KitPlus | Articles

Bob Pank looks at Editing and the Cloud

By Bob PankHistorically video editing has been one of those operations shaped by technology. For decades it depended on VTRs to play and record. You had to go to an edit room, usually darkened and with loads of buttons and winking lights, to get your edit done by a video editor. It was not cheap. Then, with video stored on computer discs, editing w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2013

Ruth Matos: Part 4 of following the Ravensbourne 3

Balancing studying and working…. I have always been very dedicated to any projects and ambitions in life. When I started my studies at university I was fully focused on achieving the best grades possible and my coursework was my main priority in life. This was the frame of mind I had during my first and second years at university until an opportuni...

Submitted by Ruth Matos

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

Ask the Experts - 3d with BSkyB

This month we had an exclusive opportunity to talk to Cara Cheeseman, Post Production Supervisor for all 3D content, both internally and externally, at BSkyB. The 21 questions are gathered from a variety of industry professionals with an interest, some sceptical and some fanatical, in 3DWhen it comes to 3D conversion... creating 3D images from 2D s...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2013

Loudness Monitoring: Complacent Wont Get You Compliant

Stricter regulations across the globe, the worldwide need for standardized audio level loudness processing, the need for logging and graphing mixed with long-term records maintenance for compliance verification, and the convergence of SDI/IP and ASI technologies all make for a challenging time in the broadcast industry. Identical and obligatory com...

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

Next generation monitoring - in the studio and in the fie...

HD pan, tilt and zoom cameras are very popular in self-operated studios, conference rooms, theatres and houses of worship. Typically, PTZ systems are remotely controlled by RS-422 or over Ethernet, with video signals routed over SDI cable into the production desk. Previously, live monitoring was only possible via the switcher that could be as remot...

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 semantic web made simple

There is a new term creeping in to discussions in the broadcasting business, and particularly around those involved in asset management and research projects. The term is “semantic web” and, I suspect, there are a lot of people who are neither completely sure they know what it means, nor trust its relevance in our business. I aim to provide some si...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

A credit to whom?

Just over 40 years ago I was involved in the formation of the Guild of Television Cameramen as an independent non-profit-making international organisation that cares about television camerawork and the people who make it their craft. The GTC today has over 1,000 members, in the UK, Europe, Australia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and the USA. The...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2012

Crowd funding

MONEY AND THE POWER OF THE MIGHTY INTERNET!Peter Savage marvels at the power of the Internet to bring low cost documentary films to market and, inevitably, has an idea for one of his ownFor the last two weeks I have been speaking at the Look Listen Experience roadshow around Great Britain and, after my short (and sometimes informative) speech on bu...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2012

An Authentically American firm with an Englishmans heart

America has always been a land marked by pioneers and trailblazers, by entrepreneurship and vision. So, in 2004, when London based equipment hire firm HotCam sought to expand, founder Trevor Hotz could think of no better place to be. “Back then a lot of our competitors were opening up in Manchester and Glasgow but that didn’t appeal to me,” says Ho...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2012

Canon C300 Review

Canon's highly anticipated C300 camera is their first offering to the 'digital cinema' market. The camera was released amid a meticulously planned marketing campaign, which created a hype not seen since the Red One camera's introduction in 2006. Canon have since taken the camera on a global roadshow showcasing to all potential suitors, of which the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

LED - A clean light at the end of the tunnel

We asked DoP & Lighting Specialist Jonathan Harrison to evaluate the current state of the industry. Jonathan has long been critical of LED products and the claims made by manufacturers in regards to their performance for high quality professional image capture, he has also been intimately involved in the development of some of the leading industry...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Quality is the best policy

Despite all the changes in our industry at the moment – and maybe because of them – quality is more important than ever. HD has become the production standard norm. Why have audiences embraced HD so enthusiastically? Because it looks and sounds great. If you have a 42” or bigger screen in your home then the difference between SD and HD is obvious t...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012