AV News

Audio-Visual News

by Trish McAuslan AV-AAPS FAPS APSNZ EFIAP Coordinator of Audio-Visuals for PSNZ

Jack Sprosen Memorial Trophy Competition

This is your competition - because it is only open to members of PSNZ or clubs affiliated to PSNZ. Please support it if at all possible. This year it is being organised by the Tauranga Photographic Society. Entries will open on Thursday 29 October and close on Thursday 26 November. Judging will take place on 5 December.

You can enter any AV that has not been successful in the JSMT competition before. Success means that the AV received a ‘commended’ or an award. This means you can enter newly created AVs you have created, and AVs you have entered into your club competition or into the Tauranga AV Salon. A reminder - there is one change to the rules this year. Entries in the documentary category may run for any duration up to seven (7) minutes. The length of entries in all other categories has not been changed - they may run for any duration up to five (5) minutes. If you are interested in the reason for this change, check the Audio-Visual News in the last issue of CameraTalk.

If you have questions or would like some help, please ask, either on the AV Group Facebook page or by emailing Trish (mcauslanav@gmail. com).

Creating a New Audio-Visual

Suppose you have been somewhere interesting and have taken heaps of photos. Now they are sitting at your computer and you would like to share them in an audiovisual.

Your first important question is: ‘What story can I tell with these images?’

Next you have to decide how to organise the information you have. This may involve doing some research to gather more information about the location or the event. You need to have a way to start or introduce your story. If possible, try to capture the interest of your viewers so they become interested immediately. Next, it is important to organise your photos to tell the story logically. Finally, think of a way of ending the story without having to tell the viewers that this is the end. One way of planning your AV is to make notes on a piece of paper before you begin sorting out the images.

At this stage, decide which aspect ratio you will use; the images should all be cropped to that ratio. Common ratios are 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The ratio you choose may depend on your camera or what suits the images or the story, but whatever you choose should be the same for all images in this AV.

Now it’s time to sort out which images you will use to tell the story. Select images which have been well taken, i.e. they are sharp if they need to be, and they contribute to the story. By sorting out the images first you will not waste time post-processing images you are not going to use. Every image in your AV needs to be post-processed. This may include removing distracting elements, sharpening, and cropping each image to the ratio you have chosen. Open your audio-visual software and load the photos. Check that the images flow and that they tell your story. Set the image length and the transition times, although these may need to be adjusted after the audio track is added.

Remove any images that do not contribute to the story. Often a shorter AV which tells the story clearly and concisely will hold the interest of your audience while a longer one may become boring - not to you maybe, but to someone who wasn’t there.

The audio track is an important part of the programme. The music you choose is very important as it can make a big contribution to the mood of the AV. You also need to decide if your story could be told better with a narration.

Combine the audio track with the images. Check that they work well together and that the AV is not longer than is allowed in the category or competition that you plan to enter.

Tidy it up. Play the programme each day, and adjust the bits that don’t quite work well. Show it to someone whose opinion you trust, and adjust it some more.

When it is ready, keep a working copy so you can make more changes later if you want to. Save a copy as an mp4 and enter it. Good luck!