Description of the Service
The service makes use of a camcorder to record VHS/C tapes of the swim. This records full-sceen colour and sound and can be played back on the camcorder or on a Video cassette recorder (VCR) using an adaptor and a standard television set.

The camcorder has the ability to zoom in and out for close-up shots.

Individual "frames are taken from the video for use in the Slide Talks

Picture size is not "full screen", but typically is 1/4 or 1/16th. screen size, i.e. about 1.5"x 2" (inches) but it is still clear enough and comparable to small colour photographs

The pictures are displayed at a rate of about one every fifteen seconds and a narrative is added to explain them

The Audience
This is a service that enables organisers to make live coverage of their swimming competitions available, potentially, to the (estimated) 80 million on-line viewers world-wide over the Internet. However, do not expect to get 80 million viewers because (a) many people are not interested in swimming (b) many are too busy viewing other attractions or doing their business work on the net. This leaves a small number who are just curious and some bona fide swimmers who are the real target audience. The service can be used to give swimmers who cannot go to your competition, a chance to see what it is like and what they are missing.

Taking the Slide Talks

Usually, we will take the video footage for you. Let us know exactly what you want recorded. Alternatively, we can show you how the equipment works, and you can take the "film" yourself. The camcorder is very straightforward to operate and is fully automated. You can make good films using only the "on"/"off" button and the "zoom in"/"zoom out" controls.

The camcorder weighs a few pounds and can become tiring to hold over extended periods. We have a tripod.

Bear in mind that VHS/C tapes record about 45 minutes of footage each. Several tapes can be used.

The camcorder battery lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. There is a backup battery that lasts 45 minutes. The batteries are re-chargeable. For prolonged videoing, it will be necessary to put one battery on re-charge while the other is being used.

The Requirements
This service requires the availability of:

Suggested Exploitation
There are no fixed rules about how, where or when Slide Talks can be used. It is up to you. By default, slides will be taken to cover as many swimmers as possible or give an overall impression of a meet.

Usually, people appear rather small but there is a potential problem with people/parents of young swimmers objecting because of the use of the (relatively powerful 10X) zoom lenses which effectively bring object ten times nearer, e.g. 50m becomes 5m.

Close up views are possible but these have to be deliberately planned and are probably not appropriate for most competitions, unless there are "interviews" or "presentation of medals" slide shows to be shown. The camcorder can focus down to about 1.5 foot.

If it is known that records may be broken, it is possible to film the event. This can then create a permanent record that is of great interest.

Preparation and Loading Of Slide Talks
Taking the video "footage" on the poolside is just the start. A sequence of digitisation, selection, compression and reformatting is carried out before the video can be uploaded to the server from where it is retrieved by users.

Before slides can be put on the Internet the video has to be digitised. This is done using a special "capture board" that converts each frame of the video into a digital picture. The board can be used to create (Microsoft proprietary format) .WAV files.

To make the files as small as possible, some or all of the following techniques are used:

Selected frames are then extracted and "programmed" with an accompanying narration before uploading.

To view Slide Talks, users just click on the link. The browser schedules the timing of the picture changes, depending on the length of narration.

Making Users Aware
Slide Talks are publicised by appearing in the Multimedia section of the website.
New Swim Talks are announced on the front page.

The Costs
There are usually none.
However, if the competition is a long way from Luton, and I am not swimming in it, I may need to claim travel, and possibly subsistence and accommodation expenses, so this may need to be discussed in advance.
Additionally, if you want a video tape copy, there is a media charge (of about £2.00) and possibly a postage charge, if we are unlikely to meet again and cannot arrange hand delivery.

Other Related Supplementary Services
You may wish to consider using the Swimming Slide Talks service in conjunction with other multimedia and video services:

For Swim Organisers
E-mail: swimsite@freeuk.com
Website: http://www.swimsite.org.uk