Please send us all your latest News and Results
For information on how to send News Items see the Contacts Page
Sir George Pollock's Accident
We are sure that those of you who know him will join us in wishing
Sir George a full & speedy recovery after his car accident on Saturday 26th September.
Rescue services had to use air bags to raise the trailer that he went under so his car could be dragged out
and the roof removed in order to extract him. The Car is total write-off.
He was taken to the Forester Brown Ward, Royal United Hospital in Bath.
Reported comment by a paramedic was that he was, ‘A very lucky boy’.
He has broken his leg in two places and his wrist, but is already keen to know how long he will be before he is fit again,
so is fighting back already. He sounded strong and says he is alive and kicking albeit kicking with one leg.
He sends thanks and regards to all who have enquired about him.
Update 20th October by Maureen Albright -
We visited Sir George in Bath United Hospital last week. He sends his best wishes and Thanks
for all the cards and messages he has received, including some from Australia.
He was in good spirits considering all his injuries.
We saw photographs of the car and it was unbelievable anyone would have survived.
Thankfully Sir George is looking well.
Update 26th October - Sir George has now been moved to St Martin’s Hospital on Midford Road, Bath.
This had been mooted earlier and he wasn’t very keen as it would put him with all those old people!!
Sir George is in good spirits apart from the regret that he had just spent about £500 on servicing, MoT
and a new set of tyres!
Click for larger image © Maureen Albright
Top of Page »»
Pictures-to-Exe Version 6.0 Released
November 2nd 2009
WnSoft has announced the release of PicturesToExe Deluxe 6.0, the photo slideshow software for PC providing a smart solution to combine photos and music into an admirable movie. Version 6.0 of the Deluxe edition brings new enhancements to the program, including 3D effects and the capability to create executables for Mac.
What’s New in PicturesToExe Deluxe 6.0
The new version of PicturesToExe Deluxe delivers a number of new features and improvements
to enable the creation of even more elaborate slideshows and ensure smooth user experience.
To give the slideshows even more impressive look, a user now can utilize the extensive capabilities of 3D graphics,
offered by the program. What’s more, various unique fonts can be used to give the slideshow a truly personal touch.
Those who have already appreciated the convenience of using more than one monitor will be delighted to discover that
PicturesToExe supports multi-monitor configuration. Now if you click Preview button, the program will ask you to select
the monitor for the full-screen preview of your slideshow.
What’s more, the new version fully supports Windows 7.
Key Features
- 3D Effects for Images and Text
- Output for Mac
- Multidisplay Support
- New Customizable Startup and Help windows
- Border for Images and adjustable Canvas Size
- Editor of Masks for Special Effects
See the PTE website What’s new in version 6.0
for a full and detailed list of changes
Top of Page »»
Irish Photographic Federation
27th National Audio Visual Championships
Hosted by The East Leinster AV Group
Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October 2009
Judge Ian Bateman MPAGB
The top Awards went to:-
| National Awards | ||
| Gold Medal | Dreamtime Connections | Brendan O'Sullivan |
| Best Photography | Hello Judy | Pat Heavin |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Best First Time Entrant | ||
| Marble Halls | Bridie Maughan | |
| International Awards | ||
| Gold Medal | And Never Cackled | Richard Brown |
| Silver Medal | Arthur's Secret | Sheila Davies |
| Bronze Medal | Connecting | Alan Boothman |
Top of Page »» Full Results (PDF)»»
16th National Audio Visual Championships
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th September 2009
Held at The Premier Inn, Braunstone Lane East, Leicester LE3 2FW
The Jury for this event were:-
- Keith Scott Chairman of the Jury
- John Rowell
- Howard Gregory
The top Awards went to:-
| Gold Medal | The Legacy | Robert Albright |
| Silver Medal | Isadora's Legacy | Eddie Spence |
| Bronze Medal | The Quiet One | Keith Brown |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Best First Time Entrant | ||
| Tough Guy | Howard Bagshaw | |
Top of Page »» See Full Results & Pictures »»
Competition Results 2009
There were several Competitions both locally & Internationally in the Spring of 2009. Results are listed below.
See the Magazine for detailed reports
- Western Counties Photographic Federation - WCPF
24th January 2009 - Results - Midland Counties Photographic Federation - MidPhot
31st January 2009 - Results - Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union - L&CPU
21st February 2009 - Results and Entries - Northern Ireland Photographic Association
21st February 2009 - Results - East Anglian
21st March 2009 - Results - First MFFC Audio Visual Salon - South Africa
Results
Top of Page »»
IAC Geoffrey Round AV Competition 2009
Was held on Saturday & Sunday 4th & 5th April 2009 at Lowton High School, Newton Road, Lowton, Warrington, Lancashire WA3 1DU
Organised by the West Lancs AV Group
This Year's Jury were :-
- Colin Balls FRPS APAGB (UK)
- Jean-Paul Petit (France)
- Valrie Ellis FACI (UK)
The top Awards went to:-
| Gold Medal | Isadora’s Legacy | Eddie Spence | UK |
| Silver Medal | The Final Cut | Ian Bateman | UK |
| Bronze Medal | Cousin Jack | Martin Fry | UK |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Best First Time Entrant | |||
| Mountain Man | David Pickford | UK | |
The next IAC Competition will be held on 20th & 21st March 2010
at The Capel Curig Community Centre, Capel Curig (on the A5),
Nr Betws-y-Coed, LL24 0EE North Wales
More details will be on the Calendar when available
Top of Page »» See Full results & Pictures »»
Adelaide AVFest 2009
The Ninth Adelaide International Audio Visual (Diaporama) Festival
conducted by The South Australian Photographic Federation Inc.
was held on 20, 21 and 22 March, 2009
The International Jury for this event were:-
- Richard Venus BTech, BA Chairman of the Jury
- Ian Bateman DPAGB FRPS
- Graham Hawkins SSAPS
Click for larger image © Adelaide AV Fest 2009
The top Awards went to:-
| 1st Place | Warriors of the Wild | Tamás & Anikó Imre | Hungary |
| 2nd Place | The Colour Thief | Jill K. Bunting | UK |
| 3rd Place | Arthur's Secret | Sheila Davies | UK |
Top of Page »» Full Results (PDF) »» List of Entries (PDF) »»
PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit in AV 2009
The PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit in AV - CPAGB, DPAGB & MPAGB
were held on Saturday 7th March 2009 at Greenhill Methodist Chapel, School Lane, Greenhill, Sheffield S8 7RL
Hosted by Sheffield Photographic Society Audio Visual Group
There were 10 applications of which 5 were successful
The Panel Richard Brown, Malcolm Imhoff and Keith Suddaby awarded :-
CPAGB to
- Kate Brown
DPAGB to
- Jim McCormick
- Sheila Davies
- Keith Biggs
- David Pickford
The Awards were presented by Margaret Collis President of the PAGB
Click for larger image © Editors
Congratulations to the successful applicants
As this event was over subscribed it is hoped to hold another adjudication next year, so get your application in early
Remember PAGB Awards are held for Life with no additional cost
For more details on PAGB Awards see the
PAGB Website
or contact your local Federation representative
Top of Page »» Results & Report (PDF) »»
The 321 International Festival 2009
The UK Event was held at Aldbourne, Wiltshire
on 15th February 2009
The Judges were Richard Brown, Linda Gibbs and Eddie Spence
The Winner of the UK Event was Martin Fry with Peace Descends
Click for larger image © Maureen Albright
See UK Results (PDF);
Final Overall Results (PDF)
& UK 321 website for more information
The idea of this challenge is to hold a Festival with several juries,
within the geographic locations of the organisers.
The Event will be held in 13 Countries, so each club or group will ensure that qualified judges
select the winners for their location.
Beyond a simple prize list, the main aim of our Festival is to exchange,
judge and to publicise digital Audio Visual sequences beyond the geographic area of your club.
The Challenge Diaporama 321 is organized by the workshop of André Parmantier, audiovisual section of GAPHE. The final prize list is obtained by adding together the points from each group. The Grand Prix of the competition rewards the sequence having amassed the most points in the whole circuit. See French 321 website
Top of Page »»
Pictures-to-Exe Version 5.6 Released
January 22nd 2009
WnSoft has announced PicturesToExe Deluxe 5.6
Shows can be created as executables and screensaver (.SCR) files, HD video, DVD video disc or IPhone video.
Powerful yet flexible and easy-to-use, the program enables quick export of slide shows to Youtube and Vimeo.
PicturesToExe Deluxe 5.6 runs under Windows 2000/XP/Vista and requires 256 MB RAM and DirectX 9 or higher.
The Deluxe edition is available at $75 USDollars.
All registered users are entitled to free upgrades of the program and two years of free upgrades for VideoBuilder
(program to burn DVD-Video discs).
Key features of Pictures-to-Exe Deluxe 5.6
- Added export of slideshow as a video: (See Main menu -> Create)
- Export of HD video for playback on PC, Mac
- Export of video for iPhone/iPod
- Publish online on Youtube
- Publish online on Vimeo with HD quality - Music now plays in Objects and Animations Window
- Added Mask Objects for creating special effects
- Added "Anti-shimmering (mipmapping)" option for Image and Text
- New 3D transition effects between slides:
- Improved view of keypoints on the timeline in the main window
See the PTE website What’s new in version 5.6
for a full and detailed list of changes
Top of Page »»
The 2008 Supercircuit
Was held at 5 Venues - Hayange (France); Mar De Plata (Argentina);
Epinal (France); Garda (Italy) & La Chaux De Fonds (Switzerland)
The overall top 3 Awards all went to France:-
| 1st Place | Route 66 | Le Gall Corentin |
| 2nd Place | Rêve de môme | Bas Emmanuel |
| 3rd Place | L'école du désert | Pizolatto Jean Charles |
See the Supercircuit Website for more details of each Festival
Top of Page »» See Overall Final Results (PDF)»»
The 14th Great Northern Festival
Was held at Wilmslow Guild Adult Education Centre
5th to 7th December 2008
The Jury for this event were:-
- Colin Balls (UK) Chairman of the Jury
- Bryan Stubbs (UK)
- Erhard Hobrecker (Switzerland)
The top Awards went to:-
| Gold Medal | Isadora's Legacy | Eddie Spence |
| Silver Medal | The Quiet One | Keith Brown |
| Bronze Medal | The Final Cut | Ian Bateman |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Restricted Category Award | ||
| The Kissing Gate | Maggie Imhoff | |
Top of Page »» See Full Results & Pictures »»
AV News Sequence
This short (2 minute) sequence is available for you to download.
There is a zipped executable file (11 mb) suitable for running on a Windows based PC and made at 1024 x 768 resolution.
Please note that it will need a fast graphics card to run smoothly
as it uses the animation features available in PicturesToExe 5.5
There is also a lower quality MP4 file 320 x 240 resolution for viewing online.
Please note you will need software that can run MPEG4 files such as Quicktime or VLC Media Player on your PC.
It uses ideas from 3 award winning sequences :-
- The Gathering by Ian Bateman
- The Messiah by John Smith
- The Colour Thief by Jill K. Bunting
Please show it at your clubs and events to promote AV News Magazine and the Website. avnews.zip (11 mb) avnews.mp4 (5.5 mb)
Click for larger image
Top of Page »»
The 18th RPS International Audio-Visual Festival
Was held at The Royal Agricultural College Cirencester
19th to 21st September 2008
The International Jury for this event were:-
- Ian Bateman (UK) Chairman of the Jury
- Gordon Gray (Northern Ireland)
- Christian Brion (France)
- Matthias Pfister (Germany)
The top Awards went to:-
| Gold Medal | The Forest of Tane Mahuta | Erhard Hobrecker | Swi |
| Silver Medal | This is a Town | Colin Balls | UK |
| Bronze Medal | Isadora’s Legacy | Eddie Spence | UK |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Best First Time Entrant | |||
| The Red Shoes | David & Carol Gillow | UK | |
Top of Page »» See Full Results & Pictures »»
RPS IRIS-25 Event
Held at the the Memorial Hall, Aldbourne on June 21st & 22nd 2008
The IRIS-25 Competition was judged on Saturday 21st
The top Awards went to:-
| Overall Winner, George & Doreen Pollock Medal | |||
| & First Place aged Under 16 | |||
| Une Chambre Extraordinaire An Extraordinary Bedroom |
Camille Simon | France | |
| Aged 16 to 24 First Place | |||
| Waiting For Tomorrow | Laura Bateman | UK | |
| Aged Under 16 Second Place | |||
| Here Come the Girls | Christopher Ware | UK | |
| Highly Commended | |||
| Wharfdale Fliers 2 | Sam Hilton | UK | |
| Graffiti – Do You Love It or Hate It? | Jake Pursey | UK | |
| Duvet - a life Backwards | Hannah Greenstreet | UK | |
| Kelvedon Rock Festival | Jake Pursey | UK | |
| Schools/Colleges prize | Wycombe Abbey | UK | |
On Sunday 22nd the four judges all gave lectures about different aspects of Audio Visual production to enable others to learn more about the art of AV
Top of Page »» More details & Pictures »»
Pictures-to-Exe Version 5.5 Released
June 10, 2008
WnSoft has announced a new version of Pictures-to-Exe - Deluxe 5.5
The powerful slide show software for all Windows operating systems
including Vista
Key features of Pictures-to-Exe Deluxe 5.5
- Pan/Zoom effects in real-time with highest quality
- Sharp picture and smooth animation
- Timeline is integrated to the main window now
- Slide list displays pictures of real slides
- Preview displays real slide at top-right part of the main window
- Added mini-player to the main window
- You can quickly play your slideshow in this small preview window
- Added Grid (Ctrl+G) to "Objects and animation" editor
- Improved reliability of VideoBuilder
See the PTE website What’s new in version 5.5
for a full and detailed list of changes
Top of Page »» Read Full Press Release (PDF) »»
RPS/IAC Geoffrey Round Competition 2008
Was held at the National Media Museum Bradford on April 5th & 6th 2008
The top Awards went to:-
| Gold Medal | One Day One Life | Pier Louigi Montali | Italy |
| Silver Medal | The Colour Thief | Jill K Bunting | UK |
| Bronze Medal | Talbot House | Linda & Edgar Gibbs | UK |
| George & Doreen Pollock Medal - Best First Time Entrant | |||
| Endurance | Lee Broderick | UK | |
Top of Page »» See Full results & Pictures »»
BIAFF 2008
The Festival of Winners from the 2008
IAC International Film & Video Competition
was held at the Cairn Hotel in Harrogate
on the 17th to 20th April 2008
The Winners from the Geoffrey Round AV Competition
were shown to a small but appreciative audience.
The Audience were asked to vote for the Sequences they thought best.
The votes from Bradford and Harrogate placed the top three medal winners all joint equal. So for once the Judges got it Right!!
