KitPlus | Articles

Everything you need to know about Anamorphic Lenses

by Les Zellan Issue 94 - October 2014 Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, film studios and theatre owners panicked. Television was the emerging new technology and as it expanded in popularity they feared audiences would shun the theatre to stay home and watch TV instead. What could they do to beat that? They needed a competitive edge to draw au...

Submitted by Les Zellan

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

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

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

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

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

When the going gets tough

by Will Strauss Issue 88 - April 2014 When working in the field, the kit we use has to withstand a fair old battering. And Im not just talking about the cameras, viewfinders and those expensive lenses. While glass still needs protecting, these days so does your laptop, your storage, your memory cards: the lot. They all need bags, cases and toughene...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2014

War House goes live in 4K

Issue 87 - March 2014In the next chapter of the War Horse story, National Theatre Live in collaboration with Sony, are pushing the technological boundaries of live entertainment to a new level. For the first time worldwide, the multi-award winning stage production will be broadcast live in 4K. On February 27th 2014, National Theatre Live (NT Live)...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2014

Cutting the cord

by Will Strauss Issue 87 - March 2014 Wireless cameras are not new. In fact, they date back to the 1970s. But its only been in the last ten years that this technology has really blossomed, with engineers working out how to adapt the digital terrestrial transmission technology so that it can be used efficiently for programme-making. From that tippin...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 April 2014

The Next Generation of Image Aqisition for Live Broadcast

by Klaus Weber Issue 86 - February 2014 Today, there are many discussions focused on next generation broadcast formats. This is mainly driven by the fact that the consumer industry has already launched 4K (UHD) TV sets. Beside the question is the market ready to accept a new broadcast format? One question still remains: what is the best solution fo...

Submitted by Klaus Weber

Published 01 March 2014

Packed to Protect: What you need to know

Issue 86 - February 2014Peli Cases have become well established in the market as essential protection for broadcast and photographic equipment, offering watertight, dustproof and crushproof security. Combining durability, security and style, Peli Hardback cases have been introduced to protect iPads, tablets and laptops from drops, knocks and scratc...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 March 2014

Location: Seychelles with the Canon C300PL

by Kieron Seth Issue 86 - February 2014 The idea that the Seychelles are all about palm-lined beaches underplays the scale and diversity of this geologically rich group of islands. Unlike many other tropical paradise destinations, a beautiful seascape is only part of the picture for this gem of the Indian Ocean. From the 900 metre peak of Morne Sey...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 March 2014