Hi All!!

[vancellfoto]

My name is Joseph Paul Vancell, aged 39, married and father of two boys. I hail from the Island of Malta.

Art and design have been constant in my life ever since my late-teens, when I took a two-year intensive course in Industrial Design at the Art & Design Centre, Valletta. I was awarded the Borsa di Studio Amadeo Grutter for three weeks in Italy, an experience that I have continued to utilise to this day.

Following my course I became a Darkroom Operator with P&S International Ltd, where I was trained in darkroom techniques and the process of burning and developing plates, making contact prints, photo mechanical transfers and films.

Subsequently I worked as a Graphic Designer with JP Advertising Ltd, where I trained in paste-up, computer page layout and more darkroom techniques. In this capacity I designed page layouts for such publications as The Sunday Times Magazine, The Circle, The Medical Journal, The Photographic Journal, The Caterer and Informatics.

In 1990 I joined Crown Advertising Ltd as Senior Graphic Designer, where I worked mainly on newspaper adverts and was responsible from brief to finish, including visuals and artwork. In 1991 I was approached by Advantage Advertising Ltd to work as Art Director for this well-known magazine with.

In this capacity I was responsible for the design and layout of Malta This Month Air Malta¡¦s in-flight magazine, liaising with photographers to ensure high-quality photographic content, and supervision and quality assessment both when the publication is returned as 4 colour proofs and when it was being printed. I was also responsible for the general management of the studio.

In my various capacities I have picked up an above-average fluency in a number of computer programmes, including Adobe¡¦s creative suite which include Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. I am also knowledgeable in video editing software such as Corels¡¦ Video Studio Pro, Adobe Premier and some Final Cut. I am also conversant in the two main computer platforms the Macintosh and PC.

I developed a keen interest in Photography throughout my work experience. I am also a full member of the Malta Institute for Professional Photographers .

As Now I am working as a professional photographer doing weddings in Malta, I have invested in a Panasonic AG-HMC71E solid state vidcam.

I have joined this forum as I am having problems with transitions on AVCHD.