It was a great honour for me to hold the office of Chairman of IAC, The Film and Video Institute, and I sometimes wonder how I got there. I have tried to look here at my background in film-making.

I can never remember a time, when I wasn’t interested in producing images, whether on paper or film. When I was eight or nine years old I can clearly remember trying all sorts of things; using carbons in an old typewriter, bought from a junk shop; experimenting with methods of duplicating text and drawings (this was a long time before the advent of the photocopier!); watching moving images projected by a battery powered projector scanning cartoon type pictures across a strip of film to give and animated effect. I can recall at much the same time reading a children’s adventure novel in which one of the characters used a cine camera (16mm), I can’t remember anything of the story, but I can remember reading the passages related to filming over and over again. A couple of years later and I was using the pantry of my parent’s house as a makeshift darkroom and developing my first contact prints in a saucer, filled with developer mixed from a small pack of chemicals. I can still remember the feeling at seeing the magic of those first images appear on bromide paper. I was hooked! Soon after this a neighbour bought an 8mm cine camera, I think it was a Bell & Howell Autoset and I watched with awe as he projected his pictures using a Eumig P8 projector. It was this that convinced me that moving pictures were for me, and here I am nearly half a century later, still as enthusiastic as ever about Movie-making.

When I was twenty-two I saw an article in a local newspaper announcing a meeting for anyone interesting in forming a cine club in my home town of Nuneaton. I attended that meeting and became a founder member of the club, now called Nuneaton Moviemakers. I am still a member.

My filming began on standard 8mm, which I used for a long time after many had changed to super 8, but I succumbed to progress and moved to super 8mm before moving on to video. This change never stops, does it? The call to High Definition now with us.

I have found belonging to a club and making films with others a most rewarding experience, allowing me to work on productions far beyond my scope as an individual. It is perhaps this aspect of working with others, which brought me into the IAC. What is the point in making films (I now use that term for video as well as other forms of moving image) if we have no-one to show them to. The IAC, Film and Video Institute offers members the opportunity to show films to local groups and well as Nationally, through its Club structure and its Regional and National competition calendar.

I was fortunate that my wife, Jane, was also interested in movie-making. She has been in demand in our club for recording commentaries and more recently for her acting skills. We have, together, attended many Regional events and most of the National ones since 1984. Some may remember our two daughters, Anna and Fiona, also accompanying us at many of these.

I have worked on the CEMRIAC Regional Council and have been involved in the organisation of several AGM weekends and Film Festivals hosted by them. The IAC honoured me with a fellowship in 1991.

The time to be able to fulfil the role of National Chairman was only available to me after taking early retirement from a career as a teacher of technology. Since that time Jane and I have also been able to attend other events, which have traditionally been held in term-time, such as the Guernsey Lily Competition and UNICA. We intend to continue to support as many events as we can. There is no better way to enjoy this fascinating hobby of ours as well making new friends.

- John Gibbs FACI

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Page updated on 21 March 2008

Authors' views are not necessarily those of The Institute of Amateur Cinematographers

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