KitPlus | Articles

Undercover Remote Production

It’s only taken 20 years and it seems that Remote Production is finally coming of age, but it now requires far more cameras than anyone envisaged back in the last century!The move to remote production is one of the unstoppable trends of 2019 and moving into 2020. Our CamBall cameras pioneered remote working as early as 2003 with sport and wildlife...

Submitted by David Bradley

Published 10 September 2019

Tips and Tricks to Giving Sci-Fi a New Look

From Terminator to Blade Runner, Alien, and even E.T., science fiction is a genre that will never fail to capture an audience’s imagination. It’s also a genre that encompasses so much more than just space crafts or time travel: frequently providing filmmakers with a platform from which to not only highlight social and political issues, but also exp...

Submitted by Mathieu Marano

Published 07 June 2018

Tried and tested: DPA d:vice

KitPlus recently took delivery of an interesting piece of equipment for review. We like our iPhone gadgets here. For us, useful iPhone gadgets started when the Olloclip lens gave us a wide angle adaptor. This was a good start, finally evolving into a proper tool when Ziess produced the Exolens system for the 5,6 & 7 series iPhones. Around the same...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 26 March 2018

Playing with Pink Floyd

For the founder of London-based Hangman, James Tonkin, this has indeed been a summer to remember. After sixteen years of working in the same suites, he designed and moved his team into a new future proofed facility in Kew Gardens created specifically for the manipulation and delivery of formats in up to 8K HDR. Soon afterward, he was approached by...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 12 February 2018

Panasonic GH5: Tried and Tested

My journey as a filmmaker began with a select number of enthusiastic BBC reporters picked out and trained in the concept of Personal Digital Production by the American Video Journalist Michael Rosenblum. Back in the early naughties he was pioneering the concept of one person journalist shoot editors. A complete news reporting package with small per...

Submitted by Tim Bearder

Published 12 February 2018

Top Tips on becoming an IBC Jedi

IBC is upon us once more. The doors of the RAI will open for the European electronic media and entertainment industry to scrum together to gather inspiration, keep abreast of developments in tech, and generally take the temperature of the industry. With a show of this scale, it's important to plan ahead to make sure that you squeeze every drop of w...

Submitted by Aaron Dunleavy

Published 19 October 2017

Lighting - the stuff you do not see

i Lighting is the stuff you don\'t see that makes a difference in what you do see. How the audience feels about a character and whether the scene is scary, tense or upbeat are communicated by the quality and placement of light. Lighting can take the drama to a whole new level - think about film noir with all those shadows on the wall. So called "na...

Submitted by Tama Berkeljon

Published 07 September 2017

Is everyone a journalist these days

i Today\'s content consumers have endless viewing and streaming possibilities thanks to the advent of smart phones and tablets that allow them to watch pretty much anything they want, on the go, and away from the confines of a television screen. Those very same smartphones and tablets have also brought another revolution to the broadcast industry -...

Submitted by Rene Morch

Published 01 August 2017

Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Reviewed

The yeti finally arrived earlier this year - I call it so, because for almost twelve months until BVE 2016 we\'d only seen it in pictures! So getting my hands on one in a real word environment was an absolute no brainer, when Simon Tillyer dropped me a line offering the opportunity to review the camera for KitPlus. I\'ll cut right to the chase with...

Submitted by Ben Sherriff

Published 07 December 2016

Selecting the right broadcast minicam lens

So we all know that HD and 4K (and beyond) is the norm for content creation and delivery, with the need for unique and versatile shots being offered to increase the audiences participation and visual experiences. A major factor aside from the camera itself is the selection of lens, for some of the UHD sensor formats a broad spectrum of "off the she...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 10 November 2016

Self contained and expandable commentary systems

Adopting innovative technologies and techniques is always fundamental to the control of capital and operational costs - the key to broadcast facilities or technology providers gaining competitive advantage. Sports commentary has continually suffered from high operational costs, whether at the sports venue itself or "off-glass", due to the need for...

Submitted by Chris Collings

Published 26 September 2016

Our Time At NAB 2016

by Beth Zarkosh Issue 113 - May 2016 We were lucky enough to visit this year\'s NAB Show in Las Vegas, and we must saythere were some real treats on show! Here\'s just a few things that stood out for us and worth keeping your eye on. Virtual Reality & 360 Degree VideosOne thing that really stood out for us was the virtual reality filmmaking devices...

Submitted by Beth Zarkosh

Published 13 May 2016

Out with the new, in with the old

by Peter Savage Issue 110 - February 2016 Out with the new, in with the oldGetting the film look with a digital camera requires the correct lens: and sometimes that means going back in time, writes Peter SavageFor consumers and professionals alike, a digital camera offers convenience and immediacy. But when youre using one to shoot a movie or TV dr...

Submitted by Peter Savage 2

Published 16 March 2016

Ground breaking production tool

with Stefan Lange Issue 106 - October 2015 NEO¢, the latest product from British LED manufacturer Rotolight, is a revolutionary on-camera or location LED lighting fixture designed for the most demanding of professionals. NEO¢ includes several industry first features that set it apart from the field, notably amongst which is an arsenal of Cinematogr...

Submitted by Stefan Lange

Published 01 November 2015

Sony PXW-FS5 Review

by Alister Chapman Issue 106 - October 2015 I was lucky enough to get some hands on time with a prototype FS5 in Amsterdam at IBC. In case you havent heard about it, the PXW-FS5 is a compact interchangeable lens, super 35mm camcorder from Sony that can record in HD or UHD 4K. It shares many of the features of the already incredibly popular PXW-FS7...

Submitted by Alister Champman

Published 01 November 2015