 9' screen using state-of-the-art projection, and I would encourage them to attend in order to experience this unique opportunity”.

Above: The venue in Cheltenham for the 2018 RPS International AV Festival, photograph courtesy Martin Fry FRPS Dean Close School has ample parking, is close to a Premier Inn (other accommodation is also available) and has easy access from the M5 motorway. For those who attended the 2016 RPS IAVF, the good news is that the marathon that caused such traf c chaos on the Sunday is going to be held the following weekend. Keeping You Informed ... The RPS HQ has been sending out Festival News emails to individuals to keep them up-to-date with the latest information. If you would like to receive, via email, a copy of Festival News, and have not yet received one, please send an email to director.iavf@virginmedia.com and Edgar Gibbs, Festival Director will ensure that you are placed on the distribution list. Page 6

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Editor’s Welcome Alastair Taylor LRPS By the time you read this, and with a little bit of luck, spring should have sprung. I hope so! I have lost count of the number of “Beasts from the East” we have experienced this winter (now there is a good name for an AV!). I am writing this on the third of April and had we been talking a month ago, I would have been seriously worried about the amount of copy for AV News given all of the cancelled events the length and breadth of the country. I have featured a lovely picture from Ian Bateman on the front cover. Apparently after many years with no snow in the South West, the winter of 2018 came up trumps with two snowy periods. I am looking forward to seeing a few new AVs with a winter theme. I managed to visit a few AV competitions this winter. First, where I was a competitor, was the Midland Counties Photographic Federation “Midphot” competition held in Burton on Trent, then the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union event hosted by the Wilmslow Guild where I was an observer, and nally the Lincolnshire Photographic Association competition where I was the judge. All were enjoyable occasions with a decent number of entries and a nice variety of work. It is interesting how there are different styles of AV in different parts of the country. All of these competitions sought to attract new entrants with Photo Harmony as a separate section. In theory, Photo Harmony should be a good way into AV for a newcomer. Choose a nice piece of music and some good quality pictures and try to achieve some nice third images and “Hey Presto” If only it was that easy. Martin Fry won the Midphot competition and has provided some lovely images for this edition of AV News. We are photographers after all. I have included more articles on the sound side of AV and I was especially pleased to receive an article from Alan Boothman who won the Howard Gregory Memorial Trophy for the Most Creative Soundtrack. This gives a great deal of insight into the approach used by Alan and proves that the “A” part of our hobby requires as much skill as the “V” bit. Thanks as always to our army of contributors and proof readers and in particular to Andrew N Gagg FRPS who has taken on the role of Design Consultant. I hope you enjoy this edition. Feedback is always welcome. Contact the editor at: magazine@avnews.org.uk Page 7

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Bridgend 5 to 8 Competition 2018 Report from Chris Bryan - Bridgend Camera Club This year’s 5 to 8 Competition was held on the 19th March and despite the snowy conditions Judge Howard Bagshaw ARPS MPAGB, safely made it to Bridgend. The evening was well supported, even though attendees from further a eld wisely stayed home. This years competition attracted its largest ever entry with sequences from a number of countries. It is always encouraging to see sequences from both new and returning entrants as well as an increase in countries represented. The wide reach of the competition results in a rich variety of subjects and styles being on show. Howard started the evening by commenting on the high quality of the sequences and how much he had enjoyed viewing them all. Quoting the competition rules Howard talked about why a photo harmony sequence is not “a simple AV” and how these rules formed the basis for his judging. Howard concluded that creating a successful photo harmony sequence is far from straightforward The rules and guidance to creating sequences for the 5 to 8 are available on the Bridgend Camera Club website. After this brief introduction the evening continued with the showing of entries. Sequences are shown projected by a full hd projector with a high quality sound system allowing all present to appreciate the photographic and audio quality of the work. A brief critique of the sequence then follows. At the end of an entertaining evening Howard had the unenviable task of picking the top sequences. His choice was: Winner Ian Bateman Runners Up Martin Addison Norman Horsham Highly Commended Martin Addison Martin Fry

Sequence Going Underground

Club Exmouth PG

Finding Narnia Autumn

Worcestershire CC Mid Thames AV

Glassworks Winter White

Worcestershire CC Cheltenham CC

All entrants are provided with a copy of the judges’ critique and we hope this feedback is helpful. Congratulations to all, in particular to Ian Bateman on his second successive win and to Martin Addison for his double success in this year’s competition. Bridgend CC would like to thank Howard Bagshaw for all his hard work in judging the entries and for providing helpful and constructive criticism of every sequence. A big thank you must go to all who braved the wintery weather to support the evening. Page 8

AV News 212 | May 2018 Photographs below courtesy Ian Bateman from his winning sequence Going Underground.

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AV News 212 | May 2018

26th East Anglian Audio-Visual Competition Jenny Gee LRPS DPAGB and Malcolm Gee ARPS DPAGB The forecasters warned that the â€˜Mini Beast-from-the-Eastâ€™ was on the way. So, with temperatures at 14C, we packed the snow shovel, sacks and wellies, and set off from Norfolk for Essex. They were right! On Saturday 17 th March, snow prevented about a quarter of the expected attendees from travelling to Margaretting Village Hall, but 40 of us assembled for what turned out to be a most enjoyable day. Judges for the event were Edgar Gibbs FRPS MPAGB AV-AFIAP and Linda Gibbs MPAGB AV-AFIAP, and over four sessions during the morning and afternoon we viewed 48 sequences. Despite the worsening weather, most people stayed for the Gala Show in the evening, when all of the award-winning AVs were re-shown, and presentations made. After each sequence the judges made comments highlighting particular points that had impressed them. Sensitive, surreal, ethereal and special were all words that kept coming up. It was a nicely varied programme, with a good number of newcomers submitting entries. Edgar and Linda are both very experienced AV workers and judges, and we know from personal experience that they are only too willing to pass on their knowledge, and offer encouragement and constructive criticism. In their general observations, the judges commended entrants on their level of technical competence, especially in the quality of the soundtracks, and on the wide range of subjects, ideas and techniques used. They also pointed out how some authors had obviously carried out a considerable amount of research beforehand. One point they did make was that many of the sequences would have bene ted from being shorter, and we felt the same way too. They emphasized the importance of choosing appropriate music, and how interplay between the soundtrack and the treatment of the images can be used to create a mood, develop it and change it. Another speci c point raised by the judges was the need for a structure that engaged viewers, and carried them through to a conclusion. During the day, we noticed that a number of authors had used zooms and pans and, while their occasional inclusion can be very effective, repeated use can be distracting and even detrimental. Great care needs to be taken when employing such treatments, as what may seem to work perfectly well on a computer monitor, can be quite different when projected onto a big screen! Things to bear in mind are to allow plenty of time for such effects to occur, and to control their starts and nishes. On another matter, the general consensus is that, unlike single DPI images, a frame around an AV image is best avoided, as it can also be distracting. Page 10

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Linda and Edgar each awarded a Judges’ Personal Award to two deserving sequences, and together selected a further six very enjoyable AVs for Certi cates of Merit. The Audience Vote actually went to one of these – a powerful AV all about the life and work of Puccini. The trophy for the work of an author without an AV distinction, and who had not previously won a major award, went to the beautifully told story of a mother’s tribute to her young daughter, drowned in a sailing accident. As regards the major prizes, the trophy for Best Humour was awarded to Escape, an AV all about the perils of moving from London to a ‘quiet’ coastal village - with pestering seagulls, a chiming clock on the church next door, wedding bells, boisterous children at the nearby school and search and rescue helicopters overhead. It had us all in tucks! An interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven, with the reading being partly accompanied by a guitar, won the most Creative category. Linda and Edgar praised the author for all the little illustrative touches in the multi-layered images, resulting in an excellent overall effect. The winners of the trophy for Best Dissolve were commended on the multiple subtle dissolves creating third images of alpine scenery throughout the year, and the way the soundtrack music gradually changed, appropriate to the feel and progression of the seasons. The AV chosen for the Best Photography award had a wonderful range of imagery of the Jurassic Coast, from close-up, through mid range, to wide panoramas, with differing viewpoints including some very low perspectives. The sequences chosen by Edgar and Linda for their top three, featured cancer, terminal illness and separation. All dif cult subjects we frequently shy away from. They commended the authors on their sensitive and innovative approach, and noted that by sharing stories and experiences, others can bene t, gaining strength and enabling them to face up to their own personal challenges. All three were compelling, and had that special something. The AV placed second (Always There) also won the prize for Best Sound. The East Anglian AV Competition is organized and run by the Essex AV Group, and Dick Williams and his team once again could not be faulted on their professionalism throughout. Now we are looking forward to next year, when the event will be held on Saturday 16th March at the same venue, with hopefully much better weather!

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AV News 212 | May 2018 26th East Anglian Audio-Visual Competition continued ... Pictured below is competition winner Keith Leedham for his production The Night I Fell For You with judges Edgar and Linda Gibbs

It is always nice when a newcomer is inspired by their visit to an AV competition or festival and the East Anglian AV Competition organizer's were pleased to receive the following letter from an attendee. Dear East Anglian AV Competition organisers I attended the 26th East Anglian AV Competition on Saturday 17 March. This is the 2nd annual AV competition that I have attended and I would like to say I found the whole day very enjoyable. It took a lot of organisation and the day ran smoothly and it was a great effort by the organisers. I am a keen amateur photographer and I have not done any AVs myself, but after watching the AVs presented on the day it has inspired me to give it a go. I would encourage anyone to attend future events. Mandy Deer Page 12

AV News 212 | May 2018

EMAVG Annual Competition Keith Watson LRPS East Midlands Audio Visual Group held its annual competition on Saturday 13th January which is regarded by the club as one of its most important dates in their programme calendar. Twenty one entries were shown on a variety of subject matter and production style with the task of judging them all given over to guest judge, Jeff Mansell who took valuable time-out from preparing this years MidPhot annual AV championships. A production by Maggie Imhoff and Malcolm Imhoff FRPS FACI(M) won the Caroline Trophy for best AV with a production entitled, Love Will Remain, which also won The Maggie Imhoff Trophy for the best voiceover and the Foursome Trophy awarded from the audience vote for their favourite AV of the competition. An AV entitled Strike Hard Strike Sure by Keith Watson LRPS was awarded the Ken Abbott Trophy for best runner up entry and the Elston Trophy for the best intermediate worker.

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In the heart of North Wales it was cold and dull. For once the conditions were perfect for spending a weekend huddled indoors with 43 like minded fellow AV workers watching sequences from around the world. The Community Centre at Capel Curig was the location and here we were treated to 71 superb entries in this yearâ€™s competition. Held over two days, this event proved as popular as ever and was very well attended. The ef ciency and smooth running of the weekend lay in the safe hands of organisers Marion Waine, Jill Bunting, John Rowell and John Smith. The production as usual was excellent and many thanks must go to them for all their hard work.

In the hot seats and taking care of the judging (pictured above) were Linda and Michael Gough and Ron Davies. We thoroughly enjoyed watching all the sequences. Only one entry eluded us, desperately needing sub titles so we could perhaps get a grasp of the story. The overall winner was Yellow Bracelets a documentary by Giuliano Mazzanti from Italy. It told the story of how every day hundreds of Africans arrive in the suburb of Bologna and enter the prison type reception centre for asylum seekers. Once they are admitted they are given yellow bracelets with their own personal number, which is the only identi cation they have. Page 14

AV News 212 | May 2018 After the competition most of us made our way down to the Tyn-y-Coed, the local hostelry. Here we were able to re ect back on the weekend of sequences with most people agreeing that Yellow Bracelets was a worthy winner. One thing for sure it made us realise how lucky we are. Full results can be viewed on the North Wales And Wirral AV Group web page http://www.nwawavg.org.uk/ All photographs courtesy Marion Waine

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AV News 212 | May 2018

North & East Midlands Photographic Federation Inaugural Audio Visual and Photo Harmony Competition Report and photograph courtesy David Gibbins ARPS APAGB EFIAP/b BPE5* The 1st Audio Visual and Photo Harmony Competition, organised by the North & East Midlands Photographic Federation, was held on Saturday 24th March in the Sheldon Suite, Newark Showground. There were 15 entrants, which was very encouraging, with 15 sequences in the Narrative section and 12 in the Photo Harmony Section. Howard Bagshaw ARPS MPAGB-AV was the judge. His comments were extremely constructive on all sequences and gave considerable encouragement to the entrants, many of whom were entering sequences for the rst time in a competition. Alan Tyrer, Cleethorpes Camera Club, won the Best Narrative Award from Howard Bagshaw, for his sequence Woodbine Willie, which also received the Audience Vote Award. Mike Bennett, also of Cleethorpes Camera Club, won the Best Photo Harmony Award for A Northern Town. This sequence also received the Audience Vote for Best Photo Harmony.

Photo Harmony winner Mike Bennett, Alan Bannister (N&EMPF President), Howard Bagshaw and Narrative Winner Alan Tyrer. Page 16

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NIPA 2018 AV Festival Mark Allen Two members of Bangor and North Down Camera Club achieved rst, second and third places at the 2018 NIPA (Northern Ireland Photographic Association) AV Festival. To celebrate this success the camera club organised a special AV evening, with presentations from its two members that achieved the club’s 1, 2 and 3 - PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. Mark Allen achieved both second and third place. In third place, The Land of Fire and Ice featured 77 stunning images of Iceland, supported by epic ‘wham bam’ music. Every slide was meticulously synced to the beat of the music. The combinations of fast and slow music had members’ blood pumping. Mark commented that in Iceland you often get a grey sky day and that because of this he placed his horizons very high in the frame. He used this to bring a pleasing ow to the sequence, some third images, and with some slides up for 10 seconds and others just 3. Mark explained that his inspiration always starts with the music. Spotify’s ‘the most beautiful songs in the world’ playlist and Classic FM at the movies are his essential listening. In second place, The End Of All Our Exploring was a dark, menacing and yet uplifting portrayal of Oskar Schindler’s factory in Kraków and of Auschwitz. Mark explained that he was visiting Kraków celebrating his 39th wedding anniversary, and had deliberately not brought his camera. Indeed he was reluctant to visit Auschwitz. After seeing the Schindler museum, he relented. Camera club members were surprised at the quality of the photographs, considering they had all been taken with his iPhone 6S Plus. Mark explained that he used ProCamera, which takes 5 images at -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 exposure compensation and automatically blends them. He then adjusted them and converted them to black and white with Snapseed on his phone. The dramatic imagery, the special attention to the transition of focal points from slide to slide, and the sound effects were most impressive. But again, Mark explained that glue that held it all together was the music. He heard the track The End Of All Our Exploring and thought it was saddest and most beautiful thing he had heard in ages, and immediately thought “I know what will go with that!” He explained further that for a slideshow without narration and lasting 6 minutes and 30 seconds, the photography, the music and sound effects must be top notch in order to retain the viewers’ attention. It certainly had club members completely engrossed; some eyes were tearful, it was such a magnum opus. Page 17

AV News 212 | May 2018 NIPA 2018 AV Festival continued ... After a short tea break, it was time for the star of the evening to perform. Judith Kimber achieved the rst place at the Festival with her sequence entitled Car Guy. It also won the ‘head to head’ with the winning entry of the Irish Photographic Federation AV Festival. Impressive indeed, but what is even more notable is the fact that she has done this two years in a row! Car Guy is a story told by a man of eighty looking back at his life and his journey through time with a reference to old American cars dating from the 1930s to 1950s. Judith explained that she had photographed the decaying cars in a location close to the home of her American boyfriend. Judith photographed the decaying beauty of the cars, their bonnet emblems, the light and shadows while ghting mosquitoes. The resulting photography was moody and emotionally evocative. It was a wistful display of an old man's relation to the cars he knew once when they were new in pristine paint and chrome, and his journey from the lightness and hopes of youth through to maturity and old age. One aspect that made this show stand out was the quality of the sound. The narration was crisp and bright, fully supported by a unique score that was composed and played by Judith. There were numerous special moments, like the soft excerpt of the Superman theme song just as ‘super’ was mentioned in the narration and a car decal with an ’S’ was displayed. Indeed, this was just one of many subtle and creative sound effects deployed. Judith reiterated Mark’s comments about the importance of the music and even demonstrated subtle differences by playing two short excerpts from her score, on a music keyboard. Club members were most impressed. The music was composed based on a two-note motif, representing the title Car Guy. It was developed as a gentle 1950s style jazz theme which set the atmosphere for the presentation. Judith wrote the narration spoken by her American boyfriend, who after much practice, was able to achieve the voice cadence of an old man. Judith described the tortuous journey preparing the script, starting with the kernel of an idea and the painful process of honing it down, smoothing it out and adding some polish. All of this took months to get right, she admitted. At the start, the narration as follows provides the idea of the theme. ''I've always been a car guy. It's something that runs in my family's blood. From my rst little red pedal car, to the company I owned for so long. I've never been far from the gleam of chrome and the smell of gasoline.”

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Then, later, “Now I 'm eighty years old and keep nding myself drawn here to my nephew's salvage yard. I wander with my camera through this forest of automobiles as old as me, and I see things that I didn't see before, hear them saying things that they didn't say before. There are meanings that I missed.” Judith took the photographs, wrote the script, composed the music, played the music and then created an outstanding audio-visual that earned a worthy rst place in the 2018 NIPA AV festival. When asked about next year and the possibility of a triple crown, Judith smiled shyly and admitted, “I’m working on something.” The words of T. S. Eliot, encapsulate the AV evening. We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring, will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the rst time.

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My Third Image Martin Fry FRPS EFIAP/s AV-EFIAP ABPE APAGB For me, the ‘Magic’ of AV is the third image. The moment when two images merge together to make a unique third picture, giving the observer, a visual stunning effect, that pulls the emotional strings. It was this that inspired me to do AV and is still at the heart of all my sequences. Having seen the great Sir George Pollock’s images of ower heads blending to stain glass windows, I was hooked! In those early days of the 1980s my equipment was the Pollock Duo-fade; a very simple, clever, iris system which you controlled manually. The beauty was that, when the irises were both open, you had a third picture. Most effective was when the light part of the new image came through the dark part of the light. I would play for hours with one image in one projector and perhaps twenty in the other projector magazine, trying each one in turn to get that magical third picture. It worked best if you slowly dissolved over at least 10 seconds. Oh, those were the days! Roll on to today and it’s so easy to create them, but how few we see! All too often, we just drag down the next image, (no consideration of other possible images) set the dissolve to under 2 seconds and off we go, no chance of making magic, yet in animation in PTE, through layering and masking, or in photoshop, we can be incredibly imaginative – even making 4th, 5th, 6th images and how exciting is that! So, why don’t you have a go? Slow down those images and let the magic evolve.

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AV News 212 | May 2018 The images here are from Winter White, which was awarded rst prize in the inaugural Mid Phot 2018 Photo Harmony Competition. All pictures taken December 2017.

The rst image (below left) and nal image (above)) with the magic Third Image (below) All Photographs courtesy Martin Fry (see more images overleaf)

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AV News 212 | May 2018 My Third Image continued ... Sunrise â€“ Third images from The Year Turns Around Again

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AV News 212 | May 2018 The images here are from Winter White, which was awarded rst prize in the inaugural Mid Phot 2018 Photo Harmony Competition. All pictures taken December 2017.

The rst image (below left) and nal image (above)) with the magic Third Image (below) All Photographs courtesy Martin Fry (see more images overleaf)

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AV News 212 | May 2018 My Third Image continued ... Sunrise â€“ Third images from The Year Turns Around Again

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AV News 212 | May 2018

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AV News 212 | May 2018 In Search of the Blues continued ... Sadly, the DSLR has now become too heavy for my use, but a Panasonic FZ1000 reduces the equipment I carry, giving me a very useful 4K video with stereo sound. I make many live music videos from this camera and nd the 4K ideal to give me a post-processing zoom capability. The current version of â€œIn Search of the Bluesâ€? was compiled in 2017. In making the sequence, I made the rule that all sound had to be live, and, apart from a couple of switches, ensured that any musical performance matched the performer in the image. At various stages, I used other sound recording devices to supplement the camera. I remember one night in New Orleans, when I was using a soldering iron in my hotel to make an attenuator between a microphone and a Sony mini disc recorder. I would covertly wire myself for a ve-hour marathon in the clubs, recording some interesting conversations in addition to the sounds of Bourbon Street.

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AV News 212 | May 2018 In compilation of an AV soundtrack, I rely completely on the excellent timeline function in PicturesToExe. For “In Search of the Blues”, the music and sound effects clips number around thirty, most of which are preprocessed combinations of numerous raw clips from camera or sound recorders. There are an additional thirty commentary sub-clips, split from the narrator voice recording, to re ne the timing. The Timeline picture, below, shows the layout of the four sound tracks. In discussion with those interested in AV in my Western Counties region, I have often found that, as better photographers than me, they do have problems with adding the sound track. I have tried to guide them in what I consider to be rst principles, like always using the ending of any music performance, and ensuring that its nal fade is “perfect” to zero level. I also say that no AV should be restricted to simply matching the length of a recording, where shorter can be accommodated by a cut and merging somewhere in the centre, but better is to merge shorter clips, to help create and synchronise the changes in atmosphere at the correct moment.

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RPS AV Group (Ireland) Raymond Hughes ARPS DPAGB AIPF The RPS AV Group (Ireland) met Saturday 24th March at the Bangor North Down Camera Club premises. As usual for an AV meeting the sun was splitting the trees outside. We were delighted to have Judith Kimber as our morning speaker. Judith literally burst onto the AV scene within the last couple of years. Her rst Audio Visual winning the NIPA AV Championship Novice Award, she then followed that by winning the NIPA Open Championship for the following two years. Readers will be familiar with her from the article in last February’s issue of AV News on her award-winning sequence Matthew Loney’s Miracle. Judith’s theme was the use of music to create mood and place in an AV. Judith composes her own music for her sequences so not only explained the theory but illustrated the practical on her electric piano. It was a revelation to the those present to see (and hear) how Judith used music alone to put a narrative in our minds. Judith demonstrated how snippets of music are used in lms to identify characters or themes. We have discussed music choice in sequences before but this was a new and informative insight into the use of music thoroughly enjoyed by all present. The Northern Ireland Photographic Association (NIPA) AV Festival was held in February judged by Keith Leedham who we were once again delighted to welcome back to Ballyearl. After lunch we were able to review a selection of the sequences from both the NIPA Open and the All Ireland Championship from the festival. The All Ireland section allows our friends from the IPF in the Republic of Ireland to compete with us in the North. It is always interesting to review sequences again with the bene t of recent judging remarks. The meeting concluded with an open discussion on how we can encourage more of those who express an interest in Audio Visual to actually give it a go. It was decided we should have a ‘summer’ project to work on and surprise, surprise it is to produce a sequence interpreting a piece of music that will be chosen by Judith. Page 29

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AV News 212 | May 2018

Another Way to Judge Charles Hulse FRPS

AV-EFIAP AV-FAPS

They say there has to be a winner in a competition, but there is another way to add to the awards and spread the good feelings. Thinking on from my original article, another idea emerged that I had been thinking about for some time. This draws from wine judging where wines are awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals if they reach a set standard. These are the sort of marks that represent the required standard when judges use either a 20 point or 100 point system: Bronze medal is awarded for a wine scoring 15.5 to 17 points (85-89) Silver medal wine must score 17 to 18.5 (90-95) Gold medal wine above 18.5 (96 points or over). Trophies are awarded to wines judged to be the best in their class. I donâ€™t think they award best in the competition as itâ€™s like comparing apples with oranges or AVs illustrating a song with a fully researched documentary or a photo harmony production. Best in each category could still be awarded. I am sure the spreadsheet could be programmed to ll a cell with Gold, Silver or Bronze when the total score has achieved the set level. In the case of FIAP events they insist on three medals being presented (Gold, Silver and Bronze - not necessarily 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the competition), which would come from the top ranked entries in all sections (if used) or all the entries if no categories. The points needed to achieve the awards would need some consideration as the wine marks above could be a little tough due in part to the short 9 point scale being scaled up to 100. As a discussion starter, perhaps the following points would be appropriate: Gold: 93 to 100 (this would need at least two 9s and an 8 to qualify) Silver: 85 to 92 ( needs at least two 8s and a 7) Bronze: 77 to 84 (needs at least three 7s or equivalent) Itâ€™s worth noting that marks rather than letters are used by all wine judging systems. Adopting this method may result in a considerable boost to workers as it could mean that more certi cates designating Gold, Silver and Bronze levels would be issued. At the moment the AV that just missed out on a prize is equal to the last one to be accepted (if acceptances are nominated). Page 31

AV News 212 | May 2018

Further Thoughts on Reponses to Judging Methods Here are some more thoughts about the various responses to my original article on “harmonising” judging methods. My only intention was to point out that the ABC system and 1-9 are the same. There seemed to be general acceptance of the thrust of my article from AV workers entering festivals. Other responders did acknowledge that the systems (ABC and 1-9) are the same and then proceeded to outline why what they were doing was correct. Hopefully they are not believers in the old line that when great men change their mind the country is done for! Yes, the systems are the same except that numbers can be averaged. I guess that’s why they invented them. In the recent Winter Olympics there were several events that had to be judged for both technical and artistic elements. They all used numbers. In the ice skating they also had judges who only judged the technical parts and others did the artistic presentation and ow. Arising from this discussion are disquieting thoughts about how prizes such as “Best Photography” and “Best Script” etc are awarded. If judges don’t record marks or notes for Vision and Audio etc how can they clearly remember details such as this. The 2017 Adelaide Festival had about 140 entries. It would be some feat of memory to recall details of AVs played maybe two days ago if notes or scores are not recorded. In this regard, it has been mentioned that in “live events” time does not permit judges to fully think about and record more than one mark for each AV. I’m not sure this is correct all of the time. In my experience of being both a Director and a viewer of the Adelaide festival since the early 1990s, it has always been the procedure that the next sequence is not played until the head judge indicates that the panel is ready. This is something I hope all festivals do, but perhaps that is not the case. The times taken average out, some sequences can be summed-up quickly, others take a little more thought. The overall impression that an AV makes is the most important thing, but its impact comes from the elements of the sequence and how they are put together. Charles Hulse FRPS

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AV-EFIAP AV-FAPS

AV News 212 | May 2018

Can I have a copy? Over the years of running our theme competitions (‘Light’, ‘Water’ and ‘Life’) I am frequently asked by participants (and others) for copies of the winning entries. In the case of ‘Light’, DVDs were made freely available in line with the rules in the brochure that year. In later years, authors could elect whether they wanted their work distributed after the event or not. No DVD was prepared in 2017. A comment from one of last year’s participants is relevant: “…we would like to promote Audio Visual and this is best done by showing good productions as an example. We can also compare our work with other submissions…” They continue: “We really like the organization of CHALLENGE 321. Not because of the built-in limitation in time, but because as a participant we also get to see all entries. In this way we can form a picture of the evolution, interpretation, technology and the like.” “So we get 'value for money'. We want to get acquainted with the work of our fellow players to orient ourselves. If you, as a participant, only receive a list of accepted works, there is little value in it. We therefore want to see and further promote the works of others.” Only a relatively small group of people get to be in the audience of a festival where all the entries are shown. We do have road shows in South Africa where the winners are shown but that is as far as it goes. The vast majority of workers world-wide never get to see the works and that goes for most international festivals I know. On a personal level, I have never had an author decline to send me a copy of his/her production for use within the AV Makers community. But on a more public level, is there a reticence amongst authors to have their work distributed to interested parties? If so, why? One excuse I have heard is that the AVs can be played with inferior sound and projection equipment. True, but isn’t that a risk worth taking to spread the magic of Audio Visual? There are so many more positive reasons than negative ones. If a salon stipulated that, by entering, the author agreed that his work could be distributed on request would the number of entries fall drastically? Jeff Morris LRPS Chairman: AV Makers South Africa

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AV News 212 | May 2018 Festival Acceptance Rates I noticed in Jeff Morrisâ€™s report on the Pomeranian Festival in Poland 2017 (which had FIAP Patronage), a mention that a pioneering acceptance rate of greater than 30% was seen in the RPS International in 2017. Having discussed this with Jeff, we agreed that some clari cation is needed. Before FIAP changed the rules and introduced a maximum 50% acceptance rule, it was not unusual for international festivals to have greater than 50%. After that, most festivals had about 49-50% acceptances. This continued for some years until in 2013 FIAP issued Document 2013.314 (AV Patronage) where the following clause appeared: 11.11 Number of prizes - Number of accepted entries The main jury may award a number of FIAP acceptances based on the average quality of the works. There is no limit to the minimum or maximum number of works accepted. Each work accepted by the main jury will receive a diploma. Each awarded work can only get one single honorary prize. The allocation of several prizes to a same author must remain within reasonable limits. Some recent acceptance rates for festivals with FIAP patronage have been: Adelaide 2017: 55.6%. Garda in 2016: 51.2%. Pomeranian 2017: 41.7%; Trophy de Paris 2017: 51% Pomeranian 2016: 54.2%. So, 30% is not a barrier, but 50%, despite the FIAP ruling of 5 years ago, remains a sort of target. For some reason it seems the in uence of the old FIAP 50% rule still lingers. Charles Hulse FRPS

AV-EFIAP AV-FAPS

Letters to the Editor The Editor is always pleased to receive your letters and observations. Please feel free to add photographs and illustrations to these letters if that helps you to make the point. Contact the editor at: magazine@avnews.org.uk Page 34

AV News 212 | May 2018 Vive La Difference Having read Ray Grover's letter 'The Nature of AV' (AV News, February 2018) I once gain nd myself writing to AV News in defence of, 'Traditional AV'. The art of Audio Visual as we practise it is the telling of stories using still images. We do NOT make Moving Videos/Films. This is something that some fail to grasp just because sequences, note sequences, sometimes contain narrative and music. I found this to be the case a number of years ago when the RPS sent envoys to the Nationals to explain why Audio Visual was to be included in the then new Multimedia category. It was obvious when speaking to them that they did not understand Audio Visual as a concept. I suspect they had never been to an Audio Visual event before. Ray's experience with Cine/Video users is totally at odds with my own as I have found them amazed at what A.V. workers achieve with still images. They seem more able to appreciate the difference. I have always contended that the inclusion of video in sequences should be a rare event and only for a speci c reason if at all. Video should not be included just because it can be. It is as alien for a piece of video to appear in a sequence where a sequence of stills can do the same job as it is for a number of stills to suddenly appear in a video for no good reason. As an example I again make reference to, I think it was Marion Waine, who a few years ago suggested that only a moving clip would illustrate a particularly busy road junction in Vietnam better than the still she had included in her sequence. That may have been the case but it is not a reason to up sticks and move to the IAC where traditional Audio Visual would disappear without trace. I visited the B.P. Portrait Exhibition last year and was blown away with what artists produced with brush and paint. I showed a few photos of the exhibits at my club without revealing they were paintings and the members enthusiastically discussed them as photographic images such was the realism. That being so perhaps the artists should join with the RPS or PAGB as they are so close to photography. Those who continually argue for more inclusion of video into Audio Visual and/or a move to the IAC should have the courage of their convictions buy a video camera, no they probably already own one, join the IAC and stop undermining Audio Visual as a separate art form. When I visit a club to show or demonstrate Audio Visual I always suggest that they should try a sequence using some of the hundreds nay thousands of unused images they possess. Better that we encourage our fellow club photographers to try Audio Visual that is how it will survive. Raymond Hughes ARPS DPAGB AIPF Page 35

AV News 212 | May 2018

Getting To Grips With PTE 9 Tony Collinson LRPS DPAGB We have now reached the point where we are able to produce a slide show with images and a sound track. However, PTE 9 has many facilities that can be used to enhance the way our images are presented on the screen. When we rst introduced the images into the Slide List we used the default Basic Dissolve Transition and Transition Duration as found under the Project Options > Transitions Tab (Fig 1 below).

As can be seen from the menu there are numerous options to chose from which, when selected are previewed in the small viewing screen at the top right. If an alternative Transition effect is made here and the Transition Effect Duration modi ed then these changes will be applied to EVERY SLIDE and will become the default settings for the slide show. To change the Transition effect for a SELECTED SLIDE, rstly highlight the slide in the Slide List and then select the Slide Options Tab (Hotkey CRL+U) on the bottom toolbar. Page 36

AV News 212 | May 2018 Under the Transitions Tab changes can then be made as desired for the selected slide. I think it should be stressed at this point that many a slide show has been spoilt by using too many and often wholly inappropriate Transition effects. Care needs to be exercised when selecting alternative Transition effects; just because they are there does not mean all of them must be used!

Next to the Slide Options Tab is the Slide Style Tab. With a slide highlighted in the Slide List, selecting this Tab will bring up the Slide Styles menu (Fig 2 above) and as can be seen there are many different styles available. The default is set under the Basic Tab as No Style. Choosing an alternative Slide Style determines how the slide is presented on the screen when the transition from the previous slide takes place. Again the effect of selecting an alternative Slide Style can be seen in the small viewing screen in the Slide Style menu. It should be noted that when using Slide Styles each option has a predetermined Speed and Duration and under the various sections there are facilities to change these and some of the other various features of the chosen Slide Style. For those who have been following this series you will recall that a Slide Style from the Captions Tab was suggested for creating a title slide. Under this tab there are several options to choose from and an area where the title of the show can be typed. Page 37

AV News 212 | May 2018 Getting to Grips with PTE 9 continued ... Moving along the bottom toolbar we now come to the Objects and Animations Tab (Hotkey CTRL+B), probably the most used tab when creating slide shows. Rather than try and describe all the features in one go it is intended to demonstrate some of the ways in which this area can be used. The rst thing we are going to look at is how to create our own title slide using an image selected in the Slide List. This could be a blank slide or any image we choose on which we want to place the title of the show. With an image selected left click on the Objects and Animations Tab and a whole new window is opened (Fig 3).

In the O&A window the Properties Tab is selected at the right hand side of the screen and hopefully you will be able to see the ne green bounding box surrounding the title slide image indicating that it is selected. In order to introduce a text object (the title) we now need to deselect the image by left clicking in the surrounding grey area and when doing so you will notice that the bounding box has disappeared along with all the information under the properties tab. Fear not! To introduce the text object, left click on the letter “T” on the top toolbar and that will place the word “Text” in the middle of the screen surrounded by a green bounding box. You will also see that new features have appeared under the Properties Tab. In the box, under the section headed “Text” where the word “Text” is highlighted in blue, type the title of your slide show and it will also appear in the box in the main O&A window. Note that you cannot edit text in the main window, it must be done in the box under the Properties Tab. Page 38

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Bolton Camera Club Keith Atkinson Bolton Camera Club recently welcomed back Jill K. Bunting and John Smith to judge our Audio Visual competition. They were heartened by the increasing interest members of the Bolton Camera Club were showing in producing AV Sequences. They offered to hold a workshop to give practical and very helpful advice to some of our members, and this took place on Saturday 20th January. Taking place from 10 am until 4 pm, John and Jill were faced with the ability of those present ranging from complete novice to very pro cient as regards skill levels in creating an AV sequence. John and Jill rose admirably to this challenge by using their own AVs to illustrate several key points and very useful tips, complimented by one-to-one training. The day was conducted with fun and enthusiasm from all those involved and much learning took place. The novices amongst us gained con dence as their understanding of PicturesToExe grew, and those members who understood the software also obtained much out of the day. John and Jill certainly encouraged us, and lit the spark of interest in many of us. We appreciate AV is a complex art and cannot be fully learnt in a day, but this workshop set the foundations for us to build on and develop our skills. We thank John and Jill for their time and patience and for sharing their vast knowledge on all things AV, all conveyed with humour and compassion both through their AVs and verbally.

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Images from AV Makers South Africa: Life

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AV News 212 | May 2018 The small boxes above where your title has been typed allow the selection of a different font and also the colour of the text. There is also the facility to change the appearance of the text by selecting any or all of the Bold, Italic or Underlined options. Below the text box there are the facilities to change the Alignment, Line Spacing and Text Shadow. The latter is automatically selected with a default setting but this can be modi ed using the Custom setting or switched off by unchecking the Text Shadow box. All that remains now is to position the title on the screen and adjust the size of the text. Positioning the text is simply done by left clicking into the text bounding box and dragging into the desired position. To resize the text select one of the Handles (little black squares) on the bounding box and dragging either out or in to enlarge or reduce the size. Selecting Close in the Top Toolbar will return you to the PTE widow and you should now see the slide you selected with the title created in Object and Animations.

AV Makers South Africa: Emotion 2018

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AV News 212 | May 2018 The problem with JPEGs is that they are compressed images and in saving the les to the memory card the camera throws away some of the information that the sensor has recorded. Worse still, this compression method it what we call "lossy", which means that the information discarded is lost forever and cannot be recovered. So you must minimise this effect by selecting the minimum degree of compression, usually the "Fine" or "Super ne" setting in your menu.

Fig.2 (above) shows I have chosen the "Fine" setting which is the highest quality available on this camera and is going to allow me 2735 images on this memory card, just about enough! De nitely do not be tempted to go for the "Normal" setting (Fig.3 below), even though it will permit twice as many images to be stored on the card.

All images courtesy Malcolm Imhoff Page 43

AV News 212 | May 2018

Sound for AV: Where to get Sound Malcolm Imhoff

FRPS FACI(M)

One of the most common questions I get is "where do you get your sound from?" Read on to discover my approach to the sourcing of sound for audio visuals. I will also look at the complex subject of copyright and licences when it comes to using music. Commercial CDs Most of my own sound tracks use music from CDs that I have bought. My advice to people is to listen to lots of music. I am fortunate in that I do enjoy listening to music of all sorts (well, except jazz and opera!) and I do think it is important to use music you like, after all you will be hearing it over and over as you make your soundtracks. Maggie & I always kept a notebook to hand, and when we heard something on the radio "that would be good AV music" we'd make a note of it. I am still nding little gems in notebooks. Another thing I do is when on holiday, especially if somewhere exotic, is to search out some of the local music and buy a few CDs. Some "ethnic" music can be a bit hard on our western ears, but quite often there will be bands who take their traditional music and arrange it in a more modern style, just like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span have done with English traditional music.

Fig.1 (left) shows the classic "clipped hedge" waveform of a poorly mastered recording which has gone straight into the red and is clearly distorted. In this case you would be better to play the CD and record it in real time using Audacity or Audition. Make sure the "Recording Device" is set to "What U Hear".

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AV News 212 | May 2018

You don't have to purchase CDs of course. Your local library will have collections of things like Sound Effects and CDs featuring the Rough Guide to the Music of Albania for example. The recommended way of using music from CDs is to "rip" it. You can do this in Windows Media Player, Audacity or Audition, and the major advantage is that you get an exact clone of the sound. You still need to exercise some care though, as sometimes the sound engineers don't always get it right. See Fig 1 (below left) and Fig 2 (below right) for examples of the typical problems you might encounter when ripping music to a le. The Internet The internet is a wonderful source of music. The main providers are Amazon and iTunes where you can search for, listen to, and download anything from a single track to a whole album. And at typically 99p per track it's cheap. Again, you need to exercise caution. Your download will be an MP3 le, which is a compressed "lossy" format. You have no control over the quality or compression rate you will get, and it is safe to assume that it will be pretty low quality and high compression to minimise download times for those with slow broadband speeds. See my article in the last issue of AV News for more on this subject. You do hear some awful examples in AVs of what Howard Gregory called the "space invaders" sound. If you have to use a le downloaded from the internet I recommend that you immediately save it as an uncompressed WAV le and do any further processing or mixing on this.

Fig.2 (right) this is a better recording where even in the loudest passages the amplitude does not go into the red. Digital sound (like digital photography) is very unforgiving of overexposure. For those who learned their craft in the days of reel-to-reel tape where you deliberately aimed to get the recording "into the red" this is something you have to unlearn.

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AV News 212 | May 2018 Where to get Sound continued ... But there are very many more sources of music and sound effects on the internet. A very good place to start is the East Midlands AV Group website (www.emavg.org.uk) where in the Links and Resources section (www.emavg.org.uk/section656494.html) you will nd dozens of sites offering free or copyright free sounds. See below for deatils A lot of AV workers have been using "Incompetech" for example. Some of these sites offer the choice of an MP3 or a WAV le - always go for the WAV.

Copyright This is the second most common question I get asked. "How do you get around using copyrighted music?" The obvious answer is to use copyright free music. There are several organisations producing copyright free music for lm producers and wedding photographers, the most well known being AKM (www.akmmusic.co.uk/) who regularly support our AV Festivals with prizes of their themed CDs. Carlin is another producer (www.carlinmusic.co.uk) with a vast collection. Some of this sort of music is very good and I have used it on several occasions, but I have to say that a lot of what I call "library" music is pretty banal, which may be OK if all you want is musical wallpaper. A big plus is that quite often the music tracks come in several versions, a full length one, a one minute one, and a ten second "sting", which can be very useful when mixing your soundtrack. Page 46

AV News 212 | May 2018 To use commercial music you need a licence. We are very fortunate in the AV World to have good relations with the IAC, or Film & Video Institute, who have negotiated special arrangements with the various licensing bodies to allow us to use both Library music and commercial recordings in our Audio Visual productions. There are three, MCPS, BPI, and PPL (for full details on what these cover see the IAC website: (www.theiac.org.uk/iac/copyright/ copyright-clearance-scheme.html). The rst two licences, to enable you to use commercial music in your AV productions, are available to any member of a photographic club or the RPS and cost ÂŁ8.54 - peanuts!!! The PPL licence to allow you to give public performances is only available to IAC members but I would heartily recommend you to join the IAC, if only to get the "Film & Video Maker Magazine" which has an excellent AV Column (plug plug). IAC members can get all three licences for ÂŁ7.17, a no-brainer. In addition IAC members do not have to apply to the Musicians' Union for consent to incorporate sound recordings in a project. One of the conditions of the BPI licence is that the names of artists and performers should NOT be identi ed in credits. Own Recordings You could of course compose, play and record your own music as Judith Kimber has recently demonstrated to marvellous effect. For most of us this is beyond our capabilities, but what we can do is record our own voices and sound effects, so in the next article I will look at how to go about that and what you need to do it.

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AV News 212 | May 2018

Reducing Sequence File Size Keith Scott FRPS Towards the backend of 2017 I made a new sequence that upon completion had a rather large .pte le size, well in excess of 376 MB. Running this le at home on a fast and powerful tower PC presented no problem whatsoever, but realistically it’s far too big to send to competitions or festivals, especially if you’re sending them down the wire. At such events sequences are often played on laptops, older ones may struggle to quickly start a le of such size, although newer laptops can be quite powerful and fast. I confess to inadvertently doing such a thing when I sent a sequence to a competition without reducing its size. Sorry organisers I should have known better! I simply forgot. For ef ciency at such events les should be the minimum size conducive to good quality of both audio and images. Most people will no doubt be aware that converting a .wav audio le to an .mp3 will reduce the physical size of the le, even at 320 Kbps i.e. best mp3 quality will be signi cantly smaller than the original .wav le, and this alone will help reduce the le size of a sequence. In my latest AV an 88MB .wav le containing voiceover, 3 pieces of music, and a song after converting to an mp3 reduced to 20MB, however we’re not getting into audio technicalities because this article is about Photoshop. If we disregard any video content, and also any .png les then most of our sequence images will comprise of .jpg les, perhaps originating as raw les, subsequently edited and saved as .psd or .tiff les, then attened and saved to make .jpg les. This is the usual route of my images. However I always keep copies of my .psd and original raw les on several different hard drives. Being well organised is the key to working ef ciently and as such I always lay out my sequence starting with a master folder titled with the name of the sequence. This folder then contains several sub-folders i.e. audio, documents, .jpeg les, .psd les, .pte les, and .png les. Keeping le types within their own separate sub-folder has several distinct advantages, one of which will soon become obvious. When using the ‘Save As…’ function (Shift+Ctrl+S) to name and save a .jpg le Photoshop will offer a slider bar option regarding compression i.e. maximum quality lowest compression at quality 12, or a range of other numbers down to minimum quality at maximum compression No1 (or even zero). If using the drop down menu instead of the slider bar then four choices are available i.e. low, medium, high or maximum. Page 48

AV News 212 | May 2018 Low quality will produce the smallest le size and conversely maximum quality will provide the largest le size. Most people, myself included will normally select maximum to retain the best quality image possible just in case any subtle and perhaps unexpected editing may be required further down the line. However this highest quality isn’t actually necessary for the nished sequence, and is a major contributing factor in determining the nal .pte le size. It is of course good practice to initially save the .jpg les at their highest quality until all editing of all les is known to be complete, and when you’re ready to import the les into PicturesToExe. To make this task simple we need to automate the process. We could use a ‘Batch…’ command under ‘Automate’ on the ‘File Menu’, or we could use the ‘Image Processor’ under the ‘Scripts’ command which is also found under the ‘File’ main menu. But to prevent setting up a series of commands more than once we can use a ‘Droplet’. This is a blue arrow shaped icon that can be named and saved onto the Desktop (or elsewhere if required). It will fully automate the process simply by dropping the folder containing the .jpg les on top of the Droplet icon. It can remain in place and be used whenever the same process needs undertaking for another sequence. The Droplet is created from an action, which is simply a set of Photoshop commands that have been named, recorded, and saved. To create this particular action we need an image open in Photoshop. Let’s assume this is a .jpg originally saved at highest quality No12 and we wish to convert the image to quality No10. If the ‘Actions Palette’ is not open click on the ‘Windows’ menu at the top of your Photoshop screen, then click on ‘Actions’ (Alt+F9). Your ‘Actions’ palette will probably show a series of different actions stored under the ‘Default Actions’ folder. For our purpose we will create another folder to contain our own personal actions. ’Six small icons sit at the bottom of the ‘Actions’ palette from left to right these are Square Stop button, Circle Record button, Arrow Play button, New Folder, New Page, and the little Dustbin for delete. First, click on the ‘New Folder’ icon whereupon a small box will open onto the screen. Page 49

AV News 212 | May 2018 Reducing Sequence File Size continued ... In the slot opposite ‘Name’ type your name or whatever you wish to call this new folder or as Photoshop calls it ‘New Set’. After clicking OK this box will appear in the Actions palette. This where your new action will be saved. Now ensure this folder is highlighted, if it isn’t simply click on it with your mouse or tap it with your pen if using a graphic tablet. Now click on the ‘New Actions’ icon which looks like a square page with the bottom left corner folded over and which is situated next to the dustbin icon. A ‘New Action’ box will appear requesting four entries. Where a Name is required type a name that describes the action, in this example it’s ‘reduce .jpg from 12 to 10’. Underneath the Name click on the drop down menu and select the name you previously gave to the New Folder or Set. This instructs Photoshop where to save the action. It isn’t necessary to create a short cut ‘Function Key’ so this box can be left as ‘None’ and likewise with ‘Color’. Everything is now set to record the new action. From the moment the ‘Record’ button is clicked every command will be recorded and saved, you will notice that the previously grey circular ‘Record’ icon has changed to red. This indicates that recording is active. With the .jpg le open in the workspace click on ‘File’ then ‘Save As…’ then select the folder where your image is to be saved. Ensure that the little box at the bottom of this page contains a tick to select ICC Pro le IEC 61966-2.1, ensure that the le name is in the appropriate place and that .jpg is selected as le type. Click the ‘Save button at bottom right of page. You may see that a ‘Con rm Save As’ box appears stating that the le with name already exists and do you want to replace it, click yes. At this stage a ‘JPEG Options’ box should open on your screen. From the ‘Format Options’ select ‘Baseline Optimized’, then move the slider bar until No10 appears in the ‘Quality’ box. You can if you wish use the drop down menu to select either low, medium, high or maximum, but more control is available using the slider bar. Click OK. Now click on ‘File then ‘Close’ (Ctrl+W). Page 50

AV News 212 | May 2018 After the le has closed the process of saving the .jpg at quality No 10 is now complete, at this point click on the square ‘Stop Recording’ button. This action is now complete and stored for future use. Now is the time to create the ‘Droplet’. Click ‘File’ then ‘Automate’ then click ‘Create Droplet’. In the resulting control box choose a place to save and store the Droplet. Desktop is a useful place as the droplet will be readily accessible. In the ‘Play’ box select the name of your recently created folder or Set. In the Action box select the name given to your recently created action. In the ‘Errors’ box select ‘Stop for Errors. In the ‘Destinations’ box choose ‘Save and Close’. Place a tick in the box entitled ‘Overide Action Save As Commands File Naming’, then click OK, your Droplet should now appear on your Desktop. To use simply drag the folder containing your .jpg les onto the Droplet and release. You can now relax while the Droplet automatically caries out your action on all the les in this folder, converting les from quality No12 to 10. My example .jpg folder was reduced in size from 268MB to 101MB without any loss of projected image quality.

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FUTURE EVENTS May 2018

June 2018

12 May Leeds AV Group Morning Workshop Leeds Trinity University Contact: Adrian White 25 May PAGB Advisory Evening for AV Wilmslow Guild Contact: PAGB 26/27 May PAGB Distinctions Assessment Days Wilmslow Guild Contact: PAGB 26 May Trophee de Paris

2 June Cine Camera Club de Cannes 2nd International Festival of AV 19 June North Wales & Wirral AV Group Challenge 321 Judging Contact Marion Waine 22-24 June Grupo Fotograpico 6th Garda International AV Festival

September 2 018 22-23 September RPS 23rd International AV Festival Contact: Edgar Gibbs

The RPS AV Group Committee Chairman

Howard Bagshaw howard.bagshaw@ntlworld.com

01889 881503

Vice Chairman Edgar Gibbs

edgar.gibbs@ntlworld.com

02920 564850

Secretary

Alan Tyrer

abtyrer@gmail.com

01472 504882

Treasurer

David Neal

david-neal@talktalk.net

01424 712394

Martin Fry

frycorner@btinternet.com

01452 857964

Andrew Gagg

gagg@gaggf2s.com

01905 748515

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

Publication Dates

27th September

1st November

27th December

1st February

27th March

1st May

27th June

1st August

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

Annual Subscriptions Standard

£120

Family

£180

Overseas (under 65s)

£108

65 and Over

£55

25 and Under

£55

Student

£55

Disabled

£55

Life (from)

£950

JOIN ONLINE www.rps.org OR CALL 01225 325733