AV News 180 - May 2010
The one sequence of a houmorous nature, 'Little Domestic Quarrels' by JeanPaul Petit (France) was I thought, a gem. If I had to feel sorry for anyone, it would
have to be for Martin Fry (UK), with 'The Mousehole Cat'. One sequence that
could be put in the category of the very unusual was 'Lola, le petit Prince et Moi'
by Christian and Danièlè Brion (France).
On a purely personal note, I have reservations about the use of archive
material, which is in some sequences of a very high order, although it must be
said these sequences are very well researched and produced.
CN - I wasn't unhappy with my own sequences, in fact I still remain very proud
of what I have achieved. I did get some great feedback on them, some of which
I even agreed with. I won't be revisiting them to implement my new thoughts, but
I will be bringing what I have learned into my work on future projects, although
not all at once.
At one point during the weekend I was almost tempted to run away, thinking
that I could never reach the quality and expertise on display, but I'm not that kind
of person. I've set myself a challenge and work starts today on attaining my goals.
CB - If there was a downside to proceedings, it was the number of award winners
who were not present, although the foreign entrants can be forgiven for being
absent. This aspect does leave the honourable guest presenting the awards, in
this case Don Langford, President of the PAGB, looking somewhat superfluous.
Before presenting the awards, Don did say that he was more used to looking
at individual images, but nevertheless, had enjoyed the AV's he had been able
to watch. Also, he had noticed the judges ability to write in the dark.
To sum up, undoubtedly the weekend was a huge sucess, one key aspect of
such an event, must be the exchange of views, ideas, information and comment
between AV sequence producers and those just wanting to learn. Such
exchanges, can only be good for what is without doubt, a very powerful and
enjoyable medium.
One other point that struck me was, it seems that to a large extent the foreign
entrants come at AV from a different direction. Could this be because of a
different cultural and social background, who knows? Certainly there were some
unusual and thought provoking entries from abroad, long may it continue.
Finally congratulations to all those who submitted sequences into the
competition, which, after all is the main ingredient needed to ensure a successful
event.
CN - I purposely haven't named individuals in this article, as I don't want to
offend anybody by leaving them out, but thank you to all who were involved, the
organisers, the participants and the attendees. I gained so much from watching
and listening. My heart felt thanks go out to you all and I hope to see you all
again.
And to summarise, the door is now open and I have had the courage to allow
my toe to step into the world of AV's. I can see a lot of delights in that world and
I want to experience them. I'll be back to enter future competitions and hope that
someday I might see my name among those listed in the awards.
In the words of the late great Humphrey Bogart "maybe not today, maybe not
tomorrow, but soon".
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