At last I received an email from Karga 7 Pictures accepting my refusal to allow them the use of Arachnophobia 2009, after they had resisted taking no for an answer for nearly a week. Between first contact and now, emails were batted to and fro, including an agreement to pay me for providing the uncompressed version of the footage and its use. What decided me against proceeding were the potentially dire consequences of signing the Materials Release and the fact that the production house was not able to guarantee me being credited for my work.

I collected the letter with the Queensland Museum Network Gift Agreement for my Image Library from my mail box (as opposed to my PO box). It is a rather flimsy affair compared with the State Library Deed of Gift and at first reading appears to vest copyright with the Museum. There are other issues I need to raise before signing.

An email arrived from a television production company in Los Angeles requesting permission to use my Arachnophobia 2009 video of an aggregation of Golden Orb-weaving Spiders for a TV series for the Science Channel. All well and good. In July last year we provided Showrunner Productions in Perth footage from various videos for a series they were making for ABC TV here in Australia. To date there has been no sign of it and perhaps it always was a speculative project. Needless to say they balked at the idea of paying me. Will Karga 7 Pictures? These production companies are in business to make money but seem to rely on not having to pay the likes of me. Don’t get me wrong, it is always flattering to be asked.

This evening over dinner at Steve’s I was told that Taylah had achieved an A for her film and video work during the year. She shot two videos: the one featuring me being the second. Very gratifying to be involved in her excellent work. Congratulations and well done T.

This evening I worked with Steve on re-titling videos after a four week break because he and Paulina went on an overseas holiday  to Thailand. It was the first opportunity to view his daughter Taylah’s finished video about me and my work for her school project about Australian identity. The video is titled ‘Home is where the heart is’ and at five minutes, is a minute over the required duration. Taylah filmed heaps of footage to choose from. Her shot selection was most assured. I enjoyed the video which consisted of me talking to camera inter-cut with shots of Steve and I working in his editing suite, me filming and a selection of the subjects I was filming. I hope she gets a good mark for her enterprise.

This evening Steve’s sixteen year old daughter Taylah finished filming me for a school project on Australian identity for which she chose me and my very Australian biodiversity video archive. Taylah filmed Steve and I working on retitling videos for the National Film & Sound Archive and then interviewed me about how my work is being preserved for present and future generations of Australians. She and Steve came to my place on Saturday the 15^th to film and interview me at my computer and filming at the Botanic Gardens where Taylah interviewed me some more. I saw some of Saturday’s footage which looked very good and eagerly anticipate viewing the completed video.

Today I went to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane to hand over my Image Library to Michelle Ryan. The support documents with species identification and locations were much appreciated. It is interesting to note how often I wrote ‘roadside’ as the location. A deed of gift will be prepared for me to fill in and sign which should prove straightforward. I await further instructions concerning data to be supplied by Steve. It is a relief that the library is in its new home.

This evening I completed writing up species identification and location on the 3,597 video frames and 434 photos which comprise my image library as a preliminary to handing it over to the Queensland Museum. I started the work around the beginning of the month and have been at it with hardly a break. It helped that there were as many as nine repeat illustrations of a number of subjects and fewer repeats of many more. The work has added great value to the images and revealed errors which have been corrected and omissions which have now enriched my website. A Deed of Gift has to be finalised. That won’t happen until after my return from Africa, whither I am bound in just under a fortnight.

Last Friday I ordered new tapes from the local supplier, only to be told that there were none in stock, but further enquiries would be made. Today I was told that Sony was no longer making the tapes. I phoned the people in Sydney from whom I bought my camera and was directed to FATS (Film and Tape Sales) in Chatswood. They had 30 in stock and I promptly ordered 10 for delivery on Friday. I am looking to buy a new camera at the end of the year and hope the tapes will tide me over. Steve had foretold the demise of the tapes some time ago.

With the latest 8 videos Steve and I have uploaded to the site, the total has just ticked over the 350 mark. At the time we received a grant in 2013 to create videos, there was a substantial backlog of SD and HD footage. We are now up to date with 3 videos pending and 4 time-coded DVDs awaiting collection from which new clips will be selected.