Alan Lyons

Hi Mike, The straight maths on your figures say that the show should run ok (10 slides per min). What I have found is there are 2 things which can cause a show to clog the works. Large images or changing sound tracks. Are you using large images and is your soundtrack one piece or a collection of files being loaded at points along the timeline? As for the point raised by Contaxman, I agree that shorter shows generally work better. But as we don't know the context of this show perhaps the hour + is nessary. However the audience will soon let you know if the lenght is right . I have seen some very long 2 min shows, and yet seen some short snappy 12 min shows. Time + content is what matters, Alan

Hi Tom, I had a look at your show last night. My download is slow so I have to have spare time to visit beechbrook Only in Reno coudl they come up with plane racing at that level. Here in Europe the Health and Safety boys would be in orbit. Your images are superb and you catch the mood of the day with the music. I would suggest as Patrick has to include some sound from the event, but I would also take a look at the second paragraph of your post this would form the basis of a spoken introduction over the music start. Then light the afterburners and hold on tight! i will have to visit the Salthill Airshow again after seeing your effort. We hold this in Galway on the weekend of the 4th July. Apperently there is some small island off the coast of Galway that celebrates its independence on that day Congradulations on a fine show, Alan

Just to say that all our thoughts are with the people of the region during this troubled time. I hope that all our forum members and their families and friends are safe and well. Alan

Nollaig Shona Dhuit! (Christmas greetings to you) from Ireland. Alan

Hi There, The first and most likely reason is if the images have been moved from their original folder(s). P2E relies on the full address that the images were originally loaded from i.e. C/My picks:show1/first.jpeg. What should help is to add the image from the other window again and then place it on the kist where you want it. But to be safe I always set up a folder for each show with the name of the show. This will have sub folders for sound, pictures, and, project/ exe files. When the show is ready you can move this folder and contents to a CD. But if you need to go back to it you just replace the folder where it was on the HD. My lay out is as follows. C:Audio visuals/show folder/Sound or pictures or projects. The show folder is removed and can be replaced in the Audio visual folder. Hope this helps, Alan

Hi Ken and all, don't forget Santa is still watching so be good for goodness sake . What I would like to see in the new year, is a method of filling this blank piece of paper I have being staring at for some time now. We need to get cracking as www. DAVES, and the supercircut are already in place and by all acounts more are on the way . Best wishes to all for the season, and I hope there are lots of shiny new things to greet us all on Christmas morning, Alan

Hi Tony, is the sound file you are using a stereo file or is it set for surround sound? Alan

Happy Birthday, Igor, from Ireland. You may not see them here, but you and P2E have many fans here in Ireland. I hope your head is not too sore after the celebrations Best wishes, Alan

Congratulations, Ray to you and your family on this great event. It seems you have your subject matter for the forseeable future. It seems like only yesterday I was taking the same type of photograph. Now, I need a step ladder to look my eldest son in the eye . Best wishes to all, Alan

Hi Dan, I have used Audio Cleaning Lab Deluxe 3.0 for some time now and find it very good. It allows you to import from LP/Cassette/Mic. Rip mp3 ect and CDs. You can also import files already on your computer. Then you can de click de noise ect and compile the tracks onto a CD as audio files, or as mp3s to save space. What I like about it is it was made to do the job but it also can be used as a sound editor. "It does a lot more than it says on the tin" You should find it in the sound section of your local PC shop, or at MAGIX.COM Alan

Hi All, We're back on copyright again Perhaps we need to set up a code of practice amoung our selves where we can share work for viewing and critique. The IPF AV group members have a licence which allows them to show work for non profit events and competitions. If someone sends you a show to view or for advice, then you should be expected to treat the persons work with respect and not break any copyright rules concerning either the photography or the soundtrack. We could even send a disc with an expiry date and hope the post dosen't let us down Anyway, back to the jucies seeing other's work is one of the best ways to improve your own. Regards, Alan

Hi Barbara, Not to steal your thunder, but if you ever get the chance to see Gordon Gray's "Via Del La Rosa" it would be worth your while. It is a slide tape show so the chances of seeing it in the middle east are slim. The show follows the way of the cross but shows Jerusalem warts and all. It poses some very deep questions without taking sides. I have suggested to Gordon that he archive his work to digital. If "Via Del La Rosa" pops up I'll let you know. I like the idea offered about the stones. I sure if you look at then for long enough the shapes and tectures will take on a meaning all of their own. "Cast in Stone"??? Best of luck, Alan

Congrats Ken, from the Emerald Isle. Not Al Robinsons one but the real one Although it's a strange shade of grey today. Best wishes for the next 1000, Alan

Hi all, Sorry I've been off this thread for a while It's a long weekend here in Ireland so I have been out and about, alas as a driver and not as a photographer . Any way, we all wait for the Contax masterpiece from the moors and dales. Just hope he doesn't end up on the Discovery Channel in 1000 years from now as the man frozen in the bog . It is great to see how we all can bounce ideas around to get a sequence going. I hope many more will use this idea to get advice on the content rather than the techinical side of things.Contaxman hsa begun to show us how a show can develop and how importent research and planning are to a good show. Simple little things can develop into great shows, and as I said before, the ones that don't leave you alone are the ones that make the best sequences, Alan

Hi Ron, My original idea was that once you have an idea for a sequence, what steps do you take to realise the show. The castle was only used as an example. If anyone wants to rise to the challange then by all means go for it. But I hoped to start a discussion on the processes we all use to get our shows on the screen. First thing though, let us all light a candle for Contaxman, I see he needs some light Regards, Alan

Hi Roger, These are the ones you have to do just to make them go away! I see a selection of stark winter landscapes, leading to the warm glow of a light in the distance. The joy of a journy finished, the welcoming of a warm fire on a cold dark night. The music will have to be chosen with care though. So away with you to the moors, and don't come back till you have a "Christmas Special" under your arm Best of luck, Alan

Hi all, Ronniebootwest got us all going with the thread "You also need to be a photographer too" It showed the need for some threads on the creative side of AV. So to set things going.... Some where in the dead of night an idea came to you to make an AV on the local castle. What happens next? Regards, Alan

Hi All, Just a brief word on competitions and all that. Competitions are a good way to have your work assessed both technically and creatively. But as Barry hinted, we must make shows just to get by a judge. The show must stand on it's own merits and not be a slave to the latest fads ot opinions of a judging pannel. Good is good regardless. The highest acolade I ever recived for a show was not in competition but at a show in a local church. I showed a sequence on the Irish National War Memorial, which because of our recent troubles had not seen a parade for some time. At the end of the show an elderly lady came over to me and said "My late husband was the last man to lay a wreath at the Great Cross. Thank you for reminding me of that" You wont get things like that on a medal or certificate. On Barry's note on the difference between digital and film AV, the only difference I see is the endless options we have to fade/ disolve/ transisition, but if these are used just because they are there, then where does that leave the original idea which launched the show in the first place? Alan

Hi Kenneth, no offence taken, I just get a bit grumpy when I roll over and then someone wakes me up We have just finished our National Championships and there was a lot of discussion about the "glue" which holds a show together. When does a sequence shange from a slide show to a sequence? We saw every thing from slides set to the author's favourite piece of music, to sequences which toyed with our emotions, or made us think in ways we may never have done before. I have no problem with the "slides to music" type of show, but when the author moves into the type of show which is a package all of it's own, they tend not to go back to slides to music. It has to be the hardest idea in A/V to get across, the only way to explain it is to get the willing student to go see A/V in competition or demonstration. Alan

Hi Kenneth, Just a rush to defend myself The point to "Roll uver on rainy days" was aimed at the amatuer/ professional devide. We amatuers can wait for the weather / conditions we want where as the professional can be tied to a given day as you were on your trip. I agree with what you say about Cinema v Audoi visual. The diciplines are close but the choice of medium is important to the work. I often tell poeple starting out to watch how Cinema and TV complie their works and imagine how the direction could be applied to A/V. As you say about cut aways they are a vital part of the show as are things like, shot- counter shot and mixing the type of shot used. Recognizing the skills of film editors and directors will help your A/V work, but be warned all, I now find I pay more attention to how the film was compiled than to the plot. Although with some of the plot lined offered recently this can be a major advantage Alan

Hi all, The crew from the UK should have a look at www.avworld.org they have a link to all the workshops and competitions around the area. If you look you will find you lot have an AV group almost on every corner. Speaking of workshops, at a recent RPS AV worhshop in Belfast we desided to ask these very same questions. Alas for the 20 or so people there, there seemed to be 20 different ways to arrive at the same place The shows I tend to complete are the ones that haunt you in the night and wont go away until you finish them. A lot of the production can be done just by trying to imagine how the show will look in your mind. It helps if you have this notion in your head when you shoot the images. The trick then is not to compromise As these threads get longer we tend not to read down to keep up so perhaps we could launch a new thread now and again on related topics, Alan

Hi Ron, you asked for an expert, but he is having his tea now so will I do. I tend to be of the latter in that I shoot to a script. I find this way more productive as you are forced to consintrate on a given typr of image or a given style. I find that the images collected when you have no theme in mind tend to be either poor or indifferent. Shows taken from stock, I feel tend to be a little forced either in the images or the soundtrack. A finished AV should be like a well composed image. All the elements are nessary for the effect, and the final result owes as much to what's left out as to whats left in, Alan

Hi all, one thing I forgot to mention. The amatuer photographer has one tool in his arsenal which the professional cannot always use. We can wait for the weather/ light/ photograph. If it rains today we can roll over, the professional has a deadline. Alan

Hi all, This has to be the hardest part of AV to quantify. A great show is always more than the sum of its parts. If you take any of the great shows and view them slide by slide, you will see that while all the images are of a high standard, some may not be stand alone images which would win or even do well in competition. These are the glue which hold a show together. The true craft of AV is knowing what is needed to make the show a unit, and not to include an image just because it is good. Some of the great shows come from committed amatuers as well as professionals. The way to learn from these shows is to enjoy them on the first showing, then view them from a techinical perspective on the second showing. Ask why the author did what they did at this point? Why did the music start/change at that point? Why were those images used? Did the author achieve what they set out to do? If we only see the great images it is great! If we see the Audio Visual it is fantastic! The high standard should strech across the whole AV. These high standards are achivable by all if you relise you are making an AV and not showing your best images. Alan

Hi Cosmic, a seasoned A/V worker would be very happy with this show. For a first effort you should be very proud. The effects used were all justified, there a re a lot of analogue A/V workers who are taken in by the range of transition effects available in P2E and use them because thet are there. Your usees were all appropiate to the show. I am a great fan of the B/W to colour and vice versa, and I loved the paint brush effect on the image edges. Will you explain how they were done. The bacground was effective and added a demention to the show which a black background could not. Again well done and I hope to see your work doing the rounds of the many competitions and shows now available to us. In summary, I don't know if you get "Only fools and Horses" on TV over there, but as Rodney says when ever he is impressed beyond words, "COS...MIC"