KitPlus | Articles

Ask the expert exhibition travel

There are too many trade shows and they are all expensive. Why should I travel to them?You probably should not attempt to travel to every show on the calendar, even if it was possible. It would take all your time and blow the budget out of the water. But that does not mean you should turn your back on shows altogether. They are still the primary wa...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

RECESSION LOOMS: DOES THAT MEAN DOOM AND GLOOM?

Peter Savage argues that if you think creatively, there are opportunities out there to help your business survive the recession. Since I started writing this column in July 2007 (yes, it has been that long) the financial world has flipped over and is now standing on its head. Lehman Brothers went during IBC 2008 and, since then, life has become, if...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Andrew McLeans Guide to Lenses

Andrew McLean, an experienced cinematographer and now vice president of business development at broadcast equipment hire company HotCam, details some of the basic things to consider when it comes to choosing and using camera lenses. What’s the first thing you do when choosing lenses for a shoot?First I consider the creative direction – the aestheti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Raven from True Lens reviewed

Manufacturer: True Lens Services (TLS)Model: RavenDescription:Matte Box, designed for broadcast lenses; particularly for new super wide lenses with two independently rotating filter trays. Why was it needed and what did it replace?:I needed a second Matte Box with my kits, as my Vocas MB350 has been well used and needed replacing. What other system...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Audio loudness for video post

For decades audiences have been complaining about the differences in perceived loudness between different parts of a television service, most commonly that the commercials seem louder than the programmes. Finally broadcasters, prompted in many cases by regulators, have addressed the issue. Over the last decade research has determined what it is tha...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

2011 wasnt all that bad for TV & Commercials, was it?...

2011 was pretty depressing, reading the paper or watching the news was a miserable experience, and all in all, those who still have a job, or have a business should apparently be chuffed to bits!Manufacturers have had a torrid 2011 with various disasters striking key supply lines around the world, meaning shortage of tape stock, and now hard drives...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 February 2012

How a live streaming launch comes together....

Well it’s that time of year again. CALL of DUTY Launch. That’s right it’s been a whole year since I wrote about the successful launch of Call of Duty Black Ops, and now we have the new Call of Duty MW3 launch. Just as last year, myself as part of the Mediakinetic team were once again asked by Headstream and Five by Five Digital to live stream the l...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

The best job of the year so far!

I'm very nostalgic. Blame it on too much Austen and Bronte at a young age. I love photographs, how they pinpoint a moment in time that you can never reclaim. Especially spontaneous photos that capture just how you were feeling, (no matter how unflattering it is!). I also have a habit of reflecting on the past, looking at where I was, what I was doi...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Multi Function 2D and 3D Signal Monitoring Capability

We find ourselves in a constantly evolving industry with an ever increasing variety of video sources and devices that require monitoring. There is still a significant amount of analogue equipment requiring both composite and component monitoring, and then there is the whole raft of digital video equipment supporting SDI, HDSDI, 3G and now HDMI conn...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

TV Bay Questions

Name & Title?James Willett, Freelance ColouristWho are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?Freelance Colourist living and working in LondonWhat do you do? What does your company do?I'm the guy that has the brilliant job of doing everything from lining up and visually matching shots to creatively stylising and achieving the Directors look for...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 November 2011

LIGHTS, CAMERA, PROMPTING

Prompting equipment may seem to be one of the most standard, reliable and commonplace pieces of a workflow but that doesn’t mean provision should be treated with complacency. Thinking ahead and selecting best of breed is as applicable in this case as it is for a supposedly more mission-critical asset management, newsroom or production system. In re...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

RAID SATA Storage System for Music Production

In today’s music industry, it is no longer necessary to have a big studio to produce a hit. This is nothing new to Future Cut Productions, Ltd., a London-based music production studio comprised of Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. Utilizing a unique approach, Future Cut produces, mixes, and remixes most of its tracks using only a Mac® Pro in a small...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Ask the Experts on Storage and Archive

What is the most important thing to consider when choosing storage for content creation applications?The single most important aspect to consider when choosing a storage device for content creation is workflow. It is critical to have made a decision with regards to the capture device, the video format to be used and how the finished project will be...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

Panasonic AF101 review

In 2008 Canon released its latest stills camera the 5DMk2. Little did they know what they had released on the videographers world. This so called STILLS camera had a hidden talent, that of course of remarkably good 1080p video. The indie film makers went wild, no more did they have to bolt on large cumbersome depth of field adapters to their video...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

IBC2011 must sees

Over 1,300 exhibitors will be supporting IBC2011, each bringing perhaps one, two or three new or enhanced products. My task is to distill these down to the 20 devices likely to be of greatest interest to TV-Bay readers, so far as that is possible several weeks before the show opens. As a recent convert to OS X, I note with gloom that Apple remains...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011