KitPlus | Articles

It is in the Can Bag

by Dan Rose Issue 94 - October 2014 As a freelance cameraman/director, like every one else, I\'m always looking for that money shot! And some times it\'s a ground shot or a maybe a moving shot from a vehicle window. The lower shots can be hard to keep stable using your hands, and I don\'t really want to put my cameras on a wet or stony surface, wel...

Submitted by Dan Rose

Published 01 November 2014

Capture and Produce

Issue 93 - September 2014 Amongst all the new cameras, support and other production kit being touted prior to IBC, it was a less tangible announcement that really captured the imagination: Atomos’ announcement that it wants to standardize its Start/Stop Trigger connectivity for HDMI by making it available to other manufacturers. Locking SDI interfa...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 October 2014

Shooting Cinematically

by Ben Baldwin Issue 93 - September 2014 One Monday morning in July I headed to Pinewood Studios to spend an hour in the company of Den Lennie and Philip Bloom for a Sony Webinar - Shooting Cinematically. Both DOPs share a passion for helping aspiring filmmakers grow their skills and confidence and both have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to c...

Submitted by Ben Baldwin

Published 01 October 2014

How I shoot those Amazing Spaces

by Chris Smith Issue 93 - September 2014 Channel 4 has just finished showing series 3 of its popular ‘Amazing Spaces’, which is all about people building unusual living spaces. Watch it, and even after one viewing it could have you looking at your back garden in a new light, ready to start building that underground family space or cinema, or maybe...

Submitted by Chris Smith

Published 01 October 2014

Portaprompt Tablet Prompter

by Mark Stopher Issue 93 - September 2014 The Portaprompt Tablet Prompter is a nifty mounting system that allows you to place a tablet on the front of your camera and use it as a screen for your teleprompter. Recently, I was using it in a studio set up to film some product demonstrations - using an iPad. I was impressed!The system has a 12’’ piece...

Submitted by Mark Stopher

Published 01 October 2014

6

Must have or just a dream? Either way these are our 6 of the best this month chosen by Larry Jordan, David Crossman and Jon Boast. Issue 93 - September 2014 DJI Ronin Handheld Gimbal SystemThe DJI Ronin Handheld Gimbal System has been developed for the cinematographer with pro-grade build quality keeping up with the demands of everyday use and aeri...

Submitted by Larry Jordan#

Published 01 October 2014

A new age of teleprompting?

by Jon Hilton Issue 92 - August 2014 Whilst it may not be the first thing on the production agenda, one could argue it is an essential production tool today delivering at least two fundamental production values. Firstly it can save you money by reducing the time required to get that perfect take and secondly it means that your presenter will be wor...

Submitted by Jon Hilton#

Published 01 September 2014

Black magic studio camera

by Mark Stopher Issue 92 - August 2014 Blackmagic Design recently released their new Studio Camera - it’s a small, portable broadcast camera, intended for live studio productions. There’s an HD version that you can pick up for £1,289 and a 4K version is said to be shipping soon. At tv-bay we were shooting some product demonstration videos in our st...

Submitted by Mark Stopher

Published 01 September 2014

The First Musketeer

by Neil Oseman Issue 91 - July 2014 Based on The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, The First Musketeer is a brand new take on this famous adventure. Written and directed by Harriet Sams, director of photography Neil Oseman takes us behind the lens of this new gritty six part mini drama shot on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Set in the South of Fr...

Submitted by Neil Oseman

Published 01 August 2014

Big hands small head

by Graham Reed Issue 91 - July 2014 A long time ago, in a place that no longer exists, BBC Television Centre, we had large cameras E.M.I. 2001, They were often referred to as the cameramans camera, as at the time they gave what was considered excellent pictures in 625 lines (SD), but of course they suffered from many problems. They needed constant...

Submitted by graham reed

Published 01 August 2014

RTS Thames Valley NAB 2014 Review

by Simon Tillyer Issue 90 - June 2014 A sunny, early summer evening welcomed over 40 people to the annual RTS NAB review on 14th May. This annual get together features a panel of guests, chaired by Dick Hobbs discussing their experiences and thoughts of NAB. The panel consisted of Maya Severyn (Head of Technical Services & Support - Chellomedia), J...

Submitted by Simon Tillyer

Published 01 July 2014

4K at NAB

by Bob Pank Issue 89 - May 2014 The long term NAB veterans will be well aware of just how quickly new technologies can come and go in the television industry. For instance, only a couple of years ago, 3D was still the hot topic, now it has gone quiet, but not altogether gone away. So it is good to report that 4K had another very good NAB, probably...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2014

Making 4K mainstream in 2014

by Austin Freshwater Issue 89 - May 2014 4K was one of the hot topics at this years CES. Higher resolutions may be showing more promise as the industry moves on from the latest iteration of 3D, which proved expensive to produce and poorly received by many viewers. However, as we move further into 2014, we continue to see some reticence within the i...

Submitted by Austin Freshwater

Published 01 June 2014

Ask the experts: Life behind the rate card

by Mike Ransome Issue 88 - April 2014 From time to time, most people in broadcast and production need to rent in some equipment. It might be to extend capabilities an extra camera channel, for example or it might be to bring in something you do not normally use, like an EVS server, for instance. Now picking a dry hire company sounds awfully simple....

Submitted by Mike Ransome

Published 01 May 2014

Packing a real punch for Bangshock

by John Milkovich and Jamie Milkovich Issue 88 - April 2014 Headed up by Creative Director and DP John Milkovich, and Chief Post Production Editor Jamie Milkovich, Vancouver-based media company Bangshock recently took their Ninja 2 on a shoot to capture the Thailand Superfight Thepprasit Pattaya. The Ninja 2s feather weight and rugged build proved...

Submitted by John Milkovich

Published 01 May 2014