AV News 193 - August 2013
It's All about the Idea
Jenny Gee DPAGB & Malcolm Gee LRPS DPAGB
Once again, the Essex AV Group hosted an
excellent AV Day on Saturday 27th April 2013.
Around fifty people gathered at Margaretting
Village Hall, having travelled from as far afield as
Sussex and Norfolk. The morning sessions were
entirely devoted to a critique of attender's
sequences, and during the afternoon guest
speaker Colin Balls FRPS APAGB covered many
aspects of audio visual production.
The critique session provided not only the opportunity for authors to see
their AVs on a big screen, but a chance to get valuable feedback from experts
and fellow AV workers. Twelve sequences were shown with a wide variety of
themes and moods, from tranquil dissolves to paced cutting. After each one
Colin invited the author(s) to the front, and encouraged them to tell the
audience a little about what had inspired them to produce the sequence. He
then specifically identified good points, and made suggestions regarding any
issues, which might improve the presentation. He pointed out that any
sequence is very much a matter of personal interpretation, but that enthusiasm
should come through, especially in the commentary.
He stressed the importance of visual development regarding the type and
treatment of images, and that repeated patterns of effects should be avoided,
in order to maintain an element of surprise. As a master of the soft-edge wipe,
he recommended the use of this type of transition, rather than straight
dissolves. Regarding the soundtrack, he said how important it was to match
the music to the images, and to avoid any voice-over during songs. He made
a plea for 'no borders' on images, and the maintenance of a common format
during a sequence by, if necessary, embedding for example portrait images
within a landscape frame size.
The audience was invited to
add their thoughts and
reactions, which resulted in
further useful comments.
There was some discussion on
movement, and it was the
consensus that this should
only
be
used
where
appropriate.
In the second half of the
day, Colin gave us a master
class in AV production.
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