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Capture and Produce

Issue 93 - September 2014 Amongst all the new cameras, support and other production kit being touted prior to IBC, it was a less tangible announcement that really captured the imagination: Atomos’ announcement that it wants to standardize its Start/Stop Trigger connectivity for HDMI by making it available to other manufacturers. Locking SDI interfa...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

6

Must have or just a dream? Either way these are our 6 of the best this month chosen by Larry Jordan, David Crossman and Jon Boast. Issue 93 - September 2014 DJI Ronin Handheld Gimbal SystemThe DJI Ronin Handheld Gimbal System has been developed for the cinematographer with pro-grade build quality keeping up with the demands of everyday use and aeri...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 October 2014

Big hands small head

by Graham Reed Issue 91 - July 2014 A long time ago, in a place that no longer exists, BBC Television Centre, we had large cameras E.M.I. 2001, They were often referred to as the cameramans camera, as at the time they gave what was considered excellent pictures in 625 lines (SD), but of course they suffered from many problems. They needed constant...

Submitted by graham reed

Published 01 August 2014

RTS Thames Valley NAB 2014 Review

by Simon Tillyer Issue 90 - June 2014 A sunny, early summer evening welcomed over 40 people to the annual RTS NAB review on 14th May. This annual get together features a panel of guests, chaired by Dick Hobbs discussing their experiences and thoughts of NAB. The panel consisted of Maya Severyn (Head of Technical Services & Support - Chellomedia), J...

Submitted by Simon Tillyer

Published 01 July 2014

4K at NAB

by Bob Pank Issue 89 - May 2014 The long term NAB veterans will be well aware of just how quickly new technologies can come and go in the television industry. For instance, only a couple of years ago, 3D was still the hot topic, now it has gone quiet, but not altogether gone away. So it is good to report that 4K had another very good NAB, probably...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2014

Making 4K mainstream in 2014

by Austin Freshwater Issue 89 - May 2014 4K was one of the hot topics at this years CES. Higher resolutions may be showing more promise as the industry moves on from the latest iteration of 3D, which proved expensive to produce and poorly received by many viewers. However, as we move further into 2014, we continue to see some reticence within the i...

Submitted by Austin Freshwater

Published 01 June 2014

Fixing that inhospitable location shoot

by Harry Amies Issue 88 - April 2014 Say Iran. What do most people think of? Hostage-taking, nuclear programmes, angry mobs, CGI outsourcing, VFX, a multi-million dollar movie industry? If Harry Amies and Amir Rezazadeh of UK based co-producers HarryAmir have anything to do with it itll be the last three. HarryAmir is a UK-based company, that helps...

Submitted by Harry Amies

Published 01 May 2014

Will Strauss looks at 6 reasons why 4k is so special

by Will Strauss Issue 86 - February 2014 4k (or UHD) is everywhere. Whether you want it or not, it is (slowly) permeating the living room - in the form of TV sets - and gradually becoming more commonplace on location and in the studio. Someday soon it will be broadcast in the UK too. As Bob Pank points out on page 56 there are a number of reasons f...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 March 2014

Modern movie finishing

by Alexa Maza Issue 85 - January 2014 Written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, Elysium is a new science fiction movie starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. Set in the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined planet. Digit...

Submitted by Alexa Maza

Published 01 February 2014

Bob Pank looks at shooting 4K TV

by Bob PankIssue 82 - October 2013 Not unexpectedly IBC was full of buzz and products for 4K the new image format for television. This is generally taken to be a 2x2 version of HDTVs 1920 x 1080, i.e. defining a 3840 x 2160 pixel picture. But there is nothing new about big pictures like this. Back in late 2004 a draft of the Digital Cinema Initiati...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2013

Flying Pictures and the importance of a monitor

Issue 82 - October 2013 Hampshire based filming specialist Flying Pictures is the world leader in the provision of aerial & helicopter filming services for feature films, commercials, television, live broadcast events and surveillance. Based in the UK, the company nevertheless operates worldwide, so if you need something done in the air; they do it...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 November 2013

Will Strauss rounds up IBC 2013

by Will StraussIssue 82 - October 2013 Dear Reader. I have a confession. I did not visit every single one of the many hundreds of stands at IBC this year. In fact, I didnt even visit all 11 halls within the RAI. And I didnt talk to all 52,974 attendees. I was there. I have the stroopwafels to prove it. Its just that IBC is a massive show. And I am...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2013

NAB is for soothsayers, trendsetters and people with road...

Unlucky for some…by Will StraussPrototypes, alpha products, demos and proofs of concept: NAB in Las Vegas is all about future innovation. Will Strauss picks 13 stands that you must visit this year. With the dust from BVE barely settled, it’s already time to look towards NAB. I know, I know. Don’t shout at me. I didn’t arrange the broadcast industry...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 April 2013

Cooke Optics

by Robert HowardHere at Cooke Optics we’re currently basking in the golden glow of our brand new Academy Award® of Merit – yes, that’s an Oscar® statuette – which we received this February in recognition of our continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of motion picture camera lenses. From Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy...

Submitted by Robert Howard

Published 01 March 2013

Sony cameras and Canon EF Lenses being used to great effe...

By Mike Tapa MTFWith the immanent introduction of the F5 and F55 from Sony, perhaps we should take look back on the fantastic work done by its predecessor the PMW-F3 in the past year. Interchangeable lenses is one of its main features, coupled with an extremely shallow lens register make this one of the most versatile tools in any cameraman's a kit...

Submitted by Mike Tapa

Published 01 March 2013