KitPlus | Articles

Ring out the old, ring in the new

At the start of a new year many of us will look back on the highs and lows of the last 12 months and try to predict what’s in store for us in the coming months before seeking advice on how to protect our business against the unknown. Before making predictions for 2011 I thought I’d take a look back at key industry and business milestones over the p...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2011

19inch Racking, an evolution

If you have ever worked with 19” racking you probably have the scars to prove it. From its inception in the 1930’s to the present day the 19” rack has hardly evolved. Standards organisations, from BSI, ISO ANSI and DIN all have their own take on the 19” rack and, as you all know, you never could get that Dell server in the HP rack. With cage nuts,...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Business conditions of Nigeria v UK

Peter Savage continues his series of articles on maximising business opportunities with a sideways look at opportunities in with emerging marketsDue to the efficiency (ahem) of TV Bay’s management and my own scheduling skills, I find myself, the day before going to press, writing an article whilst sitting in a hotel in Lagos, Nigeria. So, for a com...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2010

Musical matches for your production

The best production you've ever created is in the can. It's time to match your masterpiece with an equally impressive musical soundtrack. But where to start? It's time to dispel the myth that music licensing is complex or expensive and to understand what options are available to you. Firstly, let's get one thing straight. Music, a bit like lunch, i...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 January 2010

Eye to Eye New post-production kit at IBC 2009

This alphabetical overview of new video and film post-production kit at IBC 2009 was going to start with Apple but the company pulled out of both NAB and IBC in 2008. I begin instead with Avid which has certified its Media Composer, NewsCutter, Symphony and DS software to run on the new HP Z series Workstations – the HP Z800 and HP Z400. Avid custo...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 October 2009

A day in the life of a TV lecturer

0830The Dorset country lanes give way to the flood of traffic into Poole and Bournemouth as I negotiate the rush hour streaming into the seaside town. Driving past Poole Harbour, home of Sunseeker Yachts and the RNLI reminds me that yacht I once dreamed of is still a dream. However, the job I once dreamed of became a reality when I became a televis...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 July 2009

Good cop, bad cop

Peter Savage looks at the tricky subject of asking customers to honour their commitments and, possibly, debts – without ruining your customer-supplier relationship or losing what you are owed. How do you keep your customer sweet whilst making sure they pay?This is a question that I have been asked numerous times over the last few months, as draggin...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2009

Audio Technology Spotlight

In the ever changing world of TV technology, formats, standards and delivery, it’s always been reassuring to think that audio equipment for sound gathering on location hasn’t changed too much. That is, until the last couple of years when the emergence of the now widely used digital solid state recorders, digital transmission radio mic systems, high...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2009

Lightworks Editing

It is said that “Variety is the Spice of Life” and the Lightworks Editing systems have been very spicey recently. The new season of the English Football Premiere League will once again see Perform Media Services Ltd. bringing their Lightworks “Softworks” editing systems into action. Perform have the contract to provide in match “near live” and dela...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2008

Guide to filming in London

Film London aims to make filming in the capital as straight-forward a process as possible. They hold a library of over 10,000 London film locations, a comprehensive database of crew and facilities in the region, and can also provide information and advice about the filming process. Please note however that they do not provide permits for filming. T...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 July 2008

Royalty Free Music Can Save You A Fortune

How important is music to your production? Think of the two notes John Williams used in Jaws to signal danger and to sometimes mislead the audience into believing that a great white shark was lurking in the hidden depths. Music plays such a crucial and powerful role in the visual world to be overlooked at your peril. Notice how suddenly your edit c...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 June 2008

The Brown Stabilizer

Garrett Brown is best known as the Oscar-winning inventor of the Steadicam®. He has shot with it on nearly 100 movies including Rocky, The Shining and Return of the Jedi. Garrett holds 50 patents worldwide for camera devices which include the new Steadicam Merlin, a miniature version for camcorders; Skycam, the robot camera that flies on wires over...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 March 2008