KitPlus | Articles

Broadcasting Indoor Sky Diving

When you say you’re broadcasting skydiving, there are two types of reactions. One is the creative, who’ll say something along the lines of “Wow. Those shots must look great” and other is the engineer who’ll say “That must be a real hassle to get all the infrastructure in and secure.”When you say you work on indoor skydiving, both people will think...

Submitted by Daniel Harker Barnes

Published 07 June 2018

Epictech makes headway: A case study

Founded in January 2014, EpicTech Media have been providing high end video production to companies and musicians across the U.K. for over three and a half years. When approached earlier this year by the band Bodkin Lane, we relished the challenge of producing a video of their charity concert, in aid of Headway (www.headway.org.uk), despite the chal...

Submitted by Daniel Harker Barnes

Published 12 February 2018

Polecam user review

When it comes to filming from above, drones have dominated in recent years. But restrictions on where and when they can be used means there is still a demand for traditional style jibs. Polecam has been a major player in the crane market for nearly two decades and its rigs have captured everything from interesting perspectives of major sporting eve...

Submitted by Phil Vinter

Published 15 March 2017

Diversify or Die

This headline of this article is a simple fact, diversify or die! It is necessary for survival as well as interest of mind to do this within business. "If a farmer can no longer produce crops because no-one wants them he must diversify or die.\" Caravans, glamping, corporate days in the country with hunting, fishing and shooting; these are just som...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 13 January 2017

Selecting the right broadcast minicam lens

So we all know that HD and 4K (and beyond) is the norm for content creation and delivery, with the need for unique and versatile shots being offered to increase the audiences participation and visual experiences. A major factor aside from the camera itself is the selection of lens, for some of the UHD sensor formats a broad spectrum of "off the she...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 10 November 2016

Filming in 4k in not just about the camera

Filming in 4K is not just about the camera. The whole workflow and supply chain needs to be considered. A BNC cable that you have used for the last few years has happily coped with 1.5G HD-SDI, now we are wanting twice the data rate. Camera Corps asked Polecam to help with its supply of cameras to the Champions of Hockey Games at the Olympic Hockey...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 26 September 2016

Shooting the WRC Rally

Mark bites the dust for his art and lives to tell the tale... A look at my website will confirm I don\'t just shoot cars, I cover a wide range of genres. But I have shot in and around cars through my career. Early on I joined a facilities company specialising in the design and build of onboard camera systems for F1 and Motorcycle GP live TV coverag...

Submitted by Mark Sallaway

Published 25 August 2016

Networking with the GTC

The annual Guild Of Television Cameramen ( GTC ) Open Day and AGM was held recently in the Oxfordshire countryside on a sunny Sunday. It's a while since I've attended one, and the welcome was as warm and friendly as it always has been. Organisations like these must be incredibly useful for freelance camera operators, most of whom do not attend NAB,...

Submitted by Duncan Payne

Published 14 June 2016

Shooting the Extreme

by Mel Noonan Issue 112 - April 2016 Steffan Hewitt started covering extreme sports as a cameraman and learnt to ski backwards while shooting skiers in front of him. Surprisingly he survived, and went on to design and use a lightweight pole with an early SD minicam slung at the top operated via a remote pan and tilt head from the other end. He call...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 25 April 2016

Ed Sheeran goes 4k live at Wembley

by Steffan Hewitt Issue 106 - October 2015 Ed Sheeran has had a phenomenal ride to music success world wide. In July 2015 as part of his x World Tour he played three sold out concerts at Londons Wembley Stadium, his biggest solo shows to date with combined show audiences of 240,000 plus. Paul Dugdale and Jim Parsons whilst working for JA Digital pl...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 01 November 2015

DOPs discuss minicams, lenses, 4k and all

by Mel Noonan Issue 100 - April 2015 If anyone knows about the practical reality of using minicams and lenses it has to be the DOPs who are out there using them. We are now seeing minicams used in all areas of production, some with 1080p and 4K capability at prices you would not have believed possible a few years back. I spoke to some of the DOPs I...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 May 2015

When the going gets tough

Issue 100 - April 2015 From the monsoonal rainforests of Papua New Guinea to the frozen Antarctic wastes , Peli cases perform in all conditions as Producer/Director and Cameraman, Alexis Girardet explains... Peli cases are renowned for their high quality, durability and dependability in extreme conditions. Offering watertight, dustproof and crushpr...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 May 2015

Walking into manufacturing with a Dedleg

by Paul Zanders Issue 98 - February 2015 I\'ve been a freelance recordist since 1999. I\'ve been lucky enough to be busy, working with many crews on some major shows like The Apprentice, Masterchef, X Factor, Top Gear, and many documentaries and corporate videos. I\'ve worked with some great cameramen and some fantastic sound recordists. I enjoy wh...

Submitted by Paul Zanders

Published 01 March 2015

Hands-on with the Antelope PICO ultra slow motion minicam

by Mel Noonan Issue 98 - February 2015 Super slow motion, or super motion, has been around for years and is mostly 3x recording speed. If you record say 3 seconds of action and play it back at normal European production frame rate you\'ll have 9 seconds of slow motion replay. These cameras must integrate with the live production workflow in use. SS...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 March 2015

6

Issue 94 - October 2014Must have or just a dream? Either way these 6 stood out this month Just released is the HERO 4 in two varieties. The Silver has a useful touch screen and 4k at 15fps and the Black shoots 4k at up to 30 fps, has no touch screen but does have upgraded audio amongst other benefits. The new LISHUAI C200S on camera LED light provi...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 November 2014