AV News 179 - February 2010
Preselection and Feedback
H o w a rd G re g o ry
In the previous Issue, Brian Harvey queried the preselection procedure used at
the Nationals. It seems to me that it doesn't matter whether you are horse riding,
swimming, or making AVs; the prizes tend to go to those who put in most effort
and pay most attention to detail. To continue the sporting analogy; you may have
won every race at your local sports day, but that doesn't guarantee you a place
in the Olympics team. To get to that level requires a lot more effort. If you enter
the Nationals, you have to accept that you are up against some of the best AV
workers in the world. That's quite a daunting proposition, particularly for a
newcomer. This is why the RPS and other organisations, run AV days up and
down the country, so that AVers can learn the finer points of our craft.
Brian was disappointed that there was no feedback. Did he try asking? I find
that, once the dust has settled and the prizes have been awarded, a quiet word
with a judge (or other knowledgeable person) can yield useful pointers as to
how your work could be improved. Always provided, that is, that you don't start
the conversation by telling the judge that he has got it wrong! But a quiet word
requires you to be there. I understand that Brian wasn't.
By far the best way to learn about AV is to attend mainstream AV events with
an open mind and see how your work stands up in comparison to that of
established workers. You will learn from what you see on the screen, what you
hear in the lectures and by chatting to people over cups of coffee. You are
unlikely to make swift progress sitting alone at your computer. Maybe there is
a misconception about the purpose of competitions. Apart from the excellent
social aspect, a competition is to rank work in order of merit and reward those
who have achieved excellence. Whilst you can learn a lot by watching this
process, assuming that you are there, a competition is not primarily about
learning. That is the function of AV days etc.
At the Great Northern, for example, we encourage people to attend and bring
a sequence for constructive comment in the "Attenders' Sequences" spot on
the Sunday. This is one of the learning bits that we provide. Taking account of
comments, you can enter your improved sequence in next year's Festival. This
is the competition bit that we provide. There are similar events in different parts
of the country. All the facilities are on offer. Brian would be most welcome to
participate.
Feedback on competition entries can be a two-edged sword. A while ago we
had two Great Northern entries from someone who never attended but was
obviously a competent photographer and at home with a computer. It was just
that they didn't quite seem to have grasped exactly what a sequence was. I felt
that, with a little push in the right direction, they could soon be producing really
good work. Rightly or wrongly, I wrote to them along these lines. Despite a
courteous reply, that person has never entered again. I seem to have put them
off, which was the last thing I wanted to do. So I shan't be writing to anyone
else in a hurry. If the person in question reads this, we'd love you to enter the
GN again and would be even happier if you could attend in person to gain the
full benefit of what is on offer. Likewise Brian.
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