IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Hi Tim,
Yes, clubs can offer a lot. The biggest asset is experience. When it comes to making video stories in clubs. You can wait for ages from the club to decide or you make it yourself. That is the experience I had in the past.
Many clubs are very good specially Bristol Video Club.
Many youngster nowadays prefer to work in their own age group and form their own little club and stream their work on YouTube or Vimeo( Was that a cleaning product in the 60s?)
I dont know the answer regards what would help.
I think the youngster are looking for a career in the field of media and clubs are not the place for the starting point.
Most I know are at college studying Media.

Frank Maxwell wrote: Many youngster nowadays prefer to work in their own age group and form their own little club and stream their work on YouTube or Vimeo( Was that a cleaning product in the 60s?)

And that seems to be the rub. If we want to attract youngsters, we need to be able to attract groups of youngsters. One or two on their own will soon feel outnumbered by the old fogies.

Frank Maxwell wrote: I think the youngster are looking for a career in the field of media

Which is not the case with traditional club membership which is comprised mainly of members making films for their own amusement. Many are retired professionals, or even current professionals who like the opportunity to make films for love rather than having to work within a client's scope. So we're not really catering for them. Should we be, I wonder?

Frank Maxwell wrote: and clubs are not the place for the starting point.

Most definitely not!

Frank Maxwell wrote: Most I know are at college studying Media.

Then they will learn how to be Jonathan Ross (at least that is the view of one pro lighting cameraman I know, I wouldn't have a clue!)

Yesterday I took a walk on the wild side and visited a Video Club which i know and have given a talk and showed some of my work in the past. They had an open evening. Only 8 people attended and four of them were young members which was great to see. Even saw one video which one of them made. The video was well executed but.......
They hold meetings every week which i think is too much. A rest period would help for a month. That is my opinion but all clubs work differently.
I have decided to give my support to the club and see how one can encourage some new blood.
Talking to many people over the years regards video or club or making films/video one word keeps cropping up "TIME".
My answer is???? how many hours per week do you watch television?

Good for you, Frank.

We should all try to look in on more such open days and events. And we should all give our support where we think it will do some good.

Dave

Hello Ivor!

Re your original posting of 4 January 2013, and your follow-up on 4 February 2013, below: “As the originator of this topic I would like to thank all of you that have contributed to this subject so far. I have been encouraged by the number of posts. It is my intention to try and collate these into some sort of list of ideas, which I have started doing already. In the March issue of FVM I have asked for more contributions from people that have not already written a post, as I feel it is important to try and encourage as many people as possible to contribute.”

Where are we with this?

What conclusions have the IAC Council drawn to date from members’ enthusiastic – indeed passionate - and well-argued postings?

Are we likely to see a report on the findings at any point?

Frank

Glad you are giving a Club another go.

Time, where does it go, I was only thirty what seems like a couple of years ago.

We are now a small but keen club who meet weekly September to April, personally I would not want to meet monthly as that to me would probably result in socials and just watching movies, watching movies is something I can do at home.

Weekly meetings gives the impetus and timescales to actually get something productive achieved as the duration available to undertake enabling tasks has a deadline. It's not one where....I have a month to sort it........end result no action.

Col, I left the club in November for being outspoken. Like a new bottle of wine, needed to let it mature.

Frank

Yes, I see where you are coming from.

Change..........that's what clubs and the IAC find difficult.

Adapt or die.

Me, I am used to it, nearly retired and have had 22 different jobs during my working life so I am well used to change.

Col,
Pendle used to meet weekly. I have the old minute books. Films were "going to be finished" over more than a year judging by the AGM minutes. That was using real film, too!
Having said that we now meet monthly and I have promised to start editing from nearly 50 years of stuff accumulated since 1967 with the intention of finishing it later this year.
Wish me luck!
Peter.

Peter I wish you all the luck with your task. Even meeting monthly is telling us how times have altered. Those clubs which meet still weekly or every 2 weeks are doing fine by attracting the members who have been with the club for years.
When you start editing your old material you will say to yourself "How Time Has Flown" and how bad we were compared to the tools available to us now.
Mind you over the years I have shown my cine work to the present and future generation of video makers. I think the term filmmakers is the wrong title now. Are astounded how they were made.
Once again "Good Luck"

hi guys,
well i have seen a massive increase in , not so much membership, but more attendance , to the shooters group in Exeter, its not unusual to see 50 plus to turn up to a meet
these are not just film makers but actors, sound recordists and basically anyone who is interested, they have a very active face book page and when you need a crew..you just shout..

there seems to be some very exciting projects going on ...

Well done John for posting this positive view. Hope the club makes use of all those wonderful gifted people in different fields of production.
The only thing to be careful not to waste the talent on bad scripts. But doing a exercise video just to see how you all gel would be appropriate.
There are so many videos being made with the same old theme over and over again. I think making something worth while would be on my agenda with all those people in your club.

Well, well, I have decided to "pop out" of my hutch momentarily, (sorry), to make a comment or three!

Attracting NEW Members -- shouldn't that be MORE members? Anyway, whatever.

I haven't read through the entire 9 pages of postings but have read a number across those - so - if I've missed something I apologise.

1. I've banged on about this now misconstrued, misunderstood, ancient word "Amateur" for a long time as seemingly has
Ned C. It is now and has become a misnomer like some other words in the language. --- Get rid of it, it does have an effect
in getting people to join "Clubs", especially Young People. After all, which of you would take his Porche or Lada car to
an "Amateur" mechanic? The other word to dispose of too is "Club" as we here have done!!! - All this also has an effect
when dealing with the Politzei, Media Producers, Business Men, Local Authorities and site owners!!!

2. Quite recently in a Press article here the reporter made an error and referred to "The Institute of ADVANCED
Cinephotographers!!! Now there's a thought in this day and age! It did produce some enquiries. Most are advanced
technically if not artistically!!! Further too, I'm not so sure about the word "Institute" sounds like somewhere for
unfortunate Alzheimer sufferers. As for "Cine(ma)photographers" - well I'll leave that open - for now!

3. Following this I managed to recruit people for the cast of our latest "Video-Film" - the Youngest just 12 years of age.
(Also his Dad bought a video camera, (via e-bay), that resembled something from a future Star Wars era. It would not
work so he brought it to me - soon found the problem - it was electronically wrecked)! Good to report success all round.
Even our UK weather was brilliant throughout the shoot(s)!

So then what about a change to "Advanced" ? It would also indicate a "Group" / "Unit" not "Club" with the ability to teach
those less competent than a lot of us!

LEE.

I don't think the row about the word "amateur" applies so strongly to clubs as it does to IAC. Very few mention "amateur" in their title, though they may use the word in other promotional material.

They do not often use the word "club" either. The majority of amateur movie making groups called themselves "XYZ Movie Makers" or "XYZ Film & Video Society" ... the ones who call themselves clubs most often are photography clubs ... and they are said to be thriving!

What can we make of that?

Dave Watterson wrote: What can we make of that?

What I make of that is the following: It is generally understood what photography clubs do. Unfortunately "Video Club" has connotations in many people's mind of the early days of VHS when one often had to belong to a "Video Club" in order to hire a video - and this particularly applied to those "out of the back of a van" smutty videos. I believe this followed "Film Clubs" which one had to join if one wanted to descend down to the basement of certain Soho film venues to see films of a certain type - restricted to members only.

I suspect this is why film making clubs adopted "Society" in the 1950s. Of course the term "Society" in the "club" context has it's own connotations nowadays of secret societies with dodgy initiation rites and secret handshakes and has thankfully almost totally been dumped by most of us.

It is also a sign that we are all much more market aware or brand aware that most clubs adopt the name "Movie Makers" or "Video Makers" - names which give a much clearer indication of what the organisation actually does, or encourages.

However, it is also interesting that, despite the adoption of more dynamic or modern names, nearly all of us refer to both our "clubs" and to other "clubs".