KitPlus | Articles

Taking the heat out of lighting

by Kevin CookIssue 82 - October 2013 Weve seen a gradual move away from tungsten video lighting for a number of years now and for all sorts of reasons. Firstly theres the ecological issue about using tungsten lights. Burning a metal filament within a gaseous-free glass chamber is not the most efficient way to generate a light source. Most of the en...

Submitted by Kevin Cook

Published 01 November 2013

Revealing the real-lives behind 999 responses

by Jonathan BoltonIssue 82 - October 2013 Jonathan Bolton, head of PROCAMS Manchester operation discusses the challenges of capturing real time footage when following emergency services on call. Factual programming has seen a revolution. Viewers want more from factual programmes: they no longer want traditional, staid documentaries, but want to se...

Submitted by Jonathan Bolton

Published 01 November 2013

Introducing #TVFUTURES

Issue 82 - October 2013 Will IngramI studied media at GCSE and studied photography and video for a year at AS level before switching to a full time video course. In July 2011, I had a serious downhill mountain bike crash initially rendering me paralysed and having a massive impact on my life. Learning to walk again and rebuilding your body isnt eas...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 November 2013

Wireless cameras at live events

by Scott WalkerIssue 81 - September 2013 While wireless cameras have been used in high end broadcast for years, prices have dropped and there are now a variety of products on the market to suit lower cost broadcasts, and the technology is creeping into events with live outdoor screens and lower budgets, where it adds a creative angle to the show. I...

Submitted by Scott Walker

Published 01 October 2013

Education: Live TV approaches to learning without a safe...

by Jennie RawlingIssue 81 - September 2013 Live broadcasting is the core business of the University of Portsmouth course, BSc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting, and they are now entering into their fifth successive year of weekly television output. Course leader and senior lecturer Charlie Watts is delighted with the developments so far, but there...

Submitted by Jennie Rawling

Published 01 October 2013

Making an advert with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera

by Brandon KahnIssue 80 - August 2013 When Mothers Basement came to us with an advert to put on UK cinema screens, I knew my trusty, but basic, XF 305 wasnt going to cut it. Sure, most ads you see in cinema are projected in regular HD and are often shot no higher than 1080, but I felt we needed some extra size. Some extra dynamic range and colour i...

Submitted by Brandon Kahn

Published 01 September 2013

Following the Ravensbourne 3: What a past few months!

by Ruth MatosIssue 79 - July 2013 Here I am, at the end of my course BA Hons Production. For this final term I had to submit several projects including a portfolio showing a wide range of skills that I have developed and learnt. The most challenging and important one was a music video called Born of Stars, where I took the role of producer and DOP/...

Submitted by Ruth Matos

Published 01 August 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

A cinematic makeover with Blackmagic Design

With the announcement of Blackmagic Cinema Camera at NAB 2012, Mark Linnhoff, a France based cinematographer, began to see the future of filmmaking in a new light. “Finally, an affordable acquisition tool that doesn’t compromise on image quality,” he recalled. “When I got the camera, I carried out some tests with a series of Carl Zeiss ZF.2 and Nik...

Submitted by Mark Linnhoff

Published 01 July 2013

Finance - the shooting season with Peter Savage

Peter Savage goes biking and rediscovers that new isn’t always best for creating real impact, and that flexibility is the new game. The shooting season has started and, with it, the weather looks (well, this week at least) as if we could at last see some summer. The light is better, the days are longer, and the summer sports programme has kicked of...

Submitted by Dave Martland

Published 01 July 2013

The Teradek Bolt reviewed

The location is a small busy working kitchen of a top London restaurant; the chef and kitchen staff have enough on their plate (!) without having to worry about avoiding cables and bumping into members of the crew filming them go about their business. The soundman is able to keep himself out of the way, not causing trip hazards with cables and the...

Submitted by Jon Boast

Published 01 July 2013

Does size matter? with Polecam

It’s simple. Horses for Courses! ScenarioWhen shooting Anything, Anywhere, there is always a trade between budget, performance, manpower, speed and space – the production company and client will inevitably want quite simply “the best they can get and at the best price”. However when the application and location of the shoot dictate over and above t...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 July 2013

Sony NEX-EA50 reviewed

Once in a while you get the chance to review a camera that brings back memories of years gone by - Sony's NEX-EA50 camera is one of those cameras. Some may say I am stretching things a bit too far, but as I looked at it I felt at home with it because it reminded me of my old Sony VX9000E (also known as the DSR200). This was my first DV camera and a...

Submitted by Zulqar Cheema

Published 01 July 2013

Alice Chants final term: Following the Ravensbourne 3

The final term of a degree is going to be challenging, but what an amazing learning curve I have been on. I have had the opportunity to work with some great people on various projects and have been able to further develop my skills as a Director. My main project is an experimental film of which I wanted to showcase my ideas and a concept, without t...

Submitted by Alice Chant

Published 01 July 2013

Alex Fine is super busy: Following the Ravensbourne 3

The name of the game right now is MAJOR FRUSTRATION! The nature of the game right now is SUPER BUSY ORGANISING LOTS OF FILMS ALL AT ONCE! This part of the term in final year at Ravensbourne is quite difficult. My peers and I are all having to either Direct and/or Produce two films (of any type) and work in minor/ supporting roles for at least two o...

Submitted by Alex Fine

Published 01 June 2013