AV News 197 - August 2014
2 2 n d E a s t A n g lia n A V C o m p e titio n
Brian Harvey ARPS
Weather wise what a difference a year makes. Last year we travelled to the East
Anglian Audio Visual Competition in blizzard conditions, this year the colour was
the same but this time with white roadside blossom looking beautiful in the
sunshine.
As usual we attended a very well organised event, due in no small part to Dick
Williams and his team of technical, support, and catering helpers. It was pleasing
to see that entries were still supporting the event and also great to see many
newcomers entering.
At this stage I feel compliments must be paid to the judges Howard Gregory
and Suzanne Gregory ARPS DPAGB who not only had the unenviable task of
picking the various category winners but also provided the audience and
entrants with advice and tips on producing good AV's. They were able to give
guidance to help avoid some of the problems and pitfalls that can be
experienced in producing AV's.
Some of the points raised by the judges, which I feel ought to be reiterated are
as follows.
This year there was a more noticeable increase in the use of panning and
zooming and the judges commented that whilst this can add to a sequence it
should be used carefully. Use it only where appropriate and be subtle when
using these effects. In other words don't use it just because it's available.
Howard Gregory also advised that after writing a script put it away in a drawer
for a few days then re read and delete unnecessary detail. Keep scripts as short
as possible and keep information to the minimum required because an audience
can take in only so much information at a time.
Personally I found that whilst one or two sequences were a little over long and
could do with some editing, generally, most had kept to about the right length to
suit the subject.
As I have stated in previous articles in AV News one of my pet subjects is that
I like to see AV workers use the dissolve ability of AV to produce the magic of
the third image. This was also mentioned by the judges. Some sequences gave
the impression that the dissolve was simply to get from one image to the next in
other words a slide show to music. I felt that some of the gate/page dissolves
required a softer edge setting to the dissolve line to give a more subtle dissolve.
My feelings are that image resolution (image size) within a sequence should
be maintained at a constant setting and without white borders. I find it a little
disconcerting when an image grows and shrinks in size on the screen and this
together with white borders leads the viewers eye away from the main
image/dissolve.
I am sure that the technical team would prefer all sequences, as stated in the
rules, to start direct from an exe file and not have to go though a start menu.
I think I should now step off my soapbox and state that despite these niggles
we were treated to some stunning photographic sequences, some good
soundtrack sequences, some creative sequences and some very humorous
sequences. I hope regular attenders enjoyed the day as much as I did and
newcomers learnt a few tips and ideas for future AV's.
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