KitPlus | Articles

Freelance Success - Make the most of your talent

by Peter Savage Issue 98 - February 2015 I was reading the back page of The Sunday Times this morning an article by Luke Johnson of Pizza Express fame (though that description doesnt do justice to this serial entrepreneur and business investor). Todays article was about how to get rich quick. Interesting, I thought, as it made me think of all the p...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 01 March 2015

Increased Support

by Mark Scotton Issue 98 - February 2015 Shoulder rigs are more commonly used these days than ever before and have become a great solution during the DSLR boom. Providing you with the option to adjust your kit, depending upon the set-up required, the rail system rigs are both practical and adjustable with the option to add matte boxes, viewing moni...

Submitted by Mark Scotton

Published 01 March 2015

Sealife - Shooting 4k

by Kieron Seth Issue 98 - February 2015 Since the days of Jacques Cousteau and his Undersea World, marine habitats have fascinated television audiences. From 1972 to 1975 the French explorer and filmmaker brought his excitement and passion for sea life to our screens and have inspired documentary makers since. The films lay bare the lengths the cre...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 March 2015

Hands-on with the Antelope PICO ultra slow motion minicam

by Mel Noonan Issue 98 - February 2015 Super slow motion, or super motion, has been around for years and is mostly 3x recording speed. If you record say 3 seconds of action and play it back at normal European production frame rate you\'ll have 9 seconds of slow motion replay. These cameras must integrate with the live production workflow in use. SS...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 March 2015

Hearing is believing - but Testing Helps

We live in the age of measurement and all too often the results are prejudiced by the methods employed and the ease of digitally processing data. As Per Bruel, the founder of B&K, arguably the foremost measurement company in audio history put so succinctly,‘The development of standards is not always based on true science but more often a consensus...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2015

The Autoue Motion Pro camera stabiliser

By Matt LyneThe Autocue Motion Pro camera stabiliser is a brilliant piece of kit for getting high movement shots whilst also maintaining the ability to pan/tilt with ease. It is light compared to similar functioning stabilisers however prolonged use will quickly tire out your arm due to the manner in which you hold it with one hand at almost arms l...

Submitted by Matt Lyne

Published 01 January 2015

REVIEW: Matrox Monarch HD

by Colin Ashby Issue 95 - November 2014 Firstly, a confession; it\'s a fair bet that, technically, I know a lot less than you the reader although I\'ve worked in broadcast television for over 30 years so I have a lot of hands-on experience. To balance this out, I\'m a cameraman so we\'re by nature attracted to new models, bright shiny things, whist...

Submitted by Colin Ashby

Published 01 December 2014

Wireless Production Tools - Hints, tips and a word of war...

by Alan March Issue 95 - November 2014 Some Do\'s and Don\'ts Over the years, there have been certain questions or queries that have had a habit of re-occurring. At the risk of teaching you, dear reader, to suck eggs, here are a few of them;Can I use two transmitters with just one receiver? No. With wireless microphones, a dedicated transmitter and...

Submitted by Alan March

Published 01 December 2014

Essentials for Viable Audio over IP Distribution

by Werner Drews Issue 95 - November 2014 Using IP for audio distribution is an enticing prospect for most broadcasters. It offers the prospect of OPEX economies and opens up a lot of new flexibility for infrastructure design: backup and regionalisation solutions are among the many possibilities. IP lines can be used for STL (Studio to Transmitter L...

Submitted by Werner Drews

Published 01 December 2014

A quick guide to: Considerations for building monitor gal...

by Steve Hathaway Issue 95 - November 2014 There has been a trend in recent times towards using large screen systems in production galleries and monitor walls. This has been enabled by the wide-scale availability of affordable multi-viewer systems but has this trend really been of benefit to broadcasters? As a specialist in picture monitoring, work...

Submitted by Steve Hathaway

Published 01 December 2014

Capture and Produce

Issue 94 - October 2014One of the hot topics at this year’s IBC was undoubtedly the growing adoption of end-to-end IP production and the imminent death of SDI. During a panel session, hosted by Mediasmiths and Cognizant, and including representatives from BBC, Sony and more, the key point made was that the adoption of IP production technology and w...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Sony PXW-FS7

by Alister Chapman Issue 94 - October 2014 At IBC Sony launched a new camera. In fact Sony launched several new cameras. This is nothing new, every year Sony launch cameras. But this year Sony really created quite a stir with one camera in particular, the Sony PXW-FS7. So what is it about the FS7 that is so special? Looking at the specs alone this...

Submitted by Alister Champman

Published 01 November 2014

Cooking Up A Creative Storm With Patrick And Kylie

Issue 94 - October 2014Three years ago, Patrick Drake, who had recently left a lucrative job working at Goldman Sachs in London to follow his true cooking passion, met Kylie Flavell, a young woman who had abandoned her career as a high-stakes fashion journalist in Australia to pursue her dream of one day hosting her own escapist travel and food sho...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 November 2014

It is in the Can Bag

by Dan Rose Issue 94 - October 2014 As a freelance cameraman/director, like every one else, I\'m always looking for that money shot! And some times it\'s a ground shot or a maybe a moving shot from a vehicle window. The lower shots can be hard to keep stable using your hands, and I don\'t really want to put my cameras on a wet or stony surface, wel...

Submitted by Dan Rose

Published 01 November 2014

Flying a Drone part 1

by Jon Pratchett Issue 93 - September 2014 Drones! The word imparts a sense of fear into the hearts of many. You immediately think of US spy planes, covert missions to attack forces deep in enemy territory. Yet it’s also the word that many now use to describe those little flying multi rotor things with GoPro’s on that seem to be popping up everywhe...

Submitted by John Pratchett

Published 01 October 2014