KitPlus | Articles

Filming behavioural sequences in tough environments

Three leading figures from the world of natural history production discuss their experiences with the Panasonic VariCam and EVA1 large sensor cameras, and offer advice for shooting in challenging environments including underwater, at high altitude and in extreme weather. Panasonic was proud to sponsor an exclusive seminar with three leading individ...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 24 January 2019

Sony PWS-4500 Live Production Server Reviewed

Available since 2016, the Sony PWS-4500 is a solid-state UHD/HD live production server designed for use in applications such as sports, studio or stage events. The target applications are master recording and advanced replay operations for live production companies for whom the server's ability to record the output from high frame rate cameras and...

Submitted by Andy McKenzie

Published 24 January 2019

New developments in remote broadcast cameras

Small, specialist broadcast cameras are doing more work than ever before. David Bradley of BR Remote explains how the operation of cameras is changing to deliver much greater volumes of content, and outlines some of the creative possibilities that next wave of remote technology will bring. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing broadcasters and prod...

Submitted by David Bradley

Published 24 January 2019

Battery Power Management

There are many obvious ways a modern battery is better than one that would have been common just a few years ago and is light years ahead of what was available a generation ago. In everything from form factor to battery life to charge time, things have vastly improved. Consider cycle ratings, an indication of how many times a pack has or can be use...

Submitted by Ross Kanarek

Published 24 January 2019

Shopping for lenses and more...

When it came to updating the studio at the University of Surrey, Andy Attwell was looking for manufacturers that would offer more than just a great product. It sounds like a dream job. With the funding secured to update the studio in the Department of Music and Media at the University of Surrey, Guildford, it was time for Television Studio Manager,...

Submitted by Andy Attwell

Published 24 January 2019

State of the Nation - November 2018

There is an interesting seminar called Size Matters at the KitPlus Show – organised by the publishers of this fine magazine – at MediaCityUK in Salford on 6 November. It’s a talk by cinematographer Alistair Chapman on the way that camera technology is changing, and in particular the size of the electronic device which creates the image is growing....

Submitted by Dick Hobbs - new

Published 09 November 2018

NEP Student Day

The world of broadcasting is in constant flux, with undefined boundaries between broadcast, TV, film and interactive media. With a changing consumer demographic now a key influence on the industry, many companies no longer specialise in a single medium, but have had to become adaptable to deliver multiple services through a combination of media. Wi...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 09 November 2018

Using Wireless Transmission

Wireless acquisition is a staple of live sports, entertainment and reality shows where cable free capture permits shots not previously possible, for health and safety reasons, and gives the camera-operator greater artistic licence to roam. The same is increasingly true of narrative drama where cinematographers are keen to work handheld or Steadicam...

Submitted by Jeremy Benning

Published 09 November 2018

Sony HDC-4800 Review

First announced at NAB 2016, the Sony HDC-4800 is a studio camera system capable of shooting 4K/UHD at up to 8x or full HD at up to 16x. With a price point upwards of £250,000 it is a very high-end product with a wide feature set. In Sony's own words, "This is the future of live production, designed to satisfy the storytelling aspect of modern spor...

Submitted by Andy McKenzie

Published 09 November 2018

GoPro HERO 7 Review

When I heard I was filming a nature restoration project in the pouring rain this week I was excited. WHY? No Cameraman enjoys the rain, surely but this time I was enthusiastic because I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to try out the brand new GoPro Hero 7 Black Edition. Scythes, water, and wildlife that excrete things are not normally co...

Submitted by Tim Bearder

Published 09 November 2018

The Wireless Way to 4k

DTC’s AEON group of products have been specifically designed for the 4K market. We encode with the more efficient HEVC algorithm, which means we are taking a 12G signal and compressing it to a bitrate that can be managed over an RF link. So what makes this a leading idea in the 4K revolution?For a start, sport continues to drive technical innovatio...

Submitted by JP Delport

Published 09 November 2018

Shedding Light on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4k...

“What is it about light that has us craving it?” Is the question asked in the opening seconds of Garth de Bruno Austin’s latest short, The Colour of Light. Exploring this natural, human need as well as our innate desire to control it, Garth’s film showcases everyday people going about their lives in differing degrees of luminance, whether that be a...

Submitted by Garth de Bruno Austin

Published 09 November 2018

The brave new world of software based production

In today’s rapidly evolving broadcast industry, the only constant media organizations can truly count on is change — and the need to adapt as rapidly and cost-effectively as possible. One of the biggest agents of change is the IP revolution, driving broadcasters to migrate their operations to all-software solutions running on commodity, IT-based te...

Submitted by Boromy Ung

Published 09 November 2018

Keeping it remotely real

Everyone wants to do more with less. Always have, although it could be argued that doing more with more is something to aspire to, not many have that luxury. So let’s stick with the prevailing winds of doing more with less, and not just doing more, but doing it remotely, particularly in terms of production. Remote production, in particular, is gett...

Submitted by Reuben Such

Published 09 November 2018

Giving Welsh sport a global audience

From the Ospreys Rugby Union team, to the Football Association of Wales, as well as national cycling, swimming and boxing coverage, Port Talbot based Buffoon Film and Media has been heavily involved in putting Welsh sports on the world stage. Focusing mainly on platforms including Facebook Live and YouTube, the team has already live streamed to mor...

Submitted by Adam Amor

Published 09 November 2018