KitPlus | Articles

Content Control in a Complex Broadcast Environment

Broadcasters and other media companies today acquire, generate and store an unprecedented volume of content to take advantage of new distribution outlets. Enabled by the transition to digital media and file-based workflows, this model presents new opportunities with respect to revenue generation as well as new challenges in terms of establishing ef...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Polecam Production Profile

I have been working in the film and television industry since 1989, starting as a news cameraman and editor at the Manitoba Television Network. MTN is a local independent television broadcaster in my home town of Winnipeg. In 1991 I joined the French television service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a sound man and advanced to EN...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Safekeeping for the Future

A CIRENCESTER audio archival engineering company has just finished working on a set of African recordings that are more than a century old. Paul Turney, of Sirensound Digital, was commissioned to digitize the wax cylinders for future safekeeping of the audio. Wax cylinders were patented by Thomas Edison and were one of the earliest form of sound re...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

Restoring The World At War

Originally broadcast in 1973 by ITV, the sweeping documentary “The World at War” focuses on the events immediately before, during, and after World War II. The British-produced television series is presented in 26 hour-long episodes and provides one of the most penetrating views into the war ever put to film. Narrated by Sir Lawrence Olivier, “The W...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

HD Post Production

In a parallel universe all forms of electronic entertainment are produced and presented in identical formats that can be exchanged and retrieved by anyone with permission to access the product. Unfortunately in our universe the opposite is true and a frustrated band of audio and video heroes spend every day of their working lives trying to satisfy...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

Nucoda Film Master builds tension on Mistresses

Fans of popular UK television drama Mistresses saw the third series air on BBC One and BBC HD in August. Shot in Bristol on RED, the four x 60 minute drama was edited and graded at Bristol-based post production facility Films@59, who also supplied the camera kit. Produced by Ecosse Films, Mistresses delves into the tangled lives of four female frie...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

Making the content factory a reality

The expression “content factory” has been around for a while and in a number of contexts. Is this a realistic concept? Can we – producers, facilities, broadcasters – embrace the idea of process in the manufacturing sense, or is making content for television and the new digital platforms too different to making biscuits or cars?We are naturally resi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2010

3D Diaries Part 3 Mastering 3D

The 3D Masters conference was full of optimism, and caution, for the future of stereoscopic 3D. The one-day event was a near sell-out with about 250 attendees filling most of those sumptuous theatre seats at BAFTA. Despite the comfort, warmth, darkened room and good lunch, your correspondent managed to keep wide-awake to absorb the ceaseless torren...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

ALEXA bringing new creative freedom to filmmakers

ALEXA brings new creative freedom to filmmakers. A compact, lightweight and affordable digital camera, ALEXA redefines the limits of motion picture capture with ultra-fast workflows and image quality akin to 35 mm film. From major motion pictures and high-end dramas to commercials, music videos and mainstream TV, ALEXA suits a wide variety of appli...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

Business advcie from the football pitch

Much has been written in the press about the performance of the beleaguered England football team during the World Cup and particularly Fabio Capello’s management. It seems that Capello was the root of the team’s problems, so this month I have analysed our performance through some very simply management headings to see how we could take some key le...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

LightLighting Sky News at the Gherkin

Jeff Randall Live is a new flagship daily business update on the Sky News channel, broadcast from Sky’s Gherkin studio in London. A recent addition to the City skyline, the Gherkin is located at 30 St Mary Axe. Its modern design includes a secondary exterior skin which gives the building its characteristic shape and is said to reduce its energy req...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

Expanding Video Monitoring to Meet Todays Demands

With the rapid evolution of the industry, new technologies must offer users both value and performance in the short term, as well as the promise of continued utility in the long term. A number of key advances in the design of video monitoring solutions are giving broadcasters and other media companies the means to manage monitoring of a growing num...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

Cutting Edge 3D Graphics for the BBCs Election Night

Spanish real-time 3D graphics manufacturer, Brainstorm, provided a full suite of data driven 2D and 3D graphics for the BBC’s recent UK Election Night coverage. The BBC’s election coverage includes some of the most technically challenging and innovative graphics on air, providing an excellent showcase for the power and sophistication of Brainstorm’...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

Hawk-Eye Accuracy and Believability in Cricket

In 1999 research began at Roke Manor Research Ltd., a company with over thirty years of vision processing expertise. Led by Dr. Paul Hawkins and funded by The Television Corporation, the concept of “Hawk-Eye” was born. First developed in 1999, Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd continues to grow and develop with Hawk-Eye recently creating a system for the BB...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

A conversation with Peter Harman, Vinten Product Manager

Vinten is celebrating its centenary in 2010. What were the origins of the business?William Vinten was an engineer with a passion for quality. He set himself in business to repair friends’ bicycles at the age of 13, did a full apprenticeship in a machine shop, and worked for Frederick Lamplough, the steam car pioneer. But it was seeing his first mov...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010