The Photographic Society of South Africa (Incorporated Association Not for Gain) Reg. No. 54/01845/08

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1 Die Fotografiese Vereniging van Suid-Afrika (Ingelyfde Vereniging Sonder Winsgrense) Reg. No. 54/01845/08 The Photographic Society of South Africa (Incorporated Association Not for Gain) Reg. No. 54/01845/08 Posbus 5060, Walmer, 6065 P O Box 5060, Walmer, 6065 e-pos: bwilkins@telkomsa.net bwilkins@telkomsa.net Fax Tel: (041) HONOURS & AWARDS DIVISION HONOURS MANUAL AUDIO VISUAL SEPTEMBER 2011

2 PREFACE The Photographic Society of South Africa makes provision for various types of Honours and Awards. This manual contains important information relating specifically to the application for Honours in recognition of photographic mastery in audio visual (AV). 10 September 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 HONOURS OVERVIEW TYPES OF HONOURS GENERAL INFORMATION DEFINITION OF AUDIO VISUAL REQUIRED STANDARD JUDGES AND JUDGING CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION APPLICATION FOR HONOURS CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION REGISTRATION NUMBER AND ENTRY FORM REGISTRATION FEES ADDRESS TO WHICH SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT IMAGE SIZE SPECIFICATIONS AND NAMING NUMBER OF AVS AND RUNNING TIMES SCORING SYSTEM CREDIT SYSTEM GENERAL RULES ADVICE TO APPLICANTS SUBJECT MATTER SALON ACCEPTANCES SOME DO s AND DON T s THE JUDGING SHEET Page 2 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

3 1 HONOURS OVERVIEW 1.1 TYPES OF HONOURS There are various awards in recognition of photographic skill and achievement. These awards are made to successful applicants in recognition of photographic mastery, skill and achievement. Only full members of PSSA may apply for Honours and the use of honours is only permissible while the individual remains a full member of PSSA in good standing. A person may join PSSA at the same time as he/she first submits an application for honours. Members submitting applications at the June session must ensure that their fees are paid up for the following year prior to submitting their entry. The following types of Honours may be applied for: Licentiateship: The LPSSA is the entry level Honours and is awarded for a high level of basic skill and competence. Based on the PSSA club judging summary the LPSSA standard is that of a Gold Award in the 3 Star club grading in a relatively strong club. Associateship: The APSSA is awarded for a high standard of technical skill, competence and creative ability. This award recognizes a high standard of achievement in the art and science of the medium and is awarded in recognition of work of a good aesthetic and technical standard. The applicant must already hold a LPSSA in Audio Visual. Fellowship: The FPSSA is awarded for excellence and distinguished ability. The Fellowship recognizes a high standard of achievement in the art and science of the medium and is awarded for excellence. The applicant must already hold an APSSA in Audio Visual. 1.2 GENERAL INFORMATION Submission of AVs for honours implies acceptance of the conditions of application as published in this manual. Please ensure that you have a current application form confirm this with the Honours and Awards Division. When listing honours after ones name one only lists a specific honour once and only the highest honour achieved. In the case of honorary awards for service etc both these and the achievement award would be listed e.g. Hon FPSSA, FPSSA. PSSA reserves the right to withhold or disqualify any Audio Visual, which is considered to infringe the common laws relating to indecency, plagiarism or copyright. By virtue of signing the application form the applicant certifies that the images and all elements included therein are his/her own and that no second party can claim authorship of any part of the said work. Page 3 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

4 PSSA, through its Directors, Executive Committee and Honours and Awards Committee may withdraw any class of membership and award from any individual should the Board feel that the activities and actions of the individual has brought the organisation into disrepute in any way whatsoever by his/her actions. A selection from the successful AVs will be shown during the Annual Congress. Wherever possible, all certificates will be presented to successful candidates at the PSSA Congress Honours and Awards Banquet. Such certificates remain the property of the Society and must be surrendered if the individual ceases to be a full member of the Society. 1.3 DEFINITION OF AUDIO VISUAL An Audio Visual is a compilation of still images and may include a limited number of video clips with an integrated theme or storyline where sound, transitions and images are interdependent. An effective AV will therefore have unity of its three parts the conception, the visuals and the sound. All this together makes up the presentation. Applicants are encouraged to explore the photographic medium and to use it to communicate their own personal vision incorporating feeling, senses and imagination to the viewer. The technical ability to combine the images with music in a pleasing manner will add to the overall success of the Audio Visual. The photography is not restricted in any way, neither in subject matter or manipulation, during the taking or reproduction stages of the production. 1.4 REQUIRED STANDARD The standard required is above average, stimulating and exciting - this does not automatically disqualify mundane subjects but a good AV should leave the judge feeling satisfied and not bored. The standard required for all Honours is above average good technique and interesting subject matter. As one progresses from LPSSA through to FPSSA the standard of work should improve - each level does not require merely an increased number of AVs, but also an increased understanding and appreciation of the art and science of the medium. Consistency in standard is a prerequisite at all levels. The Licentiateship (LPSSA) is the entry level Honours and is awarded for a high level of basic audio visual skill and competence. Based on the PSSA club judging summary the LPSSA standard is that of a Gold Award in the 3 Star club grading in a relatively strong club. A 1 Diamond rating may be considered as a good starting point but is not a prerequisite. The APSSA is awarded for a high standard of technical skill, competence and creative ability. This award recognizes a high standard of achievement in the art and science of the medium and is Page 4 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

5 awarded in recognition of work of a good aesthetic and technical standard. The applicant must already hold a LPSSA in the same medium. The FPSSA is awarded for excellence and distinguished ability. The Fellowship recognizes a high standard of achievement in the art and science of the medium and is awarded for excellence. The applicant must already hold an APSSA in the same medium. By the time an applicant reaches the FPSSA level he/she should have developed his/her own personal style which is an important aspect of the FPSSA. Some applicants are applying for Honours before they are ready. Unless you made an earlier honour on your first application do not go straight into applying for a higher Honour. Remember that it is not just the number of AVs that increase but also the standard required. Once you have an APSSA make sure that you work has reached a higher level before applying for a FPSSA. Not withstanding all the above, do not be despondent, your honours are worth working for and once you succeed you will realise that it was worth the effort. 1.5 JUDGES AND JUDGING A panel of judges from around the country is invited to assess the entries. Members who have achieved Honours may be invited to judge future Honours applications. It is acceptable for all honours holders to judge higher applications. It is a privilege to be invited to judge and although the holding of a PSSA Honour does indicate a competent photographer it does not necessarily translate to being a good judge. Members should improve their judging skills by judging at club and salon level. Specialist judges will be invited to judge where necessary. These specialists need not be members of PSSA Judging of Honours applications generally takes place twice a year. Photography is a subjective art and as such no hard and fast rules can be set down for grading. Assessing photography is an extremely subjective exercise and as such can provoke controversy. This is healthy, in that discussion usually follows and hopefully more knowledge can be imparted. Judges should strive to ensure that they are judging competently and fairly whatever the occasion. All of us have special likes and dislikes but a good judge does not let these influence his judging. There are also regional biases and judges should immerse themselves in as much photography as possible to prevent regional bias from becoming a dominating factor in the judging of honours applications. Page 5 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

6 AVs are judged according to four criteria: Communication, Visuals, Audio and Audio Visual techniques. 1.6 CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION The Honours and Awards Division of PSSA administers all applications for awards. The decision of the Board of Directors on all matters is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Candidates will be informed, in writing, of the results of their application. Telephonic results will only be given to the applicant his/herself. 2 APPLICATION FOR HONOURS 2.1 CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION The registration date for entries is the 25 th of January and 25 th June of every year. 2.2 REGISTRATION NUMBER AND ENTRY FORM Applicants should contact the Chairman of the Honours and Awards Division for the necessary registration number. The contact details are: The Chairman, Honours & Awards Division, PO Box 5060, WALMER 6065, Port Elizabeth Home telephone: Work telephone: Work fax: bwilkins@telkomsa.net Registration numbers will be valid for two years (four submissions if required) from the time of the initial application - the registration number is specific to the year, session, medium and level of application e.g AV-L = = 2nd session AV = medium L = LPSSA 01 = applicant number 1 The registration number must not be altered in any way for any subsequent applications. The application form may be downloaded from the PSSA website. Page 6 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

7 2.3 REGISTRATION FEES The amount payable as registration fee is indicated on the application form for each of the different types of Honours. All the application forms are downloadable from PSSA s website. Fees are payable on first application only and no further fee is payable regardless of the number of attempts in that medium/category at the applicable level during the two year period. Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to: PSSA Honours Awards Committee Electronic deposits should be made to: PSSA Honours Awards Committee, ABSA Account number Entries will be judged in the order in which they are received for each judging session. 2.4 ADDRESS TO WHICH SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE SENT AV applications should be sent to the post office box listed above. All entries must be securely packed for posting and the applicant s name and address should appear on the outside of the parcel or wrapping. CDs will be destroyed after judging. 2.5 IMAGE SIZE SPECIFICATIONS AND NAMING Detail regarding the required sizing of images must be confirmed with the Honours and Awards Division prior to submitting an application in order to ensure the requisite projection equipment is available for judging. Each AV must be a self-running executable file. It should open when prompted and return to the desktop when completed. No menus or start boxes are allowed. All entries should be named using the registration number followed by a short AV title e.g AV-L-01-Rust.exe The naming of any entry as a credit must be exactly as in the above paragraph with the addition of the word -credit after the AV title. 2.6 NUMBER OF AVS AND RUNNING TIMES LPSSA Two AVs (maximum 10 minutes per AV) with a total combined running time of both AVs not exceeding 12 minutes must be submitted. Shorter AVs are recommended. Page 7 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

8 APSSA Three AVs (maximum 10 minutes per AV) with a total combined running time of all three AVs not exceeding 18 minutes. Shorter AVs are recommended. AVs from a successful LPSSA panel may not be submitted again. FPSSA Four AVs (maximum 10 minutes per AV) with a total combined running time of all four AVs not exceeding 24 minutes. Shorter AVs are recommended. AVs from a successful APSSA panel may not be submitted again. 2.7 SCORING SYSTEM As mentioned in point 1.5 AVs are judged according to four criteria: Communication, Visuals, Audio and Audio Visual Techniques - each being scored out of 100 with the total being divided by 4 to give a percentage as the end result. LPSSA - in order for a LPSSA sequence to be passed a total score of 55% is required. For a LPSSA application to be successful both AVs have to be passed by 66.6% of the judges. If the panel is not successful credits may be awarded as per point 2.8 below. APSSA - in order for an APSSA sequence to be passed a total score of 65% is required with no one section obtaining less than 55%. For an APSSA application to be successful all three AVs have to be passed by 66.6% of the judges. If the panel is not successful credits may be awarded as per point 2.8 below. FPSSA - in order for a FPSSA sequence the total score must be 70% with no one section obtaining less than 65%. All four AVs have to be passed by 66.6% of the judges in order for the panel to be successful If the panel is not successful credits may be awarded as per point 2.8 below. Page 8 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

9 2.8 CREDIT SYSTEM The Credit System will run for a period of two years from the date of an original application. Credits will be awarded to unsuccessful applicants, for either Licentiateship, Associateship or Fellowship for individual Audio Visuals, that were accepted as having been passed by 75% or more of the judges. Credits will be awarded at each of four successive judging sessions. These credits, which will be suitably identified, must be resubmitted with all applications made within two years of the date of the original application. Thereafter all the credits will become null and void. A credit may not be failed by a judge during the time of its validity. The credits help to make up the necessary requirements for a submission to be successful. There is no limit to the number of times one may apply, but credits are only valid for the first four applications. Expired credits may be re-submitted in subsequent applications. 2.9 GENERAL RULES Entries may not include any elements produced by anyone else but the applicant. All actions (including the use computer software) in reaching the final presentation must be done by the photographer with the exclusion of film processing, music and un-manipulated commercial scanning. The operation and use of all computer software, including but not restricted to Audio Visual presentations and image manipulation, must be done by the photographer and may not be done by any other person, whether under the photographers guidance or otherwise. Image manipulation is allowed, subject to divisional restrictions, but must be done by the photographer and not by anyone else whether under the photographers guidance or otherwise. AVs may contain the entrant s name and may acknowledge the composers of music and/or any other outside assistance e.g. narrator. All images contributing to the final AV must be the original work of the photographer. Even if free of copyright, clip art and other imagery derived from a commercial source are not acceptable. Exceptions being when material is required to make a point, e.g. historical images. While acceptable in this instance this material should only form a very minor part of the AUDIO VISUAL and should be acknowledged in the credits. Any AV considered pornographic or offensive may be disqualified. Entry may only be in digital. Audio Visual honours holders who previously obtained Audio Visual honours using slides can progress further by submitting applications in the digital format. Page 9 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

10 3 ADVICE TO APPLICANTS 3.1 SUBJECT MATTER Any subject matter is acceptable and originality is welcomed. Something different will attract his attention far more successfully than another similar AV. If a number of similar AVs are submitted the judges cannot help but compare one with the other and so the average AVs will be shown up as average and will not receive credits. Good AVs should stand out as good AVs. The judges can, at any time, ask to re-run a submission if they feel the need to re-assess it. A wider understanding and mastering of technique and treatment will be required as the applicant moves through the various levels. 3.2 SALON ACCEPTANCES Salon acceptances are only a prerequisite for the EPSSA. For all other awards they can be used as a guide as to whether or not the applicant is ready to apply. The level recommended is 2 Diamond Rating for LPSSA, 3 Diamond Ratings for APSSA and 4 Diamond Ratings for FPSSA. These are only guidelines and do not guarantee the success of the submission. 3.3 SOME DO s AND DON T s Applicants are advised to observe and adhere to the following do s and don ts in order that their applications may be successfully processed. Failure to adhere to the following requirements will lead to the disqualification of their applications. When your application is posted ensure that: Your name and number clearly appear on the outside of the packaging. It is advisable to send your entry via recorded post/courier and to confirm with the Chairman that it has been received. The onus is on you to seek confirmation that your application has been received. It is posted so that it reaches that Honours and Awards Division before the closing date. Ensure that you application contains: All the required forms Your AVs saved on a CD/DVD, correctly named Page 10 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

11 All the forms and the CD/DVD must be placed inside a clear A4 document filing sleeve (it must have holes for filing - the CD/DVD must not be in a case but in a CD envelope). The correctly and fully completed current application form must be on top, visible through the clear filing sleeve, followed by any other documentation required. Do not staple any pages together. Do not include any irrelevant sheets and do not make a special title page or title slide. 4 THE JUDGING SHEET Judging is of the Audio Visual as presented. Each of four sections is scored out of 100 and the total is divided to give a final percentage. 1. Communication - the strength of the audio visual medium lies in its ability to communicate with people, to register feelings, ideas, facts and opinions. Success is measured by how well the judge receives the intended message or has the intended reaction. 2. Visuals - the visuals are assessed in the context of an AV. To achieve an Honours credit for an AV the visuals do need to at least fulfil the basic technical criteria in terms of exposure, focus, post processing etc. Generally the audience was not present when the photographs were taken so they do not have the same feeling for the occasion. It is therefore up to the AV maker to share the experience by using the language of visual elements and design principles to convey information, emotions, thoughts, ideas, concepts or feelings. How well the AV maker achieves this will dictate the score awarded to the visuals. 3. Audio - audio is to be considered an integral part of the presentation and not just a mere accompaniment to the visuals. The relative ease of ripping a music cut does not make the technical quality of a recording any less important - the way it starts and ends, the volume etc. all need to be considered. A successful soundtrack, be it simple or complex, should communicate a feeling and an atmosphere and furthermore this mood should fit in with the images, pace and rhythm of the AV. 4. Audio Visual Techniques - AVs are stories, even though the subject may not be a fictional tale. There should be a progression, each image carrying the viewer a step forward. The means of moving from one image to the next i.e. the transitions used are Audio Visual techniques which dictate the rhythm and pace of the AV. Page 11 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV

12 The rhythm is determined by the length of time an image remains on the screen and the speed of the transition between images. The pace is the rate at which new information is provided to the audience. Page 12 of 12 Honours & Awards - AV