COVID-19

IAC General Discussions
Peter Copestake
Posts: 340
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 2:23 am
Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: COVID-19

Post by Peter Copestake »

Ludicrously late catching on to this. Pendle's ASDA meeting room was closed to us so we had little choice but to suspend our programme which I am sure we would have done anyway as most of us are in the 'do not leave your home category'. We personally are OK, knowing of people infected but none as close as Michael but one of our members, Frank Walsh, who keeps up our web site, is in hospital with unrelated condition.
Best wishes to all but especially to those who have helped with my problems and shared films.
Peter.
Peter Copestake
ned c
Posts: 907
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 3:39 pm
Location: Dammeron Valley USA

Re: COVID-19

Post by ned c »

Last Wednesday I enjoyed a Zoom meeting with members of Solent film Makers. It was midday here in SW Utah; 7:00 pm their time. What a great facility and I hope that long range Zoom meetings for film makers take off.

ned c
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: COVID-19

Post by tom hardwick »

Last night I did another Tom-show for Finchley's FFM, this time using Zoom. I spent a couple of hours in preparation, opened the laptop, donned the headset and was ready to go. One or two technical niggles, but no surprise really.

This contrasts with my talk to the same club 14 months ago, when on the one hour's drive there a bus crashed into the back of my car, making me one minute late. Then another 1¾ hour's drive home (they'd shut lots of roads) and there was unpacking and insurance claim form-filling to do.

Give me Zoom every time. No long drawn-out tea break, but no individual chatting to good friends either. All the kit I wanted to demonstrate was right beside me on the table, and everyone in the audience got to see a good big close-up of all the bits and pieces I wanted to show. At any time I could flip to screen-filling stills and back again, and audience questions could be clearly heard by one and all.

They endured a solid 1¾ hours of me and we all parted good friends. Switched off, turned on the telly, listened to the same Covid-19 news we've all heard for the last month or so.
Jill Lampert
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:04 pm

Re: COVID-19

Post by Jill Lampert »

It sounds like your presentation for Finchley went really well, Tom! Great stuff!

At my club, when we had to cancel our meetings in the hall that we hire, for a moment it looked like it would be a quiet period and we might all lose touch with each other. But far from it! The Covid-19 lockdown has brought out the best in Sutton Coldfield Movie Makers. It’s brought out extra creativity, enthusiasm and a willingness to adapt.

We’re having our meetings on Zoom. The vast majority of members have engaged with this even many of those with limited computer skills, and meetings have been very well attended. Members have asked for weekly meetings instead of twice a month, so our meetings have more than doubled.

For our 5 minute challenge we had more entries than we’ve ever had before: a record 18 entries.

One member has invited everyone to sing the words to a song (in their own home), and he is editing them together to make a sort of tribute to the NHS. Lots of members have engaged in this project and got into the spirit of it by dressing up.

Another member has made a 35 minute take off of a Jamie Oliver programme which includes a quiz to take people’s minds off coronavirus and entertain them.

We have just launched a little isolation project: to make a film to a (given) 3 line mini script with a ‘Buddy’. The Buddy must be another SCMM member, but Buddies cannot be part of the same household. So we have to try to agree matching locatons/eye-lines/time of day and so on. Members can find their own Buddy, or they can ask for a 'surprise Buddy' to be allocated to them.

There’s also a new active WhatsApp group which is a combination of jokes and useful tips/answers to technical problems/filmmaking related exchange of info.

So far from closing down for the rest of the season, it's all go at Sutton Coldfield Movie Makers! :D
tom hardwick
Posts: 914
Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: COVID-19

Post by tom hardwick »

If only your post had been a letter to the editor of FVM, Jill, the FVM that will hopefully drop through our letter boxes next week. If few people read FVM these days, even fewer read these forums.
But nevertheless you bring tidings of great joy, and that's a Good Thing.
edin
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: COVID-19

Post by edin »

The Edinburgh Cine & Video Society are currently looking for ideas for next seasons programme that may or may not start in October. We have our own premises with a 54 seat cinema and internet access. Tom Harwick last post may assist in filling some Thursday evenings by using Zoom to link up guest speakers to a restricted audience in the theatre, viewing via a hdmi output to our projector and invitations to those members at home to join the Zoom meeting. Guest speakers could be obtained fro near and far and if planned well in advance would give them time to prepare their online presentations. I’m no expert in the use of Zoom and would welcome anyone feedback on the above proposal.
Peter Copestake
Posts: 340
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 2:23 am
Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: COVID-19

Post by Peter Copestake »

Had forgotten about this until receiving the Richard Palmer nudge. Pendle's only significant news has been the death of Frank Walsh which has saddened us greatly and as he organised our website led to even that news not being as widely shared as we would ordinarily have done. It will be in FVM. The site will close when the contract expires but we may get another going.
Peter Copestake
Jill Lampert
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 8:04 pm

Re: COVID-19

Post by Jill Lampert »

In reply to Edinburgh Cine and Video Society's ponderings...I don't know how it would work having a Zoom guest speaker with a live theatre audience. I haven't really thought about the logistics of it and we haven't tried it, but it may well be the sort of thing we and other clubs will need to think about in the new season.

I can tell you that last Thursday Sutton Coldfield Movie Makers had guest speaker Paul Kittel. It was a wonderful evening. Paul had prepared a half hour presentation for us on video. The evening began with everyone gathering in the Zoom meeting and saying 'hello'. Then Paul introduced his presentation. We had a link to it (on GoogleDrive) and we all went and watched it individually outside Zoom. When we returned to the Zoom meeting Paul took a Q and A session.

There were were 30+ people there, so the arrangements had to be fairly formal. Everyone except Paul and Robin (the SCMM presenter for the evening) was muted. The system was that if someone wanted to ask a question or make a comment they had to raise a 'blue' hand (in "Chat"). Robin could see who had their hands raised, and he would announce who was next in the queue and unmute that person while they made their contribution and Paul answered. Then Robin would move on to the next person.

A very successful evening. Thank you Paul!
edin
Posts: 70
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: COVID-19

Post by edin »

Further to my previous email regarding the use of Zoom for conducting club meetings I would like to hold a Zoom meeting with any interested parties from other clubs to discuss this topic and get some event/film ideas. Please contact me if you would like to take part in this discussion.

Stewart Emm
Edinburgh Cine &Video Society
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