KitPlus | Articles

Apple Final Cut Pro X The Critic

So we're finally here, one of the best-loved companies in the world has just launched the successor to its hugely popular video-editing program, which of course, is Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro X has just been launched. The previous edition cost over £600, so with the latest version costing under £200 and offering over 250 new features, you'd think...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

Game, Set and Match

It was only three months ago that this column hailed featured the new DVB-3DTV standard. But already there’s talk of a second version, or rather ‘phase’, as described by David Wood of the EBU in the new 3D Roundabout newsletter. In a way this is healthy. It shows just how fast 3DTV is moving and, whereas phase 1 is designed to work with existing 2D...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

tv-bay questions

Who are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?I am a freelance colourist working mainly in London and LA. I am the founder of the UK’s first datalab MYTHERAPY. I am also working on behalf of several manufacturers in research and development of colour science for digital film cameras; I am a demo artist for Iridas and Master Colourist at ICA In...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

Courting communications

This week I received two press releases from major companies, both, incidentally, beginning with A and holding the number one and two spots in broadcast editing. And both, in their different ways, were prime examples of how not to do it. In the purple corner we have, and I quote “Avid today announced that it has been awarded a significant contract...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE AND FALL OF POST PRODUCTION

I was sitting in the pub the other day and met an old editor mate of mine. We started chewing the cud about post-production and, inevitably, the glory days. When I first met him, in the early 80s, I hadn’t even started my career in broadcast leasing. He, meanwhile, had a money clip full of £50 notes and was the talk of the town. He didn’t have enou...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

Thanks for the memory

If I need to impress on someone just how old I really am, I explain that my first computer had 32kB of Ram. Then we go through the “you mean 32 meg” “no, I mean 32 k” routine. It does seem implausible that, while I managed to write letters on my BBC Model B, today I need half a million times the memory to bash out columns for TV Bay. This is, of co...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

North West 200

As the gates to the event open and the hordes roll in to watch the North West 200 motorcycle race, production company Greenlight TV is primed: production schedule ready, broadcast timetable planned meticulously. Then... torrential rain, a crash and a major oil spill... finally a credible bomb alert. It's at times like these when production skills a...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 July 2011

tv-bay questions

Name & Title?Eugene McCrystal, owner of EMC Post Production in DublinWho are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?I have been working in the broadcast and film industry for over 20 years. I started my career as an engineer with Carlton Television but quickly transitioned within Carlton to online editor. In 2004, I co-founded EGG Post Producti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

An Introduction To Microphone Types, Uses, and Techniques

Almost everyone knows what a microphone is, but far fewer people know how they actually work and how to get the best out of the various types available. Pieter Schillebeeckx, Chief Designer at UK microphone manufacturer SoundField, fills in some basics. As technology has become easier to use, cheaper and more portable, it's become more popular. Ear...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 June 2011

Eye to Eye: Video Post-production

My first direct experience of video post-production involved hauling a heavy Sony U-Matic tape machine up a flight of stairs before going back for an equally heavy playback deck, a bulky CRT monitor and a large box of interface giblets. That was in 1978. 33 years on, an Apple Mac does the whole editing job a great deal better, faster and more econo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

A decaying elephant...filmed

Assignment: To film 24/7 the six week decay of a dead five tonne adult elephant in the wild. Reason: to learn how the death creates six million calories of fat, meat and guts, feeding a whole new cycle of life. It was in early March 2010 when Tigress productions put in the call to TX for a meeting of minds, to discuss the idea of filming an elephan...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

tv-bay questions

Name & TitleChristopher Pitbladdo, Creative Director at DB Creative TVWho are you? (about yourself and DB Creative)?I'm an editor who's been cutting broadcast television documentaries and commercials since 1997. Having spent time living and working in London, I decided to make a lifestyle choice, and go back to my hometown of Edinburgh. DB Creative...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

Jamies 30 minute meals are served up

The ChallengeTo shoot, edit, grade and conform 40 x 30 minutes episodes of Channel 4’s Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals within an extremely tight timescale, whilst ensuring that quality wasn’t sacrificed throughout the process. The SolutionAn efficient file-based workflow incorporating Avid Media Composer and Avid DS with RED and Canon cameras were used to...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

What are the most important opportunities and challenges...

What are the most important opportunities and challenges facing the TV industry today?To answer this question we need to look more broadly at consumer behaviour and the changing way people are consuming content. Viewers no longer solely want a passive experience with a TV programme in their front room. They want to watch catch-up TV on a laptop, do...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

BVE and the Year Ahead

In the IABM's market survey a year ago, the Director General, Peter White, forecast: “Although the worst appears to be over and a degree of optimism is discernible, 2010 is still shaping up to be a fairly lacklustre year. As we exit the year, however, we do expect to see better signs of market improvement with a more promising 2011 and 2012.” How p...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2011