Interestingly Florian’s wish list includes a Deva with at least 2 more tracks. I second that!

Malcolm Johnson, the retired head of BBC Television OB’s, gave a resume of his life at the Beeb warts and all! Very amusing anecdotes with much laughter. Following on from Florian’s experiences with surround sound recording, Tim White, of IMAX Recording fame, related some of his nightmares starting with, as he described it, a 1960 Diesel Peugeot starting in the morning and never warming up, and that’s the IMAX camera!!! In his early days he strapped two HHB DAT machines together, added radio microphones, a Soundfield microphone, and jumped into a helicopter - that was his portable rig! On Tim’s next IMAX feature, Deva comes into play. Like Florian, Tim has a wish list which contains a 6 track Deva. One factor that he has to contend with is the fact that the camera IS king, no question. So it’s a tribute to Tim that so much original dialogue was used on his last feature, some 40%.

Last up was Mark Ulano whose career spans a couple of decades, and is interspersed with such notables as Stuart Little, Jackie Brown, Austin Powers and of course Titanic for which he won an Oscar. The most reassuring thing is that no matter what you are working on, the problems are the same the world over! On Titanic for instance, Mark wasn’t the first choice, his call came when the Mexican sound crew walked off the set! He had no idea what Titanic was going to be about, and arrived when they were shooting a playback scene and the playback operator was not having a GOOD day. He recalls that he got up to go to the aid of the playback operator and arrived seconds before Jim Cameron, who quickly appraised what Mark was about, turned on his heals and went back to the comfort of his director’s chair. As Mark says he must have done something right! The shoot went on for another nine months with some takes involving the submerging of the set and a reset taking six hours. Now you don’t call “Ready when you are Mr DeMille” after that shot! Radio microphones featured heavily in Mark’s line up for Titanic ,especially for the booms. The sheer size of the set and the danger of cables made this choice inevitable. Bearing in mind what was said earlier about frequencies, shoots like Titanic would be in jeopardy. Mark’s concerns were all too obvious. I remarked at the start that it’s a mad world we live in. This forum poured a little sanity on that. When there are people in our industry who devote so much time, effort and resources finding solutions to the varied problems that are manifestly conquerable but are of our own making, it’s a pure delight to be associated with a company that has spent time and effort conquering a natural phenomena - WIND! Well done Vivienne and Robin for a very enjoyable and worthwhile weekend. There may not be another for quite a time. I hope the wait will not be too long. 

IAN RICHARDSON

NOISEGATE - An Immersive Re-Synthesis Of Audio And Video.

Members, especially those in the north, may get some fun out of a visit to this exhibition at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford between 28 July and 10 September. Designed by Kurt Hentschlager and Ulf Langheinrich, who specialise in aural and visual environments using a technique of ‘synthetic granulation’ (signal processing), the exhibition creates audio-visual environments that bombard spectators with sounds and images. Drawn through a darkened corridor towards mysterious sounds and flickering lights, visitors to Noisegate are immersed in a multimedia environment. Six immense video projections, each a storey high, are suspended in a dark, cavernous space and the gallery filled with a bombardment of discordantly rhythmic, gut-wrenching sounds of pure intensity. Let spectators be warned! For further information, please contact Emma Burrows at the NMPFT on 01274 203317, 

or Email eburrows@nmsi.ac.uk.

THE BRADFORD COMPLEX

While on the subject of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, AMPS’ members, especially those in the north, should know that it’s not just a centre for exhibits and exhibitions. Regular programmes of films old and new are run throughout the year in the Pictureville and Cubby Broccoli Cinemas. There is the IMAX Cinema where all the latest IMAX films are screened, and there are regular performances of the restored original three- projector Cinerama production with stereo sound, This is Cinerama. For sustenance and refreshment there’s the Intermission Cafe/Restaurant, open from Tuesdays to Sundays, 10.00 - 5.30, quality cuisine at affordable prices; also the Pictureville Cafe/Bar, open daily, 5-9 pm, informal surroundings to enjoy pre-show drinks, meet friends or just relax. Interested? Then if you live in West Yorkshire you can receive their monthly programme brochure free. Call them on 01274 203317. If you live elsewhere, the brochure will cost £3.50. Look them up on www.nmpft.org.uk.