No-one really enjoys Annual General Meetings but they are essential to ensure that an organisation such as NERIAC runs smoothly. That is why we hide the very speedy formality of our Regional AGM in the middle of an entertaining programme. Every Spring we head towards Collingham Memorial Hall to meet old friends and see guest speakers that we would probably not think of inviting to individual clubs.
This year we were treated to two speakers who had traveled long distances from North and South. Geoff Caudwell, who entertained us during the afternoon had driven up from Derby. He has been making films since 1968 but video has provided a new format for his particularly quirky skills in observing the mundane in large close up and manipulating their movements to match the music. The idea of cutting film on the beat has been around since we all started in this hobby, no doubt most of us have experimented with that idea at some time. However digital video editing has introduced greater possibilities to stretch or shrink time to more accurately match the mood of the music.
Geoff has been experimenting in this field, even before computers made it much simpler. Not many of us have actually cut video footage up frame by frame to rearrange them to suit our own needs and then copied them forward and reverse to amuse our audiences. “Watch The Birdy” was probably the first of Geoff’s videos to come to most people’s attention. Along with his latest “At a Snail’s Pace” the manipulation of images was obvious. It was a lot subtler in “Rhythm in Steam” where the equally complicated editing was almost hidden by the assumption that we were actually watching events in real time. Geoff tried valiantly to describe the mathematical calculations required but I suspect most of us were happy to leave the counting to him and just sit back and enjoy the movies.
As usual the projection team had been busy long before the rest of us arrived, preparing the room and trying to make sense of the maze of wires.
Many of her films reflected her love of her native Scotland and her adopted home in Provence, France. Here she explored the tempestuous relationship between Van Gogh and Gauguin, art being another of her favourite interests. As well as Pat’s subtle soundtracks one could almost smell the lavender and feel the warmth of Provence’s
All too soon the day was over. Derek thanked Pat and Geof and we gave a final well deserved applause before we all set off back home with happy memories and a few inspiring ideas.
