KitPlus | Articles

Gearing up for The Americas with Simon Reeve

For several years, it has been my honour to collaborate as director of photography with Simon Reeve, the well-known British author, adventurer, and TV presenter. Our latest partnership, the popular BBC Two program “The Americas With Simon Reeve,” is our most ambitious project yet, tracing Simon’s journey from the top to the toe of two continents. S...

Submitted by Jonathan Joung

Published 27 January 2020

Creating A Signature Look With Lighting

As an LA-based DP, I view my role as a narrative storyteller. For me, cinematography is not just about getting some nice images – it’s about telling truths. I love being able to weave a story with imagery and capture something that’s real, whether through performance or visual symbolism. Lighting is one of my most important mechanisms for capturing...

Submitted by William Hellmuth

Published 03 November 2019

How to shoot the perfect lighting mix

Advances in high-quality LED lighting over the past couple of decades might be one of the best things that’s ever happened to broadcast and cinema production. Compared to traditional tungsten fixtures, LED lights offer powerful operational and financial benefits from longer life and lower energy bills to brighter, more consistent light and greater...

Submitted by Alan Ipakchian

Published 07 June 2018

Ask the experts: Batteries

by Kieran Foster Issue 98 - February 2015 1. What steps has the battery industry taken to make their products more environmentally friendly? Is there any more that can be done? In our industry, the best way to tackle any environmental issues is to focus on the efficiency of the battery. Maximum product life is part of the design philosophy of Anton...

Submitted by Kieran Foster

Published 01 March 2015

Capture and Produce

Issue 94 - October 2014One of the hot topics at this year’s IBC was undoubtedly the growing adoption of end-to-end IP production and the imminent death of SDI. During a panel session, hosted by Mediasmiths and Cognizant, and including representatives from BBC, Sony and more, the key point made was that the adoption of IP production technology and w...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 November 2014

Lighting our way at IBC

by Simon TillyerIssue 82 - October 2013 One of our duties at trade shows is rolling a camera rig around the various halls whether it be Las Vegas, London or Amsterdam and interviewing exhibitors. Having done this for a few years now we get to use different kit at each event, a deliberate decision, in order to test it out in a real world use and in...

Submitted by Simon Tillyer

Published 01 December 2013

Crowd pulling at BVE

There is no better crowd puller at a trade show than a stand using equipment from multiple manufacturers being used in way it will be once unpacked by the customer. This ethos is really the idea behind our monthly live studio show and was also the theme for our stand at this year’s BVE. Pooling stands with Autocue was the first good move as it not...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

The way forward for lighting control

High Quality LED Fixtures are the Way Forward for Lighting ControlPat Grosswendt, Co-Founder, LitepanelsThe majority of directors of photography (DPs) work by the motto that if anything looks lit then it has been done badly. Whether on the set or in the studio, lighting directors strive to create images that look as natural as possible. The key to...

Submitted by Pat Grosswendt

Published 01 March 2013

NAB 2012 Kit Review used by BroadcastShow

NAB kit review:-So pre-NAB we are all very busy organising interviews with 70 exhibitors over 4 days covering 4 halls and in our case around 28 miles. Late last year we developed an online interview booking system at www.broadcastshow.com which allows exhibitors to book one or more 15 minute slots, enter stand information and questions they may lik...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 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

LIGHTING FOR 3D PRODUCTION

Richard Walch, a photographer and DSLR film-maker from Germany, usually makes spectacular productions dealing with extreme sports. For a 3D special supplement in one of the largest German newspapers, Richard Walch photographed Germany's most famous puppet theatre: The "Augsburger Puppenkiste". The troop is internationally known for its films includ...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012

HotTips on how to be a better lighting cameraman.

First up, don’t worry too much about HDFor most of my early career I shot with film, not video, so I usually approach things from a film point-of-view. This means I don’t see an awful lot of difference between SD and HD. In my opinion, the extra definition has more of an impact on the make-up team and the set designers because, regardless of what l...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2011

Putting Your Sports Announcers in the Best Light

Sports event remote crews have long fought the challenge of matching light on announce booth talent to the ambient light on the field below. Light on the playing surface during a single event can range from bright sunlight, ducking in and out of clouds, to minimal level artificial light. During daylight hours, without additional light on the talent...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 January 2011

Eye to Eye: Lighting and lighting control

In 1985 I visited the Paris HQ of France Regions 3 with Arthur Garratt, a freelance science broadcaster who worked mainly for BBC World Service. FR3 was one of the first European television networks to make full use of high-efficiency ENG and EFP. We learnt a lot and were able to offer one recommendation in return. Watching a news presentation by t...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2009

LED lighting for image creators

Somehow I ended up on a growing number of LED Lighting equipment manufacturers e-mail mailing lists. Most of them were from China, some from the States and elsewhere. They must have thought that, as we supply broadcast, film and video lighting, that we would be interested in LED lighting. They were right. So I used to dutifully reply, asking them q...

Submitted by Dennis Lennie

Published 01 December 2009