KitPlus | Articles

NAB 2019 Highlights

The NAB Show in Las Vegas never loses its capacity to surprise. With NHK already transmitting in 8K and the Tokyo Olympics just a year away, this might have been the year that 8K equipment prices descended from the stratosphere to just plain expensive. The main trends at NAB 2019 were an increasing focus on HD-HDR, Media-over-IP and 4K. 8K was pret...

Submitted by Paul MacKenzie

Published 04 June 2019

TV Futures - Producers Produce

I’ve learnt two major facts about being a producer since studying on my BSc Television and Broadcasting course: ‘the role of producer cannot be defined in a sentence’ and ‘if your team don’t see you working, you’re doing your role as producer correctly’. When I first came to The University of Portsmouth I knew what course I wanted for skills and ro...

Submitted by Emily Merritt

Published 04 June 2019

Lighting with Gurdip Mahal

Gurdip Mahal’s credits for lighting design are impressive. Including major Awards shows such as BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Children in Need, as well as The Voice, Top Gear and Crystal Maze, his CV would almost certainly include at least one show with which any one of us is familiar. In addition, he has applied his own particular style to p...

Submitted by Ian Muir

Published 04 June 2019

TV Futures - The Shadowing Experience

My name is Daniel Jones, and it is no accident that I’m currently studying BSc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting at the University of Portsmouth. Since completing GSCE media studies I have been constantly questioning what I watch with questions such as, “Wow, how was that filmed?” or “That looks amazing, I wonder how long that took?” It should com...

Submitted by Daniel Jones

Published 21 March 2019

The way forward in a changing world

The broadcast and media industries are evolving in all areas to adapt to the challenges of competition from OTT, changing user viewing habits, technological advances in image resolution, dynamic range and colour rendition as well as embracing new video over IP infrastructures. Test and measurement equipment manufacturers also have to evolve to supp...

Submitted by Alan Wheable

Published 21 March 2019

Looking for the Silver Lining

According to the World Meteorological Organisation, there are 10 different types of cloud, each of which can be divided further into sub-types. They range from the cirrus, the thin floaty clouds which generally serve only to make the sky look beautiful to the towering, all-embracing cumulonimbus which can deliver fearful quantities of rain – the bi...

Submitted by Harry Grinling

Published 21 March 2019

Streaming - Shut up and Sit Down

Twilight Imperium is a board game all about strategy and backstabbing. Known for its length of gameplay, the team behind Shut Up and Sit Down decided to deliver a mammoth 10-hour live broadcast, streamed to Twitch. Matt Lees is here to tell us how it went down. Having recently begun streaming live to Twitch, our audience naturally asked us to play...

Submitted by Matt Lees

Published 21 March 2019

TVFutures - Location Assistant

Hi, my name is Maddison Young and I am an undergraduate on BSc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting at the University of Portsmouth. If there is one consistent message being given to students these days it is ‘move out of your comfort zone, and get real industry work and experience’! It’s a scary message, and my first year saw me take mostly internal...

Submitted by Maddison Young

Published 24 January 2019

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

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

University and Mental Health

University study and mental health has been in the media quite a bit over the last year, and I’m sure there are many people wondering what is going on? The issues are complex, and I suppose the focus of employability off the back of a degree course has raised the stress stakes for a lot of young people. I’m only qualified to talk about this from my...

Submitted by Rhiannon Jenkins

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

Why are trade shows still important

First, the disclaimer: as the CEO of a rather large trade show, my opinion is likely to be skewed. However, I wouldn’t be here – now in my eighth year at IBC - if I didn’t truly believe that well-curated trade shows like IBC are a hugely important resource for our industry. Firstly, successful workflows are complex. We are not working in a world wh...

Submitted by Mike Crimp

Published 08 September 2018

The Biggest Toy Shop in the World

When Nigel Woodford started his career at BBC Wood Norton in 1962, television was black and white and BBC Two had not yet been launched. In 2018 Nigel will retire, and Richmond Film Services, the pro-audio equipment rental company set up by Nigel in 1973, can count numerous contributions to iconic moments in British cultural, sporting and film hist...

Submitted by Emma Morrison

Published 08 September 2018

Creating Authentic Content That Counts

We’re deep into the 2010’s and the way in which we consume content has changed forever. Broadcasters and content owners are fighting for eyeballs in a saturated market where consumers are watching their favourite shows on different devices across a number of platforms. To target millennials and younger generations, who generally consume short burst...

Submitted by Frank le Mair

Published 08 September 2018