Sunday 15th July 2018
A Woman Ahead Of Her Time
A Woman Ahead Of Her Time
Susie Walker's magazine article was
first published in the August 2018
issue of Film & Video Maker Magazine
(FVM) August 2018
----------------------------------------------------
first published in the August 2018
issue of Film & Video Maker Magazine
(FVM) August 2018
----------------------------------------------------
In the April and May 2018 issues of FVM Magazine,
I wrote about my experience filming on the Isle of Wight,
which I hope you enjoyed reading.
In these articles I showed a photograph of my camera
against a Gelatine Dry Plate camera, one of many from
Julia Margaret Cameron’s collection at her Museum,
Dimbola Lodge in Freshwater Bay.
I wrote about my experience filming on the Isle of Wight,
which I hope you enjoyed reading.
In these articles I showed a photograph of my camera
against a Gelatine Dry Plate camera, one of many from
Julia Margaret Cameron’s collection at her Museum,
Dimbola Lodge in Freshwater Bay.
You are probably thinking Margaret who? Well, this is her story.
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 1879) was one of the most important
and experimental of photographers. She is now recognised the
world over as a pioneer of photography as art, and is considered
one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 19th century.
Born on 11th June 1815 in Calcutta, the fourth of seven sisters,
her father was an East India Company official and her mother
descended from French aristocracy. Julia was educated in
England and Paris.
She married Charles Hay Cameron twenty years her senior, a
lawyer, in Calcutta in 1838, a decade later they moved to England
on his retirement.
A woman ahead of her time, she was ambitious and freethinking
when most Victorian women were not. Her style was not widely
appreciated.
With her choice to use soft focus, she treated photography as an
art as well as a science by manipulating the wet collodion process,
a photographic technique invented by Englishman Frederick Scott
Archer in 1851.
She took on the challenges of handling large cameras and dangerous
chemicals at a time when photography was known as ‘The Black Art.’
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815 – 1879) was one of the most important
and experimental of photographers. She is now recognised the
world over as a pioneer of photography as art, and is considered
one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 19th century.
Born on 11th June 1815 in Calcutta, the fourth of seven sisters,
her father was an East India Company official and her mother
descended from French aristocracy. Julia was educated in
England and Paris.
She married Charles Hay Cameron twenty years her senior, a
lawyer, in Calcutta in 1838, a decade later they moved to England
on his retirement.
A woman ahead of her time, she was ambitious and freethinking
when most Victorian women were not. Her style was not widely
appreciated.
With her choice to use soft focus, she treated photography as an
art as well as a science by manipulating the wet collodion process,
a photographic technique invented by Englishman Frederick Scott
Archer in 1851.
She took on the challenges of handling large cameras and dangerous
chemicals at a time when photography was known as ‘The Black Art.’
Ignoring conventions, she experimented with composition and focus.
Her photographs were rule breaking: intentionally out of focus, often
including scratches, smudges and other traces of her process.
Today she is credited with creating the first photographic close-up
portraits and influencing the subsequent Pictorialism movement
with her use of diffused focus.
The majority of her photographic work was created at her home,
Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, which is
open to the public. Her work is now found in major archives all
over the world.
Her portraits of ‘famous men and women’ reflect her time within
the Freshwater Circle. It was the birth of celebrity, and her ambition
was to be recognised as a significant artist of her time.
Her photographs were rule breaking: intentionally out of focus, often
including scratches, smudges and other traces of her process.
Today she is credited with creating the first photographic close-up
portraits and influencing the subsequent Pictorialism movement
with her use of diffused focus.
The majority of her photographic work was created at her home,
Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, which is
open to the public. Her work is now found in major archives all
over the world.
Her portraits of ‘famous men and women’ reflect her time within
the Freshwater Circle. It was the birth of celebrity, and her ambition
was to be recognised as a significant artist of her time.
But it was not until December 1863 when Julia was forty-eight years
old that she received her first camera. It was a gift from her daughter
and son-in-law, given with the words, “It may amuse you, Mother, to try
to photograph during your solitude at Freshwater.”
It came at a moment when her husband Charles was in Ceylon (now
known as Sri Lanka) attending to the family’s coffee plantations, when
their five sons were grown-up or away at boarding school, and when
their only daughter had married and moved away.
Julia was deeply religious, well read, and a somewhat eccentric friend
of many of Victorian England’s greatest minds: the painter G. F. Watts,
poets Robert Browning, Henry Taylor, the scientists Charles Darwin and
Sir John Herschel, and the historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle
and Alfred Lord Tennyson who was her neighbour at Freshwater on the
Isle of Wight.
In the decade that followed the gift, the camera became far more than an
amusement to her, “From the first moment I handled my lens with a tender
ardour,” she wrote, “it has become to me as a living thing, with voice and
memory and creative vigour.”
old that she received her first camera. It was a gift from her daughter
and son-in-law, given with the words, “It may amuse you, Mother, to try
to photograph during your solitude at Freshwater.”
It came at a moment when her husband Charles was in Ceylon (now
known as Sri Lanka) attending to the family’s coffee plantations, when
their five sons were grown-up or away at boarding school, and when
their only daughter had married and moved away.
Julia was deeply religious, well read, and a somewhat eccentric friend
of many of Victorian England’s greatest minds: the painter G. F. Watts,
poets Robert Browning, Henry Taylor, the scientists Charles Darwin and
Sir John Herschel, and the historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle
and Alfred Lord Tennyson who was her neighbour at Freshwater on the
Isle of Wight.
In the decade that followed the gift, the camera became far more than an
amusement to her, “From the first moment I handled my lens with a tender
ardour,” she wrote, “it has become to me as a living thing, with voice and
memory and creative vigour.”
With this camera, in December 1863, photography became Cameron’s
link to the writers, artists, and scientists who were her spiritual and artistic
advisors, friends, neighbours, and intellectual correspondents. “I began
with no knowledge of the art,” she wrote, “I did not know where to place
my dark box, how to focus my sitter, and my first picture I effaced to my
consternation by rubbing my hand over the filmy side of the glass.”
Her photographs were not universally admired, especially by fellow
photographers. The Photographic Journal, reviewing her submissions
to the annual exhibition of the Photographic Society of Scotland in
1865, reported that Mrs Cameron exhibits a series of out of focus
portraits of celebrities.
Undeterred, she was determined in her efforts to master the difficult
steps in producing negatives with wet collodion on glass plates, which
were exposed in the camera and then immediate developing and fixing
which was necessary before the collodion film had dried. The process
was valued for the level of detail and clarity it allowed.
(Examples of these can be seen at the Dimbola Museum, her home on
the Isle of Wight)
Although she may have taken up photography as an amateur, she
considered it ‘Art’ and immediately viewed her activity as a professional
one, vigorously copyrighting, exhibiting, publishing, and marketing
all her photographs.
link to the writers, artists, and scientists who were her spiritual and artistic
advisors, friends, neighbours, and intellectual correspondents. “I began
with no knowledge of the art,” she wrote, “I did not know where to place
my dark box, how to focus my sitter, and my first picture I effaced to my
consternation by rubbing my hand over the filmy side of the glass.”
Her photographs were not universally admired, especially by fellow
photographers. The Photographic Journal, reviewing her submissions
to the annual exhibition of the Photographic Society of Scotland in
1865, reported that Mrs Cameron exhibits a series of out of focus
portraits of celebrities.
Undeterred, she was determined in her efforts to master the difficult
steps in producing negatives with wet collodion on glass plates, which
were exposed in the camera and then immediate developing and fixing
which was necessary before the collodion film had dried. The process
was valued for the level of detail and clarity it allowed.
(Examples of these can be seen at the Dimbola Museum, her home on
the Isle of Wight)
Although she may have taken up photography as an amateur, she
considered it ‘Art’ and immediately viewed her activity as a professional
one, vigorously copyrighting, exhibiting, publishing, and marketing
all her photographs.
Within eighteen months she had sold eighty prints to the Victoria and
Albert Museum, established a studio in two of its rooms, and made
arrangements with the West End print seller Colnaghi to publish and
sell her photographs.
Julia had no interest in establishing a commercial studio, and never
made commissioned portraits. Instead, she enlisted friends, family,
and household staff in her activities, often dressing them up as if for
an amateur theatrical, aiming to capture the qualities of innocence,
virtue, wisdom, or passion that made them modern embodiments of
classical, religious, and literary figures.
A maid was transformed into the Madonna, her husband into Merlin.
Her artistic goals for photography mimicked the outward appearance
and content of fifteenth century Italian paintings, and were very original
at the time.
A dozen years of work, (she produced nearly a thousand images)
effectively ended when her family moved back to Ceylon in 1875.
She complained in letters about the difficulties of getting chemicals
and pure water to develop and print her photographs, and as a
consequence she took fewer images and almost none of her work
from Ceylon survives today.
Albert Museum, established a studio in two of its rooms, and made
arrangements with the West End print seller Colnaghi to publish and
sell her photographs.
Julia had no interest in establishing a commercial studio, and never
made commissioned portraits. Instead, she enlisted friends, family,
and household staff in her activities, often dressing them up as if for
an amateur theatrical, aiming to capture the qualities of innocence,
virtue, wisdom, or passion that made them modern embodiments of
classical, religious, and literary figures.
A maid was transformed into the Madonna, her husband into Merlin.
Her artistic goals for photography mimicked the outward appearance
and content of fifteenth century Italian paintings, and were very original
at the time.
A dozen years of work, (she produced nearly a thousand images)
effectively ended when her family moved back to Ceylon in 1875.
She complained in letters about the difficulties of getting chemicals
and pure water to develop and print her photographs, and as a
consequence she took fewer images and almost none of her work
from Ceylon survives today.
Julia Margaret Cameron died in Kalutrar, in January 1879 at the age of
sixty-three. Her death was reported as due to having caught a bad chill.
Her mesmerizing portraits and figure studies on literary and biblical themes
were unprecedented in her time and remain among the most highly admired
of Victorian photographs.
Photographic technology has come a long way since those days and I can’t
help wondering what Margaret would have made of the digital photography
we have today.
So if you are keen on photography then The Dimbola Museum at Freshwater,
is a definite must see.
And if you are even luckier to belong to the Isle of Wight Video Camera Club
then this place is right on your doorstep, it could be an excuse for a group outing.
sixty-three. Her death was reported as due to having caught a bad chill.
Her mesmerizing portraits and figure studies on literary and biblical themes
were unprecedented in her time and remain among the most highly admired
of Victorian photographs.
Photographic technology has come a long way since those days and I can’t
help wondering what Margaret would have made of the digital photography
we have today.
So if you are keen on photography then The Dimbola Museum at Freshwater,
is a definite must see.
And if you are even luckier to belong to the Isle of Wight Video Camera Club
then this place is right on your doorstep, it could be an excuse for a group outing.
Susie Walker May 2018 [email protected]
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Sunday 27th May 2018
ELECTRIC WOODS
a film by Susie Walker - OUT NOW
a film by Susie Walker - OUT NOW
FILMING IN THE DARK
(first published in Film & Video Maker Magazine (FVM) April - June 2018)
by Susie Walker
Last autumn, in my role as SoCo’s Club liaison officer, I combined
a short holiday with a visit to the Isle of Wight Video Camera Club,
a very friendly thriving club and one I keep in touch with on a regular
basis.
So it was whilst on a day out exploring the island I discovered Newport’s
Robin Hill’s Country Park was hosting a popular Electric Woods event,
this year the theme was celebrating 70 years of India's independence.
This event was open every evening from the end of September to the
beginning of November. Visitors can experience the lush colours, flavours,
and magic of the Asian subcontinent set in glorious, autumnal, ancient
woodland as they venture on a journey of discovery through India.
There is wild India, modern India, decorative India, historical India, urban
India, and a celebration and spiritual India situated in different zones
throughout the park.
Not having done any night-time filming before with my little camera,
I did think that there was a distinct possibility that this could end up being
a Blair Witch Project - the sequel, but this time in colour, so I was keen to
see how the evening would turn out.
As we all know, any outdoor filming depends a lot on the weather, would it
be windy or worse windy and raining, also having never visited the place
before, and not knowing the conditions I would be filming in, is always a risk.
I need not have worried, this particular evening was unusually dry and warm,
also there was not a breath of wind, which is always a great help too when
taking limited equipment, in my case filming in High Definition with my one
and only trusty Sony DSC-HX90
a Blair Witch Project - the sequel, but this time in colour, so I was keen to
see how the evening would turn out.
As we all know, any outdoor filming depends a lot on the weather, would it
be windy or worse windy and raining, also having never visited the place
before, and not knowing the conditions I would be filming in, is always a risk.
I need not have worried, this particular evening was unusually dry and warm,
also there was not a breath of wind, which is always a great help too when
taking limited equipment, in my case filming in High Definition with my one
and only trusty Sony DSC-HX90
and coupled with a mini Gorilla Pod. Making sure of course I had charged
my camera battery and brought along a spare one, I set off.
Parking the car, I made my way to the entrance, and was greeted with a
magical sight. From the moment I set foot on the path leading down through
the woods, passing play equipment large enough of all the family to have fun
on. These structures were lit from all angles with pulsating coloured lights.
I turned a corner and came upon the most amazing sight, lights on trees and
bushes as far as the eye could see, with signs urging you to follow the row of
lit lanterns strung along the way. And in a clearing you are rewarded with the
spectacle of some large, beautifully lit mechanical elephants majestically
waving their ears and trunks at passers-by.
my camera battery and brought along a spare one, I set off.
Parking the car, I made my way to the entrance, and was greeted with a
magical sight. From the moment I set foot on the path leading down through
the woods, passing play equipment large enough of all the family to have fun
on. These structures were lit from all angles with pulsating coloured lights.
I turned a corner and came upon the most amazing sight, lights on trees and
bushes as far as the eye could see, with signs urging you to follow the row of
lit lanterns strung along the way. And in a clearing you are rewarded with the
spectacle of some large, beautifully lit mechanical elephants majestically
waving their ears and trunks at passers-by.
Just beyond them I could see a massive rope bridge, completely lit in bright
blue neon high up in the trees. Well, I had to have a go on that and see what
the park looked like from a bird’s-eye view.
Now has anyone reading this, ever tried filming themselves walking across a
rope bridge, in the dark with only dazzling rope lights to guide you?
Well, you should try it sometime, I have to tell you it was not easy but truly
exhilarating, not least was the challenge of trying to keep my camera steady
all the time checking that I was in the frame, whilst negotiating the unsteadiness
of the ropes I was walking across. It was quite a challenge, but enormous fun.
Moving on and walking further into the woods guided by the lanterns, twisting
down through the park’s many paths until turning a corner I was greeted with
the smell and sounds of an authentic Indian bazaar, complete with stalls selling
hot food and drinks, there were even people toasting marshmallows over a huge
open fire.
All this was set in a clearing by a big lake where everyone enjoying this Al Fresco
dining experience. It was surrounded with an amazing colourful light display throwing
beams of red, green and blue like search lights through the trees into the night sky,
whilst all the time the whole area was filled with ethereal eastern music.
I thought that couldn’t be bettered until I wondered off by the lake to a colourful
bridge that I could see in the distance.
As I got nearer I could hear the rush of water, and realised that the whole bridge,
lit with ever changing colours, was covered in water cascading down the sides,
which tunnelled its way through this mass of water to an oriental temple, also
suitably lit beyond.
blue neon high up in the trees. Well, I had to have a go on that and see what
the park looked like from a bird’s-eye view.
Now has anyone reading this, ever tried filming themselves walking across a
rope bridge, in the dark with only dazzling rope lights to guide you?
Well, you should try it sometime, I have to tell you it was not easy but truly
exhilarating, not least was the challenge of trying to keep my camera steady
all the time checking that I was in the frame, whilst negotiating the unsteadiness
of the ropes I was walking across. It was quite a challenge, but enormous fun.
Moving on and walking further into the woods guided by the lanterns, twisting
down through the park’s many paths until turning a corner I was greeted with
the smell and sounds of an authentic Indian bazaar, complete with stalls selling
hot food and drinks, there were even people toasting marshmallows over a huge
open fire.
All this was set in a clearing by a big lake where everyone enjoying this Al Fresco
dining experience. It was surrounded with an amazing colourful light display throwing
beams of red, green and blue like search lights through the trees into the night sky,
whilst all the time the whole area was filled with ethereal eastern music.
I thought that couldn’t be bettered until I wondered off by the lake to a colourful
bridge that I could see in the distance.
As I got nearer I could hear the rush of water, and realised that the whole bridge,
lit with ever changing colours, was covered in water cascading down the sides,
which tunnelled its way through this mass of water to an oriental temple, also
suitably lit beyond.
Fired by my experience of walking across the rope bridge earlier,I had to risk
getting soaking wet to walk between the walls of water to the temple and see
the lake from the other side, and I’m pleased to report that I didn’t get my camera
wet once.
You see, this is another great thing about filming stuff you have never tried before,
not knowing what, if anything, you have captured will come out properly. It’s all part
of the enjoyment of making films, and is always a constant source of amazement to
me.
It was after the euphoria of all this assault on my senses that I looked at my camera
again and realised that the battery was flashing low. I had been filming practically
non-stop for at least two hours, so it was time to change batteries.
This park was enormous and I had walked almost two thirds of the way around.
So I slowly made my way back passing huge colourful letters spelling out INDIA,
and in a clearing colourful mechanical peacocks standing proud
getting soaking wet to walk between the walls of water to the temple and see
the lake from the other side, and I’m pleased to report that I didn’t get my camera
wet once.
You see, this is another great thing about filming stuff you have never tried before,
not knowing what, if anything, you have captured will come out properly. It’s all part
of the enjoyment of making films, and is always a constant source of amazement to
me.
It was after the euphoria of all this assault on my senses that I looked at my camera
again and realised that the battery was flashing low. I had been filming practically
non-stop for at least two hours, so it was time to change batteries.
This park was enormous and I had walked almost two thirds of the way around.
So I slowly made my way back passing huge colourful letters spelling out INDIA,
and in a clearing colourful mechanical peacocks standing proud
and trees wrapped up with beautifully patterned Indian cloth, following the trail of
lanterns guiding my way out of the park.
What an experience that was, I couldn’t wait to get back home and download it all
on to my laptop ready to work on and see exactly how much I had actually shot,
hoping that there would be some usable material to work with.
Well I am really pleased with the result and have managed to make a six minute
film of my experiences, which I will be entering for BIAFF 2018.
If you haven’t ventured outside and done some evening filming after the sun has
gone down, then please do try it, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Susie Walker
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
lanterns guiding my way out of the park.
What an experience that was, I couldn’t wait to get back home and download it all
on to my laptop ready to work on and see exactly how much I had actually shot,
hoping that there would be some usable material to work with.
Well I am really pleased with the result and have managed to make a six minute
film of my experiences, which I will be entering for BIAFF 2018.
If you haven’t ventured outside and done some evening filming after the sun has
gone down, then please do try it, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Susie Walker
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday 9th September 2017
from page 12
We also had guest speakers, the first was Tim Martin the maker of the famous
Ticket to Ride Travel and Railway Videos he produces documentaries, railway
cab rides - showing the driver's eye view and rail travel guides including city
and regional guides from Hong Kong to the Nordic Countries.
Tim and Suzi also produce rail video magazines and model rail show reports.
In 2016, after six months of training and examinations, CAA certification was
granted to permit the business to undertake commercial filming from the air
using an UMAS or drone.
Second of the year were Susie & Huey Walker, the outstanding Exeter
film-makers and competition winners. They presented an evening of
their films and thoughts about the world of amateur film-making.
They gave us a really entertaining and stimulating evening and many
thanks are due to Susie and Huey for the care that they put into the
evening. Apparently the evening was a first for them and, amazingly
they had never before been asked to present a whole evening of their films.
Many thanks Mike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We also had guest speakers, the first was Tim Martin the maker of the famous
Ticket to Ride Travel and Railway Videos he produces documentaries, railway
cab rides - showing the driver's eye view and rail travel guides including city
and regional guides from Hong Kong to the Nordic Countries.
Tim and Suzi also produce rail video magazines and model rail show reports.
In 2016, after six months of training and examinations, CAA certification was
granted to permit the business to undertake commercial filming from the air
using an UMAS or drone.
Second of the year were Susie & Huey Walker, the outstanding Exeter
film-makers and competition winners. They presented an evening of
their films and thoughts about the world of amateur film-making.
They gave us a really entertaining and stimulating evening and many
thanks are due to Susie and Huey for the care that they put into the
evening. Apparently the evening was a first for them and, amazingly
they had never before been asked to present a whole evening of their films.
Many thanks Mike.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IS THIS THE BIGGEST STITCH-UP SINCE THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY?
Saturday 28th January 2017
Facts are facts, and this fact is incontrovertible.
Why is the SOCO committee being so nasty to us here at Exeter Films?
You may not like what we write, but you all know that what we write is true.
If it isn't, why hasn't the committee said something or contacted us about this?
And why doesn't the committee come clean about all this and admit that they've
made a complete cock-up of the whole thing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facts are facts, and this fact is incontrovertible.
Why is the SOCO committee being so nasty to us here at Exeter Films?
You may not like what we write, but you all know that what we write is true.
If it isn't, why hasn't the committee said something or contacted us about this?
And why doesn't the committee come clean about all this and admit that they've
made a complete cock-up of the whole thing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday 15th January 2017
IS THIS THE BIGGEST STITCH-UP SINCE THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY?
We have discovered corruption, dishonesty,
and secrecy going on within the SOCO committee.
Would someone on the SOCO committee explain why they
allowed a SERIAC film into the 2016 'TOP OF THE CLUBS'
competition?
The rules (we think) clearly state that this SOCO competition
is open to only, err, um, affiliated clubs in the SOCO region.
So is there something that the SOCO committee is not telling us?
We'd love to know.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IS THIS THE BIGGEST STITCH-UP SINCE THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY?
We have discovered corruption, dishonesty,
and secrecy going on within the SOCO committee.
Would someone on the SOCO committee explain why they
allowed a SERIAC film into the 2016 'TOP OF THE CLUBS'
competition?
The rules (we think) clearly state that this SOCO competition
is open to only, err, um, affiliated clubs in the SOCO region.
So is there something that the SOCO committee is not telling us?
We'd love to know.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday 30th October 2016
The Exclamation Mark!
Where does it all end?
Where does it all end?
-Sunday 2nd October 2016
We've just found out that one of our friends has been expelled (or is it excluded) from an IAC Club in the SoCo region.
He'd been a member for about five years, and then suddenly, without any warning,
he was thrown out.
Why?
You may well ask.
Well, there were two reasons.
The first reason is that our friend was accused of using too many exclamation marks
in his emails.
Yes, the Chairman of the club claimed that our friend had used too many of them,
and used them in the wrong way.
Tuesday 4th October 2016
Our friend wrote to the Chairman of the club asking him to send three emails
where exclamation marks had been used. This was just to prove the use of his
so-called marks.
Three weeks later, our friend is still waiting for a reply.
We've searched through our archive of emails sent to us from our friend, we've
scoured the many articles he has written for, both for The SoCo Magazine, and
The FVM Magazine, and do you know, we can't find one example whatsoever
where our friend has used one exclamation mark, never mind the quote 'too many.'
He once made a film about Fonts and Typefaces. It's really quite good.
Wednesday 5th October 2016
and we believe he was working on a film about, believe it or not, punctuation.
We think he knows a little bit about exclamation marks and their uses,
and we know now for certain that he never used them.
We ask again from this IAC Club in the SoCo region, where is the proof?
If you're with us so far, let us tell you another story.
Sunday 9th October 2016
A few months ago, our friend discovered that there was a little bit of corruption
and cheating going on in the voting of several film competitions in this club.
Well, it wasn't a little bit corrupt, let's just say that the counting of the votes was
completely corrupt.
All members of the club were asked to vote for various film competitions.
You know the sort of thing. Best One Minute Film, Best Four Minute Film,
Best Film To Music, Best Documentary, Best This, Best That, Blah, Blah, Blah.
Well guess what? At nearly every competition, it was usually 1, The Chairman
who would win the award, or if it wasn't The Chairman who received the top award,
it would be 2, The Vice-Chairman. Of course if The Vice-Chairman came first, then
The Chairman would come second.
Wednesday 11th October 2016
So our friend realised that something was terribly wrong.
He knew the voting was rigged, and that the same member of the club who was
counting the votes (the same person every time) was also manipulating the scores
and the results, so that 'his' own friends, i.e. The Chairman and The Vice Chairman
would take turns in winning.
Bring in an outside neutral judge for 'Film Of The Year.'
He was brought in because he didn't know anyone in the club, so he couldn't
vote for his friends. His job was simply to chose the best film.
Guess what? Yes, you've guessed it.
The Chairman's film didn't win, and the Vice Chairman's film didn't win, but an
ordinary, non-committee member of the club walked away with the first prize.
It wasn't really a big surprise to the honest members of the club, but it was
a huge surprise for The Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and members of his
committee.
The Committee didn't like what our friend had said about the previous rigged
voting and counting, but it proved to be all true, because three weeks after this
event at the next committee meeting, it was decided to change the voting rules.
So who was right?
Well it seems obvious to us. The Committee of this IAC club in The SoCo region
knew very well that something was very wrong, and completely corrupt regarding
the counting of the votes.
After all, if nothing was wrong, then why the sudden change in the rules.
We are waiting to find out this reason.
to be continued...
We've just found out that one of our friends has been expelled (or is it excluded) from an IAC Club in the SoCo region.
He'd been a member for about five years, and then suddenly, without any warning,
he was thrown out.
Why?
You may well ask.
Well, there were two reasons.
The first reason is that our friend was accused of using too many exclamation marks
in his emails.
Yes, the Chairman of the club claimed that our friend had used too many of them,
and used them in the wrong way.
Tuesday 4th October 2016
Our friend wrote to the Chairman of the club asking him to send three emails
where exclamation marks had been used. This was just to prove the use of his
so-called marks.
Three weeks later, our friend is still waiting for a reply.
We've searched through our archive of emails sent to us from our friend, we've
scoured the many articles he has written for, both for The SoCo Magazine, and
The FVM Magazine, and do you know, we can't find one example whatsoever
where our friend has used one exclamation mark, never mind the quote 'too many.'
He once made a film about Fonts and Typefaces. It's really quite good.
Wednesday 5th October 2016
and we believe he was working on a film about, believe it or not, punctuation.
We think he knows a little bit about exclamation marks and their uses,
and we know now for certain that he never used them.
We ask again from this IAC Club in the SoCo region, where is the proof?
If you're with us so far, let us tell you another story.
Sunday 9th October 2016
A few months ago, our friend discovered that there was a little bit of corruption
and cheating going on in the voting of several film competitions in this club.
Well, it wasn't a little bit corrupt, let's just say that the counting of the votes was
completely corrupt.
All members of the club were asked to vote for various film competitions.
You know the sort of thing. Best One Minute Film, Best Four Minute Film,
Best Film To Music, Best Documentary, Best This, Best That, Blah, Blah, Blah.
Well guess what? At nearly every competition, it was usually 1, The Chairman
who would win the award, or if it wasn't The Chairman who received the top award,
it would be 2, The Vice-Chairman. Of course if The Vice-Chairman came first, then
The Chairman would come second.
Wednesday 11th October 2016
So our friend realised that something was terribly wrong.
He knew the voting was rigged, and that the same member of the club who was
counting the votes (the same person every time) was also manipulating the scores
and the results, so that 'his' own friends, i.e. The Chairman and The Vice Chairman
would take turns in winning.
Bring in an outside neutral judge for 'Film Of The Year.'
He was brought in because he didn't know anyone in the club, so he couldn't
vote for his friends. His job was simply to chose the best film.
Guess what? Yes, you've guessed it.
The Chairman's film didn't win, and the Vice Chairman's film didn't win, but an
ordinary, non-committee member of the club walked away with the first prize.
It wasn't really a big surprise to the honest members of the club, but it was
a huge surprise for The Chairman, the Vice Chairman, and members of his
committee.
The Committee didn't like what our friend had said about the previous rigged
voting and counting, but it proved to be all true, because three weeks after this
event at the next committee meeting, it was decided to change the voting rules.
So who was right?
Well it seems obvious to us. The Committee of this IAC club in The SoCo region
knew very well that something was very wrong, and completely corrupt regarding
the counting of the votes.
After all, if nothing was wrong, then why the sudden change in the rules.
We are waiting to find out this reason.
to be continued...
Sunday 21st August 2016
We forgot all about this item until a few days ago.
It's always been on our website (further down
this page) dated Sunday 15th Feb 2015. But
we thought you'd like to see exactly how it
was published in FVM back in April 2015.
We forgot all about this item until a few days ago.
It's always been on our website (further down
this page) dated Sunday 15th Feb 2015. But
we thought you'd like to see exactly how it
was published in FVM back in April 2015.
Thursday 18th August 2016
Here's another article from one of our friends.
First published in FVM magazine a short while ago.
You might have to zoom in a bit to read it clearly.
Here's another article from one of our friends.
First published in FVM magazine a short while ago.
You might have to zoom in a bit to read it clearly.
Thursday 5th May 2016
Here are the articles from two of our friends.
You might have to zoom in a bit to read it clearly.
Here are the articles from two of our friends.
You might have to zoom in a bit to read it clearly.
First published in FVM Magazine - April 2016 issue.
Please see our Films page - 'What's It Worth?'
First published in FVM Magazine - February 2016 issue.
Friday 20th November 2015
------------------------------
40th TEIGN CUP 2015
Saturday 14th November 2015
Just to let you know, that although Bristol Film and Video Society entered three films for this competition on Saturday, they seem to have swept the floor with all their entries.
Never mind, better luck next time.
While we're on the subject. How many Bristol Film Society members does it take to change a light bulb?
Almost (very nearly) twenty we think.
And after changing that lightbulb, even with that huge number of people involved in this complicated operation, we discovered that the new light bulb... almost very nearly didn't work.
Many thanks to JS for sending us this information
They almost received the best editing award. Almost but not quite, because Susie Walker received that best editing award instead.
More to follow...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
40th TEIGN CUP 2015
Saturday 14th November 2015
Just to let you know, that although Bristol Film and Video Society entered three films for this competition on Saturday, they seem to have swept the floor with all their entries.
Never mind, better luck next time.
While we're on the subject. How many Bristol Film Society members does it take to change a light bulb?
Almost (very nearly) twenty we think.
And after changing that lightbulb, even with that huge number of people involved in this complicated operation, we discovered that the new light bulb... almost very nearly didn't work.
Many thanks to JS for sending us this information
They almost received the best editing award. Almost but not quite, because Susie Walker received that best editing award instead.
More to follow...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday 19th July 2015
First published in SoCo Magazine July 2015
HEARING LOSS (A SAD TALE)
It is often said by many people (and I am one of them) that the soundtrack of a film is
more important than the picture content.
So it came as no surprise to learn that in a recent survey carried out by market
researchers, it was discovered that eighty per cent of IAC film judges working for
BIAFF suffered from acute hearing loss. Five per cent of those questioned, claimed
to have perfect hearing, and fifteen per cent asked the market researchers if they
could repeat each question.
Hearing loss is a common problem that often develops as we get older.
'Action On Hearing Loss' formally known as The Royal National Institute for Deaf
People (RNID) estimates that there are more than 10 million (about 1 in 6) people
n the UK with some degree of hearing impairment or deafness.
Hearing loss can occur suddenly, but usually develops gradually. General signs
of hearing loss can include: difficulty hearing other people clearly and misunderstanding
what they say, or asking people to repeat themselves. Other symptoms include, not
hearing commentary and voiceover tracks clearly when mixed with music tracks.
The main cause of hearing loss is caused by damage to the sensitive hair cells
inside the inner ear or damage to the auditory nerve. This occurs naturally with a
ge or as a result of injury.
Some people are born with hearing loss, but most cases develop as you get older.
It isn't always possible to prevent hearing loss. However, there are several things
you can do to reduce the risk of hearing loss from long term exposure to loud noise.
This includes not having music or the television on at a loud volume at home and
using ear protection at loud music events or in noisy work environments.
Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent and can affect all age groups.
Ear infections, loud noises and ageing all cause hearing loss.
Hearing loss affects around one out of six people in the UK. Most of these
people are over 60 and have lost their hearing gradually as part of the natural
ageing process. More than half of people over 60 in the UK have some degree
of hearing loss. However, hearing loss can also happen at a younger age.
In adults, hearing loss may be very gradual, for example in age-related hearing
loss. You may start to notice you find it difficult to hear and understand people
when you're in a noisy place such as a pub or even at your local film club during
the tea break.
Hearing loss can also be very sudden, for example if it’s caused by a viral infection
of the inner ear. Some people find that their hearing loss is associated with a continual
ringing in their ears, known as tinnitus. If you have an infection, you may have some
other symptoms, such as earache and discharge from your ears.
If you, or your friends and family, think that your hearing is getting gradually worse,
go and see your doctor immediately. For example, you may have started to notice
that you have difficulty hearing what is being said when you are with a group of friends
or when attending a lecture at your local film club.
From my point of view and experience, I recently entered a film in a major competition,
it was judged by two well respected members of SoCo and the IAC.
I thought I’d done pretty well (don’t we all?)
Anyway, I had carefully mixed together a dialogue track with a music track, meticulously
and diligently dipping the music every time the dialogue started and fading in the music
gently when each section of dialogue stopped.
Before I send my films away to competitions, I always check my soundtracks to my
films by watching them on our small kitchen television set, and then watching them a
second time on our bigger TV set in the living room which has a stereo sound system.
If everything is well, and in this case it was, I post my film off to the competition
organisers and wait, and wait…, and wait.
In the case of this particular film, I finally received the comments by these two well
respected judges, and I quote, ’Music playback was good but swamped the voice
(at least on our system).
Well I have to say, I could hear the voice perfectly, both in my kitchen and in my living
room. I know very well that the people who judged my film have a very good sound system
in their homes. So where does the problem lie?
I’ll tell you. Both judges are around retirement age, and I can only guess (because I am
not a doctor) that these particular judges have a slight if not acute hearing loss.
This is a serious problem both for the judges who are getting older, who can’t hear a
soundtrack properly, and for film makers like myself who are also getting older but who
know we have mixed the soundtrack perfectly and mixed it exactly the way we wanted
it to be heard.
I may well want the dialogue low in the mix to make it more realistic. But it is not a
mistake in any way.
I think the time has come for all film judges (say over the age of fifty-five) to take a
hearing test, and to submit a certificate to show that their hearing is up to scratch.
Specsavers and Boots both offer free hearing tests, although they might want to sell
you an expensive hearing aid system if they find something wrong with your hearing.
Hearing aids have improved a lot in the past five years. If you think that hearing aids are
coloured pink and are the size of a large packet of cigarettes with a wire attached to the
earpiece, then think again. They are now very comfortable and, believe it or not, fit right
inside your ears.
I hope after you’ve finished reading this article you will all have a good think about
whether judges are totally up to the job. I know they are all volunteers and I appreciate
that they don’t trouser much money for doing this, usually it’s only expenses if they’re lucky.
But in the future, maybe we can hope that all film judges will carry a badge showing
that their hearing is, for a better word, normal. After all, they’re always showing off their
diamond shaped blue IAC badges and cufflinks. Aren’t they?
Huey Walker
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First published in SoCo Magazine July 2015
HEARING LOSS (A SAD TALE)
It is often said by many people (and I am one of them) that the soundtrack of a film is
more important than the picture content.
So it came as no surprise to learn that in a recent survey carried out by market
researchers, it was discovered that eighty per cent of IAC film judges working for
BIAFF suffered from acute hearing loss. Five per cent of those questioned, claimed
to have perfect hearing, and fifteen per cent asked the market researchers if they
could repeat each question.
Hearing loss is a common problem that often develops as we get older.
'Action On Hearing Loss' formally known as The Royal National Institute for Deaf
People (RNID) estimates that there are more than 10 million (about 1 in 6) people
n the UK with some degree of hearing impairment or deafness.
Hearing loss can occur suddenly, but usually develops gradually. General signs
of hearing loss can include: difficulty hearing other people clearly and misunderstanding
what they say, or asking people to repeat themselves. Other symptoms include, not
hearing commentary and voiceover tracks clearly when mixed with music tracks.
The main cause of hearing loss is caused by damage to the sensitive hair cells
inside the inner ear or damage to the auditory nerve. This occurs naturally with a
ge or as a result of injury.
Some people are born with hearing loss, but most cases develop as you get older.
It isn't always possible to prevent hearing loss. However, there are several things
you can do to reduce the risk of hearing loss from long term exposure to loud noise.
This includes not having music or the television on at a loud volume at home and
using ear protection at loud music events or in noisy work environments.
Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent and can affect all age groups.
Ear infections, loud noises and ageing all cause hearing loss.
Hearing loss affects around one out of six people in the UK. Most of these
people are over 60 and have lost their hearing gradually as part of the natural
ageing process. More than half of people over 60 in the UK have some degree
of hearing loss. However, hearing loss can also happen at a younger age.
In adults, hearing loss may be very gradual, for example in age-related hearing
loss. You may start to notice you find it difficult to hear and understand people
when you're in a noisy place such as a pub or even at your local film club during
the tea break.
Hearing loss can also be very sudden, for example if it’s caused by a viral infection
of the inner ear. Some people find that their hearing loss is associated with a continual
ringing in their ears, known as tinnitus. If you have an infection, you may have some
other symptoms, such as earache and discharge from your ears.
If you, or your friends and family, think that your hearing is getting gradually worse,
go and see your doctor immediately. For example, you may have started to notice
that you have difficulty hearing what is being said when you are with a group of friends
or when attending a lecture at your local film club.
From my point of view and experience, I recently entered a film in a major competition,
it was judged by two well respected members of SoCo and the IAC.
I thought I’d done pretty well (don’t we all?)
Anyway, I had carefully mixed together a dialogue track with a music track, meticulously
and diligently dipping the music every time the dialogue started and fading in the music
gently when each section of dialogue stopped.
Before I send my films away to competitions, I always check my soundtracks to my
films by watching them on our small kitchen television set, and then watching them a
second time on our bigger TV set in the living room which has a stereo sound system.
If everything is well, and in this case it was, I post my film off to the competition
organisers and wait, and wait…, and wait.
In the case of this particular film, I finally received the comments by these two well
respected judges, and I quote, ’Music playback was good but swamped the voice
(at least on our system).
Well I have to say, I could hear the voice perfectly, both in my kitchen and in my living
room. I know very well that the people who judged my film have a very good sound system
in their homes. So where does the problem lie?
I’ll tell you. Both judges are around retirement age, and I can only guess (because I am
not a doctor) that these particular judges have a slight if not acute hearing loss.
This is a serious problem both for the judges who are getting older, who can’t hear a
soundtrack properly, and for film makers like myself who are also getting older but who
know we have mixed the soundtrack perfectly and mixed it exactly the way we wanted
it to be heard.
I may well want the dialogue low in the mix to make it more realistic. But it is not a
mistake in any way.
I think the time has come for all film judges (say over the age of fifty-five) to take a
hearing test, and to submit a certificate to show that their hearing is up to scratch.
Specsavers and Boots both offer free hearing tests, although they might want to sell
you an expensive hearing aid system if they find something wrong with your hearing.
Hearing aids have improved a lot in the past five years. If you think that hearing aids are
coloured pink and are the size of a large packet of cigarettes with a wire attached to the
earpiece, then think again. They are now very comfortable and, believe it or not, fit right
inside your ears.
I hope after you’ve finished reading this article you will all have a good think about
whether judges are totally up to the job. I know they are all volunteers and I appreciate
that they don’t trouser much money for doing this, usually it’s only expenses if they’re lucky.
But in the future, maybe we can hope that all film judges will carry a badge showing
that their hearing is, for a better word, normal. After all, they’re always showing off their
diamond shaped blue IAC badges and cufflinks. Aren’t they?
Huey Walker
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY 15th FEBRUARY 2015
FRIDAY 27th FEBRUARY 2015
The Complete Guide to Writing, Producing,
and Directing a Low-Budget Short Film
is exactly what it says it is. So what more could we say? Apart from it being a large paperback written by Gini Graham Scott, it was first published in 2011.
Well, quite honestly, there’s not a lot more to say about this book. Although some people we’ve spoken to who’ve taken a glance at it, think that Chapter 9 is the best. All of three pages, ‘Getting Food For The Shoot’ will tell you everything you need to know about catering and feeding yourself, and maybe even keeping your film crew happy.
Other subjects include the role of the overworked production assistant.
Here are some of the things (according to Gini Graham Scott) that
PAs are supposed to do.
1. Unpack and log in the equipment and help pack it up.
2. Use a clapperboard (also called a slate) to mark each take.
3. Record each take on a scene log form.
4. Obtain signed release forms with contact information from the actors and crew members.
5. Go on errands, as needed, to pick up and drop off actors and crew members arriving by public transport, or buy needed supplies, such as batteries, water bottles, and lunch.
6. Prepare the lunch or dinner for the crew and help with the cleaning up afterwards.
7. Hold reflectors or microphones during the shoot.
8. Sleep with the sound recordist.
9. Help in moving furniture, pictures, and other things in a room.
10. Assist in other ways as needed.
This book is a great read and at 332 pages there’s a lot to get through,
especially if you are new to film making.
Unfortunately, there are several mistakes and errors in this book, and
we’re not talking about poor typing or proof reading errors.
Gini Graham Scott has written over forty books on diverse subjects,
and has produced and directed many films, it says on Wikipedia.
So if that is the case, why does she refer to the soft fluffy piece of
equipment that fits over a directional microphone as a ‘dead rat?’
I may be wrong, but I didn’t realise that rats were soft and fluffy.
However, a female friend informs me that rats are, soft and fluffy,
well she ought to know, she has three of them as pets. But I digress.
Isn’t the object that helps to suppress wind noise during outdoor
shooting, called a ‘dead cat’ or as Rode, the microphone company
from Australia, like to call it, ‘a dead wombat?’
As far as film equipment goes, I’ve never heard of a dead rat,
but I may well be wrong. But I do think that when you read about
dead rats in a film making book, you start wondering about how
much Gina Graham Scott actually knows.
Then there’s the problem about Maxwell.
Did I say Maxwell? I certainly did, because it says it the book,
‘Professionals generally advise against using Maxwell CDs or DVDs,
since this is a mass market brand not up to professional quality.’
Really? I’ve been using them as well as Sony blank DVDs and
they’re equally good, although I prefer the silver surface of a Sony
to the gold finish of the other brand.
Yes the other brand, and if you thought I’d made a typing error,
I haven’t. Maxwell is exactly what is printed in Gini’s book.
I would have thought that the proof readers would have checked
a trade name before going to print. As any idiot knows the name
is ‘Maxell.’
Maxwell as a name does exist, but it refers to a company that
makes shelving for CDs and DVDs.
I hope you’re still with me after all my complaining and whinging,
but I think it’s important to point these things out to you.
And before you think about buying this book, consider this.
Do you all know, in the world of cameras, what an SLR is?
Of course you do. It’s an abbreviation for Single Lens Reflex.
Right? Wrong. Gini likes to call it a Standard Lens Reflex.
As I said earlier, you really do start to wonder how much
the author actually knows.
Before I go, I will just give you one more tiny thing that I disagree
with in the book. She says, ‘I have found it generally unnecessary
to see the dailies (rushes), since the editor may already have
some indication on the scene log sheet, which lists all the takes.’
Gini doesn’t sound very enthusiastic about seeing the material
she has shot, she claims that it saves time not to bother viewing
the clips on a daily basis. Well I have never met a director or
film maker who didn’t want to look at the clips they’ve shot straight
away on the same day.
Having said all that, this book is still a great read. You will learn a
lot about laying out scripts in the standard way that actors around
the world will recognise, and you will be shown different types of
software to use for laying out your award winning masterpieces.
All the things mentioned in this book are very important to an
aspiring film maker, as long as you remember all the errors I
have talked about.
But if you’re new to film making you won’t know those errors,
will you?
HUEY WALKER
PS If you’d really like to find out how to win competitions and
make award winning films, then please take a look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_w8NF2-jM8g
It’ll take you less than two minutes to go through.
Here you will find everything you need to know about the integrity
of the hidden and exclusive world of the film festival circuit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIGITAL FILM MAKER MAGAZINE
Is there anyone out there who remembers Amateur Cine World, Movie Maker, Film Making,
Making Better Movies, or 8mm Magazine?
Apart from the short-lived ‘Making Better Movies’ there hasn’t been a magazine dedicated to
film makers for nearly 30 years. So the news that a new magazine had been published was
greeted by me with great pleasure.
But what surprised me the most is that the news of a new film making magazine did not hit
the pages of SoCo magazine or the IAC's Film & Video Monthly magazine. Until now.
I thought that all film makers would be queuing up to write about this new magazine. But I
was wrong. So here I am to fill that gap.
What can I say about this new ‘Digital Film Maker’ magazine that’s now in its ninth month.
Firstly I can say that a lot of IAC members and SoCo magazine readers will not like it.
It’s not really a magazine for amateurs, and it’s not really a magazine for amateur equipment,
unless you regard the Canon EOS C100 at over four thousand pounds (without lenses) an
amateur camera, but I have heard that a lot of amateurs do use this piece of equipment.
In fact, in the first issue of Digital Film Maker, the Canon EOS 5D Mark lll was one of the
few cameras talked about. There seems to be an obsession with this camera and other
DSLRs. You hear very little about Sony or Panasonic Video Cameras, and I also found
an unhealthy interest in throwing the background out of focus techniques.
For those of you, like me, who lust after wide-angle lenses and who like to hand hold their
cameras while gunning and running, then this isn’t the publication for you. I would suggest
the wonderful paperback ‘Digital Film Making’ by the director Mike Figgis.
Now the latest talk is about The ‘Red’ and The ‘Arri Alexa HD,’ cameras which are
definitely out of reach of most amateurs, unless you have clowns’ pockets, or as most
professionals do, hire or rent the equipment instead. If you haven’t heard of these cameras,
but would like to, then Digital Film Maker Magazines is definitely for you. I can guarantee
that you will devour and savour every word and description.
The original title of this magazine was ‘DSLR Film Maker.’ I spoke to the editor about this,
and by issue 2 he had changed the name to ‘Digital Film Maker,’which I believe is a much
more accurate title.
You won‘t find any mention of standard definition filming, and according to this magazine
even high definition is getting long in the tooth. You will however hear a lot about 4K shooting
formats and lenses that cost, I was going to say,‘the price of a car,’ but it would be more
accurate to say, lenses that are the‘price of a house’ in Torquay.
But you can see who this magazine is aimed at. It’s for people in their early twenties who
are desperate to get into the film industry.
Having said all that, I really love this magazine. It gives you a lot of information about
new products, there’s a long list of low budget independent films from new and first time
directors available on DVD at the back of the magazine, and reviews of equipment,
some of which even I could afford. You will also find detailed interviews with enthusiastic
technicians and actors.
If there’s one thing I’d criticize, it would be the lack of articles about sound recording
using digital audio recorders such as the Tascam, and hints & tips on sound mixing is
almost non-existent. Nearly everything I’ve read, is about cameras, and that I feel is a
great pity.
But I am sure that these articles will come around in good time.
And finally, is it just me? I hate the fact that in nearly every article, you’ll keep hearing
the phrase, ‘we fixed it in post.’ Or ‘we made sure we got it right at the shooting stage
because we didn’t want to spend a lot of time correcting any errors in post.’
Call me traditional and/or old-fashioned, but surely the word is post production. It might
just be me, but I find the word ‘post’ on its own, a bit of an affectation, unless of course,
you’re popping something into a letterbox, then that’s fine by me.
In spite of all I’ve said about this magazine. I really do love it.
We should all be grateful that after many years without Amateur Cine World, Movie Maker,
Film Making, and Super 8 Film Maker, we now all have a magazine that we can look
forward to reading once a month.
I hope this magazine continues for a long time into the future. Please give it a try because
at £4.99 for 116 pages, I can highly recommend iT.
HUEY WALKER
PS I have recently written twice to the editor of ‘Digital Film Maker’ magazine and the
editor has not replied. This could be a bad sign. I hope the magazine doesn‘t fold.
(first published in SoCo magazine November/December 2013)
Is there anyone out there who remembers Amateur Cine World, Movie Maker, Film Making,
Making Better Movies, or 8mm Magazine?
Apart from the short-lived ‘Making Better Movies’ there hasn’t been a magazine dedicated to
film makers for nearly 30 years. So the news that a new magazine had been published was
greeted by me with great pleasure.
But what surprised me the most is that the news of a new film making magazine did not hit
the pages of SoCo magazine or the IAC's Film & Video Monthly magazine. Until now.
I thought that all film makers would be queuing up to write about this new magazine. But I
was wrong. So here I am to fill that gap.
What can I say about this new ‘Digital Film Maker’ magazine that’s now in its ninth month.
Firstly I can say that a lot of IAC members and SoCo magazine readers will not like it.
It’s not really a magazine for amateurs, and it’s not really a magazine for amateur equipment,
unless you regard the Canon EOS C100 at over four thousand pounds (without lenses) an
amateur camera, but I have heard that a lot of amateurs do use this piece of equipment.
In fact, in the first issue of Digital Film Maker, the Canon EOS 5D Mark lll was one of the
few cameras talked about. There seems to be an obsession with this camera and other
DSLRs. You hear very little about Sony or Panasonic Video Cameras, and I also found
an unhealthy interest in throwing the background out of focus techniques.
For those of you, like me, who lust after wide-angle lenses and who like to hand hold their
cameras while gunning and running, then this isn’t the publication for you. I would suggest
the wonderful paperback ‘Digital Film Making’ by the director Mike Figgis.
Now the latest talk is about The ‘Red’ and The ‘Arri Alexa HD,’ cameras which are
definitely out of reach of most amateurs, unless you have clowns’ pockets, or as most
professionals do, hire or rent the equipment instead. If you haven’t heard of these cameras,
but would like to, then Digital Film Maker Magazines is definitely for you. I can guarantee
that you will devour and savour every word and description.
The original title of this magazine was ‘DSLR Film Maker.’ I spoke to the editor about this,
and by issue 2 he had changed the name to ‘Digital Film Maker,’which I believe is a much
more accurate title.
You won‘t find any mention of standard definition filming, and according to this magazine
even high definition is getting long in the tooth. You will however hear a lot about 4K shooting
formats and lenses that cost, I was going to say,‘the price of a car,’ but it would be more
accurate to say, lenses that are the‘price of a house’ in Torquay.
But you can see who this magazine is aimed at. It’s for people in their early twenties who
are desperate to get into the film industry.
Having said all that, I really love this magazine. It gives you a lot of information about
new products, there’s a long list of low budget independent films from new and first time
directors available on DVD at the back of the magazine, and reviews of equipment,
some of which even I could afford. You will also find detailed interviews with enthusiastic
technicians and actors.
If there’s one thing I’d criticize, it would be the lack of articles about sound recording
using digital audio recorders such as the Tascam, and hints & tips on sound mixing is
almost non-existent. Nearly everything I’ve read, is about cameras, and that I feel is a
great pity.
But I am sure that these articles will come around in good time.
And finally, is it just me? I hate the fact that in nearly every article, you’ll keep hearing
the phrase, ‘we fixed it in post.’ Or ‘we made sure we got it right at the shooting stage
because we didn’t want to spend a lot of time correcting any errors in post.’
Call me traditional and/or old-fashioned, but surely the word is post production. It might
just be me, but I find the word ‘post’ on its own, a bit of an affectation, unless of course,
you’re popping something into a letterbox, then that’s fine by me.
In spite of all I’ve said about this magazine. I really do love it.
We should all be grateful that after many years without Amateur Cine World, Movie Maker,
Film Making, and Super 8 Film Maker, we now all have a magazine that we can look
forward to reading once a month.
I hope this magazine continues for a long time into the future. Please give it a try because
at £4.99 for 116 pages, I can highly recommend iT.
HUEY WALKER
PS I have recently written twice to the editor of ‘Digital Film Maker’ magazine and the
editor has not replied. This could be a bad sign. I hope the magazine doesn‘t fold.
(first published in SoCo magazine November/December 2013)
lick here to edit.
COMPETITION
CRISIS
(first published in SoCo magazine January/February 2013)
In response to Lee Prescott’s article ‘on Judging’ in
the November/December issue.
I do not share his criticism regarding competition organiser’s
lack of support from running these competitions, or for the a
pathy he feels there is amongst film makers who do not enter competitions.
I think entering competitions and having a chance of winning recognition for your efforts is a
wonderful empowering thing, and in my case certainly spurred me on to make more films, and
enter more competitions just to see if I could do it too.
So I believe that competitions are very important. And personally I think there are several
reasons why the SoCo regional competitions suffer from a lack of support.
The entry forms which have to be filled in for each category,are not straightforward, but are
over complicated and would try the patience of a saint to complete. There is one form to fill
in and over twenty rules to read through for this ‘friendly’ competition. And then there are two
additional rules for Top of the Clubs entries (too complicated to explain here).
In contrast the Teign Cup entry form couldn’t be simpler.
SoCo instructions request that I enclose a stamped addressed envelope so the organiser
can confirm receipt of my films, but mine was never acknowledged. Therefore I am left
wondering if the films I sent did arrive on time, and then because I didn’t receive any
acknowledgment, I had to contact the organisers again for confirmation.
And even after all this, once the competition/screening day has arrived and passed,
(and this can be a few weeks ofwaiting) I was not notified of who won. I was not even
supplied with a list of entries, all of which is just as important to me as entering in the f
irst place. After all it’s important to know whose films you were up against.
Even if all the above was not followed, surely an email sent straight after the event,
would be a polite way of notifying all those concerned? It’s no wonder the number of
entries are dwindling.
It seems to me that once a competition has been publicised and made out to be the
most important event of the year, and once it has been screened at a host club, no
one involved is at all concerned that we film makers are still waiting patiently to be
told the results of the competition.
So do we carry on our filmmaking, or do we give up all together and join the Allotments
Association?
I joined a film club because I wanted to see other people’s films, show my films receive
feedback on how to make them better, and to go away and try again. Entering regional
competitions used to be a good way of getting a second opinion.
I feel I have mentioned this before, and I am sure someone will tell me later, but it’s
something I feel very strongly about and the only place I am able to have my say is in
the SoCo magazine, so thank you Pip.
Oh yes, as for the picture of me with this plaque, well that was in recognition of
winning an internal club film of the year competition - so some competitions are
worth entering.
SUSIE WALKER
CRISIS
(first published in SoCo magazine January/February 2013)
In response to Lee Prescott’s article ‘on Judging’ in
the November/December issue.
I do not share his criticism regarding competition organiser’s
lack of support from running these competitions, or for the a
pathy he feels there is amongst film makers who do not enter competitions.
I think entering competitions and having a chance of winning recognition for your efforts is a
wonderful empowering thing, and in my case certainly spurred me on to make more films, and
enter more competitions just to see if I could do it too.
So I believe that competitions are very important. And personally I think there are several
reasons why the SoCo regional competitions suffer from a lack of support.
The entry forms which have to be filled in for each category,are not straightforward, but are
over complicated and would try the patience of a saint to complete. There is one form to fill
in and over twenty rules to read through for this ‘friendly’ competition. And then there are two
additional rules for Top of the Clubs entries (too complicated to explain here).
In contrast the Teign Cup entry form couldn’t be simpler.
SoCo instructions request that I enclose a stamped addressed envelope so the organiser
can confirm receipt of my films, but mine was never acknowledged. Therefore I am left
wondering if the films I sent did arrive on time, and then because I didn’t receive any
acknowledgment, I had to contact the organisers again for confirmation.
And even after all this, once the competition/screening day has arrived and passed,
(and this can be a few weeks ofwaiting) I was not notified of who won. I was not even
supplied with a list of entries, all of which is just as important to me as entering in the f
irst place. After all it’s important to know whose films you were up against.
Even if all the above was not followed, surely an email sent straight after the event,
would be a polite way of notifying all those concerned? It’s no wonder the number of
entries are dwindling.
It seems to me that once a competition has been publicised and made out to be the
most important event of the year, and once it has been screened at a host club, no
one involved is at all concerned that we film makers are still waiting patiently to be
told the results of the competition.
So do we carry on our filmmaking, or do we give up all together and join the Allotments
Association?
I joined a film club because I wanted to see other people’s films, show my films receive
feedback on how to make them better, and to go away and try again. Entering regional
competitions used to be a good way of getting a second opinion.
I feel I have mentioned this before, and I am sure someone will tell me later, but it’s
something I feel very strongly about and the only place I am able to have my say is in
the SoCo magazine, so thank you Pip.
Oh yes, as for the picture of me with this plaque, well that was in recognition of
winning an internal club film of the year competition - so some competitions are
worth entering.
SUSIE WALKER
lick here to edit
BEHIND EVERY
FILM DIRECTOR
(first published in SoCo magazine September/October 2012)
I’m sure you have all heard of the saying ‘Behind every good man there is a good woman’ - well this is also true in the world of film making.
For many of us, who are used to thinking of a film as the creation of a director, it may
come as a surprise for you to know just how much creative control editors have.
After all, they are often the only ones to see every frame of film shot by the director.
Out of that mass of footage, which in a feature film could be anywhere from twenty
hours to two hundred, they choose the shots, the best takes, the out-takes (or as I
like to call them, the take-outs) and lines of dialogue that reveal the best performances
from the actors and actresses.
Unless you’ve been in hibernation for the past twenty years, you must have come across
the name Quentin Tarantino. He directed Reservoir Dogs (1992), and Pulp Fiction (1994),
which could both be regarded as quite violent, and Inglourious Basterds (2006) a film
about The Second World War.
So with all these ‘violent’ films under his belt, you may be surprised to learn that Quentin
Tarantino, always worked with a female film editor called Sally Menke.
You could say that the director is important at the filming stage of the production, but
it’s the editor that makes a film out of it. Quentin Tarantino has repeatedly said as much,
calling Sally his "Number One Collaborator."
After all, when Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction first came out, a huge part of their appeal
was the thrilling way the story and characters jumped around in time. And yet, until her death
in 2010, Sally Menke's name was little known outside of the film industry.
Another influential female film editor is Thelma Schoonmaker, a seven-time Oscar nominee,
and for more than 30 years, synonymous with the work of Martin Scorsese films, including
Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990), and more recently the hit film Hugo (2011) which
incidentally was their first 3D film.
British film editor Anne Coates (born 12 December 1925) with more than a 40 year long
career in film editing, is best known as the editor of director David Lean's epic film, Lawrence
of Arabia (1962). She has been nominated five times for the Academy Award for film editing
on Lawrence of Arabia, Becket (1963), The Elephant Man (1980), In The Line Of Fire (1993),
and Out Of Sight (1998).
You may also remember Murder On The Orient Express (1974), and The Eagle Has Landed
(1976). Yes, it was Anne Coates who edited them too, and there were many more. In 2007
Anne was awarded BAFTAs highest honour: The Academy Fellowship.
Long before Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Elements and other computer editing systems
came along, the work was primitive and unappreciated, (the work probably still is unappreciated)
but the editing room is where women have thrived, even if it meant working hard to realizing the
visions of directors who have been overwhelmingly male.
Film editing is seen as an “invisible art “ — assembling sometimes hundreds of hours of
footage into a coherent, narrative piece — has been practiced by women as long as there has
been a cutting room floor. Early on, women were hired to edit because it was considered menial
labour, “something like sewing,” said Kim Roberts, an Emmy winning editor who has worked on
feature documentaries.
She says, “Many good editors are sort of introverted, shy people, observers of life. They’re
very funny. They’re ironic. And all those traits are what you need to be a good editor. I don’t think
women have a monopoly on those traits, of course. But women tend to be more like that than men.”
I’m sure some of you will have an opinion on that observation.
There are many more female film editors in the industry that I could have talked about, but that
will have to wait for another time.
For those of you who are interested in the art and craft of film editing, and I’m assuming everyone
reading this article is, you could do worse than go and buy a copy of ‘Film Editing (History, Theory
and Practice)’ by Don Fairservice. He is a retired film editor from BBC Television and is now very
happy to come and give talks to clubs in the SoCo area. I heard him give a talk last year. He was
very enthusiastic and I found him very inspiring.
Film Editing is a hidden art, and a hidden craft, it’s a bit like being a magician. When it’s done well,
nobody knows. They only see (and hear) the end result.
Here is an interesting quote which I’d like to pass on to you: ‘The best compliment one can pay to
an editor is to tell him or her, that the editing was invisible: an editing job is considered successful
when it goes unnoticed on the screen. Ironically, an editor invests weeks or months of intense work
to achieve the impression that he has done nothing at all.’
It’s a quote to bear in mind when you next enter a film for a festival or competition.
SUSIE WALKER
FILM DIRECTOR
(first published in SoCo magazine September/October 2012)
I’m sure you have all heard of the saying ‘Behind every good man there is a good woman’ - well this is also true in the world of film making.
For many of us, who are used to thinking of a film as the creation of a director, it may
come as a surprise for you to know just how much creative control editors have.
After all, they are often the only ones to see every frame of film shot by the director.
Out of that mass of footage, which in a feature film could be anywhere from twenty
hours to two hundred, they choose the shots, the best takes, the out-takes (or as I
like to call them, the take-outs) and lines of dialogue that reveal the best performances
from the actors and actresses.
Unless you’ve been in hibernation for the past twenty years, you must have come across
the name Quentin Tarantino. He directed Reservoir Dogs (1992), and Pulp Fiction (1994),
which could both be regarded as quite violent, and Inglourious Basterds (2006) a film
about The Second World War.
So with all these ‘violent’ films under his belt, you may be surprised to learn that Quentin
Tarantino, always worked with a female film editor called Sally Menke.
You could say that the director is important at the filming stage of the production, but
it’s the editor that makes a film out of it. Quentin Tarantino has repeatedly said as much,
calling Sally his "Number One Collaborator."
After all, when Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction first came out, a huge part of their appeal
was the thrilling way the story and characters jumped around in time. And yet, until her death
in 2010, Sally Menke's name was little known outside of the film industry.
Another influential female film editor is Thelma Schoonmaker, a seven-time Oscar nominee,
and for more than 30 years, synonymous with the work of Martin Scorsese films, including
Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990), and more recently the hit film Hugo (2011) which
incidentally was their first 3D film.
British film editor Anne Coates (born 12 December 1925) with more than a 40 year long
career in film editing, is best known as the editor of director David Lean's epic film, Lawrence
of Arabia (1962). She has been nominated five times for the Academy Award for film editing
on Lawrence of Arabia, Becket (1963), The Elephant Man (1980), In The Line Of Fire (1993),
and Out Of Sight (1998).
You may also remember Murder On The Orient Express (1974), and The Eagle Has Landed
(1976). Yes, it was Anne Coates who edited them too, and there were many more. In 2007
Anne was awarded BAFTAs highest honour: The Academy Fellowship.
Long before Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Elements and other computer editing systems
came along, the work was primitive and unappreciated, (the work probably still is unappreciated)
but the editing room is where women have thrived, even if it meant working hard to realizing the
visions of directors who have been overwhelmingly male.
Film editing is seen as an “invisible art “ — assembling sometimes hundreds of hours of
footage into a coherent, narrative piece — has been practiced by women as long as there has
been a cutting room floor. Early on, women were hired to edit because it was considered menial
labour, “something like sewing,” said Kim Roberts, an Emmy winning editor who has worked on
feature documentaries.
She says, “Many good editors are sort of introverted, shy people, observers of life. They’re
very funny. They’re ironic. And all those traits are what you need to be a good editor. I don’t think
women have a monopoly on those traits, of course. But women tend to be more like that than men.”
I’m sure some of you will have an opinion on that observation.
There are many more female film editors in the industry that I could have talked about, but that
will have to wait for another time.
For those of you who are interested in the art and craft of film editing, and I’m assuming everyone
reading this article is, you could do worse than go and buy a copy of ‘Film Editing (History, Theory
and Practice)’ by Don Fairservice. He is a retired film editor from BBC Television and is now very
happy to come and give talks to clubs in the SoCo area. I heard him give a talk last year. He was
very enthusiastic and I found him very inspiring.
Film Editing is a hidden art, and a hidden craft, it’s a bit like being a magician. When it’s done well,
nobody knows. They only see (and hear) the end result.
Here is an interesting quote which I’d like to pass on to you: ‘The best compliment one can pay to
an editor is to tell him or her, that the editing was invisible: an editing job is considered successful
when it goes unnoticed on the screen. Ironically, an editor invests weeks or months of intense work
to achieve the impression that he has done nothing at all.’
It’s a quote to bear in mind when you next enter a film for a festival or competition.
SUSIE WALKER
lick here to edit
ODD MAN OUT
(first published in SoCo magazine July/August 2012)
There's one thing that really upsets me. I can spend hours,
days, weeks, or even months editing a film project,
the finished result could be a ten minute documentary
about The West Somerset Railway, or a very short one
minute film about my cat.
Eventually, when I'm allowed to, I submit my film for
screening at my local club. The film is shown and then
it ends, and all I can hear is mild polite applause.
That's it. Mild polite applause! Nobody talks about the
film, nobody criticizes the film, nobody says it's great
and nobody says it's awful.
I have learnt nothing from the screening experience. lf any questions are asked, it's only to find out
where the film was shot, as if it makes any difference to the quality of the film. The nearest I get to a
technical question is when I'm asked if I used a tripod. The answer is 'No, I've learnt how to hold
a camera steadily.'
The worst question of all time that I get asked is, yes you've guessed it, 'What camera did you use?'
Does it really make any difference what camera I used? Did the camera I used really make the film
any better? I don't think so somehow. Did anyone ask Alfred Hitchcock what camera he used for
shooting 'Psycho,' I doubt it, but if you're really interested in that sort of thing, it was a Mitchell BNC.
I on the other hand, use a Sony CX115, the red coloured model, so now you know.
The whole experience is very depressing. Nobody seems to care about the screening of films, and
yet that's exactly why we're all in film clubs, aren't we? Since joining a film club, I have never
received any constructive feedback to any of my films.
Another thing I've started to notice is that as soon as one film is finished, the next one is shown,
all done very rapidly, and then halfway through the evening, members of the club wonder why
we always finish our meetings early.
The other thing that upsets me is that the films are only screened once. Surely a short film
could be shown twice in an evening. I can remember attending The Teign Film Makers Club
a few years ago. They were screening a number of short films, and every film screened that
night was shown twice. lt was delightful. This club seemed to show an interest in each of the films.
It is depressing. Weeks or months of hard, but pleasurable work that ends up being shown only
once. Maybe that's the nature of a film, but if that's the case, why do people who've seen a film
on TV, go out and buy the DVD?
I brought in a film last month, which I hadn't shown for over a year. I heard two members of my
club mutter loudly, 'Oh, I've seen that one before. 'What these people don't realise is that not
every member of a club attends every single meeting of that club. They may have missed it. lt's
something to bear in mind.
Most club members and committee members are not interested in the state of film-making in
amateur clubs. They mostly, but not all, seem to be run by minor dictators who are only keen
to promote their own self-importance, with absolutely no interest in the progression of film-making
in the 21st century especially from any female members of the club, who (God forbid) may actually
enjoy the film-making process and even more alarmingly, be very good at it.
We do not want to make the tea, and we do not want to waste time at committee meetings
discussing the merits of which type of chocolate biscuits should be procured for the next
club meeting.
Now I've got that off my large chest. I will pause.
That's it for now. I have to go and show my long-suffering husband my latest film, and like it or not,
he's going to see it twice - at least.
SUSIE WALKER
(first published in SoCo magazine July/August 2012)
There's one thing that really upsets me. I can spend hours,
days, weeks, or even months editing a film project,
the finished result could be a ten minute documentary
about The West Somerset Railway, or a very short one
minute film about my cat.
Eventually, when I'm allowed to, I submit my film for
screening at my local club. The film is shown and then
it ends, and all I can hear is mild polite applause.
That's it. Mild polite applause! Nobody talks about the
film, nobody criticizes the film, nobody says it's great
and nobody says it's awful.
I have learnt nothing from the screening experience. lf any questions are asked, it's only to find out
where the film was shot, as if it makes any difference to the quality of the film. The nearest I get to a
technical question is when I'm asked if I used a tripod. The answer is 'No, I've learnt how to hold
a camera steadily.'
The worst question of all time that I get asked is, yes you've guessed it, 'What camera did you use?'
Does it really make any difference what camera I used? Did the camera I used really make the film
any better? I don't think so somehow. Did anyone ask Alfred Hitchcock what camera he used for
shooting 'Psycho,' I doubt it, but if you're really interested in that sort of thing, it was a Mitchell BNC.
I on the other hand, use a Sony CX115, the red coloured model, so now you know.
The whole experience is very depressing. Nobody seems to care about the screening of films, and
yet that's exactly why we're all in film clubs, aren't we? Since joining a film club, I have never
received any constructive feedback to any of my films.
Another thing I've started to notice is that as soon as one film is finished, the next one is shown,
all done very rapidly, and then halfway through the evening, members of the club wonder why
we always finish our meetings early.
The other thing that upsets me is that the films are only screened once. Surely a short film
could be shown twice in an evening. I can remember attending The Teign Film Makers Club
a few years ago. They were screening a number of short films, and every film screened that
night was shown twice. lt was delightful. This club seemed to show an interest in each of the films.
It is depressing. Weeks or months of hard, but pleasurable work that ends up being shown only
once. Maybe that's the nature of a film, but if that's the case, why do people who've seen a film
on TV, go out and buy the DVD?
I brought in a film last month, which I hadn't shown for over a year. I heard two members of my
club mutter loudly, 'Oh, I've seen that one before. 'What these people don't realise is that not
every member of a club attends every single meeting of that club. They may have missed it. lt's
something to bear in mind.
Most club members and committee members are not interested in the state of film-making in
amateur clubs. They mostly, but not all, seem to be run by minor dictators who are only keen
to promote their own self-importance, with absolutely no interest in the progression of film-making
in the 21st century especially from any female members of the club, who (God forbid) may actually
enjoy the film-making process and even more alarmingly, be very good at it.
We do not want to make the tea, and we do not want to waste time at committee meetings
discussing the merits of which type of chocolate biscuits should be procured for the next
club meeting.
Now I've got that off my large chest. I will pause.
That's it for now. I have to go and show my long-suffering husband my latest film, and like it or not,
he's going to see it twice - at least.
SUSIE WALKER
