Audio Visual Marking Sheet

[Johnwnjr]

AUDIO VISUAL MARKING & COMMENT SHEET

(Also can be used as a guide when constructing a sequence)

Marks are given (detailed) 5 per line or (overall) 20 per section. Either = out of 100.

Poor-1 (4). Fair-2 (8). Good-3 (12). Very Good-4 (16) Excellent-5 (20)

Title of Sequence: Time/Author:

PHOTOGRAPHY (Visuals) Consider:-

Composition: ……………. /5 Arrangement of subject matter on screen

Lighting ………………… /5 Against Light. Use of Special Lighting

/20

Viewpoint ……………... /5 Original – Lens use – Variety – Close Ups

Overall Quality ………… /5 Degree of Interest maintained in Visuals

SOUND (Audio)

*Music–Choice/Effects …. /5 Is soundtrack appropriate to the visuals

*Scriptwriting ……………/5 Script – approach – story telling/facts.

/20

*Commentary ……………/5 Clarity/suitability of voice for subject.

*(if sequence does not use any one of * features above enter a weighting of 3 points)

Mixing/Balance ……….. /5 Quality of mix & general quality of sound

CONTENT (Structure)

Beginning ……………. /5 Does intro catch attention & interest?

Middle ………………. /5 Story/seq. move along. Not Single Slides?

/20

End ……………………/5 Is conclusion satisfactory?

Overall Clarity ……….. /5 Has the theme been well communicated?

IMPACT (Overall feeling)

Emotional ……………. /5 Did it convey feelings (beauty/anger etc)

Length ………………... /5 Too long – Too short – About Right

/20

Originality …………….. /5 Any unusual approach, angle or theme?

Overall Reaction ……… /5 Poor / Fair / Good / Very Good / Excellent

PRESENTATION

Pace ……………………/5 Variety & overall speed of the presentation.

Effects …………………/5 Use of suitable effects to the subject matter.

/20

Titles …………………../5 Was titling satisfactory?

Overall ………………../5 Could the Presentation be improved?

/100 Total: %

[denwell]

Excellent John

Just what I've been waiting for.

I have to judge an AV competition at my local photogroup shortly and have been struggling to devise a (fair)method of evaluation - this could be just the thing.

Was it devised by you or is it from an'official' source?

Either way - thank you for sharing.

DEN (NE UK)

[Johnwnjr]

Excellent John

Just what I've been waiting for.

I have to judge an AV competition at my local photogroup shortly and have been struggling to devise a (fair)method of evaluation - this could be just the thing.

Was it devised by you or is it from an'official' source?

Either way - thank you for sharing.

DEN (NE UK)

Something went wrong with my last reply, but it read: Designed by me years ago but revised today!

By the way if you copy and paste it should fit neatly onto an A4 page.

John

I am sorry but I am still having trouble in adding a reply which should read:

Designed by me years ago but revised today! If you copy and paste it should fit neatly onto an A4 sheet.

John

[Boogie]

Something went wrong with my last reply, but it read: Designed by me years ago but revised today!

By the way if you copy and paste it should fit neatly onto an A4 page.

John

I am sorry but I am still having trouble in adding a reply which should read:

Designed by me years ago but revised today! If you copy and paste it should fit neatly onto an A4 sheet.

John

John

Well done, it will be very useful the next time I do a bit of AV judging.

Boogie

[Maureen]

PLEASE don't reduce judging or creating AVs to marking in this fashion!

They should always be creative and judged as a complete whole.

Have you ever judged a life partner in this way .......

height...

overall appearance.....

voice....

sense of humour ...

presentation...

originality......

If so I guess it didn't last very long !

Sorry John but if we are reduced to judging or creating sequences in this manner we'll lose all sense of what art and creativity is about !

It's totally against what I believe in !

BW Maureen

[Guest guru]

I totally agree with Maureen. It isn't possible to "vivisect" a slide show and constrain it into a formula!

[Alan Lyons]

Hi John,

I would agree with what Maureen says(I have to because she knows where I live ). But judges of competitions need some guidence to help them deside between entries especially if there are many to choose from.

A judge dose not have to like or agree with the subject matter, only assess if the entrant has achived what they set out to do. But to use a point system to help you create? . I would symplify your system for judging.

Photography and sound are key points but are they relevent to each other? xx points

Does the sequence grab and hold your attention throughout? xx points

Has the author achived what they set out to do? xx Points

Has the author used the A/V methods that best support the objectives? xx Points

This would help the judge assess each sequence evenly and allow the best to come foward. It would also help to give a critisim in a positive and consistant way. Finally drop the points and you have a base from which to build your own sequences.

We all need assessment and to have our work critisized in order to improve our work, and so long as we remain open to good work and ideas we will never become stagnant or worst still enter a piece wich will please the judge,

Regards

Alan

[Ian]

I guess its up to an individual to decide how to 'judge' an AV sequence, either from a personal perspective or in a formal competition. I've participated in many, as either a judge, participant, or organiser, and on the few occasions where a marking sheet was used it didn't really add any value to the process.

A successful sequence, whether in a competition or not, blends all of the elements in a way that moves and inspires the audience, and thus is more than just the sum of its constituent parts. Attempting to put a numeric value on each component will inevitably reduce the overall scores to an average, with the relative highs/lows tending to flatten everything out.

While the analysis might be helpful for a new judge to construct any comments he/she might have to make, ultimately the heart is better than the head for sorting out the jewels.

Its certainly provoked a lively debate though - no doubt this one will run and run!

Ian

[Peter Coles]

Any AV is about communicating an idea, a story, some information, or sometimes an impression or an emotion.

To give marks for photography within such an attempt to communicate would be pointless.

When I judge an AV (and I must now have had that dubious pleasure, Internationally, on about twenty occasions over a couple of decades) I assume that all is well until the communication is interupted by something which avoids the communication being continuous; in the extreme, just to make the point, it could even be that a superb photograph left me feeling "Wow! That was a superb photograph!" and, at that stage, the real communication could have ended. I may have been so wrapped up in the images that I lost what the theme of the communication was.

So for me the Sequence needs to be judged as a whole and not marked for this that or the other.

For me marks are deducted from perfection when something distracts me from the author's intent.

At the end of the excercise of watching, say 50, such presentations, it is important to place these in an order and then give "marks"; otherwise we can get mixed up with folk trying to differentiate between A-- and B++ !!!!

When there are several judges these can then be added up and averaged but without an order the actual marks are virually meaningless.

If you want a good laugh, just look at the results from the most recent "Supercircuit" They are printed out in AV WORLD No 40 (our last Issue). I expect Maureen will put them on our AV WORLD web pages if I ask her nicely!

Competition is an excellent thing as long as we don't treat it too seriously! For me it produces deadlines and a way of ensuring that lots of people witness what I am trying to communicate.

Any Awards (and I have now had well over a hundrend of these, Internationally) are always regarded as a sort of unexpected bonus!

[ContaxMan]

The teacher in me makes me lean towards the recipe system (almost certainly as a result of post National Curriculum indoctrination) but my gut response is that this is not the way to go. It's instructive to read the comments of top workers such as the last few posters & I must agree with them that reducing the process to tick boxes and numbers devalues what this art is about. Guidelines are great but what happens when they come up against something "off the wall"?

Thanks Maureen, Ian, Peter and others for your wise words on this topic. Let's hope it does run-and-run as it's about the art rather than mere technicalities which have tended to dominate this forum.

[denwell]

I would agree with all that has been so eloquently said by previous posters, from their position as serious competitive practitioners.

I welcomed the original post as an interesting series of aspects to bear in mind when assessing (and constucting) an AV, and an aid to comparing presentations in a consistent way. Yes, in general it's got to be the overall amalgamation of all these aspects that make the greatest impression on the viewer - to move and inspire.

Peter puts it very well when he says "Any AV is about communicating an idea, a story, some information, or sometimes an impression or an emotion". Communication is the key - and 'judging' should be a combination of consistent comparison of the various 'technical' elements (sound mixing, music, images, story, scripting etc.) to give guidance and encouragement, together with the overall emotional stimulation of the viewer.

It's an interesting way to look at it that an assumption of perfection, before viewing, may be reduced as the sequence unfolds to provide a quantitive assessment of the work.

Finally, it's also good to have discussion here on the forum away from the technical and into the aesthetics of AV - something that is extremely personal as are all artistic endeavours.

Let's have more!

DEN (NE UK)

[Peter Coles]

I would agree with all that has been so eloquently said by previous posters, from their position as serious competitive practitioners.

I welcomed the original post as an interesting series of aspects to bear in mind when assessing (and constucting) an AV, and an aid to comparing presentations in a consistent way. Yes, in general it's got to be the overall amalgamation of all these aspects that make the greatest impression on the viewer - to move and inspire.

Peter puts it very well when he says "Any AV is about communicating an idea, a story, some information, or sometimes an impression or an emotion". Communication is the key - and 'judging' should be a combination of consistent comparison of the various 'technical' elements (sound mixing, music, images, story, scripting etc.) to give guidance and encouragement, together with the overall emotional stimulation of the viewer.

It's an interesting way to look at it that an assumption of perfection, before viewing, may be reduced as the sequence unfolds to provide a quantitive assessment of the work.

Finally, it's also good to have discussion here on the forum away from the technical and into the aesthetics of AV - something that is extremely personal as are all artistic endeavours.

Let's have more!

DEN (NE UK)

[Peter Coles]

I think this has been a most interesting discussion, in that it seems to be about more than technique.

You see, I would include "technique" as one of the possible distractions to proper communication.

If, during a Sequence, I think "Gosh that was good" or even more so "Oh! Not again!", then it is technique which is grabbing my attention instead of what the author is trying to get across to me.

This is why I am somewhat hesitant in welcoming the latest innovations within PTE without reservations.

I do welcome them and I do use them, but I have witnessed more "worse" Sequences, so far, in which the new transitions play a part, than "better". I frequently think, "Oh! That was clever!" and then "but what was it about? What was this trying to say to me?" I'm not noted for being over-polite, but I have usually refrained from "saying" this about specific Sequences. It's much easier and maybe kinder to make the point in general terms, so I'm glad to bring this up under this heading.