KitPlus | Articles

Preparing for the future in television and film

“We prepare students for a career in television and film,” says Sean Thornton of Anglia Ruskin University. “As such, the technology we use has to be real-world and broadcast standard.”The Media Services team provides equipment to under- and post-graduate students and operates facilities that include TV and photographic studios, video editing rooms...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 July 2013

Ask the Experts: What Workstation?

Investing in a new computer workstation or high end PC for use with digital video/or and media production can be a daunting task. With so many different manufacturers to choose from, and with a practically endless list of components to select from customers can be left with literally millions of possible choices. Scary if you aren’t a hardware guru...

Submitted by Mike Leach

Published 01 February 2013

The joy of field editing

In the world of remote working, cloud storage and instant news, the ability to edit on location at a shoot has become a pre-requisite. Only a few years ago, field editing used to be merely about the quick rough cut, the assembly of proxy files or simply the ingest of media in an edit-friendly format. These days, however, energy efficient, high perf...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 February 2013

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

Protecting your assets, safe storage and long life archiv...

A vast amount of information exists out on the Internet that can be very helpful but also misleading and confusing on how best to protect digital content over time both from degradation of content and from piracy. Thinking back on my twenty plus years in the industry, it is my personal opinion the first creative professionals to experience problems...

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

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

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

SOLID STORAGE FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS

While it’s easy to be dazzled by the brilliance of visual effects on the big screen, the less showy side of film post-production often goes unrecognised. Here, Double Negative (known affectionately as DNeg) reveals how an array of Infinity|8 RAID systems and ATTO RAID adapters keeps all that amazing work safe and secure. Double Negative’s trophy sh...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 August 2011

Considering cables and connectors

For a broadcast engineer, choosing the big equipment is always exciting. Even comparing specifications and functionality on core products like routers or DAs is interesting. Then you have to connect it all together – and the temptation is just to reach for the nearest drum of co-ax and bag of BNCs. There surely cannot be much fascination in compari...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2011

Jamies 30 minute meals are served up

The ChallengeTo shoot, edit, grade and conform 40 x 30 minutes episodes of Channel 4’s Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals within an extremely tight timescale, whilst ensuring that quality wasn’t sacrificed throughout the process. The SolutionAn efficient file-based workflow incorporating Avid Media Composer and Avid DS with RED and Canon cameras were used to...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

Watching Television

The pictures on this page give you a small insight into my life. The first is a picture of the television in my living room. At the time of taking the picture I was watching the English cricket team losing in high definition. The second picture is of my desk. Again you will see that it is dominated by a large screen (I’m afraid I still have a sneak...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011

Redefining Mobile, High Definition Recording With Cinedec...

IBC 2010 saw the official European launch of Cinedeck EXTREME v2.0, an ultra-portable cinema grade integrated High Definition monitoring, recording and playback device that has already won numerous awards and accolades since making its first public appearance at this year’s NAB Convention in Las Vegas. Cinedeck EXTREME v2.0 incorporates a number of...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

The University of Sunderland

OverviewThe University of Sunderland School of Arts, Design and Media in Northeast England operates one of the country’s most vibrant and well-equipped media departments in the country. With a rating of excellence from the Quality Assurance Agency, the media and cultural studies department attracts a diverse group of students to its undergraduate a...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010