KitPlus | Articles

Following the alien route of a freelancer

I don't like mushrooms. Slugs of the culinary world. Growing up I was forced to eat them (apparently they're good for you?), but now, at the grand old age of 19, I have to confess that I still don't like mushrooms. When I first started work experience, I had no idea what I was doing, where it would lead or what I enjoyed or not. Also, as I very rar...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Monitoring, managing and processing SDI signals efficient...

With the proliferation of HD, Dual Link and 3G technologies, SDI signal management is now, more than ever, a challenge for broadcast engineers and A/V professionals. They would often like to use affordable HDMI displays for monitoring. They need to distribute signals throughout their facility, which often means video feeds must be amplified to acco...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2011

Fast 3D

It is easy to make the assumption that 3D should comply with existing standards, as in the 2D video streams of television or movie images running at 24, 25 or 30 frames per second, according to the relevant 2D standards. However, the recent step up to doubled frame rates, generally referred to as 50p or 60p for television and 48p (or higher) for mo...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2011

A grand boy

I am smiling a particularly content smile while writing this month’s column, as just a couple of days ago I met one of my great heroes, and a giant amongst broadcasters: Sir David Attenborough. He is the recipient of the IBC International Honour for Excellence this year, and I was directing a video interview with him to use as part of the awards ce...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2011

tv-bay questions

Who are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?I am a freelance colourist working mainly in London and LA. I am the founder of the UK’s first datalab MYTHERAPY. I am also working on behalf of several manufacturers in research and development of colour science for digital film cameras; I am a demo artist for Iridas and Master Colourist at ICA In...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 August 2011

tv-bay questions

Q. What is your opinion on the current state of the broadcast market?Broadcast is back! Well, of course, it never went away, but the recession hit many capital projects for broadcasts all over the world and it slowed significantly. Recently, we’ve seen a significant upturn in all areas, which is good for us all. Our business has been very successfu...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

3D One year on

The month started with a trip to Sony to visit its very impressive 3D Customer Experience Centre where Paul Cameron (Training) gave a three-hour run down all about 3DTV production. This very compact version of Sony’s three-day course kept me on my toes. Early on he pointed out that 3D had been in favour, and then out, several times already, at abou...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2011

An Introduction To Microphone Types, Uses, and Techniques

Almost everyone knows what a microphone is, but far fewer people know how they actually work and how to get the best out of the various types available. Pieter Schillebeeckx, Chief Designer at UK microphone manufacturer SoundField, fills in some basics. As technology has become easier to use, cheaper and more portable, it's become more popular. Ear...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 June 2011

Challenging Loudness

Numerous definitions of the word loudness exist but to understand the relevance of the word in relation to the world of broadcast sound perhaps the statement that loudness is “our perceived impression of the intensity, frequency, and duration of a sound” fits closest. We all watch TV with the remote control close at hand; not just to change channel...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 June 2011

Challenging times

I am writing this on 18 March, but only 77 days in 2011 is proving to be a momentous year for global events. We started out with catastrophic floods in Australia, then the earthquake in Christchurch. I once spent a wonderfully happy day in Christchurch, and it was, at least until 22 February, without doubt the loveliest small city I have ever visit...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

A day in the life of a Royals videographer

Times have changed; no more phone calls, telexes or faxes, - remember them? Now it’s E-mails; what would we do without them?A quiet day in the office-come-edit-suite, the FCP rendering yet another set of archive clips, and the other Mac illuminated with Thunderbird, when ‘ping’ (the Mac version of “You got mail”) wakes one up from the hypnotic tran...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

What are the most important opportunities and challenges...

What are the most important opportunities and challenges facing the TV industry today?To answer this question we need to look more broadly at consumer behaviour and the changing way people are consuming content. Viewers no longer solely want a passive experience with a TV programme in their front room. They want to watch catch-up TV on a laptop, do...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2011

The #BVEXPO Great Experiment

NAB, IBC and Broadcast Video Expo share one thing - they play to a global audience for TV and film production, post-production and distribution. It’s not practical to get along to all the shows so there is an increasing trend to report for that global audience. BV Expo is currently the only show without a dedicated multimedia channel. With somethin...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2011

BBC Academy

Today’s broadcast industry depends on a mobile workforce of skilled professionals. And in the YouTube age where anyone can upload a film, what distinguishes the professional from the amateur? In short - great training!A recent survey of industry freelancers reveals that more than half rank training as one of the most important factors in developing...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011

Production Spotlight

On Friday 10th September, Fluidmoves Video Productions, filmed a new outfall pipe leaving Shoreham Harbour on the Sussex coast. The 1.8 kilometre pipe was towed out to sea through the open lock gates round to Newhaven Harbour, a distance of 15 nautical miles, on behalf of Southern Water and its contractor 4Delivery. The outfall is part of Southern...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2011