mid-Cheshire Camcorder Club

History

The Mid-Cheshire Videographic Society was formed in January 1992 as a result of a two-day course on video making at Hartford College. Home video editing was in it's infancy, and many on the course wished to know how to edit their tapes, which was not covered on the course. One of these enthusiasts, Ron Fowler, was instrumental in bringing together some of the course attendees to form the Society to share their knowledge and experience.

The initial membership was thirteen and the Society met once a month in Northwich library. Membership grew to more than twenty. Funds did not stretch to paying professional speakers so the Society operated as a self-help group. Groups were formed within the Society to spread know-how among the members. Each group contained a range of skills and experience and produced videos from set subject matter. The composition of the groups changed each year and thus the development and spread of know-how was achieved.

Limited finance and the high cost of meeting in Northwich Library prompted a move to the Church Hall in Whitley. Money was saved but at the cost of reduced membership. The facilites at Whitley were limited and the location was inconvenient for many members. In April 1998 the venue again changed, to Winnington Park Recreation Club, and the name of the Society was changed to Mid-Cheshire Video Camera Society.

During the life of the Club some fund raising videos have been made, not always successfully, in addition to the normal video making activities. Videos were submitted, unsuccessfuly, to "You've Been Framed", a schools video promoting sports was made, the Society took part in the "Winsford Now" community exhibition and one of the members produced a video of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust "Only One Earth" event in 1998. In 2002 the club made a commemorative video of the Jubilee Celebrations at Winnington Park Recreation Club, which was well received by its audience. It also changed its name to Mid-Cheshire Camcorder Club.

The Cub exchanges videos with other societies and videos made by two members of the Club won audience votes as first and second in their class at the 2001 Lymm Festival. The Club Awards the "Niklaus Trophy" annually to the member producing the best one-minute video as determined by independent judges. The "Progress Trophy" is awarded to the member making most progress throughout the year and “The Ron Fowler Trophy” is awarded for the best video of the year.