5.1 Introduction
When you first join the IOV your initial status is ‘Ordinary’ member (i.e. non-qualified). Ordinary Members enjoy all the financial, practical and support benefits of membership – with the exception of being able to fully exploit their membership for commercial gain. To use the IOV logo, and eventually be promoted by the IOV, members must demonstrate levels of competency through IOV Accreditation. Whilst you can remain as an Ordinary Member for as long as you wish, there are definite commercial benefits in progressing through our accreditation system.
5.2 Part One of IOV Accreditation
The initial step in IOV Accreditation requires you to pass the online, multiple-choice, Associate Member exam. This is contained within the VideoSkills website (www.videoskills.net) which provides free public access to the training material that you will be tested upon. Essentially, the VideoSkills syllabus covers everything the IOV believes you should understand in order to operate as a professional videographer. It is divided into five study and exam categories covering Cameracraft, Lighting, Audio, Postproduction and Business & Legal. Whilst the study material is freely available to everyone, IOV members have additional access to the exam itself. When you join the IOV you will be supplied with login details that will recognise you as a current member and enable you to take the exam. If you pass the exam and wish to convert the pass into the Associate Member qualification you are required to pay an exam fee. This will licence you to use the IOV Associate Member logo in your promotional material. You may also use the Associate Member logo on your website, so long as it links back to a specific page on the IOV website confirming your membership status. Full details of the study material and exam process can be found on the VideoSkills website (www.videoskills.net). Whilst you can remain as an Associate Member for as long as you wish, once you have passed this exam you can then progress on to Full Accreditation.
5.3 Full IOV Accreditation
Full IOV Accreditation is achieved by submitting satisfactory samples of your work for Assessment according to a set criteria (see below). It must be applied for within 2-years of passing your Associate Member exam. Your work will be viewed by a panel of existing Fellow Members who convene four times a year. The panel’s main objectives are to grade the submitted video for its content (Suitability for Purpose) and the craft skills used in the production.
Whilst no hard-and-fast measurements can be used to grade artistic creations such as video, the panel’s responsibility is to state whether or not that member has shown a professionally competent level in video production and is able to practically demonstrate the craft skill syllabus contained within the Associate Membership exam. In essence, gaining full IOV Accreditation provides you with a recommendation from the IOVs Assessment Panel.
Currently, all Fully Accredited members are listed in ‘The List’ in the IOVs publication, Focus Magazine, and can be searched on the ‘Find a Videographer’ website (www.find-a-videographer.com). Aside from this exposure ‘The List’ is supplied to members of the public and potential clients who approach the IOV for recommended videographers. Other Fully Accredited members also find these services of use should they need the services of another suitably qualified operator. There are three different grades of Full IOV Accreditation:
5.3.1 Master Member (M.M.Inst.V.)
Master Membership is aimed at those looking for personal accreditation. To achieve Master Membership you will have to be able to demonstrate a good understanding of video production techniques (see criteria guidance notes below). The panel will assess various aspects of the production including Titles & Graphics, Camerawork & Lighting, Sound, Post-Production and Overall Production Quality. Your submission must be accompanied with a completed Assessment Form along with the Assessment Fee.
If the panel find that the video is of a standard that reflects a common level of production competence (rated 70% or higher), Master Membership is awarded and the member is supplied with a written report, a certificate and an upgraded membership card that reflects the qualification. If the production falls below the current standard, the member remains as an Associate Member and is provided with a report detailing the reasons why Master Membership was not awarded and advice on how to achieve it.
If you do not achieve Master Membership on your first assessment, you can re-apply on any future assessment sitting (subject to a maximum time limit of 2 years from passing your Associate Member exam). There is no limit to the number of times that you can apply for Master Membership. On achieving Master Membership the member may use the credentials M.M.Inst.V. after his or her name and the IOV logo may be used for the purpose of stationery and promotional material.
5.3.2 Fellow Member (F.Inst.V.)
If your Master Membership assessment submission is of exceptional standard (rated 90% or higher), you will be invited to apply for Fellowship. At this point you are still a Master Member, but you have achieved what is referred to as ‘Fellowship Recommendation’. To apply for Fellowship you must send in two further examples of your work with an additional Assessment Fee. If the panel also judge these to be of an exceptional standard (rated 90% or higher) then Fellowship is awarded.
If you have gained Master Membership, but not yet Fellowship Recommendation, you can still apply for Fellowship at any time. This is a two-stage process and requires you to initially send in a single assessment submission (with an additional Assessment Fee), which has to achieve Fellowship Recommendation. You will then be asked to send in two further examples on a following assessment. There is no limit to the number of times that you can apply for a Fellowship.
5.3.3 Corporate Member
Corporate Membership is aimed at larger production companies. The accreditation is awarded to the company or trading name as opposed to the individual. You will need to submit three examples of your work, along with a completed Assessment Form and Corporate Assessment Fee. The pass mark for Corporate Membership is in-line with Fellowship at 90%.
Once a Corporate Member has been passed by the Assessment Panel, that company may use the IOV logo for the purpose of stationery and promotional material.
5.4 Assessment Criteria and Guidelines
The aim of these guidelines is to ensure that all members who attain accreditation will have shown that they understand, and have knowledge of, the basic technical and artistic conventions of video production. A Glossary of Terms has been provided at the end to help clarify certain points.
i) Fellowship and Master Membership assessment productions should predominantly be the work of the person applying for qualification. This is not to say that it all has to be the work of one person; the governing rule is that the ‘major influence’ should be the person applying. With Corporate Membership the qualification is given to the Production Company.
ii) All submissions must be clearly labelled. This includes the production title, applicant’s name, membership number (where applicable), and contact details. The work has to be submitted online as a streamed file.
iii) All submissions should be accompanied by a completed Assessment Form and relevant Assessment Fee.
iv) The assessment entry can be on any subject matter.
v) The entry can either be produced specifically for assessment, or it can be a previously commissioned piece of work, provided that the programme submitted conforms to the required criteria. Work previously shot but re-worked to meet the assessment requirements is perfectly acceptable.
vi) The submitted work must have a maximum duration of 15-minutes, of which the total duration of the opening and closing titles/graphics should not exceed 90-seconds. Full screen graphics (e.g. animation sequences, charts, diagrams and maps) may be used throughout the programme but may not make up any more than 50% of the programme’s total duration. Any programme exceeding any of these timings may be considered ineligible for assessment.
vii) The assessment is divided into five (5) categories (maximum achievable percentage of the total mark shown in brackets). Each criteria description gives details of what is required for a minimum basic qualification mark in each category:
Titles & Graphics (10%)
Applicants should ensure that titles are readable, with correct spelling, grammar and layout, and conform to recognised ‘safe’ areas on the screen. Any graphics used additionally within the programme should also be clear and readable and should also have correct spelling and grammar.
Camerawork & Lighting (20%)
Applicants will be expected to demonstrate correct shot exposure, white balancing, focus and framing. The applicant will need to show full manual control of the camera. Evidence of a camera’s ‘auto’ facilities adjusting on shot (e.g. auto focus ‘hunting’ or auto iris adjusting) will not be looked upon favourably. Unless artistically justified within the programme, shots are expected to be steady and level; long pans, tilts and use of the zoom ‘on shot’ are to be discouraged.
The programme must include a minimum of two shots demonstrating a relatively shallow depth of field, one of which must be outside in daylight. Although not compulsory, the assessors will look favourably on work also including other forms of artistic shot development, e.g. tracking, crabbing, craning and use of mobile camera support systems. Although not compulsory, applicants should attempt to include some interior shots or situations under mixed lighting conditions to demonstrate lighting skills, as this will also attract additional marks if executed correctly.
Sound (20%)
Programmes must include a reasonable quantity of ‘live’ audio. This is sound which has clearly been recorded at the time of acquisition and not dubbed on in post production. This audio must be clear and undistorted with particular attention being paid to excluding unwanted ambient sound, including wind rumble.
Post Production (20%)
Applicants are to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of basic editing skills and fundamentals. The applicant will attempt to edit the programme using straight ‘cuts’ and ‘dissolves’. The use of any other kind of transition, especially those of the ‘special effects’ variety, unless justified, is to be discouraged and will not attract favourable marks.
Shots will be expected to be correctly colour matched to each other, particularly if two or more cameras are clearly being used. Applicants must also demonstrate their ability to correctly mix and balance audio of two or more sources (e.g. a music bed/ambient background sounds and a voice over).
Overall Production Quality (30%)
Applicants will be marked on their ability to ‘tell a story’ and to introduce pace and flow into the production. The applicant’s artistic interpretation, capacity to remain relevant to the programme’s subject matter and the overall quality of the programme will be taken into consideration.
ix) The applicant will not be assessed on streaming or IT skills, though the production must be easily viewable.
x) These criteria only apply to Associate Members who are seeking qualification and current Master Members who are looking to obtain a Fellowship Recommendation. Corporate applicants and those who have already been awarded a Fellowship Recommendation may submit work of their own choosing and not necessarily that which has been specially prepared according to the above criteria.
5.5 Common Assessment Questions
Q. When are assessments carried out?
A.. Four times per year – March, June, September and December (i.e. every three-months). The deadlines are the last day of the preceding months: 28th February, 31st May, 31st August and 30th November, respectively. Please note that these cut-off dates are not to be considered the last day of posting.
Q. Where do we post them?
A. Full details on how to submit work and the costs involved can be found at www.iov.co.uk/assessment.
Q. What happens if I do not agree with or do not understand my report?
A. All queries must be dealt with by email or post. Assessments are confidential and cannot be discussed over the phone. Send a link to your submission with an email (to assessment@iov.co.uk) explaining what you would like further clarification on.
Q. Is the Assessment Panel’s word final?
A. No. If after further explanation you are still not satisfied with your assessment you can have your report referred to an alternative panel whose findings are final.
Q. If I have any general queries who can contact?
A. Email admin@iov.co.ukand one of the team will be able to answer all general queries and can also supply additional Assessment Forms.
1.1 Glossary of Terms
5.6 Glossary of Terms
Ambient Sound
General background sound
Audio Dubbing
The adding of additional audio (e.g. music) to a soundtrack
Auto Focus
The system and/or ability of some cameras to automatically adjust picture focus
Auto Iris
The system and/or ability of cameras to automatically adjust picture exposure
Balancing Audio
Also known as mixing audio
Crabbing
The intentional movement of the camera perpendicular to the subject
Craning
The intentional alteration of the height of the camera in relation to the subject
Colour Matching
Ensuring that picture quality from different cameras / sessions appear similar
Depth of Field
The portion of a picture between the camera lens and infinity which is in focus
Dissolve
The transition between two video sources with a duration of 2 or more frames
Flow
The natural ‘storytelling’ progression of a video
Focus
The sharpness of a picture/the act of causing a picture to be in focus
Framing
The composition of a shot within the video frame/the act of framing
Level Shots
Shots which are level relative to the natural horizon
Lighting (Indoor/Outdoor)
The mixture of lighting sources with different colour temperatures
Live Audio
Live sound as opposed to recorded or ‘dubbed’ sound
Mobile Camera Support Systems
Equipment other than a studio camera pedestal or tripod used to carry the weight of the camera and which allows the operator to move the camera whilst ‘on shot’ or recording. Systems include jibs, cranes and Steadicam.
Music Bed
A piece of music, sometimes low level, used to enhance a video. Mainly used in ‘corporate’ type programmes
Pace
The perceived speed at which times passes within a programme.
Safe Area
The area within the video frame which is considered not to be effected by domestic cut-off
Shot exposure
The relative darkness or brightness of a shot
Straight Cut
Transition between one shot and another with a duration of 0 frames
Tracking
The movement of the camera either towards or away from the subject
Transition
The change between one shot and another
Voiceover
A piece of recorded speech used to inform the viewer or enhance a video presentation
White balancing
Adjusting the camera’s ability to accurately reproduce a picture in accordance with the current ambient colour temperature