AV News 183 - February 2011
Stirling and District Camera Club
John Patton
Stirling and District Camera Club has seen a sizeable increase in
membership over the last four years. The popularity of digital cameras would
appear to be the catalyst. You find yourself the owner of a comparatively
cheap camera with relatively advanced features and there is a clear desire in
many to exploit the possibilities to produce satisfying images. The long
established AV Group has also seen a parallel increase in its membership.
Stirling and District Camera Club has always been at the forefront of audio
visual presentations and was the first Club in Scotland to go entirely digital in
2003. The Group meets in Stirling RFC, generally on the first Monday
evening of each month throughout the course of a session and during the
summer period as necessary. New members receive tuition on the use of
programs to create visual sequences and the construction/editing of
soundtracks. The Audio Visual Group is an integral part of the Camera Club
and any member is entitled to attend any of the extra meetings arranged.
The Group is composed of members who have a particular interest in
producing audio visual sequences formed from digital images with added
music, sound effects and voices. Most members use PicturesToExe, a
couple have tried ProShow and one member is producing sequences on the
contentious HD video of an DSLR. The resultant sequences are displayed to
other club members and to the general public through presentations made to
clubs and organisations which request such performances. Group members
also share skills and knowledge in workshops with other clubs, if invited. This
tradition was established in the early Eighties, in large part due to the
enthusiasm and skill of Maurice Dobson, who is well known in AV circles
throughout the UK. His vigour for photography and AV in particular remain
constant; he has influenced and advised many, not just in his own club but
throughout Scotland and furth of its borders. Typically, seven or eight
presentations will be made annually to external community groups in the local
area as well as to other camera clubs. For example, in recent years, Dundee
PS, Perthshire PA, Dunfermline PA and Queens Camera Club, Glasgow
have each invited the Group to make presentations and conduct skill
workshops.
For many years, Stirling was the venue for an AV Day, occasionally
organised by the SPF but often by the Club itself. In 2011, the tradition is
being revised; see Page 36. The day is pitched mainly at giving AV workers
the opportunity to have their work shown to an audience of enthusiasts.
Some tuition is planned but it will occupy only