The Milton Keynes Camcorder Club

Continued from HOME PAGE . . .

Even seasoned professionals can get caught out in production and even for something as simple as shooting outside, please remember that no one can control the weather in the great outdoors, just yet.

Our mission is simple. We work together and benefit from our skills, expertise, experience, creativity and enthusiasm, to achieve maximum enjoyment from making our videos.  Plus, we also try to make them better with each other’s support.

For example, one of our members could help you with your camcorder and perhaps take you through the functions so you can get the most from your investment. They might be able to guide you on how to shoot better footage and how to edit this footage (even if it is just cutting out those embarrassing moments where you left the lens cap on, or forgot to turn off your camcorder and shot 10 minutes of your feet walking back to the car and 15 minutes of the glove compartment).

As a member, you would have access to other members to draw on their expertise, their contacts, over 1200 production music CDs, video lights, competitions, software support and most importantly… other people’s unbiased and constructive feedback. Official club video projects are covered by our insurance and our special club copyright licenses. Tea, coffee and chocolate biscuits are provided free to our members at our meetings.

Like all clubs, we have to ask for a small annual subscription because we have to pay for the meeting rooms and things like the insurance - so you don’t have to - but once you’ve paid the subscription, the rest is free. In fact, if you’re interested, we ask new members to come along to a meeting FIRST and only pay if they like the idea of joining the club. If you do join, you can also bring a friend or family member along with you for FREE. Students get a reduced sub and perhaps an unfair advantage over their course-mates.

We try our best to arrange structured but informal club meetings with as much variety as possible. We encourage members to talk to each other, both in and outside of the meetings. There are talks, demonstrations and practical “hands-on” workshops, where members can experiment and gain knowledge from member’s video kit, including lighting, audio, camcorders, even professional film-making gear. No format is ignored; from transferring cine to VHS, through MiniDV and DVCAM, right up to the latest tapeless XDCAM-EX/HD equipment.

Oh yes… one small but very important point. You don’t need to own a camcorder to join the club. It may be better to hear what other members think before you waste good money.

So if you want to enjoy your hobby, learn or improve, come along and see what we’re all about. If you’re still nervous or unsure, send us a message, telephone number or email address using the form on the “Forms” page. Please remember to check your details carefully so we can get in touch – we don’t use this information for anything other than to get back in contact with you.