KitPlus | Articles

The evolving art of sports television

Given the choice of watching a major live event on site or via television, most people would opt for the real thing. Sure, you have to get to the venue, perhaps queue to buy a ticket, find your seat or maybe stand for hours. If it is a football match, the audience in front will probably stand up for a better view of each goal, completely blocking y...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

How to choose a Location?

How to choose a Location?Clearly it depends on what your script or brief says so we need some examples to work with:Location 1: two back-gardens with a low fence between them. Script: one householder is envious of his next-door neighbour's new lawn mower. Location 2: a school playground. Script: a cuddly-toy monster is handing out a new range of ch...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

The Biggest Game in Town

The Biggest Game in TownAnnually, as the Super Bowl approaches, stores across the States stack their shelves with the latest HDTV sets. Advertising sales teams cancel all holidays and prepare for a feeding frenzy. Networks bid in earnest to win exclusive game broadcasting rights. And new media innovators roll out their latest online and mobile apps...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2012

Ask the experts......Intercoms for outside broadcasts

Ask the experts – intercoms for outside broadcastsBarry Spencer, Trilogy CommunicationsI just assume outside broadcast trucks come with an intercom. Why do I need to even think about it?The first big point is that an outside broadcast is not just a control room on wheels. It is an event. And that means communications beyond the truck. Within the pr...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2012

ARRI LED technology

With a growing range of LED products, ARRI is providing industry professionals with all of the benefits of using a Low Energy Lighting source with familiar characteristics. The L-Series LED Fresnel fixtures are so close to their conventional equivalents that they create a like-for-like replacement of traditional Fresnels with LED-based light engine...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Canon C300 Review

Canon's highly anticipated C300 camera is their first offering to the 'digital cinema' market. The camera was released amid a meticulously planned marketing campaign, which created a hype not seen since the Red One camera's introduction in 2006. Canon have since taken the camera on a global roadshow showcasing to all potential suitors, of which the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Andrew McLeans Guide to Lenses

Andrew McLean, an experienced cinematographer and now vice president of business development at broadcast equipment hire company HotCam, details some of the basic things to consider when it comes to choosing and using camera lenses. What’s the first thing you do when choosing lenses for a shoot?First I consider the creative direction – the aestheti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

ARE QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNISED?

In a recent survey of 1,000 employers in various industries about whether job applicants possess the skills to thrive in the work place, more then half of employers said finding qualified applicants was difficult. It appears that many companies in our industry are pretending that all is well. They must believe because as so many people want to work...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Review on the Autocue SSP17 Starter Series

The time has come. My home made “autocue”, although working well, needed to be upgraded. It had served me well for a couple of years, but I needed something a bit higher quality and slightly bigger. So Autocue kindly loaned me one of their SSP17 Starter Package prompters. Their Starter Series of prompters is exactly that, it’s their lower end promp...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

Looking for the connection

This time last year I wrote a column which looked back. This year I have set myself the infinitely more challenging task of looking forward. What are the hot topics for 2012?The first prediction is easy. Television coverage of the Olympics and Paralympics will be extraordinary, capturing all the skill and dedication, elation and heartbreak of the w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

ITS SHOW TIME how will you make the most of it?

Trade shows can be hugely valuable for your business, but only if you have the right approach, as Peter Savage explains. Well, the season has finished – the festive season that is and, by the time you have sat down to read this, the new season will be almost upon us. What season is that? I hear you mutter. The trade show season. Yes, February is th...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

Managing Media

Looking after the media for a television production used to be a relatively simple task. The footage would be shot and captured on tape. The tapes would be delivered to the post-production facility for editing. They would be ingested into the edit system, the editor would construct the final program and it would be recorded back to tape. All the ta...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

Headache-free 3D

With over 30 broadcast channels now offering 3D programmes, and cinemas in practically every major town and city equipped to show 3D films, demand for stereoscopic content is increasing rapidly. Display manufacturers are now responding to this growing market with various new technologies intended to improve the viewing experience. A useful show for...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

How a live streaming launch comes together....

Well it’s that time of year again. CALL of DUTY Launch. That’s right it’s been a whole year since I wrote about the successful launch of Call of Duty Black Ops, and now we have the new Call of Duty MW3 launch. Just as last year, myself as part of the Mediakinetic team were once again asked by Headstream and Five by Five Digital to live stream the l...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

The best job of the year so far!

I'm very nostalgic. Blame it on too much Austen and Bronte at a young age. I love photographs, how they pinpoint a moment in time that you can never reclaim. Especially spontaneous photos that capture just how you were feeling, (no matter how unflattering it is!). I also have a habit of reflecting on the past, looking at where I was, what I was doi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012