AV News

By Trish McAuslan FPSNZ AV-AAPS EFIAP/b FAPS Coordinator of Audio-Visuals for PSNZ

Jack Sprosen Memorial Trophy Competition 2023

Firstly a very big thank you to this year’s judges: Bruce Burgess FPSNZ, Shona Kebble FPSNZ and Liz Hardley FPSNZ EFIAP/g MAPS EPSA LRPS. The judges received copies of the audio-visuals early in the week and I know they watched them several times before making their first decisions. On Sunday they met on zoom to discuss the AVs they had identified as potential award winners and to decide on the awards they wished to make.

Congratulations to everyone who was successful. The medal-winning programmes will be shown at the PSNZ National Convention at the Lower Hutt Events Centre from 20 to 22 October 2023. Following the convention, a programme featuring the successful AVs will be made available on YouTube for all members to watch.

I asked the authors of the award-winning AVs to tell us a little about their AVs.

Winner: Helen McLeod FPSNZ GPSA ARPS for The Revolutionary Journey Winner of a Gold Medal and the Jack Sprosen Memorial Trophy, winner of the Theme Category.

‘Although not a science-fiction fan, I have always loved some of the aspects of Steampunk. I guess it's the surrealist aspect that catches my attention (along with the clothing). It got me thinking about travel and how that might look in a different fashion in the Victorian era. I'm not sure how this concept arose initially to produce this series of images, except that the first image was about escaping the big smoke (a reflection of how I don't like living in a city). The ideas just seemed to keep coming, and I had more than a dozen of them. What to do next? Why, turn them into an AV, of course! This really was just an extension of having fun with the idea.’

Silver Medal: Trish McAuslan FPSNZ EFIAP/b FAPS AV-AAPS for Where Hot Water Meets Rock, winner of Documentary section.

‘I have always been interested in the volcanic landscapes of central New Zealand. During several visits to Wai-o-tapu, Orakei Korako and Waimangu, I have photographed the different colours in the rocks and water. When we were unable to travel during Covid I decided to find out the origin of these colours and to use this information and some of the images to create a documentary AV.’

Bronze Medal: Bob McCree FPSNZ for Whakaari White Island

‘After a visit to White Island about ten years ago I became fascinated with the place and had hoped to revisit it. This, obviously, was thwarted by the events of 2019.

‘As a tribute to the events of that year and to the people who died there, I wanted to make this audio-visual. As with all my AVs the accompanying music is the most important consideration in the mix and it took some time and research to find an appropriate piece. I chose the Mahler 5th Symphony Adagietto for this AV as I feel it conveys both the grandeur of the place and the sombre mood following the fatal event. As with all of Mahler’s music, particularly his symphonies, mood and feeling form the predominant aspect and, in choosing this music, I was able to give such a suitable and sympathetic context. In the second half of the AV, I blended the soundtrack of a volcano at two points in the AV to emphasise the developing and ultimate overwhelming tragedy of this event. Hopefully, I have conveyed these aspects of what is now a sacred and sad place.’

Bronze Medal: John Hodgson AV-EFIAP EFIAP/b AV-MAPS FAPS for Seeing is Believing.

‘A camera talks about experiencing considerable opportunities to take images, both in Australia and overseas. With the onset of Covid, however, restrictions start to bite. Those restrictions eventually result in photography only occurring inside the front gate of its owner's property. The camera spends more and more time hunkered down in the dark and becomes deeply depressed.’

Merit Certificates

Sheryl Williams APSNZ for A Floral Rainbow

Sue Morton for Lunar Lunacy

Jocelyn Barrett PSNZ SM for Ghost Chickens

Commended

John Smart APSNZ for Korako

Bob McCree FPSNZ for Sunset Poem

Alistair McAuslan APSNZ AV-AAPS for Wrangel Island

Alistair McAuslan APSNZ AV-AAPS for Novice Nuns and Monks of Myanmar

Glyn Hubbard LPSNZ for Ohakune’s Jolly

Carrot Space Rocket

Jocelyn Barrett PSNZ SM for Jazz on the Wire

Success in International Competition

Special congratulations to Bob McCree for success in international competition. Bob gained two acceptances in the Australian Adelaide Fest for Whakari, White Island and In the Bleak Midwinter. Bob also gained an acceptance for Whakaari White Island in the Jurassic Coast International Audio-Visual Salon (England). Well done Bob.