KitPlus | Articles

How to read Video Scopes

by Larry Jordan Issue 98 - February 2015 Understanding what video scopes tell us about our images is essential to creating great looking images; regardless of which video editing software you are using. In this article, I want to explain the basics of video scopes and how to read them. A QUICK BACKGROUNDEach video image is composed of pixels, small...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 March 2015

Expanding Arqiva into HD playout

ATG Broadcast recently completed a major SD to HD upgrade for Arqiva broadcast transmission centre at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. The expanded system enables Arqiva to process and transmit four fully-operational 1080i HD channels as well as six new SD channels. It includes the installation and equipping of a server-based ingest suite, playout...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2015

Africans in London TV

by Joseph Adamson Issue 95 - November 2014 Africans in London TV (AILTV) was first featured in TV-BAY magazine issue 029 in 2009. The article was about AILTV when it started, including the reason why it was created, the content and future plans. The emphasis was on the gear that I was using at that time which was a Canon HV20, Sony VX1000, Sony PD1...

Submitted by Joseph Ail

Published 01 December 2014

How to Produce and Stream a Live Production Part One

by Chris Waddington Issue 93 - September 2014 With recent advances in camera technology, services that can send your content across the internet to any web-connected device and desktop streaming production systems like NewTek’s TriCaster, even beginners can create sophisticated video content that looks great and stream it live to the web. In this t...

Submitted by Chris Waddington

Published 01 October 2014

An editors perspective

by Larry Jordan Issue 92 - August 2014 When it comes to chroma-key (also called “green-screen key”) the phrase “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in post.” is a recipe for disaster, because if you don’t shot your key right during production, it will be painful, timeconsuming and expensive to fix it later during editing. I know, because I’m an editor. Bad c...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 September 2014

Local TV cuts the mustard

by Neil Hutchins Issue 89 - May 2014 Monday 24th March was a notable date in the roll-out of Local TV across the UK, as it saw the successful launch of the second of the new channels. Mustard TV, based in Norwich and named in recognition of an historic connection with the local Colman family, followed Estuary TV as a new broadcaster on Freeview Cha...

Submitted by Neil Hutchins#

Published 01 June 2014

Leading digital cinematography seminar with Matt Siegel

by Matt SiegelIssue 83 - November 2013 Multiple-award-winning film producer and cinematographer Matt Siegel chose a Leader LV5381 four-input multi-SDI monitor for use during his recent seminar on Digital Cinematography at The Maine Media Workshops. Designed for emerging cinematographers, the course explained the advantages of using digital technolo...

Submitted by Matt Siegel

Published 01 December 2013

Will Strauss looks at automatic QC for the people

by Will StraussIssue 83 - November 2013 The method in which television producers should deliver their programmes to UK broadcasters is changing. From 1 October 2014 it will be digital files, rather than HDCam SR tapes, that are the preference. It is a fundamental and fairly disruptive change that is the cause of much debate right now. The parameter...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 December 2013

Why test and measurement is for real life, not just for e...

by Will StraussIssue 79 - July 2013 Thanks to its long-standing association with virtually incomprehensible acronyms, dark machine rooms and (lets face it) engineers with unruly beards, the subject of Test and Measurement (T&M) always gets a bit of bum rap. Yet, for all the pre-conceptions, it is a hugely important part of the production and broadc...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 August 2013

Changing the art of Chroma Key

ChromaKey technology has been used for decades in TV and film studios to composite images or footage into a shot using green and blue screen backdrops. Although used on multi-million dollar movies, such as AVATAR and used all around the world in News rooms, conventional ‘Fabric’ ChromaKey technology requires Kilowatts of lighting, hours of setup ti...

Submitted by Rod Aaron Gammons

Published 01 June 2013

Lincolnshire Police Enhances Distance Learning Program

Getting the best out of employees, especially ones who play such a big role in the wider community, requires continual professional development. Training is a top priority to ensure officers are equipped with the skills they need to tackle any scenario they might encounter. For over 40 years, Lincolnshire Police has placed the utmost importance on...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

Life live beyond the Premier League

by Kieron SethIn Europe outside broadcast has traditionally been within the reach of a handful of deep-pocketed television companies. Across the Atlantic, small OB vans have been popular for years with niche, regional news crews beaming state pie eating competitions to eager viewers. With the advent of Local TV and low-cost fast turnaround producti...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2013

Professional Video Editing Just Got Better

Endorsed by twenty five thousand Facebook fans, six industry awards and thousands of new users through the trial download and active forum communities, Autodesk, Inc.,announced that the new Autodesk Smoke 2013, professional video editing software is now shipping. “The anticipation for Smoke, since its thrilling announcement at the National Associat...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 February 2013

Pointing out the right colours

In the old days of PAL and NTSC analogue television, a vectorscope was an essential tool for examining chroma at every part for the programme production and transmission chain. This was because the colour information was carried as a phase and amplitude modulation which could be sensitive to a variety of transmission or recording non-linearities an...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

Andrew McLeans Guide to Lenses

Andrew McLean, an experienced cinematographer and now vice president of business development at broadcast equipment hire company HotCam, details some of the basic things to consider when it comes to choosing and using camera lenses. What’s the first thing you do when choosing lenses for a shoot?First I consider the creative direction – the aestheti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012