On a bright but very frosty March morning (19.3.11), about seventy AV enthusiasts made their way to the village hall at Margaretting in Essex, for the 19th East Anglian Audio Visual Competition. Once again the event was organised and run in a very professional manner by the Essex AV Group, despite the fact that, unfortunately, the original judges, Keiran & Mary O’loughlin, had had to pull out unexpectedly at the last moment. Their place was taken by the Dutch husband and wife team, Gijs and Dini van Gent, who kindly agreed to step into the breach with less than a couple of weeks notice! They have a wealth of experience in the photography and audio visual fields, and have judged numerous competitions at home and abroad. Interestingly, their son recently launched the AV software package, DGFects.
Authors, who reside or are member of a photographic club within the East Anglian, Kent, Chilterns, Surrey, Southern or Western Counties regions had been encouraged to submit up to two entries, with a combined total running time not exceeding 12 minutes. Proceedings started with a warm welcome from Dick Williams, Chairman of the Essex AV Group. He and his team had already been at the venue since much earlier that morning to prepare the hall and ensure everything ran smoothly! During the day, which was divided into four sessions, a record total of forty-six sequences were shown.
There was an amazing variety of subject matter and treatments, ranging from the traditional to the more futuristic. There were beautiful landscapes, interesting documentaries (historical and up-to-date reportage) and humorous looks at life around us. Some of the sequences were particularly thought provoking.
After a break to allow time for an evening meal, the Prize giving and Gala Show began at 7pm. The judges opened this session by making some general comments on the sequences they had seen during the day. Gijs remarked that a number of authors had perhaps over-used movement, and advised that it should only be included where necessary. In the case of landscapes, of which there were plenty, he said he preferred those without wire fences, gates and footsteps. He and Dini stressed that only really good images should be included, and that their format should be consistent. Composite images should be included with caution to avoid confusion. They also preferred soundtracks with variety - music, a voiceover and sound effects. They both emphasized that many sequences were too long, and that in some cases there were almost two within one. They advised that the overall length be kept to 4-5 minutes for impact.
The winners were then declared, traditionally in reverse order, to keep us all in suspense! All the awards winning sequences were shown again, either in groups or singly, as the results were announced.
All the remaining authors, who sequences were shown on the day, were presented with Certificates of participation. Although the level of expertise varied from a number of ‘beginners’ to those with many years experience, the judges agreed that the overall standard was very high. It certainly was a packed day, but the time flew by. A vote of thanks to the judges was heartily endorsed by all those present; everyone agreed at the end of the evening that the event had been a great success, and showed their appreciation of the huge effort made by the organising team of Dick and his fellow Essex AV Group committee members.
Next year, the 20th East Anglian AV Competition will be held on 24th March – a definite date for the diary!