AFSI association comes from the desire of sound professionals to meet, to communicate and to develop the arts and technology related with sound to image. Created one month ago, AFSI (unfortunately a too much used acronym) seems to interest many sound mixers who came in large number, in the main hall of Femis film school, to carry a toast to the new association, on Thursday, 13 November 2008. Yet a few months ago, a cinematographer, member of the AFC, had this remark: “You, sound mixers, you're not near to federate: just watch your sound carts, there’re no two alike, they are all different.” (We could have answered that saying that between a cinematographer using a bunch of 20K HMI, and one who is satisfied with one KinoFlo, to make the best of location light, there is the same gap than between the supporters of Deva on monstrous sound cart and those of over-the-shoulder Cantar.)
The founding members of the AFSI seem to have learned a lesson from the mistakes of USC since they have expanded member eligibility, thanks to a contribution system with several levels (active members for head technicians with at leat 5 year experience, associate members, student members, benefactor members, whose contributions are respectively 90, 70, 35 and 200 euros). This distinction between members (although discriminatory from some viewpoint), takes credit for accepting at last assistants and students. The establishment of function departments (filming, editing, mixing, broadcast, each with a subdivision between head and assistant) will perhaps prevent takeover of one profession over the other.
Many conferences, workshops and working groups are already planned and partnerships are established.
Hopefully the notorious "fourth wall" between production sound mixers, sound editors and rerecording mixers, will finally disappear and interactivity will become the rule to the delight of our profession.
The founding members of the AFSI seem to have learned a lesson from the mistakes of USC since they have expanded member eligibility, thanks to a contribution system with several levels (active members for head technicians with at leat 5 year experience, associate members, student members, benefactor members, whose contributions are respectively 90, 70, 35 and 200 euros). This distinction between members (although discriminatory from some viewpoint), takes credit for accepting at last assistants and students. The establishment of function departments (filming, editing, mixing, broadcast, each with a subdivision between head and assistant) will perhaps prevent takeover of one profession over the other.
Many conferences, workshops and working groups are already planned and partnerships are established.
Hopefully the notorious "fourth wall" between production sound mixers, sound editors and rerecording mixers, will finally disappear and interactivity will become the rule to the delight of our profession.
