KitPlus | Articles

Wireless Audio at the sharp end

Wireless Audio at the sharp endIt's noisy, it's very, very hot, but then often it can be cold or raining but it's still noisy and everything has to be de-rigged and moved to another country, sometimes in a different continent, every two weeks – did I mention it's noisy? Formula 1 motor racing has never been more popular – witnessed at the tracks by...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

3D audio - a dimension worth adding

3D audio - a dimension worth addingThose of you that have just returned from NAB may have been surprised to witness the distinct lack of stereo 3D hype during the show. I certainly was. After several conventions in a row when stereoscopy seemed to unnecessarily dominate the press announcements, the halls and some of the chatter, 2012 finally saw th...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 June 2012

Getting back to basics on HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR GRIP AND SUP...

When looking to purchase grip and support systems there are now a variety of different options available to the dedicated cameraman and this potential minefield of different equipment, at varying prices, can seem daunting and confusing at first. What’s the difference between a shoulder support, steady mount and a stabilizer? Are slide rail systems...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Dick gets hands on

There is a new buzz phrase in computer magazines at the moment. It is “digital skeuomorphism”, an expression which has come to describe the way that a user interface is designed to look like something else. To give an example of digital skeuomorphism, the picture is of my iPad calendar. The point is not to show how busy I am at NAB, but to show the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Convergence Grading for Stereoscopic 3D Broadcast with Da...

After soldiering through a long run of freelance work in Soho, I had a couple of days off. I thought, “It’ll be nice to relax a little bit,” which is when I got the call. “We have this project with quite a tight turnaround, a couple of days to deliver 75 minutes worth of 3D.” I told them to hold on — this would be my first 3D job. They replied, “It...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Putting the Realism into Reality Television

“Reality television’ as a category of programming emerged in the late 1990s with the introduction of shows that attempted to portray real people responding to real challenges under more or less continual public gaze. Unlike sport, where the focus is primarily on physical skills and endurance, reality television shows place their participants in a w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Sennheiser MKH 8060, 8070 and MKE1 Lapel microphone revie...

Sennheiser recently asked me to review two new MKH series microphones, and a new Lapel MKE 1I had a job coming up and I thought this would be the perfect time to try the two MKH microphones out. The job was a TV commercial. We would shoot on the beach and in Jumeirah Beach Park. For my set up, I decided I would use a PSC Alphamix Mixer, a Sound Dev...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

Soooooo. IBC

Soooooo. IBC!For those of you who don't know (and obviously only read tv-bay for my column) IBC is the world's second largest broadcast convention, held in Amsterdam. As previously mentioned in last months' column, I went with tv-bay. It was my first convention of any kind, and I was in no way prepared for the sheer scale of the event. This thing i...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

Capturing the Gumball 3000 Rally 2011 with an iPhone4

Sons of Oscar nominated Director - Mike Figgis, Arlen and Louis Figgis, were tasked this year with following and recording the Gumball 3000 Rally. The Gumball 3000 is an annual 3,000-mile (4,800 km) international road rally which takes place over 8 days on public roads, with a different route around the world each year. Founded in 1999 by Maximilli...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

Storage and archiving

Anyone looking closely at a helical scan video tape mechanism, particularly the miniature variety, might be forgiven for wondering how such an elaborate technology ever came to be invented. The first experimental video tape recorders were essentially audio recorders running at very high speed to achieve the bandwidth needed for television signals....

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

KVM enterprise and video matrix switchers in broadcast ap...

KVM enterprise and video matrix switchers in broadcast applicationsEngineers within the professional broadcast world are comfortably familiar with video routers for the control of uncompressed video and audio signals within live studio and editing locations. However there is less familiarity with the use of KVM enterprise and video matrix switchers...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 August 2011

So what is Digital Television - Part 1

It is tempting to think of “digital television” as something very scientific and even complex. But when we view the end result, we find something very familiar; something television engineers have sought since the very beginning…an experience that just keeps getting better and better…quality video and audio conveying great entertainment, sport, mov...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

RIDING THE AUDIO WAVE ON SET OF HAWAII FIVE-O

McGarrett eyes his foe across the beach. After signaling to his trusty sidekick Dano, he jumps on an ATV and the chase is on. Dano jumps on a jet ski and tries to cut off the enemy's escape from the sea. Yet in middle of all this, you can actually hear what they're saying to each other. Ever try to mic somebody on a jet ski? Location sound guys hav...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

Its good to talk

Online, my sister is quite the socialite. She has more friends on Facebook than people I’ve ever met, and a very active Twitter account. Let’s not even get started on LinkedIn, Buzzsprout, Flickr, You Tube, MySpace and Scrib’d. Half her life is on the web, and while the conventions of these online relationships remain a mystery to me, my sister is...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

Whats new in audio

The NAB show is not the first event that comes to mind for pro-audio kit but in fact rivals any audio-specific exhibition on the planet. The following is a summary of significant new sound equipment seen during a tour of this year's exhibits. AKG's C 544 L head-worn microphone is designed to be worn by gymnastics or (almost the same thing in some c...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011