IBC

August 25, 2017  by

Carl is off to the International Broadcast Convention (IBC) again!

The 2017 International Broadcast Convention (IBC 2017) is on again in Amsterdam and Carl will be once more jetting off to attend (much to Mark and Marks envy). IBC provides an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their latest offerings in acquisition, post, storage, and broadcast media platforms.

From an production perspective, we have been creating and delivering UHD/4K content for nearly 4 years. In that time we built new 4k edit suites, acquired new 4k cameras, and a new 4k drone. We are not going to stop there we have our eyes on even more 4k cameras, and Carl will be looking at all the latest offerings from Sony, Panasonic, Canon, and Blackmagic Design.

New areas we are expanding into are 360video and Virtual Reality acquisition and continuing our push in delivering custom LMS content. Carl will be keeping a close eye out for IBC vendors in these fields and both the Marks are keen to see what 360 gear he looks at.

Stay tuned when Carl returns we will find out what he learned at IBC 2017!

IBC floor

in General News / Technology
January 12, 2016  by

IBC, Easy as 1, 2, 3…!

Carl fresh from IBC, gives us his thoughts on the future.
2015’s International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) was the chance for many manufacturers to release new 4K products for the Indie and small post house market.  And we are shopping for exactly this sort of camera so exploring the stands and trying the products was one of my main tasks!  Cameras on our shopping list include Sony’s FS7 and new compact FS5, Canon’s new C300mk2, Panasonic’s DVX200 and Blackmagic’s new Ursa Mini 4.6 and 4K.  Of course I approach cameras as an editor, Mark feeling left out had to make do with constant texts and phone calls from the stands.
Pairing any of these cameras with a Shogun external recorder will give us quick turnaround in the edit with native DNxHR recording of 4K so that ticks my primary concern in the work flow!  So it is on to ergonomics.  Display conditions don’t really give me a feel for image quality so I’m mainly looking at ease of use and layout.  Straight away the Canon falls off the list in my eyes in this regard!  The Sony FS5 is impressive but the clear winners are the Panasonic and Australia’s home grown Ursa Mini.  Two very different cameras, the Panasonic’s fixed lens gives us a run and gun production camera with fast setup.  The Ursa gives us sexy bokeh shots and specialist shots using our canon lenses – but slower to set up and requiring a lot of accessories.  Ergonomically I like them both, with clear, crisp, large LCD viewfinders and well laid out controls.  So let’s have both!!!
Well not quite – we’ll probably start with the DVX200 to replace our current production camera for 4K work and run and gun productions, following this up with purchase of the Ursa for those sexy shots, macro and long lens nature work.  The sweetener with the Blackmagic gear is DaVinci Resolve, full version with every purchase.  This is the industry standard in colour grading software and is rapidly gaining a reputation in the editing area too.
 
Next report – Drones!  A feast of offerings on show, stay tuned!
 
 
Cheers, Carl
IBC Carl Ninja/Shogun stand

Carl at Atomos IBC stand.

in General News / Uncategorised
August 12, 2015  by

The CB to IBC 2015!

The 2015 International Broadcast Convention, or IBC, is on again in Amsterdam and this year I (Carl) am making the trip for the first time. The convention provides an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their latest offerings in technology – from acquisition, post, storage, and broadcast media platforms – anything to do with content really!

So what is it all about? The last 5 years has seen an explosion in the way content is delivered and viewed, as well as the roll out of new formats, including the never ending cycle of increasing resolution! With UHD/4K a reality for end users, talk is now of higher resolutions still and the compression techniques and formats to deliver them. I will be attending seminars and workshops across a spectrum of topics that involve our work now, and where we see it in the future.

From an production perspective, we have been creating and delivering UHD/4K content for nearly 2 years. This process saw us build and commission a new 4k edit suite in the form of an Avid Media Composer workstation that was equally capable of cutting as well as compositing. But this year it is the camera department’s turn and I will be getting hands on with Sony, Panasonic, Arri, Canon and Blackmagic’s 4k production camera lineup prior to purchase. Much to the envy of the two Marks.

In the software areas I’ll be visiting Avid (of course), Adobe, Lightworks and Blackmagic. Blackmagic’s “Resolve” software is rapidly gaining a reputation for editing as well as its more traditional colour correction role. This could see it join Avid as our #1 long form edit platform.

Then of course there are all the other manufactures and “toys” I’ll be looking at. Drones are big news right now, and our current 4K test platform will get superseded by a monster rig with production 4K acquisition in the next 12 months – with my own personal CASA certification.

So stay tuned – on my return I plan to write a series of articles on what I learn at IBC 2015!

in Technology