Hello everyone and welcome to the New Year.
Nineteen members attended and we were hosted by Ron, standing in for President Norman.  Ron welcomed everyone and mentioned that he had four badges to give out, but only one member was present to collect. A big welcome to Guy West. We hope he enjoys our club and is able to take part in our events.
Ron mentioned a few members who are not well just now and I’ll take this opportunity to send them our best wishes.
Norm Tillack was an absentee.  Can’t blame him for he was celebrating his 83rd birthday. Best wishes to Norm. No one else is fessing up to age.  The blokes are worse than the women.
With the second of his hats on Ron introduced his Secretary’s report.

• Next quarterly comp 6thMarch. Contact Ron if you need a copy of the rules. Entrants must adhere to the current version to avoid being withdrawn.
• Present rules are once again under discussion by committee.
• Meetup up is to be set up for the club.
• For security, two external hard drives are being used to archive Club movies.

Wearing his third hat Ron gave a synopsis of the Treasurers report. 

• We are financial and have 29 members.

Shortcuts were introduced by Gary H. The topic from the last meeting was ‘4’ (the number). 

• The Significance of Four by Elizabeth showed how the number figured in her life including birthdays, dogs, and cars.
• Gary H. showed another of his talents with how to pick a lock. There were four locks and a selection of lock picking tools. He got us all with eenie, meenie, minie, mo; to pick a lock.
• 4 Tunes by Gary D gave us samples of four tunes – as you might expect, but then he blended them into – not exactly a tuneful masterpiece, but it did fit the required profile.
• Philip took us on a short tour of Rydal Water in the English Lakes showing the area in each of the seasons. He then went on to show how Aboriginals have a different view of the time line of seasons compared with the European version.
• Ron illustrated how the number four can be represented in many ways.
• The Four Truths of Budda, by Robert, was a look at how to get the best out of life. For an in depth explanation I must refer you to Robert.
• The Vagaries and Tragedies of weather by June revisited some of the horrors of the Summer.
• Rain and Hail by Mike followed on with an example of a damaging hail storm, with resulting flash flooding.

All were well received and enjoyed. Great efforts.
In his inimitable style, Gary H. democratically told us what the next topic is.
FRUIT -Could be a rotten choice so watch out for tomatoes Gary.
The next section, on programs being used by members, contained so much information that my pen melted as I tried to keep up. So, with only brief notes, I will refer you to the presenters for more information.

• Richard spoke about some routines he uses to manage time and be more efficient. (Richard has already emailed members with more information)
• Helmut demonstrated Power Director by Cyberlink showing how a number of timelines can be combined using chroma keying.
• Philip expressed some disappointment at the way larger companies don’t advance their products once they have captured their part of the market. He has changed from Adobe to Lamina for stills and Corel for video work.
• Gary H. countered with his experience with Adobe products and how they interrelate. He particularly mentioned that knowing the product well he would not want to change. Other products he uses include Sound Snap. Story Block, Digital Juice, Dropbox. Also mentioned, as used by other members was DaVinci Resolve.
• Joe and Gary favourably compared Affinity and Gimp with Adobe. 

Lastly we had presentations from 

• Helmut and Barbara on a holiday at Lake Manyara in Tanzania.
• Ron on water sports at Eildon showing two versions; one from 2020 and the other from 1999. Same characters, but almost twenty years difference in time.
• Norman had sent a drama about reaction to the death of a dancing partner.
• Geoff ‘s movie about a Medieval Pageant recreation in Warragul featured some quite realistic jousting with one rider being unhorsed.

Ron concluded a busy night by thanking all members for participating, John and Helmut for operating the equipment and Robert for handling the supper.
It was a very busy night with which to start the year.
 
Cheers,
 
Jack

 Summary.
After Norm welcomed everyone, Ron brought us up to date with what the committee has been up to behind the scenes.
First of all, clearance has been obtained for the installation of our new projection system: it’s being installed on 23rdof November.
Our new promo is now on our website; check it out.
Have you ever thought of making a serial movie? Richard has.  Watch this space!
Would you believe members have had 150 ‘Shortcuts’ shown at the club?  For the upcoming Shortcut  night, Ron would like us to nominate what we consider our personal, three best shorts and let him know SAP by e-mail.  Nothing more is required, all copies are already in the club library.
Some members would like to have their movies critiqued. (We all know how difficult it is to judge our own work.)  If you are one of these people, bring along your movie and throw yourself on the mercy of our members.  (Only joking, they’re a decent lot and you can be sure all suggestions will be constructive.)
Finally, Ron asked if we’d checked out our shields on the back wall lately?
Changing hats, Ron notified us that the club now has 24 financial members.  A gentle reminder to those for whom the word ‘fees’ might have slipped their mind.
The given Shortcut topics wereSpringand Lights Out.  There were lots of flowers and even a springing JB clone. There were 5 movies on Springwhich suggested  non-random selected topics can work. The Shortcut Master (RH) selected next meeting’s topics which are, Love and Daytime.
Members also showed a number of movies even more varied than usual, some asking for feedback. Subjects ranged from the Australian Jazz Museum through hand weaving, My Suburb, the Albert Lake running club to lesbian love.  Whew!  Imagine that.
An interesting revelation which came out of the meeting is that competition judges are just like us, they are not godlike figures who know it all.  They may not make movies but they have their own likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses.  The person who revealed this secret should know, he has judged at film festivals all over the world – Peter Malone, who was our guest speaker.  Peter told us there are judges who strongly like/dislike certain topics/genres and who are too impatient to sit through a showing that is not to their liking and make an objective judgement at the end.
For Peter, how well crafted a movie is, is important, and that goes beyond the camera work and editing.  In fact, it goes right back to the original writing.  Does the story teller use subtlety rather than a sledge hammer to tell the story?  Did you know that you look at things differently from the opposite sex?  You aren’t right – or wrong, it’s just a reflection of who you are.  Human values are important when Peter is judging. Content is king.
Peter introduced us to a fascinating concept, our ‘Signature’ as a film maker. You know it is a great idea even though you feel have not quite understood. Apparently, this is something some judges want to identify! So, below are some very illuminating descriptions of the ‘signatures’ of some Film bigwigs. It makes you wonder.
Peter also opened our eyes and ears to another very interesting concept, the extrovert and introvert Director. The extrovert is all action. Bang, whoosh, blast OK – smack! Most of Hollywood, what is commonly called ‘action’ films. Then there are the more ‘masculine’ introverted movies, definitely European where someone like Ingmar Bergman reigns. 
 
A most entertaining and revealing presentation.  Thank you, Peter Malone.
 
 
President Norman provided the following explanation of Signatures:
Signatures of Some Directors (ref. roadshow.com.au)
 
QUENTIN TARANTINO

He’s the only Director whose name has spurned an adjective: Tarantinoesque.
Many have tried to copy his combustible mix of shot-gun dialogue and bloody violence, but none have come close to touching him. For all his flair and idiosyncratic directorial flourishes, with Tarantino it all comes down to the story. Revered as the ‘Shakespeare for modern cineastes’, he captures unimaginable images through the self-referential lens of his uber-nerd-cool vision. A single scene can go for 15 minutes - and you’ll be riveted for every second. Then the blood flows.
GUY RITCHIE

If Tarantino is the King of Dialogue, then Ritchie is the Heir Apparent. Where Tarantino’s dialogue is self-referential, loaded with sly references and apocalyptic in tone and meaning; Ritchie delivers the rapid-fire banter of lads on a big night out. Street-smart, smart-ass, tongue-in-cheek, Ritchie presents us with celluloid heroes who have seen it all, done it all and take it all with a cynical roll of the eye.

They bicker, banter, then punch the lights out of each other. And when it comes to action, Ritchie wields a camera like a sword - piercing it into the heart of the action. Whip pans, jump cuts, vary speeds, fast cut edits, chopping, mashing, meshing ... Ritchie uses a full arsenal of tricks in movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,Snatchand Sherlock Holmes. But it all comes to a crescendo with his killer reboot of the King Arthurlegend. In one masterful move, Ritchie has given this ages-old tale a totally fresh and ‘now’ perspective. May we coin the term Ritchiesque?
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

You want smart, then Nolan gives it up in droves. His stories are complex, complicated, layered and textured. You know there is a serious brain behind his productions, so precise they’re almost mathematical equations. But Nolan doesn’t just offer up puzzles, cryptic messages, mystique and interwoven narratives, he’s just as adept with his visualisation. His imagery can be visionary (Inception), revolutionary (The Dark Knight) symbolic (Dunkirk) or just a downright head spin (Memento).
 
 
 
MARTIN SCORSESE

The master of American cinema has been dealing in iconic moments for nearly 50 years. With Scorsese, you’re in assured hands; and you will experience a view through the lens that no-one else can deliver. 

Scorsese makes classic film-making seem modern, relevant and even ground-breaking. His use of slow-motion, freeze-frame, long tracking shots (the one in Goodfellasis often considered the finest in cinema history), silence and powerful music are standout hallmarks of most of his films. While the inclusion of Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t mandatory, it’s usually a given.
MICHAEL BAY

Want to blow everything to smithereens – Bay is your man. He’s the man behind the mayhem, the executioner of explosions and the baron of big budget blow ups- in movies like Armageddon, Pearl Harbour, Bad Boysand Transformers. It doesn’t herald at the beginning of his movies ‘A Michael Bay production’ for nothing. 

Some of his signature moves include fast camera movement, busy, loaded frames and coloured filters to highlight mood and tension. There’s even a style of shot nicknamed after him - The Bay Shot - where the camera circles around the protagonist as they rise up triumphantly.
SOFIA COPPOLA

Sofia is one of the most daring and talented Directors working today. Characters move dream-like through the world as Coppola’s camera follows from behind using either a hand held camera or dolly. There are frequent repeated shots, a love of natural lighting, languid camera movements, pastel colours, lush frames and sensuous imagery. These hallmarks can be seen in nearly all her movies, from The Virgin Suicidesto The Bling Ring, perhaps reaching its high-water mark with Marie Antoinette. 

With a keen interest in fashion, photography, architecture, design and music, Coppola’s films are visually striking and aesthetically sophisticated... but this never comes at the cost of the story. Coppola’s directing style forces us tofeeland not just watch her work.
BAZ LURHMANN 

When too much is never enough... call in Baz. Sumptuous, golden, gilded, glossy, dripping in luxury, sparkling with jewels, a Baz Lurhmann production assaults all your senses with an overload of exotica. 

Baz creates grand theatre and is a master of detail. Even in his earliest, low budget productions like Strictly Ballroom, Baz infused his screen with technicolour magic. Everything pops. Everything is larger than life. Everything is soaked in glamour. Even when he’s stripped back, like in certain scenes in Australiaor his Netflix TV series The Get Down, Baz can’t help his penchant for the hyper-real. A Baz movie glistens (Moulin Rouge) and throbs (Romeo + Juliet).

​16thAug Meeting.
Friday’s meeting was one out of the box – the variety was unbelievable.  But before we get into that, Secretary Ron brought us up to date with what’s been going on behind the scenes: committee planning, no reply yet from the council re our proposed new projection system and a reminder that our club membership fees are now due.
Is interest in “Shorts” waning?  There were only three entries, all on ‘The Moon Landing.’  The first one exposed an – until now - unreported problem experienced by NASA.  The cow lost its way and, instead of jumping over the moon it landed on the moon.  SPLAT! The other two reminded us what happened after – or was it before? – the cow disaster. An off the topic short took us on a visit to the SCRAP sculpture of recycled materials at Swanpool.
The main topic of the night was ‘My Other Hobby’.  Boy oh boy, what a range that covered.  You would never guess the things that interest our members.  Some even brought in an income!  From murder (not hands on) through family history, Lysterfield Lake sailing, snooker, meteorology, weight lifting, photography, life drawing (no one walked out or had trouble with their breathing) and finished up with exotic cooking complete with stove and fry pan!  Unfortunately the cooking ended up on the floor. (Where’s that camera when it’s most needed?)  Later, members were seen enjoying the exotic dish so, presumably, there was a second cook up.  As Bill Kerr used to say, “I don’t wanna worry yer - - -“
Richard Hallford introduced us to the DJI OSMO pocket. Very impressive alternative to the GOPRO 7. 
A very different and most enjoyable club night.
P.S. Shorts for next meeting are:Fallingand/or Speed
Note: Next Friday, 30 August, is the 5thFriday dinner. Next meeting 6th September is the 1stQuarterly Competition.

.
With some of our members back, in some cases from overseas, our President had more members to welcome and explain the night’s program.
By now, Joe and Ron had persuaded the sound gremlins to cooperate and give us audio with our pictures, and we thank Helmut for acting as computer controller.   The Secretary’s report was delivered:  top of the list was a reminder that we are now into a new financial year and that our club membership fees are due.  No change from last year: $50 single membership, $70 a couple and $20 for country members.  Joining fee for new member also the same: $10.  
President Norman advised that application has been made to the council for permission to install our new projection system but, to date, there has been no reply.
We were reminded there is a fifth Friday in August so to mark that in our diaries for our next social evening.
Joe ran our Shorts section starting with the beauty of the Crimea.  Unfortunately, this came to a crashing ending.  (A hazard with anything that flies.)
June told us the story of when her laptop reminded her of certain video sequences it contained and would she like them made into a movie?  Just for fun, June said, Yes and, lo and behold, it happened! Scary?  June did find she was able to add effects such as rain and music.  The movie was of a bus trip into the city.  June also showed a short from the previous meeting - one she had missed – where the topic was Escargot. Big and juicy ones!  Shorts topics for next meeting are: We need at least twelve of them   and Moon landing.
For the last part of the evening , members showed some of their techniques to the rest of us.  Norm set the ball rolling with the way stories are structured.  A slide show demonstrated the need for a climax – the word got some members excited! – and the power of flashbacks.  More details will appear in the next Take One.
Geoff Ross created quite a bit of discussion with his demonstration of vlog editing, which allows adjustments of the shadows and hi-lights of scenes.  Geoff uses a plug-in called Colour Finale.  Geoff demonstrated how scenes that were dull and uninteresting could be brought to vibrant life.  It was truly magic.
The evening concluded with two movies for which feedback was requested.  Norm showed an unfinished movie which started when Gondwanaland existed and ended with a tour of Albany, W.A.  Ron gave us a tour of Uluru with its fascinating rock formations and colour changes.  The nine Km hop on, hop off bus service around the rock met with approval from members.  Both of these produced the requested feedback – none too critical.
The evening ended with the sight of June leaving, happily clutching the raffle first prize. Thanks again to Brian for organizing the raffle.

​17 May 2019 Summary.
Tonight our President was not able to be with us so Richard MCd the meeting.
Ron submitted his usual Secretary’s and Treasurer’s reports.  He mentioned the passing of Jim Craig, an active club member for fifty years and reminded us all of the upcoming AGM.  It gives us all the opportunity to give a little back to the club by offering to serve on the committee.
Ron also reminded us that there are five Fridays in May and to let Phyl Coffy know if we intend to be at the Ringwood Club social on 31st.
As usual, the shorts were varied and showed a lot of imagination.  From the beauty of the Mt. Bulla area to the horror of June’s car accident, the effects of cleaning an old master with Ajax and Mahatma Gandhi’s nickname of Supercalis - - -, you know the one.
Joe Magee got us off to a good start for the rest of the evening with a short talk about the director, Tim Burton.  Tim, who directed many successful movies, including Beetlejuice, Batman, Planet of the Apes and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, was well known for his quirky sense of humour.  We were shown several clips from Tim’s horror shorts, then it was over to Richard for the rest of the evening.
Members were divided into three groups with each group being given a possible scenario for a movie; The Reluctant Guest, where the guest was a trouble maker; The Curse of the Inheritance, who and when should the eighteen year old tell of the inheritance; Having a pet Coati to “process” ones coffee beans.  Each group was also given a list of things to examine, like developing the story, location, crew required, in fact, they were full brainstorming sessions.  We were shown short ‘how to’ movie clips to help us on our way. Discussions were lively and, at times, hilarious.  Suggestions may not always have been practical, but the workshop certainly made us think.
An evening that was different and entertaining.  Thanks, Richard, Joe and the shorts producers.  Shorts for next meeting are, The Day After  and This is Mine
John M

​May 3rd2019 meeting.
A well-attended meeting, and we had four guests!
President Norman opened the meeting by updating members on committee plans for improving the operation of the club.  For a long time, Ron and others have spent quite some time every meeting setting up equipment to allow us to see our videos on the big screen.  Steps are now under way to have equipment permanently installed so that all that is necessary to get our meetings started is to plug our laptop into a wall socket and away we go.  Watch this space. 
                  After years of procrastination and halfhearted efforts, we now have a club promotional video; it was shown for the first time to members and received with approval. We now have a Facebook page and are open to suggestions and assistance as to how to make our on-line presence more effective.
                  A mix of designated shorts and non-designated not so shorts got the evening off to a good start.  From the power of the mind, a horror movie trailer, nature in slo-mo, street art, a one man band, a black hole that sucked in politicians (if only!) and other topics, we were well primed for the main topic of the evening – music for our movies.
                  Ron Fry made the most of a trip to the Scottish island of Staffa to marry stunning natural beauty to the evocative music of Mendelssohn’s Hebredian Overture, better known as Fingal’s Cave.
                  John Millard confessed to finding suitable music for a video as being the most difficult part of movie making.  He described methods he uses for adjusting the length of a piece of music to fit the length of a video.
                  Mike Scully illustrated how music appeals to different people in different ways.  He played six pieces of mood music and, after each one, asked members what the music conjured up for them.  In some cases the differences were remarkable.
                  Gary Hegedus’ approach was different again, he concentrated on how to obtain suitable music legally.  Gary used the Audio Vox website to illustrate his points. Seeing the penalties for doing the wrong thing should make us all very careful in the future.  Gary thinks his $150 a year to keep out of jail money well spent!
SHORTS TOPICS FOR NEXT MEETING: CRIMINAL DAMAGE and NO HOPE.
                  
 

Although there were less ‘bums on seats’ than usual, the evening was as entertaining as ever.
Only two members were brave enough to tackle the main ‘shorts’ topic, Up Yours, but the backup topic, City Life, received good support.  Eight shorts in all gave us viewing from politics (American) to tranquility, birds eye views, strength training and world cities to gymnastics (a cockie, not June!)
Our first speaker was Albert Goikhman. We’d seen Albert before, acting in member’s movies. He explained that his day job was nursing but his passion was acting.
Albert was born in Russia and came to Australia via Israel.  During his question and answer session he stressed the importance of casting in movie making.  Best performances come when the actor matches, as near as possible, the roll he or she is playing.  Nowadays, auditioning is carried out by the hopefuls submitting videos of themselves acting out a section of the script up for grabs.
Good planning is essential, including convenience of shooting rather than order of shooting.  Directors should never tell actors what to do, they should talk the actor into feeling the way the director does about a particular scene or situation.
Albert finished by showing two movies he has acted in, both dramas but one with a sting in the tail that shows how easy it is to overlook an obvious and essential prop.
Our own MikeScully then gave us an insight into the director, Stanley Kubrick.  It’s hard to believe that it is twenty years since he died. It is also hard to believe that he directed so many major films.  Mike pointed out that Kubrick was a technician, an artist and a philosopher. He believed that, ‘If it can be written it can be filmed.’  His epic, 2001 A Space Odyssey proved this.
Kubrick was interested in photography from an early age and started work as a still photographer.  Mike played a clip where he talked about his early life.
One of Kubrick’s ‘things’ was collecting lenses.  If he needed a particular lens for shooting a particular film, he never sold it afterwards.  The result was an impressive, and presumably valuable, collection.  He was also known as a ‘Gear Head’ – he liked collecting ‘gear’ and would often rejuvenate cameras that were past their ‘use by date’.
Mike expressed his admiration for the way Kubrick used music and showed a clip to illustrate the point.  In another clip we were reminded of uncomfortable feelings in Clockwork Orange.
To both speakers, many thanks for giving us such an entertaining club night.
Topics for next meeting’s shorts are, Slow and No we have not! 
​

.
A packed interesting meeting.
Among our seven visitors was Hugh Williams who shot a war movie, Operation Nightmare, over 50 years ago, which starred a very slim, dark haired, John Bishop! Many membership forms were handed out, so fingers crossed!
The other special attendee to the meeting was our Elizabeth Nash. She observed proceedings silently, perched on four stacked chairs towards the back of the hall. She was our first online attendee, watching from Ballarat, sometimes waving, via a ZOOM session. 
Norm reminded everyone that the next meeting, 1stMarch, was our 3rdQuarterly Film competition. Kevin Gorie will be talking Animation. Also, the 1stMarch meeting will kick off with our first technical Q&A session, starting at 7:00pm. The theme will be Video Editing and John Bishop will share some of the features of free DaVinci Resolve and Norm might talk about using cheap VideoPad for training. All welcome.
Gary Hegedus fired up the shorts session - TEN shorts this meeting.  Awesome! Shorts have been by far the most popular innovation to the club in years.  Once again the member’s imagination shone through.  From the ‘laugh out loud’ to the beautiful and the warm, the investigative and the family ‘feel good,’ they were all there.  Keep them coming, members. Topic for the next meeting is, ‘DON’T DO THAT.’
Due to circumstances, our original guest speaker had to withdraw, but a very busy Colin Parrȏt very magnanimouslyagreed to fill in the slot and gave us a most entertaining talk on what it’s like to be a producer of outdoor, lifestyle shows for commercial TV.
Colin was introduced by our own John Bishop.  John and Colin have been friends and work colleagues for more years than either care to remember.  If you’ve ever watched such shows on the box asWhat’s up Down under; Off road Adventure; Camper Trailer Lifestyle or River to Reef you have seen Colin’s work.
Colin’s first comment was very revealing; he noted the quality of our shorts and noticed ‘the fun’ in our movies.  He pointed out that this is missing from commercial film making.   For them it is just a job that has to be completed to the satisfaction of the customer before moving on to the next job.  So there’s something we amateurs have over the pros – we ‘have fun’ doing what we do.
When directing, Colin pointed out that the restrained approach is far more likely to be effective than the forceful, demanding approach.  A tip he gave to solve the problem of what to do with hands was also worth remembering.  Put one in a pocket and occasionally make a gesture with the other one.  Gesturing all the time loses its effectiveness.  Varying light can cause problems when shooting outdoors and mirrors and shiny surfaces when shooting indoors.
Colin’s anecdotes (like the time he and John shared a bed together!) proved to be entertaining as well as instructive.
Our visitors were very complimentary and like the rest of us found the evening most enjoyable.

​1STFeb meeting. ACTION!
2019 got off to a good start with many movies being shown and President, Norm, giving a rundown of what we might expect during the year ahead.  He pointed out that for some time now Ron has also been doing things that are not strictly part of the Secretary’s job.  Things like keeping in touch with other clubs we exchange videos with; maintaining the disc library; keeping Vimeo charged; keeping the data base of videos screened up to date; opening and closing our meeting rooms. These jobs, on their own, are not onerous.  Norm invited members to give some thought to taking on any one of these jobs. Ron, meanwhile, will continue as Club Secetary.
How we communicate was reviewed. We have our web page, managed by Elizabeth,  www.ringwoodmoviemakers.organd a Ringwood Movie Makers Facebook page, managed by Norm. But our primary method of communication is email and there have been hiccups, for many reasons, with our Rmmeveryone mail address. While we iron out the issues, including recalcitrant Gmail and Hotmail servers, one idea floated was to use a BCC group which members could use by ‘replying to all’. Expect some testing ahead.
Norm and Elizabeth trialed a ZOOM session prior to the meeting start. This is investigating whether we can offer a service to members who may not, for many reasons, be able to attend the meeting. This test is also looking at the possibility of having on-line membership.  Andrew, who lives in in Phillip Island is a possibility. The session went quite well, with Norm’s laptop, using his mobile as a hotspot, displayed the meeting and sound pretty well. Elizabeth could, depending how we work it out, have also spoken to the group. All a member needs is a ZOOM client on his PC or mobile and he/she can watch the Shorts from Timbuktu. 
Norm also aired the possibility of introducing training courses for a couple of hours (or 1.5 hrs)  prior to our eight o’clock start. This time could be used for tech discussions on matters of interest. Members or maybe an outside expert could share knowledge, tricks or experience. To start off, a tech meeting on DaVinci Resolve was floated.  Besides benefitting our own members, suitably advertised, they could also attract new members.
Also discussed was the Group movies format. There was a general ‘AYE’ by members asserting they were still interested in participating in group movies. How should the groups be formed was discussed. One approach, used with mixed success in the past, was to have an impartial (maybe random) selection of members into groups. The other method was to let people form their own groups. Scripts for the groups to work on was discussed. One possibility was to have a common thee ( like we use with Short Cuts) and let all the groups produce their own version if the theme. Another  approach for scripting was to have a list of scripts (by Club members or outsiders) and let the Groups choose which script they would film. This subject is open for discussion.
John Millard pointed out that the next Take One is due next month.  Our President and Secretary can be relied on to fill around three pages.  Almost tearfully he begged for help in filling another dozen or so pages.  A reward was offered for anyone who helps.  One big, moist kiss per page.  (Don’t let that put you off!). Elizabeth Nash, webmaster asked for more photographs of our movie making activities that would showcase what we do and who we are.
Awkward turned out to be not at all awkward judging from the number of ‘shorts’ that delighted us.  Once again our member’s ingenuity was on display.  There was everything from a father meeting his daughter in a massage parlour, gulls fighting next to a PEACE sign, a pregnant lady who wasn’t, unusual art to a stuff up at a funeral parlour – and more.  Congratulations on the NINEmembers the effort.

​2018 went out with a bang for RMM.  The imagination and inventiveness of our members continues to amaze.  A feast of movies kept us entertained, starting with our usual shorts which were based on ‘In Your Boot’.  These ranged from the common pebble to a rock and a boot that was as bottomless as Santa’s sack.  There was also a warning about what can happen if we don’t keep our feet clean and toenails cut!  Being Christmas the shorts ended with one about baby Jesus. – Hilarious.  The topic for the next Shorts is ‘Awkward.’ Non-compliance will be awkward, as you have 8 weeks to produce!
                  The quarterly comp was well supported with eight movies which ranged from travelogues to dramas and suicide.  Geoff Ross’s ‘Wildlife of the Pantanal’ was judged number one with some spectacular footage, including sequences of the awesome Jaguar. Gary Dusting’s ‘Uluru Country’, was a popular second. 
                  Then the food came out.  Gourmet delights, from perfectly cooked snags and onions through diet busting, mouthwatering delicacies to a trifle that didn’t turn out as planned but tasted fine.  And no-one over-indulged in the red wine. Then the impossible happened.  With a ringing “Ho,Ho,Ho” Santa Claus arrived!  He was obviously thrilled to be visiting RMM. His enthusiasm was infectious as he handed out his goodies and, of course, members gave him our usual, warm RMM reception.

Next year’s syllabus was there for collection; it’s something to look forward to, so until Feb 1st, to all our members, have a Happy Christmas and good movie making in 2019.
It was well after 11.00 before the last member left.

Text and photos supplied by Ron Fry