KitPlus | Articles

STAYING AHEAD OF THE BBCS QUALITY CURVE

At True Vision TV, our tagline is “Films that make a difference” – and it’s been our guiding ethos since the company was founded in 1995. We strive to make television that engages viewers with issues that matter, and we produce character-led documentaries that entertain, but also inform and educate. As such, we’ve built a particular reputation for...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2012

Advanced Hybrid Optical Cable and Connectors

The march of technological advances in fiber optic cable, along with a new generation of plug-and-play connectors, is allowing camera operators and Outside Broadcast (OB) van engineers the luxury of easy and reliable deployment of remote production equipment. Studio Technologies is dedicated to delivering carefully engineered equipment solutions in...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 May 2012

Casual specs

If you are a regular reader of this column, you probably know by now that I am a lover of technology that is useful, or at least very attractive. On the other hand I am quite scornful of stuff that engineers come up with because they can, without ever having an idea of what it is for. I do not go to the CES show – one trip a year to Las Vegas is en...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

A new era in slow-motion?

Those readers who watch sports programmes on a regular basis may have noticed that many productions now have high speed cameras providing so called “ultra-motion” replays as a part of slow motion sequences. These cameras have been in use for many years in such areas as crash testing and sports training, but until recently the quality of the image h...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

Taking the pain out of collaborative editing

Broadcast and post-production companies face the daily challenge of delivering more for less – both in terms of time and money. Whilst the industry has been quick to embrace the efficiencies of file-based workflows and enhancements in the creative editing process, the reality - for companies of all sizes - is that the effective and secure managemen...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

The new world of live acquisition

While the debate rages over the future of broadcast television with discussion of OTT (OTT – over-the-top delivery – think iPlayer on Virgin Media as a key example – or LoveFilm. It means an on-demand content service that is delivered over the top of another network) and time-shifting increasingly hogging the limelight, there’s one arena in which t...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 April 2012

The Biggest Game in Town

The Biggest Game in TownAnnually, as the Super Bowl approaches, stores across the States stack their shelves with the latest HDTV sets. Advertising sales teams cancel all holidays and prepare for a feeding frenzy. Networks bid in earnest to win exclusive game broadcasting rights. And new media innovators roll out their latest online and mobile apps...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2012

Ask the experts......Intercoms for outside broadcasts

Ask the experts – intercoms for outside broadcastsBarry Spencer, Trilogy CommunicationsI just assume outside broadcast trucks come with an intercom. Why do I need to even think about it?The first big point is that an outside broadcast is not just a control room on wheels. It is an event. And that means communications beyond the truck. Within the pr...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2012

tv-bay Questions

Anthony Bairstow – Senior Video Editor at MTV and Editor of Two and Two, BAFTA nominated short. Who are you?I graduated from the BA Film & TV course at Westminster University and gradually found my way into the TV industry, eventually working at MTV Networks Europe. However, I have always had numerous side projects on the go, one of the latest bein...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 April 2012

3D Diaries Cameras: more for less

http://www.tv-bay.com/imag/issue062/files/44.htmlCameras: more for less?There is plenty of guidance available about how to shoot ‘good’ stereo 3D and the principles are quite easy to understand. Achieving good results takes good equipment and, maybe, the assistance of a stereographer and even a convergence puller... unless you are using one of thos...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

ARRI LED technology

With a growing range of LED products, ARRI is providing industry professionals with all of the benefits of using a Low Energy Lighting source with familiar characteristics. The L-Series LED Fresnel fixtures are so close to their conventional equivalents that they create a like-for-like replacement of traditional Fresnels with LED-based light engine...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

LED - A clean light at the end of the tunnel

We asked DoP & Lighting Specialist Jonathan Harrison to evaluate the current state of the industry. Jonathan has long been critical of LED products and the claims made by manufacturers in regards to their performance for high quality professional image capture, he has also been intimately involved in the development of some of the leading industry...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

How much RAM do I need to edit video?

When talking to video editors who are looking to get into editing for the first time, one of the questions I’m asked most is, “how much RAM should I have?”First of all let me explain what RAM is and what is does. RAM (or Random Access Memory) provides space for your computer to read and write data to be accessed by the CPU (central processing unit)...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Eye to Eye: Whats new in lighting

The majority of modern digital video cameras and D-SLRs are capable of delivering high-quality images provided the lighting conditions are good. Attempting to shoot in low light introduces the risk of noise and limited depth of field. Whatever the claimed camera sensitivity, good lighting is as essential today as ever. The following is a short over...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012

Andrew McLeans Guide to Lenses

Andrew McLean, an experienced cinematographer and now vice president of business development at broadcast equipment hire company HotCam, details some of the basic things to consider when it comes to choosing and using camera lenses. What’s the first thing you do when choosing lenses for a shoot?First I consider the creative direction – the aestheti...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 March 2012