KitPlus | Articles

Taking the lead in the HEVC and 4k revolution

There’s probably a good reason that BVE is held in late February — it offers you a few weeks to set your annual plans in place. Then, once you’ve decided on the opportunities you want to take advantage of and improvements you want to make, you have a chance to visit this massive exhibition to see the latest technological innovations that will help...

Submitted by Malcolm Harland

Published 12 February 2018

Juggling with Broadcast Graphics

by Paul Vanlint Issue 109 - January 2016 If it were just about designing stunning looking titles, life would be simple and Adobe After Effects would probably have the market sewn up. But todays broadcasters and even AV producers have so many factors to juggle with, that anything other than a professional graphics solution is unthinkable. On the one...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 21 January 2016

Made with love

by Simon Marett Issue 89 - May 2014 It can wash over you, hardly heard but intensely felt. It can convey a mood without a word being spoken. It can jar and jangle your nerves - in a good way, if its a thriller. Or it can make you cry. The choice of music is a crucial component to the overall feel of many TV programmes - as important as the grade, t...

Submitted by Simon Marett#

Published 01 June 2014

#TVFUTURES

by Will Ingram Issue 88 - April 2014 Since my last article in November I have been flat out working on a large range of different projects both for the course and outside. We have recently finished our IPTV studio unit for which we decided to create a music show that would help to promote local artists. The project was very stressful at the start b...

Submitted by Will Ingram

Published 01 May 2014

Character generation today means real-time 3D graphics

In the constantly evolving world of television, graphics departments could be the ones facing the most complicated challenges. Designers have changed from 2D stills to 3D real-time animations and many sections of the department, such as news graphics or CG specialists, had to cope with the most radical changes, both because new technologies and the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2013

How do you prepare for a curved ball

Peter Savage looks at the effect of the Japanese tsunami and considers whether it has changed our perception of acquisition formats and how we could have planned for itI was sitting with a client in Camden having a quiet lunch in a small Spanish caf. Very nice, very authentic and, as with all good cafs, Sky news was rolling (because no one was play...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2011

tv-bay IBC2010 double takes

Tv-bay Double Takes..!Acquisition For-A VFC-7000 Camera HD Variable Frame Rate CameraASA1800 Sensitivity, Native 720x1280 resolution with inbuilt up-convert to 1920x1080 and will output at 50 or 59.94 frame rates. 120 - 700 Frames per second recording speed. Two HD-SDI outputs enabling live and recordings to be viewed simultaneously. Standard onboa...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2010

Cutting Edge 3D Graphics for the BBCs Election Night

Spanish real-time 3D graphics manufacturer, Brainstorm, provided a full suite of data driven 2D and 3D graphics for the BBC’s recent UK Election Night coverage. The BBC’s election coverage includes some of the most technically challenging and innovative graphics on air, providing an excellent showcase for the power and sophistication of Brainstorm’...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 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

Aston ON

In August 2009 leading Spanish real-time graphics manufacturer, Brainstorm Multimedia acquired the Aston 7 character generator from the Softel Group. With over 30 years on the market, Aston is one of the most established brands in the business and has been the gold standard in character generation in the United Kingdom for many years – to the exten...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2010

IBC top visitor tips

From flower bulbs to North Sea ferries, here are some top tips from the people in the know…!Tip 1 - The funny smelling coffee shops don't generally sell good coffee!Tip 2 - Prostitution is legal in Amsterdam - not compulsory!Tip 3 - When crossing the roads, once you've safely avoided the cars, taxis, trams, bikes and rickshaws - keep an another eye...

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

Aston 7 your lucky number for Sports Graphics

Aston Broadcast has been supplying CG products for long enough to know that the world of live sports graphics presentation never stands still for long. Programme directors like to push the boundaries on visual effects in order to wow the viewer and to differentiate the presentation from that of rival channels or programmes. More often than not, Ast...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 October 2008