AFVM

[FILM THURSO]

Age is more a matter of psychology nowadays rather than a physical state. Young people perceive 20 as old, 20's regard 30's as old and so on. Essentially if you are in the next decade up from the person beside you, you are old.
I like the simily, "vicar in a party hat" though I think this is more a case of vicar at the wrong party with no hat!
It doesn't matter how energetic Sir Dicky may be, youth perceive youthful old folk as weird! Youth simply lack the life experience to understand the nature of age. Sadly it is an understanding one gets with age! (this isn't going to be an easy explanation)
The area to persue is to make evry effort to crush any suggestion about age and get film makers to see each other as film makers rather than young film maker or old film maker etc. A difficult if not impossible task but yet it is possible to get all ages working together.
To get youth to get involved adults need to make the first move, here's a suggestion. If your club memebers notice young people making movies, rather than promote you club why not ask the youngsters if they would involved your club in THEIR production. This might excite the young one as they realise older folk are interested in their work and that the joint effort will expand ther production cabaility. Don't push them into joining your club, try to join theirs.

[fraught]

I think the topic here is getting into an argument about what makes someone Old or not.

I have no doubt that everyone 'feels' young, and on the whole it shouldn't make a difference what age you are. I feel like a 21 year old, but that's not criteria enough to enter an under 21's competition when i'm actually 36. So lets stop with the "i feel young" bit and just face the facts.

Yes the IAC's membership predominantly contains people of Late Middle Age to retirement... which is probably why FVM is what it is. But is this really what the IAC wants? Does the IAC want to be an Institute that only appeals to this age group?

I'm proud to be a member of the IAC, which is why i fight for it's survival... I want it to do well, i want it to be the first port of call for anyone who wants to take up this great hobby. I plug it at every opportunity. The problem is when i speak to friends and other film making colleagues, they look at the magazine, and brush it aside. They see what i see, obituaries, retirement announcements, Diamond Wedding announcements, and bloomin' Julie Andrews! LOL...

I say bring back the Youth Column. Get someone to own it, and give them a list of all Youth IAC Members, and get them plugging for articles and ideas. Publicise this website in FVM more often, mention the Forum and the topics discussed within. Get the IAC on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc... speak to some Film Making Website Webmaster... get the IAC on them... get the logo plastered everywhere!

Please don't think that i'm in anyway ageist... i'm just passionate about equality, film making, and the want for the IAC to be something more.

[Mike Shaw]

I say bring back the Youth Column. Get someone to own it, and give them a list of all Youth IAC Members, and get them plugging for articles and ideas...

And I say, don't say it, do it.

No time? Then why expect someone else to step into the breach?

My old boss used to say "Don't come to me with whinges and problems. Bring me the solutions".

It fine tunes the mind to provide the answer before highlighting the problem it will solve.

The original question was an attempt to highlight a problem, further expounded in the ensuing posts. The solution isn't 'someone should...' The solution is to do it. Or offer a practical alternative that doesn't involve others doing the work.

FVM is the voice of the IAC. That means you.

[fraught]

Ok... you're on!

Now how do i go about getting that elusive slot in the magazine? I've never done it before, but for the belief in all things younger than me! I'm your man!

[Mike Shaw]

Excellent. You've done the hard part by accepting the challenge! The rest is easy (ish). Email Garth. Suggest a suitable column/article. Ask where the relevant info on young members might be found ... And go for it.

There's a para or two on the inside cover of FVM that'll tell you how material should be prepared etc,

Looking forward to reading the new column. It will, I'm sure, be a breath of fresh air...

[Dave Watterson]

If we have talked the age issue into the ground ... there are other problems in FVM ... I am still astounded to read in the Events Diary about club evenings - in come cases even "club evening to be announced" !

The website has a much wider ranging diary but Garth never seems to look at it. If we feed the info to him he may use it, but why should we? Surely an editor has to do more than wait for people to spoonfeed him news.

Dave

[Mike Shaw]

Yes. I've noticed that. Perhaps it requires an editorial team rather than rely on just one person? It is a heck of a lot for one person to tackle, and a team would not only lighten the load, but would perhaps help to provide a balanced output.

A lot of people, each responsible for one editorial aspect could well be the answer. There are signs of that happening now - with Regional information for example coming from the same people eash issue. However, I'm talking about an editorial control panel rather than people simply providing a regular 'feature' or 'column' as a writer. Big difference. The 'editors' would be responsible for persuading the people to fill the columns under their control, and as a group would relieve the load on poor old Garth.

Just a thought.

Unless we're talking about a paid post(s) - I'm not sure the IAC could afford a paid team. So its back to willing backs again...

[billyfromConsett]

But in my humble view, I'd say that younger people involved in our hobby care more about this hobby's future than the oldies

But not enough to do something about it?

Surely the forum is about exchanging thoughts and ideas, unless you're either on a wind up, or feel the need to express an emotional urge to accuse any cheeky kids of not doing anything to help.
Maybe I could have used a few more 'manys' or 'some' or just made damn sure I understated the number, when I mentioned older club members who have long since given up trying to promote both our clubs - and by simple sums - the IAC.

I stated earlier that I contacted the IAC with a feel good story that had the intention of spreading a good message. If it eventually got published then I admit that I was too lazy to look for it.

But my message is a personal one that I'm not ashamed of mentioning - The IAC mag could do with more guides in, and could make itself maybe look more open to young people's ideas. How about one page?

It's not a demand, and I'm not suggesting anyone has to make immediate changes like today. And I'll help if I can. And I'm not asking people who've got grandchildren to look after most days to do all of this.

And I won't compare old people to old dogs - who just bark at anybody who walks past the door!

Lastly, to show that I can get off my backside once in a while, and write something for the IAC's club news - here's my story (that I think might have been deleted from an inbox somewhere)

Article for the FVM

Newcastle’s Future is Bright

I just thought I’d share with everyone the kind of story that we should all feel can happen at each and every one of our clubs. And that’s about how Newcastle ACA is having a great time in film-making - together with increasing membership.

I’ve been a member at Newcastle ACA for around 6 years. In that time I’ve became acquainted of how our place generally runs. I’ll talk about my 6 years experience, to our current state, and the future of our club

Newcastle ACA is about to step into its 80th year. Our film archive has history spilling out of every nook and cranny. But…for a couple of years I noticed that we seemed to have NO new members. An occasional visitor, who had an interest in film-making, would come through our door. He would be warmly greeted and introduced to someone, and he’d sit down to watch the evening’s programme. The evening’s show might be great - or possibly into the other extreme- it could maybe be a club roadshow, sent by a club that didn’t look like it had made many films for a few years. I would cringe if the latter happened, and wonder what our visitor made of our hobby. Yes I would speak and say ‘hi’, and make him feel welcome. I’d hope he’d come again. Few seemed to.

So I joined our committee and asked if I could look at our publicity. My offer was accepted straight away. So, I drew up a list of things to do - that maybe would give us a bigger presence in our community, and get our name locally bandied around a bit.

My first list of things to do (from memory)

1) Get our details on as many web links boards as I could find
2) Make an A5 flyer for distribution around our association building, so all the other clubs would know something about us
3) Get our club linked to our association building website
4) Contact the local newspaper with some details, who print them every week into the freebee local papers – and this had a genuine positive impact
5) Contact the IAC for publicity ideas.
6) Use the IAC’s forum for publicity ideas.
7) Get our club its own website, and put some info on it.

To cut a long story short, my ideas weren’t laughed out of the committee room, but I got the feeling that it was mainly up to me to try them myself, which at the start, was how things turned out.

But things started moving. We, and I mean various members (including long serving senior members) have since (with their own personal kit) done some local film shows, I made some decent quality double sided A4 flyers (contact me if you’d like the template design) to give to selected people, and generally we’ve tried to really keep our publicity machine going. It now won’t stop.

The numbers of new members has risen steadily, not to the point where we are seriously looking to move our base, but to the point where we do seem to have regular busy nights, with fewer empty seats and always well subscribed competitions. Now I can’t always get a sit down at tea break!

At present in 2007, people often come to me with their ideas of what else we can be doing to protect the future of our club and keep it busy. I don’t feel that I’m doing club publicity mainly alone now, feeling like a solo performer, and carrying some responsibility of not letting our club fall into hard times. For the first time in my 6 years experience, we’ve done some educational presentations in our Summer recess, to keen members who want to do more film-making and can’t get enough of it. We’re now a club that’s got a number of us wanting to make a difference, and looking to the future with knowledge that we’re going places.

You know, this story can be yours too.

If I can briefly give a few do’s and don’ts from my personal perspective, here I go:
• Get your club in print to your media – they love stories!
• try ideas that have been tried, and even that have failed before- they were maybe done at the wrong time, or just not done very well
• get help, and write down the ideas from those around you
• look for ways to show your movies in your community- and publicise your club while doing it

And the don’ts:
• Don’t listen to those who really can’t be bothered
• Don’t lose sight of the fact our hobby is worth fighting to keep
• Don’t lose contact with your wife and kids because you’re doing too much!

Please give me feedback and your ideas for the things I’ve missed- hey I’m no expert, but God loves a tryer.

Billy Ellwood
Newcastle ACA

[fraught]

Good article Billy! It kinda sums up alot of what we've been discussing here.

[Dave Watterson]

Only IAC members living in the North East Region will know that Billy also had an article in "Noreaster" the NERIAC region's magazine. It is part of a special edition of the magazine celebrating the 80th birthday of Newcastle ACA - the club he belongs to.

Dave

[fraught]

Just to add... i have just created a page on Facebook for the IAC. So... if you subscribe to this wonderful network site... hunt down the IAC and become a FAN.

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/The-I ... 1271848296

[Willy]

Newcastle ACA[/b]

Well done, Billy. An example of positive thinking.

I'm trying to give some more ideas. Perhaps they are not so good, but yes, maybe you are right : God loves a tryer.
° Give A5-flyers for distribution to shops that sell cameras. Give flyers to parents and grandparents who are filming at school festivities.
° Go to the cinema together and talk about the film you have seen.
° Try to make a clubfilm.
° Organize a kind competition for all people in your community who have made short films and who are not members.
° Make a film about annual events in your village/town and show this film in a hall at the end of the year.

For all these things we need people who are inventive and energetic.

[ned c]

Arising from the murk of a long session of heavy duty editing I come upon this thread that seems to have taken over the entire corresponding group!

Recognise that there are several streams of film making activity now where once upon a time there were perhaps just three - THE FILM INDUSTRY, television and amateurs. The amateurs have survived into a brave new world where film making became democratised, the digital camera and the computer gave anyone the opportunity to make movies of good technical quality. And everyone grabbed the opportunity, particularly the young film makers who could never afford the costs of film. Not only did they grab it they completely rejigged the whole thing. The amateur world was never really part of their scene, to them anything dubbed amateur in film meant rubbish, old people waving at the camera. their hols in real time -- have to go will add more later

ned c

[edin]

A little contribution to the thread. The FVM is prehaps the only magazine printed in the UK that caters for film & video making. All the commercially published magazines have ceased production and this may also be a reflection on the number of people who were interested enough to buy it monthly - granted they were full of articles to sell video production merchandise.

The FVM is therefore a unique and valuable publication and should be supported by all IAC members and issues about age only sideline the more pressing issue of trying to obtain a more balanced age profile across the IAC and local clubs. It's a chicken and egg situation. Amend the content to try and attract new members or attract new members to contribute articles that feflect their interests in the wide world of film and video making.

I have no quick answers but I will post another more positive thread regarding the ways we can try and encourage more peope to join the IAC and local clubs.

[ned c]

Apologies, interupted in mid mail.

My point is there are now a number of film making worlds and they do not necessarily intersect. Clubs are part film making part social organisations representing an aging group, AVERAGE age I guess in the hi 50s low 60s. They will not appeal to a film maker in the late teens early twenties with professional dreams making films their elders will shudder at (wobblycam, oof, loud music, rap, etc). So, accept the reality that anyone under the age of 40 in a traditional video club is almost certainly out of place.

What does this mean? Stop pursuing the young film makers they have a completely different ethic, recognise that the market for video clubs is for the over 60s. This is a huge market that often has the resources to pay for the hobby. Clubs should appeal to them and stop imagining that anyone under the age of 40 will last more than one meeting. (Of course there are club members under 40, I can count them on my fingers.)

The IAC has a different role than clubs, it should be a clearing house for non-commercial film makers of all ages, distributing their productions, running a renamed Festival (get amateur out of it) introduce a student section to the Festival and accept that film students make different films and have to be judged by a group that understands that world.

Give sections of the magazine to people outside the traditional "amateur" world who have ideas, do not define then as "young film makers or the youth section" this is an insult, they are film makers and the IAC is a potential source of communication for them in a shrinking world of print magazines.

The IAC management needs to restate its mission and aim at individual membership outside the traditional demographic. Or be prepared for a fade to black.

ned c