KitPlus | Articles

Not so Good Vibrations

When shooting with ordinary 2D, you can almost do what you like with camera dynamics. If you pan wildly from side to side or up and down, what you see through the viewfinder is what you will actually get. If there is going to be some camera shake or vibration, you can opt to switch in a stabiliser in the camera or the lens system. In 3D these are d...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Around the globe with Q-Ball

The bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin was celebrated during 2009 by a variety of TV programmes studying the background to his 1859 book 'On the Origin of Species'. One of the most ambitious tributes was a 35-part series planned and produced by Dutch broadcaster VPRO. Rather than hire a studio, they commissioned the three-masted clipper Sta...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

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

Television camera lenses

This is a glass-to-glass report with a difference, starting at front-end of the video production chain and staying there. Given the speed of development in almost every other branch of television, it is easy to overlook the advances taking place in optics. Until, that is, you need a wider capture angle than your existing kit can deliver or you want...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Rotolight Interview Kit Review

This month we decide to surprise Jim in his cage and see if we could illuminate him with the new Rotolight Interview Kit. Highly portable and extremely user friendly, Jim was beaming all over – pardon the pun. The Rotolight has already been around for a while with many cheaper copies trying to emulate the brand. This new package is good. It’s a com...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Underwater DSLR Video Capture

Needless to say, DSLRs and their newly found HD video capability are a hot topic nowadays but many of us used to traditional video/film cameras are finding the transition a little vexing. The problem is that for years we’ve been able to immerse ourselves within that snug, comfortable viewfinder and get on with the job at hand. All of a sudden we ar...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Polecam Production Profile

I have been working in the film and television industry since 1989, starting as a news cameraman and editor at the Manitoba Television Network. MTN is a local independent television broadcaster in my home town of Winnipeg. In 1991 I joined the French television service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a sound man and advanced to EN...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2010

3D Diaries Part 3 Mastering 3D

The 3D Masters conference was full of optimism, and caution, for the future of stereoscopic 3D. The one-day event was a near sell-out with about 250 attendees filling most of those sumptuous theatre seats at BAFTA. Despite the comfort, warmth, darkened room and good lunch, your correspondent managed to keep wide-awake to absorb the ceaseless torren...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

ALEXA bringing new creative freedom to filmmakers

ALEXA brings new creative freedom to filmmakers. A compact, lightweight and affordable digital camera, ALEXA redefines the limits of motion picture capture with ultra-fast workflows and image quality akin to 35 mm film. From major motion pictures and high-end dramas to commercials, music videos and mainstream TV, ALEXA suits a wide variety of appli...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2010

3D Diaries Part 2 Cameras and rigs

The idea of S-3D is not hard to grasp: one image for each eyeball. But making it work well enough to maintain the 3D illusion for the viewer is far from simple or straightforward. The fun starts with acquisition that breaks into two types of operation; live (no post production) and not live (with post). Shooting 3D requires acquiring two streams of...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2010

Precise panning for DSLR cameras

After buying a new DSLR camera with video function one usually works hard at getting good shots. It then becomes obvious that the selection of the proper tripod is crucial for clean horizontal and vertical panning. Sachtler, a brand of the Vitec Group, offers a variety of fluid heads in different weight classes that also fulfill the special require...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Eye to Eye: Getting a grip

Getting a gripCameras and camcorders are shrinking at such a rapid rate that a lot of today's established support devices are looking completely out of scale. In some aisles of the NAB 2010 Central Hall, visitors were at perpetual risk of colliding with excited demonstrators nipping hither and yon with hand-held stabilisers for DSLRs. Most were onl...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

Why do poorly composed 3D stereoscopic images give headac...

The brain is used to being able to “fuse” the two separate views of the world seen from each eye into a 3D perceived scene. However we have a closed-loop system and the eye muscles constantly pull convergence and focus depending on the region of interest. When presented with two separate image streams originating from the left and right camera syst...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

A year on the net AIL

2009 was a good year for AILTV as this was this the year we started broadcasting. The period was used to test and try out new ways to improve our services made all the more challenging with the recession was in full swing. Some plans to take AILTV to a next level had to be put on hold such as the purchase of a Niagra Go Stream for live streaming wh...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2010

Accessorising DLSR video

Some DSLR stills camera manufacturers now include HD video capabilities within their top-of-the-range products. This raises the prospect of lower cost stills cameras shooting good quality HD video. While this is true in certain circumstances there is much more that needs to be included with these cameras to make them consistently produce their best...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2010