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Polecam on Safari

Safaricam"No, you can’t get out of the car", the voice replied. "Why not?’ I asked. "Because you might get eaten by a lion."I put the phone down and contemplated what it was I had just agreed to do. The Kenya project started with a call from a French production company expressing an interest in hiring my Polecam system for three weeks. The series,...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 August 2009

Longevity of media archives

The role of the archive has evolved rapidly, delivering not only new revenue opportunities but crucial conservation possibilities for historical and cultural libraries that have lain dormant for many years. The economic downturn means that now more than ever cost saving is a huge issue; facilities need to create new revenue opportunities whilst red...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 August 2009

Its A Bigger DAM Picture

There’s a lot of fuss these days about “Digital Asset Management.” Why? Because organizations (and their hard drives) are busting at the seams with digital assets that are multiplying faster than hamsters at a rave. Many of these organizations already have enterprise management software solutions in place, so DAM often becomes a new, isolated plane...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 August 2009

HD Camera Measurements and getting the most out of your c...

Recap Parts1 and 2:Parts 1 and 2 covered the theory and actual measurement of white shading, making sure that the camera non-linearities introduced by various different lens systems on a particular camera are compensated. In this issue, Part 3 will investigate setting up colourimetry and exposure as well greyscale adjustments using a waveform monit...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 May 2009

Audio acquisition and production

Remembering the days when the average 'portable' sound recorder was heavy enough to induce a hernia, I have high respect for the capabilities of modern digital audio devices. Not least the solid-state recorders that have emerged as successors to the Sony-originated DAT and MiniDisk formats. But avoid anything that lacks XLR connectors unless you ar...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 February 2009

New developments in mobile HD production

When widescreen HDTV was first demonstrated back in the 1980s, the pictures were great but the size and price of the kit left much to be desired. Two decades on, broadcast-quality 1080i/720p HD cameras and recorders have reached levels of compactness and affordability that would have seemed impossible in those early days. When I designed the origin...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 January 2009

New editing essentials

I like to think of myself as a bit of a pioneer at the frontier of the new age of HD Digital Cinematography. Investigating the best of the new technology available to our industry and evaluating its possible impact. I ‘d like to explain the impact of some of the particular examples of this today starting with:-XDCam EX Tapeless HD Camcorders. One w...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2008

Virtual Sets

When I first started approaching people in the UK with Brainstorms Virtual Studio software I was surprised to have them shake their heads vigorously and explain that virtual studio systems were “far too expensive and too difficult to set up and run” Coupled with that was the lack of realism and who’s using them?In Spain where Brainstorm are based t...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 November 2008

Virtual sets come of age

Virtual studios (VS) have experienced a roller coaster ride of popularity through their short life. Initially they were hailed as the future for live broadcasting, seamlessly combining people and computer-generated environments without the need for post-production. But the racks of SGI computers, complex studio set-ups, complex camera tracking syst...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 November 2008

Virtual Studios

Traditionally virtual studios have been extremely expensive to equip due to the amount of technology required just to make the studio work. Besides the standard studio cameras and lighting, sophisticated additional technology is required to provide feedback from lenses, pan and tilt heads and dollies, to seamlessly synchronise foreground and backgr...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 November 2008

Lightweight Dolly Systems Vs Heavy Duty Kin

Film sets are fortunate to still employ and make full use of a ‘grip’ and his kit. A Grip Department can make or break a film as they are involved in the whole filming process and a skilled grip can save hours and pounds for the world-weary producer. That aside in the smaller world of young film-maker and broadcast TV Documentary, grips are all but...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 March 2008