The Council of The Royal Photographic Society has endorsed a proposal to create a new category of Distinction at Licentiateship level. This will be called Photo Harmony.

There are certain similarities with the current LRPS in AV and applications will be considered by the AV Distinctions Panel. However Photo Harmony is targeted at a different audience (and potential membership) being designed to enable applicants to demonstrate their skills in the production and visual progression of images linked to sound.

No script or story with a specific beginning, middle and ending are required. The emphasis is on matching the images with appropriate transitions and harmonising them with the sound. The selection, quality and sympathetic progression of the images is the prime factor being assessed although the appropriateness and recording quality of the soundtrack will also be taken into account.

The purpose of this category is to display a set of images which harmonise with each other and with the sound used. The production should be constructed so that images dissolve harmoniously in terms of colour or tone and graphic design. The new category is not designed to display images which may be excellent when considered individually but which fail to harmonise with each other and with the sound chosen .It is the norm that the sound and the images should start and finish together. Where music is used, it is recommended that the original ending of the music is preserved rather than an arbitrary fade-out.

AV differs from this category by placing far greater emphasis on the balance between concept/story, script, sound recording/editing and images. There are many RPS members and prospective members producing image series in the way described so we want to provide them with an outlet to test their abilities. Some may later move on to AV but many will wish to progress through the other Distinctions Panels. We aim to stimulate interest with this new category and to gain new members for The Society.

The Distinctions Panel meets on Saturday 30 September 2006 at Aldbourne, Wiltshire and Sunday 29 April 2007.Applications for Distinctions should be made via Carol Agar at The RPS, Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath BA2 3AH Tel 01225 462841. Guidelines are available as hard copy from Carol or downloadable in pdf format from The RPS website, www.rps.org or www.avg.rps.org. Advice on draft applications may be obtained from the Chairman of the Panel, Robert Albright FRPS-robert@robertalbright.co.uk.

On 30 September we also plan to hold a Distinctions Advisory Day. Potential applicants for Distinctions in AV (L, A or F) or in Photo Harmony (L) are encouraged to bring their work for feedback and advice on improvements. It is essential to notify the organisers by 10 September 2006 by email to robert@robertalbright.co.uk or by post at Treneer House, 6 Turnpike, Aldbourne, Wiltshire SN8 2BZ so that appropriate plans can be made. The cost will be £15 for those bringing work for advice and £10 for those only attending the day (applicants for Distinctions excluded).