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On Monday 13th June the club held the second of its monthly summer “Noggin-n-Natter” meetings at the Owls Nest in Bare. Members began meeting at around 7.30pm enjoying a drink and a chat, which included some movie making topics. The chairman called the meeting to order for a short time to discuss the proposed summer outing options and it was agreed to try and arrange a day at the Woodvale Rally at Formby on the weekend of 6/7th August, details are to be circulated with the next news letter.

The informal gathering continued until approx 10.00pm when members made their way home looking forward to the next meeting on Monday 11th July.

On Monday 9th May the club held the first of its monthly summer “Noggin-n-Natter” meetings at the Owls Nest in Bare. Members began meeting at around 7.45pm enjoying a drink and a chat before the Chairman presented some of the annual awards that had not been collected at the April Presentation dinner.

Dave Weatherley and Tim Churchill had jointly won the Grand Prix, for the most accumulative points in competitions, and Tim’s replica was handed to him. The awards for the winner of the Open Class and Best Sound Track in the Annual Open were presented to Peter Parker.

The informal meeting continued until approx 10.00pm when members made their way home looking forward to the next meeting on Monday 13th June.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their last meeting of the winter season with the Presentation Dinner held in the Morecambe Golf Club. There were thirty-four members and guest at the presentation to enjoy an excellent meal followed by the giving of the whole year’s competition awards.

Awards were presented for the Dave Sephton Trophy for a local interest movie this went to Dave Weatherley, the Warriner Trophy for a set subject went to Geoff Ducker, the Cumbria Trophy for an open subject went to Derek Fox , winner of the annual open was Chris Abram. The Grand Prix Trophy for the most accumulative points in the year went jointly to Tim Churchill and Dave Weatherley.

The event closed with a free raffle and celebration drinks.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their Annual Open competition, which has three categories Holiday, Documentary and Open, but movies must not be longer than twelve minutes. There were twenty-one entries, which were judged by two members of the North West Region, Institute of Amateur Cinematographers, Jim Whalley the competitions officer and Richard Curry the treasurer.

The overall winner and first in the Documentary category was Chris Abram with the movie “Time to visit. – The real Lancashire Coast” which looks at the history and geography of the old Lancashire coastline and its towns.

Taking first place in the Open category and winner of the best sound track was Peter Parker with “Lest we forget” this was a montage of images taken at the National Arboretum set and cut to an anthem.

The Holiday category winner was John Selby with “Shennong Stream” a movie showing the journey along the Yangtze River in China and finally into the remote Shennog Stream was the small boats are pushed and pulled by the local men.

At the end of the competition judging process the club presented gifts to both Jim Whalley and Richards Curry in appreciation of their commitment to the event. In addition a special birthday cake was presented to Jim, as it was his 70th birthday that day, with congratulations from club members.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers did a lot of talking at their planning and technical topics evening. The first half was devoted to organising forthcoming events and competitions and then moved on to discussing possible summer break project.

Following the interval there was an array of questions and answers from the members on the ever-changing technology in movie making plus the showing of a number of member’s movies to explain the various techniques that can be used.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers had an evening of movie watching starting with the third cut of the club’s latest group comedy film “ Where is Eric?” which features an investigation into the missing statue from the promenade. The remainder of the evening was spent watching show reels from Otanga Cine and Video Club, Dunedin, New Zealand and Bournemouth Video Club. The exchange of show reels gives members the chance to enjoy movies from around the World and to see how other film making enthusiasts produce their work.

Copies of the Morecambe Club show reels have been sent to both these clubs and many more across the World and have been well received by those who have watched them.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers travelled North to Kendal to meet members of Penrith and District Camera Club who had travelled South for a 50/50 evening to show their work. During the first half of the evening the Movie Makers showed a selection of DVDs including comedy animation, travelogues, promotional and local interest movies. Following half time refreshment, made by the Movie Makers, the camera Club gave six A/V presentations of their work including the Scottish Islands, tram museums, graffiti art and images compiled to music and poetry. This was the first time the two clubs had met and was a success for both in the new surroundings at Holy Trinity & St George Catholic Church Hall Kendal.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed the technical team from BBC North West Tonight to their weekly meeting to talk about how the programme is produced. The team included Editor- Peter Davis, Cameraman - Andy Cooke and Sound Engineer - Graham Fazackerley.

The presentation began with a DVD showing the planning, rehearsal and live broadcast followed by each team member talking about their part in the programme, this included DVDs to show the final results of their work and some of the problems that have to be overcome.

The cameraman also brought along his camera and tripod to demonstrate and advice members on camera techniques.

There was a lively question and answer session before the final part of the presentation, which included a selection of out-takes making for an entertaining and informative meeting.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers joined the members of Lancaster Photographic Society on Thursday for a combined evening to show each others work. In the first half of the evening the Movie Makers projected a selection of films including local events, the Lake District, craftsmen at work and a narrow gauge train journey in India.

During the second part of the evening the Photographic Society presented two digital shows with a selection of images taken throughout 2010 as part of a project to produce an image a day of the whole year. The presenters told the story behind each of the images.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held the Cumbria Trophy Competition which has a time limit of three minutes twenty seconds, this being the length of a reel of old style super 8 film, with no restrictions on content. The competition is open to all members who have not previously won a club competition.

Taking first place was Derek Fox with “Zambezi River and Victoria Falls” a travelogue movie along the river and a helicopter flight over the falls. The second place was also taken by Derek Fox with his movie “Ostrich Farm” filmed in Africa, which looked at the methods of farming the birds for food and for racing them. In third place was Tim Churchill for “The Starling Moot” which looks at and explains the flight of starlings at Leighton Moss bird reserve. Following the showing of the seven competition entries other members were able to project a selection of their latest movies for all to enjoy.

It was Lights, Camera, and Action at Morecambe Bay Movie Makers when they started to film their latest movie in St. Christopher’s Church Hall, which was set out as a fictitious enquiry meeting into the disappearance of the Eric Morecambe statue. The six cameramen and sound engineer captured the arguments and jokes of the proceedings before the evidence revealed a strange and unlikely outcome to the mystery. The final stages of the movie will be shot during the summer break before the editing can be completed later in the year.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their first rehearsal for their next movie to be shot mainly in St. Christopher’s church hall, with additional outside location material to be filmed later in the year. The members were given scripts for their chosen characters and the camera positions were set up ready for a dry run. The movie story follows a fictitious enquiry into the disappearance of the Eric Morecambe statue, with a surprise ending. Club member Graham Easton has based the movie on a similar animation story he produced earlier in the year, which is now to be brought to life.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed David Wood, one of the directors of Promenade Music in Morecambe, to talk about his work in writing and producing music for the movies.

His presentation included the story of his own upbringing in a musical family, moving on into a musical scholarship and performing in the West End Theatres of London before setting up in business to teach and write music. He explained how his company is commissioned to write music for major Hollywood films and many international companies promotional and advertising campaigns.

The presentation included movie clips from the films and the various advertising features some of which had become chart toppers in their own right, winning international awards for David’s company. He was able to describe how he has been involved directly with some of the famous directors and celebrities of the movie and television world in order to give the music they need to make their projects a success.

The evening was full of questions and answerers of the fascinating behind the scenes experiences and of the importance of music in movie making.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held the second competition of their season with the Warriner Trophy, which had for this year’s subject “Within 500 meters of home” and limited to a maximum running time of five minutes. The competition attracted twelve entries, which were judged by club members using individual score sheets.

Taking first place was Geoff Ducker with a movie showing the village of Stavely in Cumbria with its historical buildings, local industry, the surrounding countryside and the residents enjoying the village events.

Mike Ellis won second position with a movie tracing the construction of his model railway over many years up to the present day with an extensive layout and scale models of actual stations and tracks from around the country. The movie showed the models in motion and the sound effects now made by the locos as they pass through the scenery.

Dave Weatherly took thirds position with a movie describing life around his home, which included strawberry growing fields, the main line railway station at Oxenholme, a golf driving range and a combination of local countryside and the urban environment.

Following the announcement of the competition results next year’s subject was chosen as “ A sporting theme” to coincide with the London Olympics.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed club member Geoff Harrison and Wayne Avanson of the video production company “The Action House” to talk about high definition (HD) movies using a digital single lens reflux (DSLR) camera.

The presentation began with Wayne describing the rapid development of the DSLR with respect to movie making, detailing the camera models available and their respective specifications. He went on to talk about the different style of capturing images using the 35mm chip cameras to produces top quality movies. Assisted by Geoff they projected a selection of movies made by themselves and others from around the World showing the excellent picture quality and depth of field available for creating cinema effects with an affordable camera. To demonstrate the methods of filming their was a selection of DSLR cameras on display with their audio equipment and monitors to show how it is set up for a verity of productions including corporate promotions, weddings, training and documentary movies.

The members were able to handle and try the hardware making for an informative and entertaining evening.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their 42nd AGM where chairman Graeme Isherwood reported that the last twelve months had been successful with a number of special events to mark the Ruby Anniversary along with a varied and entertaining programme for the members to enjoy. Treasurer Mike Ellis, presented a healthy balance sheet following the success of club events, grants obtained from outside bodies and members subscription against a steadily rising expenditure. The chairman and committee were re elected for a further term of office.

The chairman congratulated the members who had won the various club competitions and those who had been successful in national and regional events. The meeting included discussions on future projects, new competition awards and the up grading of club equipment to keep up to date with technology.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' first meeting of 2011 was a Showcase Raffle where members are asked to bring in a five-minute movie or an excerpt from a longer movie in exchange for a raffle ticket. At the end of the night the raffle is drawn and the lucky ones go home with a gift.

There were a total of fifteen movies to watch with a selection including holiday films from around the World, craftsmen at work, local events held in the last year, historical documentaries, comedy animation and a local jazz band playing in a Lancaster tavern.

During the meeting the Fred Dibden Trophy for services to the club in 2010 was presented to Irene Mosey.

At the Start of the meeting the chairman asked members to take a moment or two to reflect on the passing of Brian Melmore on the 20th Dec 2010. Brian had been a member of the club for twenty-two years and held the position of Chairman and Secretary during that time as an active member and friend to us all.

The last 2010 meeting of Morecambe Bay Movie Makers was held at the Whitewalls Restaurant, Hest Bank with a Christmas meal for twenty-seven members and guest. At the start of the meal a period of time was taken to reflect following the death that day of Brian Melmore who had been a member of the club for twenty-two years.

Following the Christmas meal the presentation of the Fred Dibden Trophy for services to the club was made to Irene Mosey, which was collected by Ron Wood in her absence. The presentation was followed by the traditional free raffle with Christmas goodies to take home after drinks had been taken in the bar in front of an open fire helping it to be a traditional Christmas event.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting club member Dave Weatherley gave a presentation explaining how he had edited an eight-camera production of students at Beaumont College performing a play in the round. He and two other club members had filmed the programme in June at the Dukes Theatre workshop. His presentation began by explaining the camera positions and filming technique before going on to the editing process, which he had filmed, and put on DVD to show the process. The presentation finished by showing the completed thirty-minute movie to the club members.

The final part of the meeting was taken up by the first show of “That was the week that was” a movie compiled by Graham Easton of members movies all filmed during the same week in September. The programme includes holidays aboard, working on the farm, the making of the future Eric Morecambe play, to be shown over Christmas on the BBC, local events and members activities around their homes. This gives a snap shot of the times we are living in and the things we are doing in 2010.

The chairman congratulated Geoff Ducker on winning the best documentary award in the recent IAC North West Area competition, which was open to all movie makers in the region, his movie shows the wild life in his own garden in the lakes.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their first competition of the year with the Dave Sephton Trophy for local interest with a maximum running time of twelve minutes. There was a record entry of ten and taking first place was Dave Weatherley with “A Walk Across the Bay” a movie telling the story of a cross bay walk in ideal sunny conditions. This also included the history of the walks, the dangers of bay and events that had taken place over the years.

Second place went to Tim Churchill with “Play on Light” a journey along the Lancaster Canal capturing the activities and natural surrounding in different lighting conditions before transferring to the River Lune to witness its beauty and water power in the changing light.

In third place was Geoff Ducker with “A Tale of Gondola” which looked at the steam driven Gondola boat sailing on Lake Coniston. The movie followed the boat along its journey on the lake and featured the crew at work, the history of the vessel and the surrounding countryside.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed members of Morecambe Photographic Society to their meeting for a 50/50 show. The Photographic Society started the meeting by projecting an A/V show using digital images, photo slides and a DVD. The presentation included a selection of award winning images, wild life photography and DVD, a cruise along the Manchester Ship Canal, festivals held in Morecambe and an agricultural show. The second half of the meeting was taken up by the hosts projecting DVDs shot in warmer climates around the world, local craftsmen at work, wild life found in our gardens and two comedy animations.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their own version of “Deal or No Deal” when members brought in equipment for a bring and buy sale of movie making kit ranging from cables to cameras and computer monitors. During the evening members had the opportunity to demonstrate new items they had obtained during the last twelve months to help them in their hobby. The demonstrations include a spring loaded body mounted camera support, a portable data storage system for videos, a lap top computer editing programme and a hand held camera support ring with fibre optic controls.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed Guy Langdon the representative of Magix Pro Video Editing software who had travelled from Hemel Hempstead to demonstrate the programme.

He began by showing videos that had been produced using the software programme one made by the Magix Company and the remainder by himself. He then took members through the process of capturing, then editing, and titling a movie using a selection of tools that are available and finally producing a DVD but limited by time to show all the facilities available . Included with the package were sound and still photograph programmes, which are all, linked to the movie making process. The evening closed with a question and answer session to help those who have the system and those considering buying one.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed Jim Whalley from Preston Movie Makers to their weekly meeting to give a showing of their movies and explaining how they were made.

He began by describing the story of “Blindfold at dawn “ which takes place in the World War 1 trenches. He went on to show videos of the making of the trench film set and the weapons, which were handed round for examination, all made by their club members to a convincing high standard. The movie was then shown to the audience, who applauded the final result and all the skill in making it. A further two movies with military themes were shown, one in a Halifax bomber and another in a German U- Boat during World War 11 with the story of their making. Jim concluded his presentation with some of his own movies taken abroad.

At the end of the presentation Jim was invited to announce the Morecambe Bay Movie Makers “Club member of the year award” for services to the club in 2010, which had been voted for over the last month and this went to Irene Mosey for all her behind the scenes work and supporting events.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers enjoyed a Hot Pot supper and movie show at their weekly meeting on Monday 1st Nov. at St. Christopher’s Church Hall, Bare. The movies were part of the Protea Video Club of Cape Town, South Africa show reel. The idea of show reels is to allow movie clubs from around the World to exchange their work with other similar clubs. The movies featured dramas, comedies and a number of documentaries showing the African traditions, sporting events and wildlife. During the interval a homemade hot pot, prepared by club member Peter Craven, was served with all the usual trimmings in the Lancashire tradition.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, club member Graham Easton began his computer-based presentation explaining the development of the club’s weekly newsletter, of which he is the editor, and the way it is produced. He continued by explaining how to make a green screen movie with presenters in the foreground and related still and moving images in the background. He was able to show examples of the latest club production featuring members giving their memories of the club over the last forty years and using clips from club films in the background.

The second part of the presentation included explaining how to transfer movies to the web for public viewing or showing directly to family and friends across the world and how to use the computer software “Storm” to create animated movies.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, members were entertained by a selection of films from the Norwich Movie Makers 2010 Show Reel. The show reel idea allows clubs from all over the world to exchanging their work with each other to give an insight into their culture, their way of life and various movie-making styles.

The films from the Norwich club include the story of a church restoration, the Norfolk Royal Show, holiday films from USA and a train journey through Switzerland. There were also sporting films of Dragon boat racing, paragliding and boxing plus natural history movies of shire horses and the Terns of Yarmouth. In total twelve movies out of the twenty four were shown.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting “Green Screen Memories” was the topic for a practical evening of movie making. The special large green screen was erected and illuminated with bounced lighting in front of which was a presenter’s table and chair. The idea for the project was for members to recall some of their memories of the club over the last forty years and talk to camera about them. Later in the editing process suitable film footage will be shown alongside and behind the presenter to create an entertaining and nostalgic record of the club at the end of its Ruby anniversary year.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers began their new season of weekly meetings at St Christopher’s Church Hall, Morecambe with a showcase raffle. The event is arranged so that members bring in a short movie or clips of approx five minutes to show in exchange for a raffle ticket. At the end of the evening, tickets are drawn for a selection of prizes and this time every movie maker who showed a film received a prize. The films include holidays in the Channel Isles and Wales, carnivals in the Lakes, protest marches in Lancaster, steam railway events, a spoof natural history story and the redevelopment work in Douglas Park, Heysham.

The penultimate Noggin 'n' Natter evening of the summer season was held at the Owl's Nest Bare on 9th August. Members moved into the bay window half with the comfy seats and made room for the first twenty members who attended, with one satellite table in the centre of the bar for the late arrivals. During the evening a raffle was held with the prize being a special addition cover version of the 40th Anniversary DVD, which was won by Tim Churchill.

The gathering was brought to order for a short time when a vote of thanks and a round of applause went to Graham Easton and Ron Wood for the compilation of the 40th Anniversary DVD, which had also raised £51 through the raffle and sales of copies.

The idea of producing a moment in time experimental movie was explained by Graham Easton and members agreed to give a try. The idea of the movie is for each member to make a programme of approx two minutes of a happening during the week commencing the 6th September 2010 and then bring it together in on one DVD. Before the gathering returned to talking and drinking Ron Wood suggested that the DVD be called “That Was The Week That Was”, which was approved by the members present.

July 12th saw the third Noggin 'n' Natter evening of the summer season held at the Owls Nest, Bare. The early members moved into the corner with the comfy seats and made room for the twenty members who attended, still not quite warm enough to sit outside.

This month there were no formalities, leaving plenty of time for talking and tasting the local brew. There was time for an update from Dave Weatherley on the progress with the Beaumont College project, which was filmed on 29th June and was to be handed to them before the end of term. Also the 40th anniversary DVD had been completed and sent to the “Awards for all” and North West Film Archives, thanks to Graham Easton and Ron Wood who unfortunately could not make it to the meeting.

June 14th saw the second Noggin n Natter evening of the summer season held at the Owl's Nest, Bare. This month we must have been late arriving at the pub as our corner was occupied so we had to take over the complete middle section for a change. The warm night saw twenty-two members and one guest from Preston Movie Makers tasting the local brew and enjoy the chat.

During the evening, the latest version of the club's 40th year newsreel was shown to members on a portable DVD player prior to having the narration attached; this is to take place later this week.

The next noggin night is Monday 12th July.

The Bolton Movie Challenge was held on May 28th and Morecambe Bay Movie Makers were represented by Peter Parker and Syd Cumbus. The Competition is open to all clubs in the North West and is judged by three independent adjudicators.

Ten entries, including "The Toy Train" by Dave Weatherley, were screened on a wide range of subjects but, unfortunately, this entry representing Morecambe was not placed in the winners.

The Winning entry was from Preston Movie Makers with "Blindfold at Dawn"; a story about the effects of shell shock on troops serving in the trenches of the Great War 1914-1918.

Bolton have a good venue and visitors were well received by the club.

May 10th saw the first Noggin n Natter evening of the summer season held at the Owls Nest Bare. By the time the clock struck 8.00pm there was a number of members in position in our corner of the pub. The noise level gradually increased as the numbers went up to twenty plus members busy exchanging ideas and chatting about all things movie making and the rests. The meeting was brought to order for a short time while the chairman Graeme Isherwwood explained what was happening in Chester with the Roman re enactment on 12th and 13th June which was a possible filming opportunity for members. The information was taken on board by a group of members to follow up and make arrangements with the organisers. It was then back to the business of talking and drinking and having an enjoyable evening.

The next social meeting is on Monday 14th June at 8.00pm in the Owls Nest.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their Presentation Dinner at Morecambe Golf Club where trophies for all the club's four competitions were presented following the meal for thirty-nine members and guests.

The Annual Open competition overall winner and Documentary class first place was taken by Chris Abram with a movie about shrimping in Morecambe Bay. The Holiday class winner was Roland Ward with a movie taken in New Zealand's South Island and the Open Class went to Graeme Isherwood with a comedy animation movie explaining the correct use of the apostrophe.

Winner of the Dave Sephton competition for "local interest" was Graham Easton with a programme showing the changes to buildings and features in Morecambe.

The Warriner competition for "a public information film" was won by Graham Easton with an animation describing the work of a little known government department from an insider's point of view.

The winner of the Cumbria competition, with an open subject, was David Simpson for a film explaining the engineering designs by Leonardo de Vinci as displayed in a French museum.

The Grand Prix award for most points scored in all the competitions during the year went to Graham Easton.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, the annual open competition was held, with the movies being judged by Rick McLeod and Richard Smith of Celtic Storm Films. There were twenty movies entered in the competition ranging in length from three minutes to twelve, which was the max length allowed.

The overall winner and with first place in the documentary class was Chris Abram with "Six miles out int'ut Bay". The movie follows the work of fishermen from Flookburgh trawling with nets for shell fish in Morecambe Bay using a tractor and shows the beauty and dangers of the Bay.

Taking first place in the holiday class and also winning the best sound track trophy was Roland Ward with "New Zealand, South Island". The movie makes a journey through the lakes, mountains, shorelines and towns of the South Island showing the country at its best in both the sunshine and the snow.

Graeme Isherwood won the open class with an animation movie called "A public information film" this sets out the rules of when and how to use an apostrophe correctly in the English language. The main animated character gives examples of the wrong ways to use an apostrophe with numerous examples taken from real life notices, before warning the viewer that the Department for the misuse of the apostrophe is watching us.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, members discussed the success of the Morecambe Bay International Video competition winners show, which they had organised the previous Saturday in the Dukes Cinema, Lancaster. They were able to watch the first edit of the event video along with a digital slide show of the winners receiving their trophies.

The second half of the meeting was devoted to planning the summer activities and compiling ideas for next year's programme.

The Grand Winners' Final of the Erics was held on Saturday 10th April in the Dukes Cinema, Lancaster between 2.00 and 7.00pm. This competition was the third and final special event to help mark the club's 40th anniversary.

A full report on the event can be found in the Event Reports section of the site.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed members of Lancaster Photographic Society for a joint meeting of A/V presentations and movies.

The evening started with Lancaster projecting digital image programmes including flower festivals, autumn scenes, touring the Isle of Man and different styles of houses set to music. There was also an explanation of how to shoot infrared pictures and produce stunning images not visible to the naked eye.

Following the tea break, the Movie Makers showed a selection of DVDs including comedy animations, the work of the RNLI and the Bay Search and Rescue organisation, natural history around our houses and members other hobbies.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed Geoff Annis, a professional voice over artist, to their weekly meeting. Geoff began his presentation explaining how he took early retirement from his position as an English teacher to become an actor and voice over artist. He then played audio examples of books and commentaries he had recorded, explaining the equipment and technique he uses to create the accent, the speed and mood required for the product he is providing the voice for. He went on to show DVDs using his voice and acting talents including the history of a major brewer, cruise line, commercial and industrial promotional features.

The evening included many questions from members for which Geoff gave in depth answers and made his visit very informative and entertaining.

"House Full" is a notice that is not common at the Morecambe Dome but that was the case when the club and North West Film Archives presented "Morecambe In Times Past" to a capacity audience of 400.

The evening began with a selection of old post cards transferred to video with music and commentary followed by vintage black and white films, as early as 1901, of Morecambe and the local area. There were sequences showing the earliest known film of Morecambe football club, the opening of civic gardens, royal visits through the years up to the unveiling of the Eric Morecambe statue, opening of the swimming stadium and Central Pier. The show included old newsreel footage from National film companies, the old local cinemas and club members, which covered fires, rail accidents, storms and local news items. Members of the Bay Organ and Keyboard Society accompanied the silent movies on the keyboard.

Well done to Chris Abram for arranging the show and to all the members who built the set, twiddled the control knobs, ushered the crowds, took the tickets, made the refreshments, filmed the action and supported the event.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their Warriner Trophy Competition, which has a different theme each year, with this year's theme being "A Public Information Movie". The time limit is set at a max of 5 minutes and is judged by club members.

The winner was Graham Easton with "The Insider", an animation movie which investigates a little known government department, with the help of an insider, dealing with water storage and distribution and possible links to floods and droughts.

Taking second place with another animation was Graeme Isherwood with "The Ministry For The Protection Of The Apostrophe" which describes the misuse of the apostrophe, showing numerous real life examples, all explained by an animated man from the ministry.

Third place went to Dave Weatherley with "It's Never You, Is It?" a typographical series of images explaining the dangers of alcohol and its affect on people, with statistic to back it up, all this set to music.

The subject of next year's theme was selected as "A movie within 500 metres of home".

During the evening the Fred Dibdon Trophy for 2009 was presented to Graham Easton for services to the club with respect to his work on the club's web site and newsletters.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their Ruby Anniversary meal at the Royal Hotel, Bolton-le-Sands, with 35 members and guests attending. During the meal, the two longest serving members, Stan Sharpe and Roy Wilson, who had joined in 1971, cut a celebration cake decorated with the club's logo.

The evening included a talk by the longest serving members and early member Michael Ellis, who traced the history of the club, its success and the changes in technology before toasting the club on its 40th anniversary and wishing it and its members success in the future.

During the evening, old press cuttings of the club's activities over the years were circulate, along with the original inaugural meeting minutes which had been held on 26th January 1970 in the Shrimp Inn, Morecambe.

 

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their Annual General Meeting on Monday 18th January 2010. The acting Chairman Graeme Isherwood report that the club had had a successful year but it had a sad start when the chairman Fred Dibden died. The acting chairman went on to remind members of the club's programme that had been followed over the year and the visits made to other clubs and days out to places of interest including brewers and museums.

The competition winners were congratulated and he thanked members for their work in obtaining grants for equipment and putting on public shows.

The treasurer presented a Financial Statement that showed that the club was in a satisfactory position.

The following officials were elected to serve: - Chairman- Greame Isherwood, Treasurer- Michael Ellis, Committee- Stan Sharpe, Dave Weatherley, Dave Jones and Frank Wilson.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their first meeting of 2010 with a Showcase Raffle movie night. Members were asked to bring in a movie or rushes to show in exchange for a raffle ticket and the chance to win a prize at the end of the night. A wide variety of movies were shown including big boys toys filmed in Germany driving army vehicles, a visit to New England, a walk across Morecambe Bay, a farmers Christmas concert, a wood turning demonstration and animation movies.

There were enough movies to fill two nights but these will be shown at a later date all making it a good start to the New Year.

 

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, club Chairman Graeme Isherwood hosted a virtual pub Christmas quiz for the last meeting of the year. Club members formed into teams of four to answer a variety of questions in eight rounds. The questions included identifying films from their music and from their advertising posters, movie making technical jargon busters and general knowledge. Prizes were awarded for the first team and wood spoons to the bottom team. During the interval mince pies and tea were served.

    

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, club member Tim Churchill gave a presentation of his work as a sound recording engineer. He began by explaining the theory of sound waves and the way that these can be picked up by the different types of microphones that are available. Having worked for the BBC and now freelance he was able to explain how good quality sound recordings of different types of events could be achieved and he played excerpts from choirs, orchestras, solo instrumentals and interviews that he had made.

He also showed a selection of DVD programmes that he has produced using good quality recordings of spoken memories, which are accompanied by visual images such as photographs, maps, drawings, short movie clips and sound effects. There was also on display a selection of microphones for members to examine.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers held their first competition of the season with the Dave Sephton Trophy were the subject was local interest and the time limit was 12 minutes.

Taking first place was Graham Easton with "Morecambe Is Changing", this was a combination of still photographs and movies, which looked at the buildings which have been lost and those that had been constructed. The DVD included a detailed record of the building of the new RNLI hovercraft station on Morecambe promenade.

In second place was Ron Wood with "Lancaster Edwardian Festival and Market". The DVD looked at the themed market when it was held in Lancaster and featured conversations with the participants and stallholders. There was an explanation of the products on sale along with live performances of music from that time in history.

Third place went to Alan Lamb with "Kirkby Lonsdale". The DVD looked at the charm of the town, its architecture, the river Lune and the walks around the adjacent countryside.

During the evening it was announced that Graham Easton had won the Fred Dibden Trophy for service to the club during 2008. The award was the result of a ballot by club members and was for Graham's work on developing the club's website and communications.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, an editing exchange event took place with six different movie editing software packages being demonstrated by club members on both laptop and desktop computers. The six workstations were set up so that members could see how each one operated and there was the opportunity for experienced users to exchange notes and techniques as well as others gaining information before buying an editing system. During the evening, the Chairman announced that the club's movie "Trapped" featuring the Bay Search and Rescues Service had been selected to represent the North in the national North v South Movie Competition in January 2010.

       

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting we held a Grand Day Out movie night, when members showed the results of movies and photographs taken on two summer events. The movies were of the Wensleydale creamery, alias Wallace and Grommet, and the Black Sheep Brewery, followed by a visit later in the year to the open-air town museum at Beamish. The varied movies showed how the same subject could be treated in different ways to tell a story. There was also an opportunity for members to show films made at other locations suitable for a grand day out.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers welcomed Phil Janvier, the North West representative of the Institute of Videographers, to their weekly meeting. Phil gave a talk on how to apply the Dolby Surround sound system to movies giving multi track sound effects from different points in a room. He was able to explain the requirements to obtain a license from Dolby to use their product in movies. He went on to show two of his movies, the first shot with three different priced cameras to find out if members could detect when each camera was used. The second movie was his award winning film of the devastating effect of a mischief night prank that resulted in a fatality, now used to help to deter young people from this practice.

The second half of the evening was taken up with an explanation of how members can take an on line examination to become an associate members of the IOV. A quiz was held using some of the test questions with the club split into two teams, the result was a draw.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, club chairman Graeme Isherwood gave a talk and demonstration on producing DVDs with Adobe Encore. He began by explaining the importance of selecting the right fonts, backgrounds and colour for the titles used in a DVD index. He was able to show a catalogue of fonts that can be produced by your own computer using free software from the Internet. Using his laptop and a projector he went through the various stage of transferring the video to DVD, creating chapters with their interactions and the final presentation on screen. Included in his demonstration was a tutorial training aid for Adobe Encore that can be down loaded from the Internet free of charge.

 

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, members enjoyed watching a selection of nine award-winning movies from the British International Film Festival of 2008. The movies included a comedy drama of a mad inventor crossed with James Bond and Superman, a re-enactment and display of WW2 events in Holland and the story of life on the canal boats in the early 1900s. During the interval a meat and potato pie supper was served with peas, pickles and a cup of tea.

As part of its 40th Anniversary celebrations, the club held "A Salute To Our Veterans" on 31st October. See the Event Reports section for a full write-up.

At Morecambe Bay Movie Makers' weekly meeting, members had a new gadget night where they brought it any new items that had been bought or made to help with their movie making. The items varied from compact camera lights to a portable autocue, glidecam body camera support, glide tacks and fluid tripod heads. Each of the new pieces of equipment was demonstrated by its owner and formed a mini exhibition. In addition to the members' items, the club equipment bought with a grant from "Awards For All" were displayed. These included radio mics, P.A. system, floodlights and a green screen for special effects, all of which can be used by the members to improve their movies and to give better shows.

The world of 3D photography and movie making came to the Morecambe Bay Movie Makers when Barry Aldous was the guest speaker at our weekly meeting. Barry set up his 3D cameras and projectors and explained how he became involved with the process and how he now makes 3D movies and A/V presentations.

During his demonstration, he showed example of early equipment used in the USA and examples of 3D films made by them. He showed his own work, which included a documentary of the Anderton canal boatlift plus some commercial footage of the Rhine valley. His show finished with a monochrome 3D slide show of mountain climbing in the early 1900.

The evening concluded with the showing of the movie "Trapped", which is to be the club's entry in the North v South competition. The movie tells the story of a rescue in Morecambe Bay of a trapped walker in quick sand by the Bay Search and Rescue organisation from Flookburgh.

 

On Saturday, 10th October, Morecambe Bay Movie Makers presented eleven movies at a Cinema Evening at St. Christopher's Church in Morecambe. The movies included local places of interest and events, travelogues from the USA and Thailand plus craftsmen at work and an animation comedy. During the interval, home-made sandwiches, cakes and tea were served.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers had a packed meeting to hear club member Graham Easton talk about and demonstrate how to place movies on the Internet. He began by reminding members how movie makers' equipment and technology had changed over the years, thus allowing the audiences to expand from the makers family and friends in the front room to the worldwide Internet audience.

He was able to demonstrate, using his laptop, how a Blog is made and then how to convert a video for up loading to the Blog or as an attachment, using two different software programs. He went on to explain the importance of giving a good description to help with searches by others users to find your work and to become linked to other site.

Included in his presentation was an explanation of the club's own web site and how it is managed. He was able to give to members the statistics about the number of hits that have been made on movies that are available to be viewed on the club site.

Morecambe Bay Movie Makers began their new season of weekly meetings with a Showcase Raffle where members brought in a short film or rushes to show in exchange for a raffle ticket. At the end of the night, tickets were drawn for a selection of prizes making it a good show to watch and the bonus of a prize for the lucky ones.

The movies shown included the visit of Princess Alexandra to Lancaster's Cancer Care Shop, travelogues from the USA, Newzeland, Canada and across Europe. Other movies showed the first few days of a new child's life and the making of a rocking horse plus some of the club's summer activities in Morecambe and Beamish.

        

For earlier news articles, have a look at The Archive.