Sky Arts - Masters of Photography competition

TV talent show, hence why thy want a video. They're not merely judging your images, but they're CASTING for the show.

There are at least 30 high profile awards and competitions annually that will actually be of more use to a photographer than this. This is designed to be entertainment for viewers..... they'd probably call it "infotainment" but.... same thing. You could have great shots, but if you have no screen presence or you're boring, I doubt you'd get anywhere with this.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
TV talent show, hence why thy want a video. They're not merely judging your images, but they're CASTING for the show.

There are at least 30 high profile awards and competitions annually that will actually be of more use to a photographer than this. This is designed to be entertainment for viewers..... they'd probably call it "infotainment" but.... same thing. You could have great shots, but if you have no screen presence or you're boring, I doubt you'd get anywhere with this.
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Put other's off applying, thin out your competition before you even start. Very clever David, but you don't fool me! ;)
 
Pookeyhead said:
... You could have great shots, but if you have no screen presence or you're boring, I doubt you'd get anywhere with this.
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The rules do make it clear that the initial stage is a casting process. However the judging of the images is by a panel of experts, rather than the voting public, so I'm anticipating more bake-off than X-factor. If nothing else there should be some travel for the chosen contestants and probably the chance to play with some interesting kit. Who knows, there might even be a pin-hole camera week? Only time will tell.

If someone from TP enters and wins maybe they'll sell me their old kit at a knock down price? ;).
 
Pookeyhead said:
TV talent show, hence why thy want a video. They're not merely judging your images, but they're CASTING for the show.

There are at least 30 high profile awards and competitions annually that will actually be of more use to a photographer than this. This is designed to be entertainment for viewers..... they'd probably call it "infotainment" but.... same thing. You could have great shots, but if you have no screen presence or you're boring, I doubt you'd get anywhere with this.
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Ah come on, it would be great telly watching you get stuck into a judge for having a camera club mentality and you'd enjoy it really. :)
 
steveo_mcg said:
Ah come on, it would be great telly watching you get stuck into a judge for having a camera club mentality and you'd enjoy it really. :)
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I would :)
 
I'd be very careful entering this by the way.

The terms and conditions are fine - they're all good.

BUT:
The waiver form on the image uploading stage has a very concerning paragraph, that looks like it's a rights grab. It doesn't make pretty reading:

"I agree that the files and/or negatives of the Pictures shall from now onwards be your exclusive property and are hereby transferred to you pursuant to art... As a result, although they will continue to be kept in my database, they shall remain fully available to you and I hereby undertake not to use them in any form without your prior written approval."

A couple of us have raised this to the Sky Arts twitter account, apparently it will be passed on to be looked at/clarified. Thought people here might like to know in case they were considering entering.
 
GlennW said:
I'd be very careful entering this by the way.

The terms and conditions are fine - they're all good.

BUT:
The waiver form on the image uploading stage has a very concerning paragraph, that looks like it's a rights grab. It doesn't make pretty reading:

"I agree that the files and/or negatives of the Pictures shall from now onwards be your exclusive property and are hereby transferred to you pursuant to art... As a result, although they will continue to be kept in my database, they shall remain fully available to you and I hereby undertake not to use them in any form without your prior written approval."

A couple of us have raised this to the Sky Arts twitter account, apparently it will be passed on to be looked at/clarified. Thought people here might like to know in case they were considering entering.
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I thought it said it in the T&C's too...
 
Rich_Ellis said:
I thought it said it in the T&C's too...
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It did I'm fairly certain. People will ignore it however, because they're so desperate to be famous - much the same way so many people are willing to give their work away for free because it will achieve the same goal (or so they think).


I also love the way that you may have to fly to Paris, or Rome, or who knows where at your own expense too. LOL

It's got all the hallmarks of being yet another reality show with desperate people craving fame. They'll be cast in order to be controversial and divisive, and photography will have nothing to do with it. The winner will not be a master of photography, they'll be a master of spin and media whoring. The photography will be terrible, and the only real winner will be Sky and their advertisers because they'll have produced another 6 week series of Saturday night anaesthetic for the worker zombies.


Just say no people.

There's another way.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
It did I'm fairly certain. People will ignore it however, because they're so desperate to be famous - much the same way so many people are willing to give their work away for free because it will achieve the same goal (or so they think).


I also love the way that you may have to fly to Paris, or Rome, or who knows where at your own expense too. LOL

It's got all the hallmarks of being yet another reality show with desperate people craving fame. They'll be cast in order to be controversial and divisive, and photography will have nothing to do with it. The winner will not be a master of photography, they'll be a master of spin and media whoring. The photography will be terrible, and the only real winner will be Sky and their advertisers because they'll have produced another 6 week series of Saturday night anaesthetic for the worker zombies.


Just say no people.

There's another way.
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Or a Tuesday....
 
Rich_Ellis said:
I thought it said it in the T&C's too...
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As far as I could tell in the T&Cs it stated non-exclusive, you still owned etc., but the image waiver form has a completely different wording that is much less beneficial for the entrants.
 
Dave Semmens said:
I have been watching Sky Landscape Artist of the year - my advice is to send in blurred photos with wrong WB and exposure. Basically - f*** it up as much as possible. The judges will think it is genius and you will win.

Anyone who doesn't believe me - just watch last weeks SLAOTY and come back and tell me I am wrong!
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I just came here to post something similar. I used to think that camera club judges were awful, but the three on that have set a new level of terrible pretentiousness. It feels like they pretty much decided who they liked at the start of the heats and have gone with them irrespective of their merits of their painting that week. IMO Sam could take a dump on a large canvas and roll around in it for a while, and those three will bestowed him with the LAOTY title.
 
Looks like bringing it to the attention of Sky Arts was the right thing to do - they've apparently changed it to non-exclusive now:

"Sky Arts ‏@SkyArts 19m19 minutes ago
I've looked into this and it seems a less possessive clause was put in the...
Sky Arts ‏@SkyArts 19m19 minutes ago
... Italian version but for some reason it wasn't updated on the English site.
Sky Arts ‏@SkyArts 18m18 minutes ago
It has been amended now, asking for non-exclusive license.
Sky Arts ‏@SkyArts 17m17 minutes ago
I'm so sorry for the confusion, and thank you for bringing it to our attention."
 
Dave Semmens said:
I have been watching Sky Landscape Artist of the year - my advice is to send in blurred photos with wrong WB and exposure. Basically - f*** it up as much as possible. The judges will think it is genius and you will win.

Anyone who doesn't believe me - just watch last weeks SLAOTY and come back and tell me I am wrong!
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lol yes I watched that with my eldest lad last weekend and just watched in disbelief as they put that guy through.. certainly beggars belief what on earth they see in some pieces.. :thinking:
 
The W said:
I just came here to post something similar. I used to think that camera club judges were awful, but the three on that have set a new level of terrible pretentiousness. It feels like they pretty much decided who they liked at the start of the heats and have gone with them irrespective of their merits of their painting that week. IMO Sam could take a dump on a large canvas and roll around in it for a while, and those three will bestowed him with the LAOTY title.
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It looked like he had placed a large skid mark down the middle of the canvas this week - the judges loved it and through to the final he goes.

I only watch it so I can get angry and rant at the TV :)
 
Dave Semmens said:
It looked like he had placed a large skid mark down the middle of the canvas this week - the judges loved it and through to the final he goes.

I only watch it so I can get angry and rant at the TV :)
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in all fairness they were painting the thames which is essentially one huge skidmark cutting through London.
 
Are there no limits to the desperate ratings war on tv now? x-factor,bake off, sewing bee, pottery, what next Britain best crack whore?
 
I've been enjoying the pottery one.
 
Master of Photography? One of the contestants on this show, Gina Soden, is the sister of Kate Bryan who was one of the judges on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year. Small world eh? #veryfishy #150000euros
 
The whole thing seems to have been quite murky from the outset, most legitimate competitions would have rules against staff members and family relations against their entry for stuff like this.
 
I hope somebody brings this to Sky Arts' attention - the rules are clear on their site  The following individuals shall be excluded from the Contest: - Those who will commit irregularities or those who will have committed irregularities verified by Sky or by the Production Label; - The Candidates who have personally or whose immediate relatives, including those living with their family, are or have been employees, functionaries, directors or agents in one of the following companies for the past two (2) years (2014, 2015): (A) SKY ITALIA S.r.l., SKY UK, SKY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and controlling, controlled or affiliated companies and, in general, companies subject to control by the same company or group of companies (“Sky Group”), , BALLANDI MULTIMEDIA S.r.l., BALLANDI MULTIMEDIA, or any other entity owned, controlled or affiliated with same; (B) any individual or entity involved in the development, production, distribution or other activities regarding the Programme or any variation thereof; (C) any sponsors or advertising agency of the Programme; (D) any individual or entity that provides materials, services or awards to the Programm
 
course we've only got your word that they are related , and given your user name you don't seem totally unbiased on the issue ;)
 
skyartsphotoconcern said:
I hope somebody brings this to Sky Arts' attention - the rules are clear on their site  The following individuals shall be excluded from the Contest: - Those who will commit irregularities or those who will have committed irregularities verified by Sky or by the Production Label; - The Candidates who have personally or whose immediate relatives, including those living with their family, are or have been employees, functionaries, directors or agents in one of the following companies for the past two (2) years (2014, 2015): (A) SKY ITALIA S.r.l., SKY UK, SKY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and controlling, controlled or affiliated companies and, in general, companies subject to control by the same company or group of companies (“Sky Group”), , BALLANDI MULTIMEDIA S.r.l., BALLANDI MULTIMEDIA, or any other entity owned, controlled or affiliated with same; (B) any individual or entity involved in the development, production, distribution or other activities regarding the Programme or any variation thereof; (C) any sponsors or advertising agency of the Programme; (D) any individual or entity that provides materials, services or awards to the Programm
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Well, have you brought the matter to their attention? Have you written to the photographic press about it? Is Ms Bryan and employee of any of the above companies?
 
interesting choice of username

There's been some good photography programs on Sky Arts and it's nice to have a channel with these on. Various interviews, following photographers work, directions. Was it last year they had Rankin on street art?
 
skyartsphotoconcern said:
http://artisanlondon.co.uk/?p=7349 family connection = sister. A brief browse on instagram, facebook etc should suffice. Plus Sky Arts must presumably be aware.
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OK. In spite of the fact that I think I've been fished I'm going to bite... Here's a quote from an article on Gina Soden from my local paper.

'But it was a meeting with the head of contemporary arts at The Fine Arts Society which led to a nervous lunch at the club based in Soho. “I met Kate Bryan from The Fine Arts Society and she suggested I take my work into The Groucho and meet Rob and Nick Carter, who are the curators there and also fantastic artists themselves,” says Gina.'

So, they certainly know each other. But whilst not unheard of to describe meeting your sister in this way it is certainly unusual. Also, a google - using a VPN to the USA to avoid any European data privacy restrictions - of "Kate Bryan","Gina Soden", +sister or +relation or +relationship finds only a handful of matches, none of which mentions family.
 
Looking forward to this (despite the stuff above). Surprising that photography doesn't get more airtime, especially now 'everyone is a photographer'...
 
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