KitPlus | Articles

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

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

Changing the art of Chroma Key

ChromaKey technology has been used for decades in TV and film studios to composite images or footage into a shot using green and blue screen backdrops. Although used on multi-million dollar movies, such as AVATAR and used all around the world in News rooms, conventional ‘Fabric’ ChromaKey technology requires Kilowatts of lighting, hours of setup ti...

Submitted by Rod Aaron Gammons

Published 01 June 2013

Will Strauss captures some decent sound gear

Capturing decent location sound requires skill, experience and, as Will Strauss discovered when compiling a list of recent audio acquisition innovations, piles of expensive kit. Although some cameramen might disagree, audio is still the most important thing to get right when on location. The odd dodgy shot can, generally speaking, be sorted in post...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 June 2013

Live from the supermarket car park

What’s Cooking? is the new daily daytime TV show beamed from a temporary studio in the car park of a supermarket. As chefs prepare dishes live on air, a roving camera crew relays pictures from the aisles of the shop while Channel 4 viewers interact with the presenters and cooks via social media. Produced by Superhero TV, technical integration and i...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 May 2013

Rock steady support for Duran Duran

When Den Lennie was asked to be DP for a Duran Duran live concert in the Manchester MEN Arena last year, he was looking for some solid heavy duty camera support. His choice fell on a range of 2575 and 2060 fluid heads by OConnor. The team shot the two-hour gig very unconventionally with 14 Sony PMW-F3 manned, five fixed camera positions and another...

Submitted by Den Lennie

Published 01 April 2013

Premiere 4K aquisition - LIVE

SIS LIVE recently put together a working group to explore the technology and workflows required to deliver live, 4K, multi-camera event coverage from an outside broadcast unit, which culminated in a field test at St James Park on 2nd February. Working with major camera and equipment suppliers, SIS LIVE has conducted proof of concept tests at base u...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

Adventure Filmmaking with Ian Burton

What exactly is it that you do now/ what do you specialise in? How did you get started in filmmaking?I'm an independent adventure filmmaker, specialising in shooting in remote and ‘vertical’ locations. I shoot my own projects as well as commercial projects for a huge range of companies, and I love filming world class extreme athletes pushing themse...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

NAB is for soothsayers, trendsetters and people with road...

Unlucky for some…by Will StraussPrototypes, alpha products, demos and proofs of concept: NAB in Las Vegas is all about future innovation. Will Strauss picks 13 stands that you must visit this year. With the dust from BVE barely settled, it’s already time to look towards NAB. I know, I know. Don’t shout at me. I didn’t arrange the broadcast industry...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 April 2013

A very useful tool: Atomos Samurai reviewed

By Stephen J. BrandInternational cameraman Stephen J. Brand’s work takes him to some far-flung places. As well as work for BBC Channel 5, ITV and Channel 4, Stephen recently spent 6 weeks in the Middle East filming a wildlife commercial for Qatar TV using a Sony EX3 and an Atomos Samurai, which he describes as a ‘‘very useful little tool”. Here, he...

Submitted by Stephen J. Brand

Published 01 April 2013

Getting to grip with it with Mark Scotton

By Mark Scotton, sales manager for Cameragrip. Getting the right equipment to ensure you add value to your production can be difficult, especially when there are so many products available that all seem to be offering different solutions. Creating moving shots can be done in a variety of ways by using products such as jibs, cranes, tracking dollies...

Submitted by Mark Scotton

Published 01 March 2013

Cooke Optics

by Robert HowardHere at Cooke Optics we’re currently basking in the golden glow of our brand new Academy Award® of Merit – yes, that’s an Oscar® statuette – which we received this February in recognition of our continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of motion picture camera lenses. From Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy...

Submitted by Robert Howard

Published 01 March 2013

4K or not 4K, that is the question

Peter Savage goes all literary to show how our industry draws on Shakespeare and Keyne. 4K or not 4K, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of a much larger workflow Or to take arms against a sea of other formats And by opposing end them. 2K, to sleep No more--and by a sleep to say we end That format,...

Submitted by Robert Howard

Published 01 March 2013

Creating the illusion: Green screen lighting

The illusionIf good cinematography is about creating the illusion of three dimensional reality, on a two dimensional screen. Working to create reality using background plates offers a whole new variety of technical issues that need to be addressed with skill if it is going to be successful. In this article I will touch on some of the basic issues t...

Submitted by David Morphy

Published 01 March 2013