KitPlus | Articles

Robin Palmer and why flashy programmes are not so good?

by Robin PalmerEver since the 1997 Pokmon phenomenon when hundreds of Japanese children were struck with epileptic fits provoked by a series bright red flashes in a TV cartoon programme broadcasters have become only too aware of PSE. Photo-Sensitive Epilepsy is a rare condition affecting perhaps only 1 in 4,000 people where flashing lights or image...

Submitted by Robin Palmer

Published 01 February 2013

Why does my project look different on every screen I watc...

By Thomas UrbyeThe age old question, asked by so many people who’ve come through my suite: “I’ve downloaded it to my laptop and it looks different?”Then there is the inevitable panic:“Thomas, how can we make sure that everyone who watches it, watches it ‘properly’?”This issue recently came to light with a campaign backed by moviemakers launched to...

Submitted by Thomas Urbye

Published 01 February 2013

3D filmmaking

Stereographers are in demand, they have little time and the time they do have is highly valued. I first met Demetri at IBC this year during the showing of HUGO (see page XX) and we were fortunate enough to catch up with him again during a flight to LA where he was heading for the first stage of 3D post for 47 RONIN. His opinions on 3D filmmaking ar...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2013

3D for Cinema, ProAV and Events

Over more than a century of motion picture presentations there have been periods when 3D has emerged, and each time interest has faded away. The latest 3D wave goes back to the advent of digital technology for cinemas. Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) was formed in 2002 and delivered its first DCI Specification in 2005, when Doremi was well ahead w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2013

Ask the Experts Monitoring sound in the stdio

1. Why do I need monitors? And why can't I just use my Hifi speakers?It may sound like the most obvious thing in the world, and it is, but along with your headphones your monitoring system is the only thing in your mix room that actually makes sound. All the decisions you make in relation to mixing, mic placement, balancing and more are coloured by...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 December 2012

3d Screens

Often exhibitions such as IBC and NAB can be summed up as progressive – slightly better products but nothing really new. Sometimes there is a breakthrough such as Ampex’s introduction of the VTR in 1956. The early years of digital production and post tools were rich in totally new things. At the time I worked at Quantel and seeing inventions like P...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2012

Video Monitoring Essentials - By Den Lennie

As a DP the video monitor you work with is one of the most important tools on set. I began my career in 1994 shooting television news for Reuters on Betacam SP and it was very rare that I'd get to use a monitor on location. As my career evolved I started shooting more considered pieces and used Sony 9\" tube monitors all flight cased up. I shot the...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

The highs and lows of histograms

Histogram displays for video analysis probably followed those found in common computer graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop. This can be very useful in finding video signal problems that would be difficult or impossible to see with a conventional waveform display. The histogram is a way of showing statistical results as a bar-chart. The range...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

Review of Kinoflo Celeb 200

Good quality lighting is at the heart of all great photography, when we use the sun we are at the mercy of the weather and need to take into consideration all the variables from time of day to position of sun to name a few, importantly however we can trust the source to provide a complete spectrum. However when we are shooting with tungsten or with...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2012

The social geek

Today I want to consider this Venn diagram. It has been widely circulated on the internet: it appears to have been created by the Californian producer and publisher Scott Beale in 2009. It is a laudable attempt to differentiate between nerds, geeks, dweebs and dorks. You may feel that, given all the other pressures on our busy lives, time spent det...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

Wibbly Wobbly Waveforms

The very first analytical electronic instrument, developed in the late 1890s, was the oscilloscope. This used a cathode ray tube (CRT) to paint a graph of voltage on the Y axis versus time on the X axis. Once television became a practical reality in the 1930s, the same instrument was applied to the video output from the camera and became the very u...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

Revolutionary Rotolight Anova Shoot at BBC Studios

The Worlds Most Advanced LED Floodlight the Rotolight Anova (www.rotolight.com) was recently the light of choice for a shoot at the home of British Television, with Philip Nash, Multi-Award Winning Photographer and Videographer(www.nash.net) shooting both Video and stills with one of the worlds leading models. The shoot was both indoors against pho...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2012

Watch out for dead pixels

A dead pixel in a camera imaging sensor can manifest itself in a number of ways. Implying black, 'dead' is not necessarily the correct term for a pixel failure. This is because imager defects include hot pixels, sparkles, noisy or lazy pixels. These problems usually arise during the chip manufacturing process. Defective pixels can appear as unusual...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2012

An Olympian Effort

For obvious reasons, the broadcasting world does not generally hold mass-murdering dictators in high esteem. But, in a small way, and despite his many, many faults, the world of television has one such tyrant to thank for the connection between technological innovation and the Olympic Games. And no, this is not a joke. The first handful of modern d...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 September 2012

Handheld T and M the broadcast emergency service

“Test and Measurement”. Shudder. Like “Health and Safety”, “Bus” and “Replacement Service” or “Keith and Orville” it’s a collocation of words that fills me with dread. Seriously, who wants to read about “Test and Measurement”? Well, as it turns out, the answer is: quite a lot of people. Because, despite its lack of glamour, it is hugely important....

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 August 2012