The late Mick Melvin, founder of Kairos Communications,
taught me probably everything I know about the comma, the apostrophe, syntax,
crediting, definition,
synonym, antonym, homonym, copyright, plagiarism, lots of other isms – how
to spell –the difference between truth and opinion – a distaste for
exaggeration, an abhorrence of the exclamation mark - And – the importance of
consulting both the Oxford and Chambers dictionary.
I fear, in the many years since I worked with Mick, I have indulged
in much exaggeration, exclaimed a lot, been unfaithful to the comma and have
come to rely heavily on spellcheck rather than consult the great dusty
dictionaries. Mick taught me how to
edit, and to re-edit my edits. He taught
me how to cut out the crap before the copy was typeset. This was vitally important back then - because
cutting and pasting was scalpel and glue, deadlines were met by staying up all
night over a lightbox, and last-minute corrections had to be invisibly glued-over
by corrections of identical length.
Mick also taught me how to make videos. Back in the day when
the equipment necessary to film filled a Highace van and an editing suite
looked like it could put a man on the moon. Mick LOVED equipment. No sooner would
one get the hang of one unwieldy piece of kit than another more complex gizmo would
appear. I have tried to stay true to
everything he taught me about publishing – but I didn’t keep up the filming and
video making. It would have been a costly hobby and I wasn’t technically adept!
(this exclamation is warranted).
I wonder what Mick would have made of the smart phone. ‘Huh,’
I can hear him say. And after some consideration
‘Huh’ again. Maybe that’s why I’m so hesitant
to embrace all its functions. But – even
if it doesn’t take ‘proper’ photographs, and allows any ‘eejit’ to start
broadcasting – ‘it has to be said’ (to quote another broadcasting legend), that
it’s great fun. So…..
Dear Mick,
I am writing to tell you that I have recently made two videos. The first is of a duration of 14 seconds and
deals, rather dramatically I admit, with the undulations of my clothesline. (I
have linked it to my previous post). The second (linked below) is of a duration
of one minute, and deals with a visit to North Mayo - most specifically to the
Céide Fields. I am working on a third
more complex project (which I will post shortly) of a duration of 1.34 minutes.
I hope you are well and that you approve of blogging. I think you would have enjoyed it. Indeed it is a great pity this medium was not
available to you and we do not have your wisdoms on record.
If you would like to view North Mayo Magic – click HERE.
Sincerely yours C
