KitPlus | Articles

Shooting the Extreme

by Mel Noonan Issue 112 - April 2016 Steffan Hewitt started covering extreme sports as a cameraman and learnt to ski backwards while shooting skiers in front of him. Surprisingly he survived, and went on to design and use a lightweight pole with an early SD minicam slung at the top operated via a remote pan and tilt head from the other end. He call...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 25 April 2016

Building Blocks

by Dick Hobbs Issue 112 - April 2016 That is the MIT Media Lab saying, in a typically American academic way, that they want to help producers make better content. That is what you find if you Google "object-based broadcasting". Which is what I did on your behalf this month, because BT Sport - which seems to have taken up the idea of innovation in b...

Submitted by Dick Hobbs.

Published 25 April 2016

Must haves for wireless camera transmission

1. How has OB technology and workflow evolved over the years?In the days of analog, camera operators were basically tethered to the camera via cable. Additionally, when doing a remote transmission the production required line-of-sight to the receive site or to a satellite. It took a small army and lots of hardware to make an on-location shoot happe...

Submitted by John Payne

Published 01 April 2016

Being heard in the jungle

Professional wireless sound solution specialists, Raycom, were asked in summer 2015 to specify, supply and commission a huge new RF wireless distribution system for ITV's popular reality television show, "A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!"The show is set in 500,000 square metres of dense Australian jungle. The celebrities competing are filmed in vari...

Submitted by Andy Clements

Published 01 April 2016

4k is a reality for live production

Some aspects of the broadcast industry move exceedingly quickly; new cameras are launched seemingly daily, shows are commissioned and shows are axed but the overall pace of the industry remains pretty steady. Would it shock you to hear that NHK in Japan first built its own 4K prototype camera in 2003? (At this point, it's worth clarifying that we'r...

Submitted by Liam Laminman

Published 01 April 2016

Square-division versus two-sample interleave

by Kevin Salvidge Issue 110 - February 2016 Square-division versus two-sample interleaveFollowing on from a very successful IBC2015 in Amsterdam, we have been travelling across Europe to hold follow-on discussions with production companies and outside broadcast facility-providers. This series of customer meetings, product demonstrations and evaluat...

Submitted by Kevin Salvidge

Published 16 March 2016

Juggling with Broadcast Graphics

by Paul Vanlint Issue 109 - January 2016 If it were just about designing stunning looking titles, life would be simple and Adobe After Effects would probably have the market sewn up. But todays broadcasters and even AV producers have so many factors to juggle with, that anything other than a professional graphics solution is unthinkable. On the one...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 21 January 2016

Drones in the Broadcast Industry

with Leighton Chenery Issue 108 - December 2015 There is little doubt that the emerging technology of Drones within the Broadcast industry is most likely to have insurance implications. As the market continues to expand and organisations enhance their activities through the use of Drones, adequate insurance coverage will be of particular importance...

Submitted by Leighton Chenery

Published 15 December 2015

Microphone Placement

by Beth Zarkhosh Issue 107 - November 2015 Recording vocals on your microphone sounds like an easy job, but making sure you use the correct techniques and appropriate placement is essential. Today well take a look at some of the industry standard techniques as well as some more weird wonderful recording solutions along the way. Its important to kno...

Submitted by Beth Zarkhosh

Published 01 December 2015

Ed Sheeran goes 4k live at Wembley

by Steffan Hewitt Issue 106 - October 2015 Ed Sheeran has had a phenomenal ride to music success world wide. In July 2015 as part of his x World Tour he played three sold out concerts at Londons Wembley Stadium, his biggest solo shows to date with combined show audiences of 240,000 plus. Paul Dugdale and Jim Parsons whilst working for JA Digital pl...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 01 November 2015

No broadcast without flawless communication

Issue 105 - September 2015 Reliable and fail-safe communications for the broadcast of live events are more important than ever. On site, broadcasters only have one chance to grab the perfect image for the viewer with time being a crucial factor. The larger the event, the more viewers it reaches and the higher the risk that something could go wrong....

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 October 2015

Introduction to FM Single Frequency Networks

by Werner Drews Issue 103 - July 2015 Single Frequency Networks (SFNs) are a form of broadcast network design where several transmitters use the same frequency channel to send the same signal. SFNs are usually used for radio and digital TV broadcasting FM, AM and digital radio can be transmitted over SFNs while analog television is more problematic...

Submitted by Werner Drews

Published 01 August 2015

#TVFUTURES

by Callum O\'LearyIssue 102 - June 2015I made it! So here we are, the last feature to write for Kit Plus and the end of my time as a BSc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting student at the University of Portsmouth. I remember my first year at the University fondly. Lecturers and students told me that it would fly by and however cliched it sounds...it...

Submitted by Callum O Leary

Published 01 July 2015

Every election counts

by Charlie Watts Issue 102 - June 2015 "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.\" - JF KennedyThis may seem slightly overblown, but that is how we face things here in the University of Portsmouth. It\'s possibly because we have to try that little bit harder due to our...

Submitted by Charlie Watts

Published 01 July 2015

Overcoming complexity in remote production leads to more...

by Henry Goodman Issue 101 - May 2015 Despite the instant accessibility of recorded media content, there are many events that are still best enjoyed as a live broadcast. At the same time, such broadcasts are becoming increasingly complex, and with increased complexity comes increased cost. It\'s a fact that limits the number of events broadcasters...

Submitted by Henry Goodman

Published 01 June 2015