WARNING - LONG POST    

Hi guys, having been given the opportunity to look after this forum I'd like to say a few things, especially as many people have contacted me asking how they can help with Studio V....thanks guys - help is needed!!!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for all the effort they've put in so far to Studio V! Thanks particularly to Krigl, who put in hours and hours of work... and sadly can't contribute much any more for a while due to important things he needs to take care of outside the V.

There's a lot of good stuff here, and it is this most of all that has convinced me that Studio V has a purpose and needs to be continued...

1. What is Studio V - let's remember....

It's a forum for people who are particularly interested in the artistic aspect of flightsim screenshooting.

Why might people post here in Studio V? Because people comment and give honest  (but polite, friendly, helpful) opinions on shots and interact the most here... right? That's what I'd like to see happen, and for the Studio V ethic of interacting, commenting, supporting, developing to blossom and spread further through the forums....making what is already an excellent site even better, encouraging newbies and old hands alike to keep the screenart coming, and attracting newcomers with the friendly atmosphere, quality screen art, etc!

Studio V has two main 'pillars' -

- discussion, review and help threads
- competitions

The competitions side of things seems to be running nicely now, with a decent level  of participation. Nice one guys!! I have updated the Gallery and the Personal Portfolios, and intend to keep them updated...

The other side is not doing so well - sometimes it looks more like Studio Shane (from the threads posted) than Studio V these days....  


2. How can people contribute?

This is particularly for people who are officially part of the Studio V squad, as presumably they are most interested in seeing Studio V continue and its ethic of improving the artistic standards on SimV further, but is a plea to anyone who is interested in the screenshot forums on this site!

1. Most important - comment as much as you can on people's articles and shots! And not just in Studio V, but in the rest of the forums too, if/when you have time. It would be great if people supported each other more throughout the site, and this would help to encourage it. Some people claim that they don't care about comments for their own shots, but many people DO care, and it's a great feel-good thing to have a bunch of positive or useful comments.

We come to Studio V and the screenshot forums because we like screenshots - let's show our appreciation of people's fine work!
And don't forget to comment or give advice when people post here asking for help...


2. Always try to nominate some shots for the Best of comp, not always your own, but other people's work you've seen. If you are a Best of judge - don't forget to send your votes on time  

3. Post 'rip this' shots - easy and quick to do, give people a chance to say what they think, it's often interesting to hear...

4. If you have time and find something interesting or have a thought connected with screenshooting - post it! Want to review new scenery or a new plane with screenshots - post it here instead of or at the same time as in the other forums... Don't invest more time than you find easy to manage! That way you won't be so bothered if you don't 'please the crowd' with your post, and you will be able to motivate yourself to post again.

5. Find a great website, source of downloads, editing tips, any news about things related to screenies etc? Post about it here!

6. If you have any special ideas for regular features, post about them or pm Shane. All are welcomed, though not all will be possible.

We need to be realistic about such things before commiting. Can you write about things regularly - and is there a large body of stuff to write about in your chosen theme? And can you commit to doing it week after week, or is work/school/dropping motivation likely to get in the way?

If you are not sure you can commit, it's simple - post what you want to post, please!! - but as a once off. When you have time, and want to post again, do it. All contributions are welcome. But perhaps don't start it up stating it is going to be something regular and then drop it after 2 weeks.... You don't have to commit to anything - we come here for fun, not work   But if you make out something is going to be regular, you need to deliver so Studio V can build a great reputation and bring added value and enjoyment to the Simviation site and it's members. Otherwise Studio V will just become a forum with extra comps, and the reason for it's existance might be questioned...


Now to answer some of the suggestions,

1. Aviation Museum: This will be coming back shortly, Room 2 :Commercial Aviation, so have a look at the museum thread at the top and get those ideas ready!

2. Screenartist spotlight: Already in progress, look for the first one soon!

3. Screenshot Atlas: Harold, your idea sounds great and would love to see what you can do with this, just let me know what you need.

4. Xplane section: Unfortunately, this is not possible, due to reasons stated above, but I think we've found a nice way to incorporate it still, while keeping the main focus on MSFS with "Pick It".

5. Tutorials and guidelines: I would like to see some of the 'Screenshot Masters' post some more of these, however, most of what needs to be said is covered in great length in the tutorial threads up top in the stickies. There is a great wealth of info here, but that doesn't mean you can't still cover it some more, or produce one that may not have been covered yet.

6.Contests: These (for now) will be the official StudioV competitions:

1.Judges Choice
2.Monthly Best Of
3.Themed Payware - future of this one pending member support this month.
4.Edit This- When Mictheslik has time, but it needs more participation if you want him to keep it up, lack of interest can make a person feel that it is not worth their time.

Does that sound reasonable??

Any questions, comments please post below - hope I haven't managed to offend anybody!!
I usually do with long posts   It was unintentional if I did.

Thanks for looking, all help and suggestions gratefully appreciated!
Shane


I want to thank everyone for the responses, this is the kind of participation needed to help keep the Studio running smooth.