This years’ convention saw quite a bit of activity for the Video Section. Besides the usual annual meeting on Tuesday, we also had an In-Cave video workshop, and then a demonstration and discussion on nonlinear editing using a Draco Casablanca digital editor.

Conventions are always a good event for signing up new members. This year we managed to recruit 3 or 4 new members. Of course, the whole reason for getting new members is to increase the likelihood of getting articles for the Cavideo newsletter!

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1998 Video Section TREASURER'S REPORT

Video Section
‘98 Annual Meeting Minutes

The business portion of the 1998 NSS Video Section Annual meeting was short and sweet. Paul Stevens presided as Vice Chair since Fred Baumann could not make it to the Convention this year. All officers were reelected unanimously and with no objections from the officers. So, for another year, Fred Baumann is Chairman, Paul Stevens is Vice Chair, Dave Socky is Secretary/Treasurer and editor.

Jim McConkey gave a very good talk on lighting techniques and considerations in cave video. The next issue of the Cavideo will include portions of Jim’s talk.

There was some discussion on non linear video editing using the Miro 30+, the Digital Perception System, and the Casablanca editor. We also previewed videos by Dave Socky and Paul Stevens.

The first thing you need to do for your cave video is to decide on a story line, plot, or even just deciding what message you want to get across to your audience. For instance, is your program going to be a documentary on the discovery and exploration of a cave? Maybe a program on the trials and tribulations of the latest push trips appeal to you. Do you want to tell a story on how difficult and challenging it is to explore the cave? Or is the emphasis to be on conservation and safety? Another idea would be to produce a training video (the program Call for Help by Paul Stevens comes to mind). What are the technical difficulties? Is cave diving or vertical work involved? Does the story include scenes of passages that are very difficult to get to? I could go on and on, but you get idea. It is at this stage that you want to decide on how long the video will be. Once this information is decided on, we can go to the next step.

Once you have decided on the theme or story line, then you need to list the major portions of the video. If it is the history of exploration, you may want to break it down by the major push trips that have occurred. You can include shots of the passage that was discovered on each trip along with shots of the map as the length of the cave grew. If you want to do some caver interviews, then you can include who is to be interviewed and on what topic in the development of the major video segments.

Once you have broken the show down into major segments, you can break each segment down into descriptions of each individual shot (or just a description of the types of shots you would like for each segment).

Having done all of the above, you can now plan each shoot, determine how many cavers it will take and what equipment you'll need. You can also make a stab on how many trips it will take to get all the footage you need. Remember, the above plan is only preliminary. It is an iterative process, which means that as you do a sequence of scenes, you may need to alter the plan based on the footage you were able to get. Once modified, you can schedule more shots.

When you are actually filming the scenes, you will find that directing can be quite a challenge. One aspect of directing involves any dialogue that may need to occur between cavers. If you plan on having dialogue, then you need to make sure your cavers know how to 'act' (as in actors) and are not camera shy. Whether the dialogue is to be impromptu or fixed by the story line, the cavers need to appear natural. Stilted, or obviously memorized dialogue can ruin an otherwise good video. If it is not possible to find cavers who can speak naturally, then it is best not to include dialogue.

If you plan to do a set of scenes that are supposed to occur on the same trip, but are actually shot on separate days, then you need to make sure you use the same cavers and that they are wearing the same clothes. Make sure that the order of showing multiple cavers is the same. This is called continuity. An example of this can be demonstrated by one of my videos: "Beyond the Lost Waterfall". The program was about a group of cavers who discovered and explored a lot of cave passage all on one day. However, it took several years to get all the scenes I wanted, which resulted in Randy Michael growing a full beard while on a one day trip! This demonstrates a lack of continuity.

The longer the video, the more cavers you will need. In order to be productive, it would be best is you can delegate responsibility. One caver to handle the lights, another to assure continuity, another to do music and titling, etc. If you can, it is always helpful to have more than one camera shooting each scene. That way you can cut between two or more angles of selected scenes without having to get the actors to perform the same moves twice.

Another item to consider when planning a video is how you are going to edit the video? Do you have access to editing equipment that can perform transitions more sophisticated than straight cuts? Do you have a video mixer where you can fade from one scene to the next? Maybe a nonlinear computer based system will be used. Knowing what your editing capabilities are can have an impact on what kinds of scenes you will need to shoot.

Again, don’t hesitate about reading books and magazines on scripting, producing, and/or directing a video. These sources can supply a lot more info than I have included in this short article.

But the Salons should do more. A competition of this sort encourages videographers to improve and refine their work. The entrants, of course, want feedback on how they can improve their productions, but we have had only marginal success in providing this.

Our methods of judging and critiquing videos until 1995 amounted to a peer review. I chose to select judges and review entries during a minor caving event, where I had a large pool of potential judges from which to select. I attempted to balance the judging by selecting one judge with a video background, one with artistic ability (slide photographer or artist), and one general purpose caver. I tried to summarize the judges comments, and entries were critiqued by the Video Section during its meetings, but these efforts fell short of providing the feedback producers desired.

Many entrants said that both a win and constructive feedback would be more meaningful if judged by a panel of professionals in video production. The truth of that logic is inescapable, and we therefore instituted professional judging and written critiques in 1995. It was clearly successful, and has been adopted as standard operating procedure. For the benefit of a broader audience of potential entrants, the Video Section publication, Cavideo, has asked to publish the judges’ critiques (with the entrants' permission).

The judging is done by mail; copies of all entries are sent to each judge on VHS cassette. After reviewing the tape and discussing the merits of each entry among themselves, the judges render a decision on which productions will be recognized as an Honorable Mention (Green Ribbon) or a Merit Award (Blue Ribbon) in each of two divisions, Amateur and Professional. Then, from among all entries, a Medal Award and/or Best of Show is selected. (More on these awards separately.)

Based on the judges' decisions, the Video Committee prepares a montage of the entries to be shown at the NSS Salons during the annual convention. Typically, a 3- to 5-minute segment of each entry is shown, along with the Best of Show in its entirety (time permitting), with awards announced simultaneously. The following day, all entries are screened in their entirety for all who wish to view them. The productions are then placed in the AV Library, available for checkout by the membership.