OCTOBER 2015 Vol 218

I have to begin this issue by sharing a photo taken on the

Vitec stand of me with Sandra Bullock – well, she looks

like her to me and I’d never get this close to the real

thing. One year I posed with a chap in a gorilla suit so

Sandra is a definite improvement.

It’s nearly twice as far to Amsterdam as it is to Las

Vegas. The hotels are smaller and more expensive but

the show is the reason I go – not the opportunity for an

evening of canal cruising with two fishnet stockinged

escorts whilst enlivened by hits of “white rhino.” Once

again, IBC did not disappoint.

Because I conduct fewer interviews at IBC than at NAB, I

have time to attend some conferences. You can find

some of the keynote addresses on the IBC website

http://site-73.bcvp0rtal.com/category/videos/

ibc2015-conference-keynotes

Try “The Future is Now – Broadcasting in an age of

Challenge” which was presented by people from the BBC,

Google, the Scripps Institute ( a serious USA player –

look them up ) and a Middle Eastern broadcaster. A key

comment I picked up was “now we have to build

technology to provide what our customers want rather

than provide content to fit new technology.”

Yes, there was a lot of talk including some who bemoaned

the lowering of standards to anything less than hi-def

broadcast as well as others who saw the future in the new

“small screen” of mobile phones – the portal to instant

information, veracity unassured. However, the overall

mood was positive that there was still a future for

broadcast ( it’s growing in the Middle East ) alongside

internet and mobile, both of which have yet to find

sustainable models for generating revenue.

IBC2015 Amsterdam

Even the future of Netflix was challenged by studiosplanning to retain their content for their own streamingservices. “How long will people be interested in watchingback catalogue material for the most part?” was asked.

But, we are interested in the technology, right? Well,there was plenty in all categories – nothing that I wouldsay was a great leap forward but many small, significantadvancements. Here are some you may be interested inavailable from our supporters. Read on and enjoy. ED

Canon CamerasWe are at Canon for Protelwith Paul Atkinson.

Ed: Paul, we’ve just had ashort stand tour, looking atwhat’s new for Canon.There is not a huge amountnew, but it’s pretty signifi-cant. Obviously, there are alot of C300 users out there,so releasing a MKII maydisappoint a few, but forpotential C300 Mark IIusers, you’ve made somereally super changes. Justrun us through some ofthose please.

Paul: Many of theimprovements have beenmade as a direct result ofC300 users’ feedback. If welook at the sensor, it’s stillthe same size, so it’s still asuper 35mm CMOS sensor.We have changed the auto-focus system, so it’s still thedual pixel CMOS autofocus system, but it now covers80% of the sensor instead of just the middle 20-25%.C300 users often said “well, I really wish I could dosomething higher than 8 bit.” Well now you can – youcan do 10 bit, or12 bit in full HD; 10 bit or12 bit 2K, 10bit 4K; and we can record 4K internally, which wasanother request. The C300 MKII can also continue torecord 4K externally as a RAW – again, combining if youlike, the best bits of C500 with the best bits of C300.

Ed: So is the Mark II just a firmware upgrade?

Paul: No, no, no. It’s got a new sensor, newprocessor the DIGIC DV5, and there are two of them,the monitor and monitor connection is new, theviewfinder is improved. Internally it is a very differentbeast with a larger body. There’s also a much moremodular approach to it. The menu and Custom Pictureoptions have been changed as have the colour spaceand colour matrix options within the CP menu.

Ed: It’s got a designated handle I understand?

Paul: The top handle on the C300 was somethingthat didn’t really cause us problems as such, but somepeople experienced a little bit of loosening of thefastening point shall we say.

Ed: Well I’m sure this is the case with any camera …you stick a big lens on it, you carry it around, youbounce it around a bit, that point of connection betweenthe lens and the camera is going to suffer?

Paul: It’s going to weaken. With the new design,it even goes down into the structure of the cameraitself, it’s a much stronger frame. The new bracket thatcomes with the camera becomes a very firm fixing pointfor the top handle, but it also allows you to fix, forinstance, an optional accessory that allows you to put astandard 15mm rod clamp onto the camera. You can

Page 2

As the man said …read on and enjoy!

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buy an accessory that has just the microphoneconnections, not the monitor. This has been asked for“could we have a separate one?” So now you can getthat too.

Ed: Because people don’t want to carry around all thefruit all of the time, they’ll want to minimise?

Paul: In certain applications they wouldn’t wantthe monitor, they’re happy to use the viewfinder.Again, some people in the past have said “well, I’d usethe viewfinder more, but I haven’t got a waveformmonitor.” Now you have. So there are lots of thingsthat we’ve worked on to try and make this exactly whatthe customers have asked for – and we think we’ve gotpretty close.

Ed: So really, this is more than just an upgrade? It isquite a different beast?

Paul: Yes. There’s a lot of stuff in there that aC300 user will be familiar with, but there is a lot of newstuff going on as well.

Ed: Now you say it will record internally to 4K …obviously there’s some sort of compression there?

Paul: The recording medium now for 4K, 2K orfull HD is CFAST 2.0 cards. The compression is H.264and it’s using our XF-AVC codec. We’re still wrappingthat in the MXF wrapper though. The upshot of that is,if you can already natively import your footage intoyour nonlinear systems, as with the C300 and the XFseries, it’s still an MXF file, with a Canon wrapper, it’llgo straight in again. The other main difference is thebit rate; 4K you are looking at a maximum of 410Mbps.You can also record a 2K or Full HD Proxy file at up to35Mbps, which is an 8 bit signal, to SD cardsimultaneously. You really can cover a lot of differentoptions with this camera.

Paul with the C300 Mark II.

Ed: So it really is a totally new camera and worthanother look. Now you’ve made these hugeimprovements in the C300 – where does that leave theC500?

Paul: The C500’s still out there; it’s still beingused in a lot of productions. Some people just want theC300-like simplicity if you will, with the ability just to doa 4K RAW output. If they only want to record 4K RAW,they will be happy with a C500.

Ed: Can you do RAW off-board on a C300 Mark II?

Paul: You could do RAW on a C300 Mark II if youwanted to, that’s no problem. And it’s worked in thesame way as the C500. So again, if you already havean external recorder, it should still work with the C300Mark II.

Ed: Now on the stand, you’ve got a demo with amovie that was shot on the C300 Mark II and you’rereally showing off its dynamic range here?

Paul: The dynamic range is now 15 stopsdynamic range with the C300 Mark II. It also has anew log curve – Canon Log2 with a base ISO of 800. Italso has Canon Log and the Wide DR options as well,and each of those offers up to 15 stops of dynamicrange at a lower base ISO of 400. The movie that we’reshowing here is called Trick Shot and it was the promomovie that we had made for the C300 Mark II and ifyou do get a chance to see it, it really doesdemonstrate very well the capabilities ofthat camera in some quite tricky lightingconditions, retaining shadow and highlightdetail across the full 15 stops.

Ed: And you are showing that off on yournew monitors?

Paul: Yes. We’ve got one of the firstchances for people to see the new highdynamic range 4K reference monitor. Ibelieve it’s the first time in Europe. Itbrings out just how much you can do withthat wide and high dynamic rangecombination. Very, very vivid images;extremely deep colour saturation; andobviously very high contrast as well.

Ed: And on another stand we saw animproved focus assist for the C300 Mark IIwhich really does seem to be a big step up?

Paul: I mentioned earlier that we’veincreased the dual pixel CMOS autofocus to80% of the sensor. That’s quite a mouthful

to say, but that’s its name, so that’swhat we have to call it. It’s a very goodsystem that’s been carried over fromDSLR autofocus systems – very fast,very accurate autofocus system. The AFsystem is great for people likedocumentary makers, people who aredoing Indies, single shooters – things likethat – that use the C300 Mark II. Somepeople, however, would still prefer tohave full control of their focus. They’reable to use the dual pixel technologywith this focus assist system.

This will work with any EF lens with afocus motor and it gives you anindication of whether you’re in focus orback focus, forward focus, and whereyou need to go, which way to move thelens. You have to see it to understandit; I think you’ll find the images areavailable fairly freely to see that on thewebsite.

Ed: From what I saw, it’s very intuitiveand it’s very quick?

Paul: Yes it is, it’s very quick and it’s using thedual pixel autofocus technology as a manual focus aid.The other thing you can do, is you can select the pointthat is being focused on throughout 80% of that sensor,using the joystick on the handle.

Ed: So it’s not a case, like with a standard DSLRwhere you move it to the little box, you set your focusand you hold the button down and you move the frameto where you want to frame it and then you go. Withthis system, you move the pointer around on the screenuntil you pick the point, and then “click”?

Paul: That’s exactly right Grant. Then if youwanted to go back to the centre, you move it back tothe centre yourself. So for things like composition,especially when you’re putting people onto a properframing composition on one of the nodal points, you canjust leave your point of focus on one of the nodal pointsthat you’re using for that particular shot, and just leaveit there until you change shots.

Ed: Now of course, Canon are not just renowned forthe C series – you also have a wonderful little range ofhandheld video cameras. These have been verysuccessful in the News gathering market I understand?

Paul: That’s right. We’ve got the XA series andthe XF series. Again it would depend on the market,but the XF205 is becoming much more popular now

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The inside strength of the Mark II shown here.

within News gathering and documentary. It’s a smalllightweight camera; it’s got an incredible zoom lens onit that we discussed when we spoke last year. We have20X optical zoom. This year we’ve added the capabilityto do live internet streaming through IP. This meansthat you can get footage back to the Newsroom veryquickly and then you can again with the original systemhave recorded an MP4 file simultaneously, where wecould email that almost back to start the News process– now we can actually connect via a third party deviceor through software on a laptop, and send materialstraight back to the Newsroom.

Ed: Is that an adjustable bitrate stream or fixed?

Paul: It’s very much a fixed bitrate stream withthree options; 9Mbps or 4 Mbps at 1280 x 720 with1.5Mbps at 640 x 360 available via the software option.

Ed: The reason I bring up the point of News gatheringis that I’ve recently seen television programmes on theCI channel or Discovery – one of those ones – whereyour little camera was used in a slightly covertsituation. The subject didn’t know that they were beingrecorded for television, because this guy looked asthough he was the person’s cousin with a little handy-cam and he was videoing this for the family, and theygot away with it – yet the quality of the pictures wasbrilliant. My point here is – is this still a situation whereyou have to overcome the ingrained belief bybroadcasters that, unless the camera is big, heavy andgoes on the shoulder, it’s not a proper broadcastcamera?

Paul: I think that thought is less common thesedays. I think people have begun to realise that,although the large shoulder-mount camera stillobviously has its place, in certain situations, that look isgoing to bring unwanted attention to you.

Ed: Like on the streets of Tokyo?

Paul: Well not necessarily the streets of Tokyo,but if you think in particular of some of the war zonesthat people find themselves in. Media has never had asmuch access into conflict as before and unfortunately, abig camera with a big crew can incur big costs. It alsoincurs a lot of danger. This is kind of “off topic” here,but if you think about it, if you’re going in with a bigcamera you’re quite obviously a journalist. Does thismake you more susceptible to kidnap because you workfor a big rich News organisation? If you’re not wantingto advertise the fact that you’re going into an area as ajournalist, something like the XA20 can be quite easilytaken as being just an enthusiast’s video camera, yet itstill gives you the quality of the image that’s requiredfor the final output. I personally think there’s a marketfor both types of camera. As you know, we doconcentrate on the smaller more portable cameras – thebiggest camera in the range is the XF305 which, despiteits age, is still a remarkably popular camera. There arean awful lot of them out there and they’re still beingused as a good general workhorse day in, day out.

Ed: And it’s probably better for the broadcasters touse that sort of camera than the journalist’s iPhone?

Paul: Again you’re finding the journalists arebecoming their own camera ops now. Is it costs – yes,it possibly is. If you look at the XF205, that’s a camerathat can be used by a seasoned professional andexperienced camera operator in fully manual mode.When necessary, it can be switched to automatic andthe less experienced camera operator can still get aviable result.

Ed: And last on the list was a very specialised camerawhich won’t be on the shelves any day soon, but showsthe capabilities that Canon has in low light?

Paul: I think it’s fair to say that we’ve had a bitof a reputation which really came to light through the

Cinema EOS range about the low light capabilities of ourcameras.

We’ve taken that slightly further with the ME20F-SH.This is a very specialised camera with a maximum ISOof around about 4 million equivalent in decibel terms.Actually, when we were preparing the material for that,the people who write the manuals and our marketingmaterial phoned me up and said “can you correct thetypo, because you seem to have put 4 million ISO” andI said “it’s not a typo!” In Lux terms, you can comedown to .0005 Lux. This is pretty much a cloudy nightwith a little bit of moon behind that cloud. The upshotis that you can see in almost complete darkness in fullcolour. As you said Grant, the camera is going to bequite specialised. It’s not going to be something thatyou can just walk into a shop and buy.

Ed: But we would hope that the R&D that went intodeveloping it will have a flow on effect into the range asthe years go by?

Paul: I think it’s fair to say that most majormanufacturers like ourselves will always try and utilisethat technology for the greater good, as well as for thespecialised applications, but it is going to be a veryspecialised camera. You’ve seen the results foryourself, especially things like the Northern Lights … it’sgiving people a capability that’s just not availableanywhere else.

Ed: Well thank you for your time Paul. Protel a NewZealand reseller advises they have already suppliedseveral C300 MK11 cameras and the customers aredelighted with their purchase; more are to be suppliedin the next shipment in October. Why not call Protel todiscuss your camera requirements. NZVN

Page 5

A demo of the ME20F-SH low light camera.

Page 6

Lupo LightingTo introduce the Lupo story from IBC, we

have David Barnard from Gencom.

Ed: Now David, what’s important for

Gencom now is that there has been a

merger of two of the Lupolux / Lupolight

companies?

David: Yes that’s right. Lupolux

and Lupolight have been separated for a

number of years and they each have

their own special area of expertise. They

have come back together as one

company and we’re very excited that

now we can offer a full range of the LED

Fresnels as well as the LED flat panels,

plus the traditional HMI fluorescent lights

that they’ve been known for, for many

years. So now, by combining the panels

and the Fresnels, we feel we can provide

a really good range, a complete solution

for a variety of shooting applications.

Ed: And in a very short time, these have been pickedup by some major people in New Zealand I understand?

David: Yes that’s right. TVNZ has adopted themfor a number of their News gathering applications, anumber of their stringers have been using them as well,and they’ve been preaching the gospel for us, so we’revery thankful to them for that.

Ed: So what is it that the stringers particularly like

about the product?

David: Well they’re very lightweight, they’re cost-

effective, the quality of the light is very even …

Ed: It’s a good bang for the buck?

David: It’s a good bang for the buck – they’re

battery operated and very energy-effective.

David Barnard in front of the Lupo stand at IBC.

We are now talking with the people at

Lupo – the “lux” and the “light” have

gone and we have Carlo Lupo who is

going to tell us about the full range.

Ed: Carlo, first of all, the panels, this is

new for us in the Lupo range, but not

new for you?

Carlo: No, it’s not new for me and

even for the market. We have

manufactured this kind of LED panel for

many years. The most important feature

is the colour rendering index. We have

been the first worldwide to have a colour

rendering index higher than 94 and so

the colour is perfectly balanced without

green cast. We have a complete range

that is with fixed colour temperature or

variable colour temperature. That

means we can change the colour from

tungsten to daylight continuously with all

the colour temperatures in the middle.

They can work with an AC adapter or

with V-Mount batteries for many hours, so they are very

suitable for TV studios and ENG operation. You can go

outside with the small batteries. There is a low cost

version with a fewer number of LEDs and there is a high

luminous output version with a larger number that then

increases the power.

They are very lightweight because they are made of

nylon with carbon fibre.

Ed: Aaaah so it’s not metal, it’s a nylon carbon fibre

combination?

Carlo: It’s very sturdy and resistant.

Ed: And it’s not going to melt?

Carlo: No absolutely not because firstly, LEDs arequite cold generally and, secondly, this material goes to150 degrees.

Ed: But it also looks well ventilated, lots of holes in itto let the air through?

Carlo: Yes there is the air to keep it cool. Alongwith the panels, we have bags with space for the paneland space for the accessories.

Ed: Do you have your own accessories for this or areyou subcontracting the accessories to anothercompany?

Carlo: No, we have our own accessories that wemount; reflector plate and the barn doors, the diffuserfilters and it is all manufactured by us in Italy.

Ed: It’s one complete package?

Carlo: Yes, exactly.

Ed: Okay, so that’s the 1x1 panel – do you have plansto make bigger panels?

Carlo: No, because usually the light is enough andyou can make them in a multiple …

Ed: You just put more of them up – fair enough. Nowin the Fresnels?

Carlo: In addition to the existing range of the 650

and 1000 Watt, we have the dual colour versions. This

is the same Fresnel but with the possibility to vary the

colour temperature from tungsten to daylight and the

new super powerful model DAYLED is equivalent to

2000 tungsten, so it’s impressive.

Ed: And again, the casing is all nylon carbon fibre, so

low weight, but sturdy. So these also come in a kit with

a bag?

Carlo: With a bag and V-mount adapter. These

are Fresnels which can be powered with batteries. This

is important because they are very lightweight and you

can move them quickly and easily, differently to the

competitor’s Fresnels which are very heavy and difficult

to transport.

Ed: But you’re not stopping there, you’re also doing

fluoro panels?

Carlo: Yes we make a complete range offluorescent lights for TV studios and video. They are

Page 7

Carlo on the Lupo stand.

very powerful with a beautiful diffusion light and theyare supplied complete with barn doors and bulbsincluded. Additionally, they also have accessories likehoneycomb grids, filter holders and padded bags and soon.

Ed: There are some big broadcasters around the

world who are purchasing Lupo lights?

Carlo: Oh yes.

engineered all the recent products of

Cartoni. The father now is 95 and

unfortunately is in poor health, but he is

really a presence in the hearts of the

people in the company.

We just came out here at IBC with an

unbelievable range of new products.

We have decided to concentrate in one

world, one family, one focus – the Focus

range which is the ENG tripod range

running from 8 kilo maximum payload

up to 22 kilo.

We have 4 products, Focus 8, Focus 12,

Focus 18 and Focus 22. These 4

products are now covering the whole

range of needs served for the customers

in terms of payload, and from 0-8, from

0-12, from 6-18 and from 3-22. More

than this I think Cartoni couldn’t really

develop.

We just also redesigned the image of our

fluid heads. We put on a new logo,

which is really attractive, and this shows how Cartoni is

slowly, but progressively, changing from the past. We

just became more open to the market.

We have decided to really understand first of all whatthe market requirements are … we had so manyproducts, we had so many names, the market says“let’s concentrate on a few products, standard productsand one single name”. And which was the best name –Focus – so Focus is the new Cartoni brand name.

Ed: I’ve been through the factory myself and I can

assure you that the passion that I saw there from the

staff in putting together the tripods and the heads – it

was a pleasure to see.

Luciano: I tell you something. You are the first one

to know and all the readers they will know. You know

Isabel and Jacques they are two entrepreneurs.

Jacques is also a director. They have made a film, a

movie about the family story. There are 18 minutes of

Cartoni history – history from the very beginning, so we

are talking about 1935 up to

now, and it’s a really

touching history, because

you are seeing the history of

Cartoni, of the founders, the

history of the people who

have been starting working

with the founders up to now.

Now they are almost going

to be retired and they are

still working with a smile on

their faces. That makes

Cartoni different from other

manufacturers. We are a

family company. We know

we are small, we know we

have to grow, but we still

keep our values – ethical

values, moral values – which

makes Cartoni different.

Ed: How I see that being

expressed is with product

support. I know of stories

where something happens

to a tripod, it gets run over

NZVN

Page 9

Elisabetta Cartoni with Luciano.

Panels on and off.

Cartoni SupportFor Gencom we are at Cartoni with Luciano Belluzzo.

Ed: This is a very special time for Cartoni?

Luciano: Yes it is. Cartoni has been in business for

80 years now. The story is unbelievable. Everything

started from the grandfather of Elisabetta and her

sister, the current owners, and going through the father

and her father was the guy who really designed and

by a truck or something, and even

though your factory is in Italy, the

support and the repairs,

everything is done in a reasonably

quick time and in a perfect way.

You don’t get that with the mass

market manufacturers of tripods?

Luciano: As a family company,

we keep very close and friendly

contacts with our dealers. We

believe that we have dealers who

are coming with the same history

as the company.

So companies that have been

growing up and distributing

broadcast equipment materials

share the same values as us.

Ed: Because Gencom has been

supplying Cartoni tripods to the

New Zealand market since

whenever?

Luciano: Yes, many years, in New Zealand and even

in Australia. I am so happy when we have a

correspondence and we talk in the night with David on

the Skype because there are 12 hours difference and

even though there aren’t so many technical problems,

or commercial problems, everything is dealt with andmanaged in a friendly way and this is transferred to the

end user.

The end user finds Cartoni and the Cartoni partner to be

really user-friendly people. People who are there to

help you to make your best movie, your best pictures,

that makes the difference. Also, because we are

manufacturing, as you know, everything from the

biggest parts to the small particulars, we are quick in

delivery, so if a customer needs some spare parts, in

two days, the spare parts have been gone by DHL or

TNT with an express package. That makes the

difference. Of course, we are not a huge company, a

big group which is highly complicated. We are very

easy people. I’m talking with the end user, I’m talking

with the salesman or the distributor because we feel

better. Direct contact makes things easier.

Ed: Because that’s all you do – tripods and heads?

Luciano: We only do tripods, heads and pedestals –

and pedestals which are also one of the master, the

best, the fast moving item for us, for TV studios and OB

vans.

Ed: Now, for the big boys, there’s a very large Cartoni

tripod here, the MAGNUM?

Luciano: Yes, the MAGNUM goes up to 95 kilo

weight, so it’s a very strong head, but still highly

performing and all the OB van manufacturers are now

testing it and we made very good contacts with them.

We are expecting good results next year, customers’

feedback is very positive and they really appreciate our

product. I’m pleased to tell you that a quite big famous

company like GEARHOUSE BROADCAST has decided to

use Cartoni MAGNUM system in all their branches. They

also exhibited here in their booth at Amsterdam a

couple of MAGNUM systems. This is a

fantastic opportunity for Cartoni to

supply such a worldwide recognised

company in OB vans and TV Studio

supplies. It’s a special segment of

the market but high, high value

products.

Ed: And it’s something that, if you

happen to have a 3D rig, it’s the sort

of weight that this would hold

perfectly?

Luciano: What we’re going to do in

the future is to put, in each of our

heads, the place for the encoder so

the operator can be far away from the

camera, they can move the camera

remotely. That’s the future. We

don’t make electronics … electronics

is something for somebody else, but

we are just allowing the people to use

our heads also for the electronic and

remote control applications. We are

small, but we never stop, we never

sleep in the night. We are always

thinking what to do about the future.

Page 10

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AvidFor Atomise, we are at the

Avid stand with Richard Kelly

and Ren Middleton.

Ed: Richard, I know

you’ve been very busy in

Auckland recently, with your

Auckland man, doing a big

installation which I’m sure

we’re going to hear more

about in the months to

come, but we’re here at IBC

to have a look at what’s new

and hot from Avid. What’s

excited you so far?

Richard: It’s great,

there’s certainly a lot of

momentum with Avid with

their new purchase of Orad

completing their suite of

products. This year I guess,

is all about adding capability

to the Avid suite of

applications and the platform itself.

Ed: So in the past, have you had to incorporate Orad

into installations that you’ve done, or have you left that

up to the client?

Richard: For me personally, it’s been up to the client

at this point. I haven’t really chased that sort of level

of product.

Ed: So you’ve got to learn something new now?

Richard: Well hopefully, I’ll get to learn something

new – I like learning new things. I’m wondering how

far we could push this product. I was talking to Ren

about this yesterday and whether we could use it for

virtual sets or TV and film pickups for example. I’m

interested in learning a bit about this – it was quite

impressive.

Ed: Ren, is it a case that this is only for the big boys

or could some of the smaller installations benefit from

including Orad into their mix?

Ren: Orad has a broad range of products, everything

from relatively inexpensive character generators for

your smaller television stations, Education facility, or

House of Worship etc., but they also have products for

broader production companies and even Stadiums. For

instance we have different products to control things

like video walls in the background of studio sets or big

screens at stadiums and the like. Then we go all the

way up through to very high end virtual reality and

augmented reality, to really push and achieve the very

highest production levels. So there’s a raft of products.

There’s already integration with Media Composer and

iNews and integration will only get tighter between

traditional Avid and Orad products.

Ed: So this is going to be of benefit to a major Avid

user because of the integration?

Ren: Yes. Orad is very capable and world leading in a

lot of areas, but also they already had existing

integration with a lot of Avid products. We’ve already

developed some more integration – things like, if you

have clips that you want to play within graphics, we can

pull those clips out of the ISIS environment. We have

tight integration with iNEWS, so from a template

window within an iNEWS system, a journalist can type

titles within the same interface and associate that with

the news story that will then be presented on-air when

the story is played out for instance.

So, as mentioned, we’ve got some nice integration

points that will only get tighter.

Ed: Now there is an iNEWS story here that has been

around for some years, but really has now I believe

come of age and shown its true potential, with media

now being widely distributed … take The Paul Henry

Show for example, on TV, on the internet and by radio.

iNEWS makes this work really, really well?

Ren: Well iNEWS is part of the MediaCentral Platform

so from one single interface, you can do all of your

scripting for News in a newsroom computer system,

plus you can add vision – you can cut video on this

same web based interface. Then if you want to send

that to social media from the same interface you can,

and that will take the scripting information and the

video information and then publish that to Facebook or

Twitter and things like that.

So it’s a very powerful integrated system with iNEWS

and the whole MediaCentral Platform. We can even

build workflows to and from Radio systems.

Ed: Alright – so what else has excited you from Avid

that you’ve seen so far Richard?

Richard: I guess the thing that’s excited me is

actually what arrived in my office the day before I left –

the ISIS | 1000.

I believe Atomise has received the first unit that has

arrived in Australasia and Richard Tomlinson called me

up the first time he went into the office after I left and

said “by the way, I’ve opened it up, I’ve set it up and

it’s running.” He’s never seen one before, he just took

out the pamphlet and set it up cold. It took about 25-

30 minutes, so that’s very cool. I’m looking forward to

seeing our new demo toy when we get back. We’re

doing a launch function for that in October in Auckland,

so hopefully you’ll come along and join us for that

Grant.

Ed: Exactly. So who’s going to have the first one?

Page 12

Ren and Richard.

Editing Solutions Experts

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MC400 - ACSR Edit Support 9-11 November 2015 (self study is required prior to classroom time)WG422/425 ACSR ISIS 5500/7500 16-20 November 2015WG433 ACSR Interplay Support 7-11 December 2015 Contact us for more info and to book a place on these courses. Prerequisite skills may be required for some courses.

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Richard: Well that’s a very good question. We’ve

got five quotes out there for 1000s at the moment.

Ed: So the first one who sends you a cheque gets it?

Richard: The first one who sends a cheque gets it,

yes. This is actually our demo unit.

Atomise has built up quite a demo and training

environment just recently, so something that’s just

happened is I’ve been certified to be a technical

instructor.

Ed: I knew that finally you’d be certified Richard –

good to know the system works.

Richard: That’s right – certifiable, yeah! We now

have a training room downstairs at our Wellington office

with ISIS 5500, ISIS | 1000, Interplay and

MediaCentral | UX. So we’ve got a very nice

environment for tests and training – it’s quite a meaty

rack of equipment.

Ed: There’s nothing like a meaty rack eh Ren?

Ren: Yes, I love a meaty rack … reminds me of dinner

last night. I think the other thing with ISIS | 1000 and

we’re really excited about it, is because it’s priced very,

very well. But it’s also not just for Media Composer

users – so Adobe users or Final Cut Pro users can all

connect to this one system and it makes it a very

powerful solution for some of those users who need a

combined editing platform.

Ed: Which adds to the evidence of Avid getting more

open with the television industry. It’s not a closed shop

anymore where you have to buy Avid hardware, you

have to only have Avid software or it has to be certified

… there is now an openness that you can use other

nonlinear editing systems with an ISIS system and a

range of other Avid material, and it all works together.

Ren: Correct and that’s part of our strategy. I think

Avid used to be known as a fairly closed shop, but we

have around 400 active partners that we work with –

we have the MediaCentral Platform and the whole idea

of it is openness.

We have the MediaCentral connectivity tool kit

containing many different API’s and ways of connecting

with third party products so we’re very, very open.

Ed: Is that good for you at Atomise Richard?

Richard: It’s very good, it’s great and it gives us a

chance to do what we do best which is storage solutions

and helping people set up workflows. We can expand

what we do for people who don’t necessarily use Media

Composer. Obviously Media Composer is a core

competency for what we do and now we can really

branch out and offer people who may choose not to useMedia Composer, but may want to take advantage of

the benefits of having Atomise supporting their storage

solution with the experience that we have. To that end,

we’ve actually got another staff member joining us in

Auckland in a couple of weeks’ time, who is an

incredibly respected engineer and trainer. So my

expectation is that we’re going to be doing an awful lot

in that market and around that space.

Ed: And I guess it’s a case that, if the facility decides

they want to use something other than Media

Composer, they can always have a Media Composer in

there and learn to use it and maybe find “okay, we will

migrate at some future date”?

Richard: We can certainly make that very easy for

anybody. With many operations, a lot of people have a

large selection of tools and when you’ve got such an

open storage platform with ISIS, it’s a great opportunity

to try several different products. One may suit a

workflow better than another, but in the end, we can

give a very, very tight, very, very managed

performance-wise capability at a low price point now.

Ed: Anything else that they’ve announced here of

interest?

Richard: It’s not announced here, it was announced

at NAB, but it’s just coming to shipping time, and that’s

the DNxIO which is the replacement video IO box for

the Nitrus DX. It’s a fully featured video IO, so it

covers all the video formats in terms of SD through to

HD and it’s also 4K native. It incorporates natively the

Avid DNx codecs which allows it to have the

performance required for challenging 4K workflows.

Ed: So why is this an improvement over what was

there before – is it just the 4K capability?

Richard: The 4K capability and of course it increases

the performance. The Nitrus

DX was around for a long

period of time and it was a

very solid box. The tech-

nology, in terms of how the

boxes actually work and the

capability of the host

computers, has changed. Itwas just time for a refresh to

bring that up to date for

more current workflows.

Obviously, we’ve got some

really challenging workflows

with high bandwidth 4K now,

so it’s really great to have a

heavily integrated solution

that we can plug in and weknow it’s going to work

every single time. That’s

one of the reasons people

buy Avid branded hardware,

is we know that every time

you turn the button on, it is

going to do the job. NZVN

Page 14

Windows 10 Upgrade?Stuart Barnaby at DVT has been my “go to” computer

support person for many years. So he should be – he

sold it to me.

Ed: Stuart, I keep getting these little messages on

my Windows 7 editing machine saying “Free upgrade to

Windows 10”. Is this a good idea?

Stuart: It’s a great idea. Over the years, we’ve

found with different operating systems coming out from

different vendors – and this applies to Apple as much as

it does to Windows – that there are certain operating

systems that work more stably and more reliably with

different versions of the creative applications that we’re

using, whether it’s Final Cut or Adobe Premiere or

DaVinci Resolve, etc. What we’ve found in the last few

years is that things are generally improving much

quicker than they were in the past. Everyone knows

that Windows 7 64 bit is a very stable platform to run

on, but so equally is Windows 8.1 Pro – that is a very

stable and reliable platform now for running all our

creative applications. Microsoft have obviously done a

lot of work with Windows 10, a lot more testing than

they probably have done in the past.

Why is Windows 8.1 Pro the last stable release?

Because they cocked up Windows 8. It wasn’t properly

tested to the extent that it perhaps should have been.

Windows 10 has really only just come out in the last

short period of time. We’ve run Windows 10 on a

number of machines with a range of our creative

applications, and we’ve found it to be remarkably

reliable – in fact, virtually no different from Windows

8.1 Pro running the same applications. We haven’t

seen any performance changes, but we’re not really

expecting terribly much – same memory, same CPU,

same hard drives under the hood, just a different

operating system. But yes, Windows 10 so far looks

very good. If you’re working in a production

environment, I’d still pause for a wee while to see how

things settle down, but so far so good, it looks really,

really good.

Ed: Now you were saying earlier that it’s especially

true for new applications from other vendors that when

they write these new applications, they will optimise

them for the latest operating system – in other words

Windows 10 – so, going forward it might not give you

any improvement in performance for the current

applications that you have, but certainly with new

applications, there should be a big difference?

Stuart: Oh absolutely. One of the key things that

software vendors first do when a new operating system

comes out – certainly the pre-release stuff with

Windows 10 – is that everyone from Avid, Adobe,

Autodesk, will test their products on the preview version

of Windows 10. Their primary goal, I guess, when

Windows 10 is released, is that they get any remaining

issues sorted out as quickly as possible. But then what

the software vendors have an opportunity to do is to

optimise their software moving forward on that new

platform. They know there’s a lot of pressure coming

from users to make sure that their software is working

the best it can on the latest operating systems and so it

seems to me that most software vendors first test for

the latest operating system, so that they can then say

to their customers “well, if you’ve got a problem,

upgrade to the latest stuff then we’ll consider your

problems.” That seems to be how they work and

probably would be the way I would do it as well. That

means that, if you are still running Windows 7, which is

now two generations old, as time goes by, the software

vendors will become less and less interested in you and

more and more interested in making sure that Windows

10 and perhaps 8.1 Pro is stable. I might also add that

Apple have now done the same thing with Yosemite.

Yosemite now seems to be a really solid reliable robust

platform for running all of our creative applications on

as well. So it seems to me that in the next month or

two, we’ll have both Yosemite on the Apple platform

and Windows 10 on the Windows platform being the

prominent platforms for running our creative

applications.

Ed: And if you’re still running XP?

Stuart: Haha – too late. You’re probably not doing

commercial work anyway.

Ed: Now of course if you’re a little bit worried about

this, is there any way that you can install Windows 10

but keep your 7 there?

Stuart: Yes, If you’ve upgraded a PC to Windows

10 — not performed a clean install, but an upgrade —

you’ll have an easy option that lets you revert to the

last version of Windows. To access this, open the Start

menu and select Settings. Click the “Update & security”

icon and select “Recovery.”

You should see a “Go back to Windows 7″ or “Go back

to Windows 8.1″ option.

But with most Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines it

pops up the little Windows icon down in the taskbar

saying you qualify for a free upgrade for Windows 10,

we’ll schedule this for you, it automatically downloads

the Windows 10 upgrade in the background. I’ve done

this on a number of machines and it has worked

flawlessly, both one on a Mac running Boot Camp – a

5K Retina iMac running Boot Camp – and we’ve done it

here on our HP workstations as well without any issues

at all. It’s been great. So it certainly seems to be a

very smooth process to move forward.

I would think very carefully before upgrading any

operating system and there’s lots of people you can talk

to like us, to get advice about your applications, so

yeah, give us a call first would be my suggestion. DVT

09-525-0788.

Page 15

NZVN

DatavideoFor Protel, we’re atDatavideo and we haveValentijn Diemel from TheNetherlands.

Valentijn: Since NAB,Datavideo have developedtwo new converters – theDAC-90 which is an audio de-embedder. You can chooseup to 16 SDI audio channelsto de-embed and put themon Mini XLR outputs, so youcan de-embed all fourgroups of channels and havethem as a Mini XLR on theback. It will come with twopigtail connector cables( these are little converterplugs ) from Mini XLR toregular XLR.

Ed: Who would be the bigusers of this product?

Valentijn: I think this willbe used in field-side recording when somebody uses anon-camera microphone and later wants to de-embedthis and send it to audio mixing. Next to that, we havehis bigger brother the audio embedder, which doesexactly the opposite, but it also has support forunbalanced audio as an input and you can embed it astwo channels on SDI. This is done the other wayaround, after audio mixing or maybe some other sourcethat you want – an unbalanced source that you want touse on your SDI channel.

Ed: Now what I’ve noticed here, and I’ve probablyseen this before, but there’s a very nifty rack that all ofthese products fit into, since they’re now all the samesize and I know my DAC-10 wouldn’t fit into this?

Valentijn: DAC-10 is something that was createdbefore we went with a universal converter design.

Ed: Oh yes, its many years old, but it still works fine.

Valentijn: Well our products just keep on working.We have made all our converters in the same formfactor now which gives us the possibility to mount themin a rack. We have an 8 converter rack mount with acentral power distributor, so you have one time DC in12 Volt and there are 8 power connections on the frontand 8 on the back. So no matter what direction youmount your converter in, you could always access thepower supply without running cables to your rack.

Ed: That’s very neat.

Valentijn: Yes, it’s very nice. What we also havemore of is remote production. With our SE-1200 6channel remote control switcher, we can now control itfrom a laptop with a network wire. So a single networkconnection from your laptop into the wall outlet. TheRMC-180 which is controlling our dome cameras isconnected to the laptop through USB and you haveHDMI out from the laptop to a different monitor whichruns the multi-viewer. So you have camera control,recorder control, switcher control and a multi-viewer allthrough one single RJ45 cable, which gives you thepossibility to control anything in your setup remotely.So if you are running several different classrooms, youcan operate them from one location without pulling allthe wires like RS232 and SDI and everything. You canjust use your regular network connection which isalready there in most buildings.

We also have our IP video decoder and IP videoencoder, that’s the NVS-25 encoder and NVD-20 or 25decoder, which are now able to find each other over theinternet using a simple free software solution calledDVS-100. This connects both units over the internet, soit’s possible that you run the encoder somewhere inyour home and you run the decoder somewhere else,maybe in New Zealand for instance, and over theinternet, these units can find each other. What we alsohave is DVS-100 Pro which is the professional solutionand that is basically your own YouTube version. Youcan livestream your broadcast, people can tune in, youhave video on demand for a pre-recorded broadcast;you can also use pay per view if you want to makesome profit out of it.

Ed: I’m continually amazed every time I come and do

these interviews at Datavideo that, not only do you

have new products, but they’re actually really clever

new products – and it’s not just one, it’s a number of

them. You must have a huge R&D department or is it

just Jack?

Valentijn: It is just Jack! No, we have quite a large

R&D department and one of the things that Datavideo is

excellent in is taking existing solutions and making

them smarter and more affordable or by using them in

a smarter way.

Ed: Okay, what’s next … we saw this HDR-10 with

Shuttle control at NAB in a prototype form, but now

you’re shipping this field recorder?

Valentijn: Yes. This is a really small field site replay

recorder. There is always a 30 second cache running

and, at any time, you can say “okay, now is an

interesting point starting” and, whenever it’s finished,

you can trim it, you can remove or replace the mark in

and mark out positions and then you end up with a nice

replay clip.

Ed: And of course, it’s recorded the timecode of the

whole recording, so if you decide that you want another

3 seconds on that, you can go back to the original and

away you go?

Valentijn: Yes.

Ed: So very useful for, I guess, a small OB van?

Page 16

Valentijn with a nice rack.

Valentijn: A small OB van and the thing I sawrecently, I was watching a documentary about flightattendants and when they study to be attendants theytrain in a recreated airplane and they serve people. Soyou have 4 cameras installed around the plane, youhave 4 of these HDR-10s to capture and replay excitingmoments, or moments that went wrong.

Ed: Without having to go through all of the footagefrom 4 cameras?

Valentijn: Or without buying a really expensive ISOreplay recorder … they are terribly expensive. This is ashipping product now.

Ed: I know that your little remotely mounted camerashave really come of age and now you’ve gone awayfrom the basic black?

Valentijn: A lot of people asked for white cameras.Why? In conference halls, the ceiling is white; inchurches, the ceiling is white often. If you have a blackdome camera, to quote a Dutch saying “It’s a needle inyour eye” because it’s always there. If you look at it it’sreally nice, it could easily be an iCamera from Applebecause it’s just a nice bright white colour. So in thefuture we are considering having the option of white asa shipping product.

Ed: Okay, anything new in the mixer field?

Valentijn: No, apart from the SE-700 which you sawat NAB, we have nothing new in the mixer field. We areworking on some new mixers – the SE-2800 which isour biggest at the moment, 8 or 12 input HD mixer.We are updating it, we are making sure that it’s up tospec with the other line of mixers, so we need to thinkabout maybe a built-in title interface, like we have onthe 2200 series.

Ed: And another little box?

Valentijn: Well obviously, it’s converter sized, becauseit just can fit in the housing. This is the DVP-100 – wecall it DV Prompter Pro. It creates a little Wi-Fi networkso you can connect regular iPads or Android tablets toit. So you have a ring of tablets and these tablets allrun the same script as teleprompters. We have theteleprompter solutions in here and you see it’s runningthe script, but the one for the other camera is runningthe same script – maybe the director wants to have thescript as well. The configuration of this goes on alaptop and the one running the scripts can also edit inreal time the scripts and they will directly be distributedto all the tablets connected.

Ed: That’s a clever solution?

Valentijn: Yes, that’s a true professional telepromptersolution, which is quite unique, because we are runningit on just iPads you know. How much does a regularteleprompter set you back – $3000-$5000?

Ed: And then to have to sync all your teleprompters?

Valentijn: So you need the server to sync them all – Imean DV Prompter Pro installed on your iPad or AndroidTablet, the software price is $958.00NZ+GST, and youthen have a prompter network solution.

Ed: But wait, there’s more?

Valentijn: Yes for a considerable amount of time theindustry has needed power distributors for camerapower, we have look-back monitors you mount on thecamera, we have intercoms that go to your camera, wehave all sorts of data-cables constantly lying over yourstudio floor. We had several different types of multi-cables, but they weren’t all satisfactory. We have nowcreated the CCU-100 which basically packs your coms,packs your data distribution, packs your power

Page 18

It’s shiny and white.

distribution, your look-back, tally signals, all into onecable. It’s a proprietary design from Datavideo; it’s a17 wire cable, which is really flexible so this can go ontoyour studio floor, it’s no thicker than one centimetre. Itcan run up to 100 metre to your camera and, fitted onthe camera, we have the AD-2 breakout box whichbreaks out all the signal cables to your camera and to

your intercom belt pack. It’s a reallynice solution and for $10,040.00NZ+GSTyou get the four AD-2 units and fourRMC-240 camera break out unitsexcluding the cables. So you have a full4 camera solution with only 4 cablesover the floor.

Ed: Wow. So is this something thatwould be a good retrofit for an existingstudio?

Valentijn: Well it’s more or less made

for studios that want to upgrade their

performance. They want to get rid of all

the cables and don’t want to invest in

something like optic fibre which is really

expensive. This is the perfect solution in

between for smaller studios, maybe OB

vans … you don’t want to have fibre lying

around over the streets, because

whenever a car drives over your fibre,

it’s bye-bye fibre and you need to buy a

new cable.

Ed: And how long can you run thiscable – what’s the maximum length?

Valentijn: 100 metre. Actually, it gave us a lot ofheadaches to create it to run 100 metre, because 100 isthe maximum limit for SDI, but we made it with ultra-low oxygen, copper.

Ed: Thank you Valentijn and for all readers don’tforget to call Protel for additional information onDatavideo products in New Zealand. NZVN

Page 19

The DV Prompter Pro from Datavideo.

Vitec LitepanelsFor Protel, we are at Vitec with Dan Muchmore.

Ed: Dan has just stumbled into this interview and he’sbeen named the man to tell us about Litepanels?

Dan: I shouldn’t be so keen should I?

Ed: No – you’ll learn.

Dan: From April at NAB and going into this show, welaunched a couple of new products, the first one beingthe Caliber. It’s a daylight, 3-light kit designed verymuch for the independent content creator market – soYouTubers for example. It comes as a 3 light set, 3sets of mouldable tripods, gels, diffusers, all in thesame kit.

Ed: That’s probably a bit confusing for people who areused to Litepanels because it’s not a light “panel” is it.It’s actually quite “spotty”?

Dan: It is – in fact it’s very spotty. We have fullcontrol on the spread, but it is moving us away from astudio market into the independent market where theydon’t need a full Fresnel or a full 1x1 panel itself. Interms of power supply, you can choose mains or batteryoperated from double A’s.

Ed: Wow – now that’s handy.

Dan: It also has a P-Tap on there to take the power offas well.

Ed: So obviously, with that sort of powerconsumption, it must be LED?

Dan: That’s correct. All our lights are LED.

Ed: Dan, can you expand more about the beamangle?

Dan: In making comparisons in light output fromdifferent manufacturers, people forget to actually lookat the beam angle. Some may be at 70 degrees; somemay be at 54 degrees. In a good comparison, you can

take the focus on that Caliber and dial it up to match –for instance, as in China when they brought out a Dedokit, they meet the same beam angle then they see theintensity value unit to unit. That’s a really great way ofcomparison. It’s unfortunate because so many peoplethat we talk to, they want to know “hey, what’s thisequivalent to?” and if you think about lighting directorsor gaffers, the tendency is that nobody uses light raw.The reality is that hard light is an effect light, so ifyou’re doing a period piece, you’re going to have hardlight. Otherwise, you’re going to put diffusion on it;you’re going to take it down on a rheostat; you’re goingto add colour to it.

Ed: So in this case, it was equivalent to what – 250?

Dan: Yes, a 250 Dedo is how they compared it inBeijing at the rental company. It’s a great product –just the availability of being able to adjust the spreadwith a small either static power or battery operatedlight. This will run on 6 AA batteries, and it’s a fantastic

On-camera light kit.

kit for people who just want to carry something in theboot, because you’ve got 3 points of lighting that arespreadable. You can put doors on it; somebody says “itwould be nice if it was soft” you can run into therestroom and get a piece of paper towel and wrap itaround with clothes pins and now you’ve got a softbox.That’s the reality of how lighting directors and gafferslike to work. Sometimes we’re called “dumpster divers”for a reason!

Ed: Now Dan, onto the traditional panels?

Dan: In September last year we launched the Astrawhich is our new 1x1 bicolour panel. It was 4X morepowerful than the original 1x1 that we brought outmany, many years before. Then in April for NAB, webrought out an additional 2 members of the family. Sowith the Astra 1x1, we’ve then got the EP and EDrange, which allows us to have a half strength Astra orsingle strength Astra in mono or bicolour, so daylight or

bicolour options. As part of the Astra family, we nowhave 8 different models. All these units come suppliedwithout the modules, so there are optional modules forDMX over RJ45, DMX over XLR5, or Bluetooth. ThisAstra here has a Bluetooth module in the back. TheBluetooth module allows you to control the light eitherindividually or gang lights together.

Ed: They look fairly rugged?

Dan: They’re almost indestructible. Pat’s famous demois to drop them on the floor at the trade shows – notthis nice soft floor but …

Ed: A bit of concrete?

Dan: A bit of concrete – he loves it. It gets a bitwearing after a while, hearing the thing crashing all thetime. So that’s the EP there – daylight.

Ed: And there’s even an on-camera light fromLitepanels?

Dan: This is brand new for IBC. We’ve not had an on-board Light for a little while now, so this is using thesame LED technology that we have in the Astra. It’sIP65 full waterproof … as you see from the box we havea light submerged in water. The IP65 has an aluminiumcast casing, bicolour, so we have the intensity and thenthe colour temperature as well, so daylight through totungsten. I think it’s equivalent to a 250.

Ed: And this is really for a larger style camera,because I imagine the power consumption is beyond ahandycam on this?

Dan: Yes, I would say for the ENG size onwards.There’s a P-Tap on it to take from battery power so youcan take it straight off the power supply as well.

Page 20

Ed: And Protel have the Caliber 3-Light Kit, Astra 1x1E Daylight, and Astra 1x1 EP Bi-Colour in stock so youcan take a look at them in New Zealand. NZVN

Sachtler BagsWe are at Sachtler for Protel with Florian Fraas.

Florian: Yes, here we are with the Sachtler bags.As you can see …

Ed: They’re all black?

Florian: They’re all black, yes, they’re coming fromthe Petrol bag side and we developed them into theSachtler brand. They’re all black now, with a red touch,which are the traditional Sachtler colours. There arequite a few new features that make them better thanthe previous Petrol bags. We improved the zippers sothey are now much more robust.

Ed: I can see that, and one of the things I really lookfor in a bag is a decent sized zipper. These are goodsolid German zippers.

Florian: Thank you very much. One thing that’salso new, especially on the Doctor Bags, are the grips.They used to be very hard to open but now they go abit better and the surface feels soft.

Ed: Oh yes, that’s a good feel to a handle.

Florian: It feels pretty soft, it’s really nice to hold.What we’ve also improved is the shape of the strap andthe padding of the strap. This shape, together withthese little inlets here, actually prevents the bag fromgoing off your shoulder. Usually, you stand there allthe time shifting it up on your shoulders, so the waythat it’s twisted now makes it much more stable on theshoulders. You don’t have to push it up every fewseconds.

Ed: So it’s got little ridges on it which helps prevent itsliding on your shoulder. They’re not big ridges thatwill massage your shoulder or leave marks on it, butthey will certainly reduce slippage.

Florian: Another thing – obviously the inside is nowred as a traditional Sachtler colour. We have a littlesecurity strap inside the bag that you can move aroundon the sliders, so you can then secure your camera or …

Ed: Whatever you want to put in there?

Florian: Yes.

Ed: But as we can see in here, this connection isactually on a slider and you can move it up and down sodepending on where the centre point of your camera is,you can put the strap there, tie it down and it’s notgoing to wiggle around.

Florian: Other than that, it still has the samefeatures as the Petrol bags – seven layers of protection,ballistic nylon, very, very tough base so if you drop itfrom, I think, up to one metre, it should protect yourcamera. It’s very shock resistant.

Ed: It’s definitely got some hard ribbing in there,which provides that stability?

Florian: That’s one of the seven layers. It’s not justthin.

Ed: It’s not a soft bag?

Florian: It’s somewhere between a flight case and asoft, because the protection and the way the differentmaterials are put together, it really can absorb somepretty hefty shocks. It’s not just keeping dust away,it’s really protecting your gear. It’s really, really sturdy.

Ed: There is a whole range including quite a fewbackpacks. What’s the most popular item?

Florian: Very popular are the Doctor Bags that I’vejust showed you. For instance, in the Dr Bag-4 which isa bit bigger than this one, you can fit in a well riggedFS7, or even bigger for the AMIRA, you could use a Dr

Bag-5. It’s very easy to open it up and just drop thecamera in from the top. You don’t have to messaround. One thing that we introduced is the LED, soyou have a little LED light inside your bag for when youoperate at night, or somewhere where it’s not very welllit, you can just open it up, switch on the light and thenyou find your little screw that you’re looking for –because it’s always the little things that disappearduring a shoot.

So we have this whole range from the Dr Bags to theclassical camcorder bags. They are very traditional, butvery well liked … the same soft grips, you open it fromthe top, with the same features. What people really likeis the trolley system. Most of our bags – I think all ofthem – have a little system here … if it becomes tooheavy, you can put it on a trolley …

Ed: And it clips in! The actual base has protectivefeet but then, inside that, there are also clips so youcan put it on the Sachtler trolley and it just clips intoplace so it’s not going to fall off?

Florian: That’s especially good for the bigger DrBags, for the Dr Bag-5, if you have it fully loaded with aheavy camera and batteries, you can just put it on thetrolley and then you don’t have to carry this heavy andexpensive load around.

Ed: Then also, for the audio people, there’s an audiomixer bag which, I guess, takes the standard audiomixers that are available at this moment?

Florian: Yes. We have it in different sizes. This isthe smaller one, the mixer bag; then we have thelightweight audio bag in large – so depending on which

Page 21

Florian shows off the shoulder ribs.

kind of device you’re using. It’s very versatile. You canadd your devices, you have clip-ons for yourtransmitters that you can take off. You have it in thefront. Here you have the insert so you can operateduring rain.

Ed: That’s handy.

Florian: So you don’t

have to open it up to

operate it from the top.

You have your transparent

protection, you have your

slide-ins from the side … it

looks like a Russian winter

thing.

Ed: Well I know lots of

soundies actually like

working in the rain, so this

will be a big boon for them?

Florian: They’re very

popular in the US and have

a lot of space. You can

change the height for your

specific system.

That’s the small one; the

large one has even more

space for your larger

systems.

You can have here all your

little goodies that you need;

you have an extra secured

space with the same system that you have in the Dr

Bag. It’s very flexible.

Ed: A very, very well thought out and robust range of

hand carry bags, backpacks, tripod bags and audio bags

from Sachtler, all available from Protel New Zealand.NZVN

Page 22

Soundie comfort for those hands in the rain.

EDIUS for EditingWe are at Grass Valley with the EDIUS team for AVWand Mike Symes and we’re going to hear fromKonstantinos Koutsantonis – Kostas for short.

Ed: Kostas, what have been the major improvementsin EDIUS in the last year?

Kostas: The first thing is the new user interface inversion 8 – it’s using vector graphics which means thatit’s resolution free, and we can install it on a tablet forexample. You can of course also install EDIUS on adesktop and use HD monitors and over the course ofEDIUS 8 we will extend to 4K monitors as well. Thesoftware is also more responsive and takes less time toload. Generally speaking, it’s faster than ever.

Ed: Do you need a particularly fast computer to runEDIUS?

Kostas: No, that’s the whole point of EDIUS. Youcan install it on a Windows tablet, you can install it onyour laptop, you can install it on a workstation,depending on your needs. As you can see on thewebsite, the specifications are quite low, because of thefact that EDIUS 8 is CPU-accelerated. You can install iton almost any kind of computer, as most PCs are IntelCPU-based.

Ed: And in terms of the feature set, pretty well all ofthe editing platforms these days have got everything inthem, so there’s no need to go to a particular brand.EDIUS offers everything that those other brands wouldoffer and more I would imagine?

Kostas: Well, as a guy who worked in the past withdifferent vendors, I would say that there are 3 things onEDIUS that I would definitely prefer using instead ofsome other brands. The first thing is the real timeperformance. There is no other software at thismoment in the market that can perform in real time andwork natively with all file formats in the market. So weare talking from a simple SD signal right up to 4K. NowEDIUS is able to handle this all in real time and worknatively, without the need to conform or render. Thesecond thing is that EDIUS traditionally is a very stableplatform. If you ever worked with Adobe Premiere, youwould have to agree that it’s not a particularly stableplatform. But EDIUS traditionally, since version 1, hasbeen very stable software that you could do work with.And the third thing is that there are no subscriptionschemes, so you buy it once, you own it. You don’thave to pay monthly charges just to keep on workingwith EDIUS. So for a guy who now owns maybe a 7version, he can upgrade for $199, and he can keep theproduct for himself. He can use it for as many years ashe wants.

Ed: The main area of improvement I see necessary isin codecs. Camera manufacturers come out with a newcodec and suddenly your software’s not able to copewith it. Do EDIUS provide free upgrades in codecsthrough the life of a product and then some?

Kostas: Yes, you can be sure that any new version8 update for the next two years will be free of charge.Grass Valley EDIUS is typically the first editing softwareto support new video formats and that’s becauseengineering is based in Japan and they work veryclosely with all the major camera manufacturers. So forexample, when the new Canon XF codec and new CanonXF camera were released, at the same time GrassValley issued a press release saying that they weresupporting these new products. You will never find avideo format support that is not supported by EDIUS,and this is what makes EDIUS special.

Ed: Now of course, the big push from Adobe withtheir Creative Suite is that it is a suite – along withPremiere, you get Photoshop, you get After Effects, you

get all of these other additions which a lot of peopleneed. They certainly need a Photoshop type product –does EDIUS offer anything similar?

Kostas: Well EDIUS does offer more than justediting. For example, with EDIUS version 8 we do havea new application called GV Browser. It’s like apersonal media asset management system that you canuse to organise all your video, audio and stills footage,you can add metadata in batch mode and much more.

Ed: So it’s similar to Adobe Bridge?

Kostas: Exactly, but GV Browser is significantlyfaster. So it makes it much easier to find and organiseyour content, and speeds up your editing workflow.

There is also a dedicated After Effects Bridge you canuse for different types of third party plug-ins, like MagicBullet Looks from Red Giant. New with EDIUS 8.1,which will be released in October, is a plug-in bridgethat supports the OpenFX standard. You will be able touse this to integrate Sapphire plug-ins from Genarts,and the Boris Continuum Collection. Over time we shallbe able to integrate more and more third-party plug-insusing this OFX bridge.

Ed: Does EDIUS natively have any motion capability –is there any manipulation of graphic size or photomanipulation within EDIUS itself?

Kostas: Well at the moment, EDIUS is coming witha full list of video filters, audio filters, transitions youcan use. There are all the major filters you can have …for example, you can do photo correction, picture-in-picture. There is a great tool called Layouter – you cando almost everything in three dimensions.

Ed: So within EDIUS, you do have a basic motionfeature so you can manipulate still images or movingimages?

Kostas: Exactly. As soon as you place a video clipon the timeline, the Layouter gives you the chance tofully manipulate the video clip concerning size, rotation,cropping etc. You can add key frames in order to bettercontrol all these properties over time. You can save allthese presets as custom ones. You can make newones. We’re expecting a new feature called AutoTracking – this is something that everyone coming from

Page 23

After Effects is going to really like.You can add a video filter calledMask so you can mask a shapeand then you will be able to applyan Auto Tracking feature that willfollow the shape that you wantautomatically.

Ed: This is coming to EDIUS?

Kostas: Yes it’s already beenannounced. But the good pointabout all these new features thatare going to come into futureversions of EDIUS 8 – they aregoing to be free of charge. Youwon’t have to pay again, you don’thave to pay any monthly fees.

Ed: And it’s working well onWindows 10?

Kostas: Yes. As a matter offact EDIUS 8.1 will officiallysupport Windows 10.

Ed: Wow, okay – now the last one. Audiomanipulation – is there any feature within EDIUS thatallows you to do, like again in Premiere, you have asound product?

Kostas: Yes of course. We do have dedicated audiofilters you can use, like graphic equaliser, panpot andbalance filters – all this stuff. The really nice thing isyou can now add almost any VST plug-in, so you canmaster your audio using third party plug-ins fromEDIUS without the need to change products. You justassign the folder that the VST is registered to and then,after restarting EDIUS, you can have it as a nativeaudio filter inside. As a new feature, Grass Valley will

be releasing a new Fairlight jog shuttle at InterBEE inNovember. This external unit will enable you to makeadjustments manually while, at the same time, this jogand fader will interact with the timeline and the audiomixer that EDIUS actually has.

So it makes things easier when you want to manuallyadjust the volume levels, or you are doing things likevoiceover and things like that. It’s really a nice featurebecause it gives you the “hands on” you might want asan audio editor, let’s say, more than a video editor, andit’s really handy.

Ed: So perhaps, if you don’t like what the others aredoing, here’s a chance to have a look at EDIUS and see

Page 24

The EDIUS timeline is very familiar.

if it’s right for you. Is there a free trial downloadavailable on the web?

Kostas: Indeed, there is a website dedicated toEDIUS from Grass Valley called …

www-en.ediusworld.com – there you can find lots ofinformation about EDIUS including video tutorials,datasheets, product specs and case studies. There aresome short movies that show EDIUS 8 functionalityand, of course, you can go to the download sections anddownload the free trial for 30 days and draw your ownconclusions.

Ed: And we just have to say that, even though EDIUSis not a major player in New Zealand apart from inChristchurch where Mike has been very hot in sellingyour product – in other parts of the world, EDIUS isright up there?

Kostas: Indeed and it’s because EDIUS is a reallyfast editor. Its uniqueness is based on the fact that youcan edit anything anywhere and I really mean that –more than as an editor, less than a demonstrator.

Also, it’s a really easy to use piece of software and Ithink it’s the best possible editing solution you can findif you want to make money. It does the same thingsthat other editors do, but in less time. You don’t haveto go to After Effects to adjust the layout or thepreview.

So based on the facts that we can see today, I woulddefinitely say that EDIUS is the best editor you can nowhave for your production workflow.

Ed: You don’t have to sell your soul for ownership?

Kostas: No exactly, that’s the point. NZVN

Page 25

Today's multi codec, multi format pre-requisite mandate for postproduction has been addressed by Grass Valley EDIUS.

Simply put, it really does edit anything and faster and better than any other platform. Our clients find ingesting faster than theycould imagine. They can personalise their interface edit with native output for instant confidence monitoring and output to anyformat or codecs they want.

EDIUS also supports 3rd party add-ons such as Vistitle, Pluraleyes, After Effects etc etc.

We also offer full training and help from a fully qualified EDIUS Tutor. This can be face to face or via remote Computer control.

All this for under 1K. So you get the World’s most powerful and versatile NLE system with support, with no monthly or yearlyfees, and additional support as required, by negotiation.

So you require a specific EDIUS option or a Turnkey solution – we can do that also. EDIUS also offers a Multi seat option forschools, Polytechs, Broadcasters etc at pricing unmatched by any other Pro NLE provider.

Free 30 day trial. http://www..grassvalley.com/products/edius_pro_8

Mike Symes AUDIO VIDEO AGENCIES

Authorised Dealers for SONY,GRASS VALLEY EDIUS, VEGAS etc

(03) 358-9480 or 0274 368-088 Email mikesymes@xtra.co.nz

BB&S LightingFor PLS, we are with Peter Plesner, theowner and founder of BB&S.

Ed: Peter, BB&S is a small part of yourlogo on the wall here. Is Pipeline Systemthe new name for the company?

Peter: No it’s not the new name ofthe company, we are still Brother,Brother & Sons from Denmark. Inshortening that to BB&S, it’s a bit easierto say on the phone in the morning.

Ed: It’s like Kentucky Fried Chicken Iguess?

Peter: Yes, like that. PipelineSystem is a new range of product for us.We’ve worked with the very well-knownAREA-48 and remote phosphortechnologies for more than 3 years now.There are more than 6000 of those unitsout there in the street being used on adaily basis and the feedback we got fromall the DoPs and from the world TV networks is that thecolour rendition, the true nature of the colour, thesoftness of the light, is really what they need for a lot ofshots and this product has more or less saved them onthe set in many situations. So we reckon to move onwith this technology.

Ed: There are a few people copying it out there nowand I’ve seen them at this show?

Peter: Well there are other larger manufacturerswho are also leaning towards the technology. Iwouldn’t call it “copying”, but we don’t worry too muchabout it. We have now introduced something very thin,slim, really neat pipes – extruded pipes with a remotephosphor, so that’s going to give you the same colourrendition, the same very nice colour reproduction as theAREA-48. It’s now in a tube format, so it’s easier tohide on the set. Also, for a lot of studios that have lowceiling situations, it’s great with pipes because theytake up less space in the ceiling and also, on the set,it’s very lightweight. Even with the larger 4 footers, theweight is just under 5 kilos, so it’s also something youcan boom in. It’s easy to handle, quick to set up andeasy to work with. We’re doing a variety of housingsfor these tubes – some with reflectors, some withoutreflectors or you can use them as practicals – you knowSci-fi look on the set.

Ed: Because you can actually put them into the shot?

Peter: You can put them into the shot and theylook pretty cool – they really do. They are slim, youmostly see the illuminated surface and nothing else, soit’s really a very Sci-fi look. We’ve created somedifferent products, especially the reporter kit that isshipping at this point. We’ve created a specific kit forbloggers and Skype and correspondents because theyhave been missed out for many years, and they actuallygo on live television in many situations – such as in acertain hotel room that does not look too great. So inthis situation, we can provide them with a small casethat’s easy to travel with and connects to everything inthe world and they can really look good.

Ed: Can these pipes be bent at all – can you turnthem into shapes?

Peter: No, we can’t bend them like neons, theyare straight, but they come in different lengths – 1, 2, 3and 4 feet – so of course, you can make rings or youcan make any kind of shape …

Ed: Square – you could make a square?

Peter: A square or even round like a big umbrella.There are a lot of different variations possible with this.There’s no larger limitation to what you can actually dowith it. Of course, you can hide it anywhere and that’salso the beauty of it. It’s not getting warm so you caneasily hold it for hours in your hand. It’s ruggedised, itwill not break.

Ed: So you could use them as lightsabres?

Peter: You could use them as lightsabres. We didconsider simulating a fight here because I was in afencing school from 13 years old to 16 but I’m not thatsharp anymore!

Ed: Now we’ve just inspected this pipeline moreclosely and it’s actually a semicircle on an aluminiumbacking with slots so that you can mount this in anyposition you like, balance it any way you like and a nicelittle simple connector with a place to put a … what isthat?

Peter: This is the adapter, so you connect this toany DV battery or Gold-Mount or V-lock battery.

Ed: And do you have a battery mount that also clipson the back?

Peter: Yes, for the smaller DV, but not for the V-lock because it’s a really large battery. But of course,some V-lock mounts have 4 or 5 D-Taps off in the side,and you can just use a D-Tap. So you can connect aton of tubes.

Ed: For example, your 1 foot tube there, at fullpower, what’s the Wattage of that?

Peter: The power draws just under 10 Watt perfoot, so it’s very little actually. Even in a big 4-bankenclosure, you’re running around 150 Watt and it isreally powerful. That is new technology. This issomething you’re going to find you’ll work with formany, many years. It’s not something that’s going tobreak – it’s not going to fall apart or anything. Ofcourse, you can buy a lot of LED strips and you canmake your own tubes and you can do whatever, or buycheap ones from China. The colour is going to be bad,you’re not going to be happy with it. A lot of companiesare selling these. We just believe in making the productready for people to use on the set, anticipating thatthey don’t have time to build their own. Some peoplechoose to do that, and I really respect that, but wemake ours ready to go you know.

Page 26

Peter with the signature “Pipeline” range.

Phone: 09 302 4100 Email: info@kelpls.co.nz Website: www.kelpls.co.nz

Lightweight - Head weighs just 950g Colour-temp from 3000ºK to 5600ºK 3000ºK CRI is 93, 5600ºK CRI is 84 50,000 hour life 100 – 240V, 66W Battery range 12-20V Full range dimmer Integrated Soft light Diffusor Black Out function Operates on V-Lock batteries Integrated Beltpack for remote

controller and battery plate Molded Transport case plate

The BBS Lighting FLYER is a ready-to-go lighting kit. The FLYER is designed to be lightweight, mobile and compact without compromising the high quality that BBS Lighting has become known for.

Ed: Now with these panels, where you put four inthere, if something happened to one of them – say itwas hit by a bullet or something – you can easilyreplace that strip?

Peter: Yes, you can easily replace it.

Ed: Alright, but then what happens to the colourtemperature. Over a period of time, I imagine thecolour temperature of these is going to change?

Peter: No, the colour temperature is going toremain very steady. Over 30-50,000 hours, there’sgoing to be a deviation within just under one percent,so it’s nothing really. This is really truthfully staying atthe same colour temperature even when you dim it. Alot of the colour changing units available in the markettoday have the problem – it can look great, it can do 32or 56 or 43 in the middle, but once you dim it, it doeschange the colour temperature because the relationbetween all the colours behind the diffuser is notworked out properly for a lot of these products. Whyworry about the colour temperature, get another tubethat has the correct colour temperature you need andthen that’s it. You don’t have to deal with that on theset and “is it green or is it not green”?

This is right on the curve where it’s supposed to be. It’snot going to be green, it’s not going to be magenta, soyou don’t need all the “plus / minus” green, whatever,that everyone else is trying to sell to people. Becausecolour is how the camera conceives it and, with digitalcameras, you will also find very big differences on thelook – the difference between a Sony F65, thedifference to an ALEXA camera. They do cheat in thesoftware behind the chip because there are colours thatthe camera cannot see and so they are adding thosecolours artificially. This is why it’s hard to combine a lotof different lights today, but in terms of combining our32 with a tungsten light, it really works. Combining our56 with an HMI light source or a daylight light source, itworks. So you can use it with the existing technologyas an add-on. It’s not something where you have to bescared that the last fill in of the day was just a smallshot from here and, in postproduction, they were tryingfor a week to get rid of bad fillers. That’s not going tobe the situation here. We’re supplying these tubes in3200 Kelvin, 4300 Kelvin, or 5600 Kelvin and in termsof Television Lighting Consistency Index, they are allplus 95. It’s a very clean product. It’s the same colour

structure as the AREA-48, so they can also be mixedreally well together.

Ed: So it’s not fluoro, what is it?

Peter: It is LED, but all white LEDs are blue LEDsand then you add some phosphor on top. Here we havethe blue LEDs inside the tube, so the blue LEDs areigniting the phosphor that is extruded into the tube. Soin that way, it’s actually the whole surface that isilluminating here.

Ed: Okay, so it’s not actually the colour temperatureof the LED, it’s the phosphor and that’s where LEDpanels can fail in that the LED colour temperaturechanges, but in this case the phosphor panel that’s theoutside of the tube is consistent … and there’s a lot of“yeses” coming from Peter.

Peter: Of course, even with this phosphor panel, itwill also eventually wear out, but it’s over a very longlifespan where I’m by far retired at that point, so I’mnot going to worry too much about it.

Ed: Bring it back to the next guy?

Peter: Exactly. But rather than build a cheapproduct, we prefer to build proper products that will

last. You can buy a newcamera every month,because there’s a new oneevery month and six monthslater, the older 4K camerayou just bought is worthbasically nothing. Withlighting, it’s not the samestory. You can keep thoselights for years and yearsand years and they are alsogoing to work with the nextand the next and the nextcamera generation. But thequality of light, the higherthe pixilation gets in thesecameras, you see every littlebad pimple on your skin –you see everything thesedays, because it’s so highres. So for that reason, Idon’t get why people wouldbuy really cheap lighting tothrow on a face and then

make a close-up of a face where you see everything,and you see all the flaws in the light, because they willbe reproduced on the skin, because the skin does havea lot of colours in it depending on where you’re from. Iremember back in the old days in rock ’n roll lighting,with coloured persons, you were not allowed to usegreens on stage for a band because that would lookstrange, so every kind of skin tone reacts differently.So if you don’t have a rich enough mix, you cannot findthe LUT, but with this technology it’s really easy.

Ed: That’s it. There’s no point in buying a fancycamera and going for those really 4K close-ups unlessyou’ve got the lighting to match?

Peter: No, exactly and I think people are starting

to understand that more and more and we hear that

more and more that it’s so easy, you don’t have to deal

with it a lot, even when setting it up it’s easy lit. You

take the luminaire to 30% it looks great, and you don’t

have trouble in postproduction after. Well it might be

an initial investment that you have to make, but you’re

going to win it very quickly not only on the power

saving, but in any direction.

Page 28

The lengths and colours.

Ed: Now Peter, tell me more about these panels. Ofcourse, the critical thing is how even is this light whenyou’ve got these pipes in here. You would think thatthere would be dark and light areas, but you say it is avery even throw?

Peter: Yes, it is a very even throw. The beamangle in the longitude of the tube is 90 degrees totalbeam angle, so there is sort of spill light in the last 10degrees, so a fade off. Actually, totally, you will say thefield would be 110, but within the 90 degrees, it isreally very, very even all the way over.

Ed: But at the edges – what’s your angle horizontally?

Peter: The other edge is very stable as well, but ofcourse, it’s cut off by the side.

Ed: This is why you have 1 foot to 4 foot lengths, butyou’re still going to have a set that’s wider than 4 foot.So what sort of angle are you looking at there?

Peter: The outgoing angle is 160 the other way,so that makes 110 by 160.

Ed: And that compares very favourably withtraditional fluoro kits?

Peter: It does yes. It’s very much the same typeof illumination angles.

Ed: And I guess you could put the same accessorieson these kits, such as your egg crates and your barndoors and everything else?

Peter: Yes, honeycombs, SNAPGRIDs and diffuserboxes – they’ve all got to be available accessories for it.

Ed: Do they have to be BB&S accessories or are theresome industry standards that you can use?

Peter: We work a lot with Stefan from DoPchoice,so he would make accessories for this one – thestandard honeycombs, the plastic honeycombs, yeswe’ll supply those as well. Personally, I like theSNAPGRIDs more because they’re a bit deeper, a bitbigger squares, but you know, the plastic things breakand I would suggest the SNAPGRIDs but in a studioinstall, there’s a very big price difference from aSNAPGRID to a standard honeycomb. So in a studioinstall I would maybe just go with the honeycomb, buton the road, I would definitely choose the SNAPGRID.

Ed: So we can look forward to more and more fromBB&S?

Peter: Yeah, yeah it’ll come, it’ll come. Before thesummer, there will be more products in differentdirections also. We used to be a product developmentcompany and that is still where the heart is.

Ed: But now you’ve got your own name on it?

Peter: Yes, now we’ve got our own name on it and

of course, we also realise that more marketing, more

sales are needed. People love the products but they

also need to know where to get them.

Ed: Well in New Zealand we know – Chris McKenzieand the team from PLS.

Peter: Oh yes, Chris McKenzie, PLS, yes and sendhim my regards. NZVN

Page 29

Chimera SoftboxesWe are at Chimera for PLS withBob Winters, President.

Ed: Well, another president –you’re not competing withDonald Trump though are you?

Bob: No, I certainly hope not.

Ed: Now Chimera is acompany that has been arounda long, long time?

Bob: Yes, 35 years.

Ed: And in all those days,fitting some pretty big and Iguess, intense lights?

Bob: And we still do. Westarted off in the photographicworld; 15-20 years ago wejumped into the cinema worldwhere they started seeing theneed to soften up the lights.Obviously, as cameras gotbetter, there was more need tosoften lights, even with thenewer LED products.

Ed: Because now it’s not so much about the intensity

of the light, but it’s about the look of the light?

Bob: It’s going from softening the light, controlling the

light, and now in some cases, we’re making a smaller

light source into a bigger light source with some of the

new LEDs that have more power. So there are all sorts

of options that we try to fit and try to help people … just

another tool to help modify light.

Ed: So really, you‘re an accessory provider and

hugely dependent on the manufacturers coming up with

a new light and asking you to make a softbox to fit it?

Bob with his “Liberty” look.

Bob: Exactly. We are definitely making accessories. Ithink one of the things with Chimera being around for35 years now, we are a staple – especially in thecinema industry, our name is likened to Kleenex.

Ed: That’s a brand of toilet paper isn’t it?

Bob: Coke … call it Coke! We are fortunate to haveeveryone want to have our name associated with theirlights. When they make a new light, a company will askus “will you make a product for it?” And, you know, it’sour duty in R&D to figure out “okay, is this light goingto be popular in the market; is it worth our R&D andtime to fit the applications?” – because it’s now not just

developing a speed ring for the light andthen they use the existing banks. In alot of cases, we’re developing a com-pletely custom application to fit the light.

Ed: So why is it important for it to be

custom … surely it’s just a wraparoundblack cloth material that spreads out a

bit and controls the light. Why is it so

precise?

Bob: It’s really how it applies or fits tothe light, because each light, as you’venoticed in our booth, is a different size.It really has to do with the back of thelight fixture that we’re customising thefit, and then how the softbox attaches tothe light. Some of them will attach toexisting barn doors; some of them havetheir own frame that drops into theaccessory frame channel. Each light is unique inmanufacture, and we’re trying to fit within how they’vemanufactured a light so it’s easy for the customer justto attach it to the light. As the lights become morepowerful, one of the things they want to use Chimerafor is to make a bigger light source out of the existinglight – so for example, the new ARRI S60 which isroughly 1 foot by 2 foot, our bank that we’re putting onit is a 2 foot by 3 foot or our medium size. Roughly,we’re almost doubling the size of the light surface forthe consumer, so giving it a bigger wraparound lightingeffect. Along with that, what we’ve been able to do isto keep the front panel, whenever possible, to ourexisting sizes – small, extra small, medium, large – sothe customer, if they do already have existing Chimeraaccessories, can go ahead and continue to use theirgrids that they may have for an older bank that was setup for an HMI setup or something like that. But theycan use the grid, so they’re not having to buy acompletely new system each time they get a new light.

Ed: There must be some flexibility in a softbox,especially with Velcro, that you can tighten it up or giveyourself a little bit more room, but what are thedownsides in having an ill-fitting softbox?

Bob: There’s not as much flexibility as you would think.You could make it a bungee cord thing and it doesn’tlook real good. I think one of the things about ourproduct is it always looks good on the set. It looks likeit fits, it doesn’t look like it’s just sort of gaffer tapedonto the unit.

Ed: I have seen softboxes made out of cardboardboxes?

Bob: Well, that’s where the premise came from. Youknow, old foam core in the photography days and thefounders of Chimera figured out a way coming from acombination of photography and backpack tentoutdoors type of activities to create a box that could beportable. That’s really where the softbox was originallydeveloped. So you’re not too far off – some people stilldo makeshift stuff. Ours is an easy on/off type ofapplication that you can change out fairly quickly.

Ed: And we’ve got some very little kits here. This is aspecialty application?

Bob: Again, some of the established LEDmanufacturers are making smaller units, either on-camera or portable off-camera units, so we have aseries of new boxes using sort of the same material asour universal 1x1 application that fits right onto thesethings, comes on and off and folds up – you can literallyput it in your back pocket for some flexibility, but itsoftens and controls the light. If you want to keep thatfrom spilling all over the place, some of these newerones have pretty good beam angles on them, so it helpscontrol the light and where you want to focus it.

Ed: Now I see a very little American flag there.Obviously this is something you’re proud of, but does itmean that this product is actually made in America?

Bob: Absolutely. Everything is handcrafted in Boulder,Colorado. We’re very proud of that fact – for 35 yearseverything has been made in the US. Even though itcosts us a little bit more, I think the quality and thecontrol of our quality is unsurpassed and is somethingreally in the cinema world that is required. I’ve seenstuff sitting on sets and in photo studios that’s been 25years old, and to us, it’s a badge of honour that wewear. And in the rental business, it’s something thatallows that rental house to make more money. It’smore turns on that unit; it’s more times that they get itrented out versus some of the inferior quality productsthat break.

The other nice thing is that our customer service canhelp you with any poles. In case a pole broke or, in alot of cases in the rental houses, they come back andthey’re missing a pole or something. We’re in Boulder,Colorado, we have a very good customer servicedepartment that can help replace those poles. We do alot of repairs on our units – rental houses have peoplethat they rent to being tough on it. All of our cornersare reinforced so the poles don’t pop through. But youknow, still even in the best cases, they get dragged onthe ground and over time they wear out. We canreplace those corners. We do a lot of things, and againwe’ve been around for 35 years, so we’re not goinganywhere.

Ed: By “pole” you mean a wire?

Bob: Well it’s a wire – this one’s a little differentbecause of the shape of the back and it’s so wide outhere that you have to go to a pole to get the formation.But if you feel back up here, there’s a thicker pole andthis is where it sometimes will pop through.

Ed: And I know from other accessory manufacturersthat have kept their manufacturing in-house and locally,it means that they can much more quickly respond tochanges in the market and when a manufacturer bringsout a product, they’ve got the accessory on day 1?

Bob: Exactly, yes. So we’ll be shipping with the ARRIproduct when they ship. And you’re exactly right, we’realmost “just in time”. We keep a good amount of stockin Boulder, but at the same time, if a guy calls up, wehave the ability to sew one unit in-house if weabsolutely had to. We don’t do it on a regular basis,but we do have the ability to do that. We can keepmore goods in raw materials and then be able toproduce on demand. We don’t have to hold a hugeamount of stock, so we’re not at any one time waitingfor a lot of the raw materials to come in hand. So we’revery flexible in our production schedule.

Page 30

NZVN

Note the small “Stars and Stripes”.

Page 31

Mr Kim and André.

Aladdin’s very flexible LED panel - front and back view.

Aladdin LightingWe are here for PLS at Aladdin and we are speakingwith André Kurtz on behalf of Mr Kim because Mr Kim’shomeland is South Korea and André, although he’sSwiss-German, has pretty good English.

Ed: Now Aladdin – obviously a Korean company witha lot of nous because there’s some pretty clever producthere on the stand and I guess the shining example, ifone could use that pun, is the Flex Panel. What’s a FlexPanel Andre?

André: Actually we call it the Bi-Flex. It’s a flexibleLED source and, as the name says, it’s a bi-flex or it’s abi-colour flexible light. You can change the colourtemperature on the dimmer unit, so you can go fromtungsten 3000 Kelvin up to daylight 6000 Kelvin.

Ed: Is it variable or just one or the other?

André: It’s variable, so you can go by stepsthrough the colour temperatures. It indicates thecolour temperature on the display or the intensity of thedimmer, the brightness.

Ed: And the real value I would see in a portablesituation, is this is incredibly light and robust. Youcould kick this over, nothing’s going to break becausethe LEDs are so formed into a flexible panel and youcan bend this, twist it, do anything to it and it’s going tokeep going?

André: Exactly. So it’s very well made, it’scompletely waterproofed. The biggest advantage on itis that it’s very thin, it’s a few millimetres thick, so youcan carry a lot of lights and you have the dimmerexternally. The panel is waterproof so you can put itout in the rain. The dimmer unit has to be protected.You have two possibilities to power the dimmer uniteither by AC or DC. You can mount the battery plate tothe back of the unit, like a V-Mount plate or a GoldMount plate, so you’re completely free running. Thepower consumption is 50 Watt 12 Volt, so with a regularcamera battery, it’s going to run for about 2 hours.

Ed: That’s at full power – obviously longer if you windit down?

André: Yes at full power, and it depends on thesize of your camera battery of course. We haveaccessories like a stand mount, goes onto a 16mmstand, and we have softboxes and diffusers to shapethe light.

Ed: Now is this only bi-colour, or can you get thecheaper version single colour?

André: Actually, about 2 years ago, we startedwith the first units that were either pure daylight orpure tungsten versions. That’s version 2 now and it’s

available in either bi-colour, pure daylight or puretungsten. The advantage of the pure daylight ortungsten is you have about 20% more light output.With the bi-colour unit, it gets a little bit less.

Ed: And you can obviously put this together intosome very large panels?

André: That’s going to be the new version we’reworking on. It’s the next generation – we do a 60cmlong and 120cm long. So you could put them togetherto a very big large light source, with a tremendous lightoutput. So the biggest light we have here is 3 x 200Watt in LED … at 600 Watt LED that’s very powerful.

Ed: Right, if you don’t want such big ones, you havean on-camera light?

Phone: 09 302 4100 Email: info@kelpls.co.nz Website: www.kelpls.co.nz

The first flexible Bi-Colour LED panel for professional use featuring outstanding light quality with a CRI and TLCI of over 97. The cinematographer’s choice for a small, lightweight and powerful lighting tool, perfect for inside narrow spaces such as elevators, vehicles etc. For Professional use in television, movies and photographic production. It’s an extremely portable interview light.

This high quality bi-colour light comes with an integrated battery that charges via USB. Slim & very light weight.

The EyeLite series comes in two modes; 3000K or 5600K . It’s designed to be a small yet useful eye reflection light. Holders, stands and clamps available.

Aladdin Bi-Flex (Bi-Colour)

Aladdin NoteLite Aladdin EyeLite

Dims 5% - 100%

CRI & TLCI: 97

12V to 15V – 50W

Mains or Battery

Flicker Free

30 x 30cm square

5mm thin

140° Beam Angle

Passive cooling

390g

Velcro’d Corners

Splash / Rain Proof

Kit Includes:

Dimmer

16mm Mount

5m ext. Cable

Diffusor

100 to 240V PSU

3220K to 5600 K

Dims 5% - 100%

High CRI 95

Diffuser included

Integrated Battery

Built-in ¼” screw

Aircraft Aluminium

Runs 2hrs on Battery

CRI 95

Integrated Battery

Mini size

Charge with USB

Built-in ¼” screw

André: We have very small LED lights for on-camera use. This starts with the Eye Lite which is asmall light source with a built-in battery that runs up to2 hours, charge over USB, built-in dimmer. We have 2versions – daylight is the blue one and the tungsten isthe red version. It’s very lightweight, can be mountedwith magnetic holders and charged over USB so you canuse your iPhone charger to charge the Eye Lite.

Ed: But you can also put it onto your iPhone and useit as an external light?

adapter on an Anton Bauer plug. It runs from 12 to 24Volt – that’s the GenieLite.

Ed: Now Aladdin – how long have they been in

business as a lighting company?

André: Since about three years we start to sell

internationally. One of the owners is a sales guy in

Korea, the other one is a lighting guy from the

television industry and they sell a lot of lights in Korea.

They are also a distributor for Dedolight in Korea, so

they have a very deep knowledge about lighting. They

have great ideas for little practical lights, for little

onboard lights and especially the Flexlite is like a top

seller on the market.

Ed: Right. I’ve interviewed a number of people on

LED technology over the years and one thing I’ve come

to discover is that a lot depends on where these LEDs

are made and which bin they come from. It’s a major

part of the cost and it determines the quality of the light

output of any LED arrangement, so do these LEDs come

from Bin X or from somewhere along the Planck curve?

André: The LEDs have a very high colour rendition,

so I don’t have a bin number for the LEDs here, but it’s

a very new technology of LEDs. It’s not that they’re

small diodes, it’s like an SMD LEDs, directly onto the

print, with a very big surface for the phosphor

application. Our CRI measurement is about 98 on the

tungsten, so we are in the best quality, you can’t go

higher actually in colour and quality on the LED.

Page 33

André: Yes, as a little external light. Then forbigger cameras, a little bigger light. It’s very slim – theA Lite. The A Lite is a bi-colour version with internalbattery, same thing, charges over USB, runs for about 2hours and you can change colour and you can dim it,daylight, tungsten.

It comes with a little diffuser, because when you looklike this into it, it’s very harsh and when you putthe little diffuser it’s a little bit more comfortableand it’s very lightweight – maybe 100 gram.

Ed: And it’s in a good sturdy aluminium case?

André: Yes, made from aircraft aluminium,so for a VJ or a cameraman for interviews andthings – a perfect match.

Ed: Now I see a new version of the sun-gun andthat impressed me because, even though it’s gota fan in it, it’s a very quiet fan and this issomething that can be used in a handheldsituation because it’s got its battery in its handle.You could mount it on a camera, but you couldcertainly stick it on top of a tripod if you’re notgoing to hold it?

André: It’s a very simply designed light, in asquare box, very practical. You have a dimmer onthe back and you can change colour temperature,daylight to tungsten. You have a little barn doorto shape the light. On one hand, you can mountit to your studio camera as an eye light, or youhave the handle.

The handle we have has a built-in battery, so youcan power the light with the battery and it has aswitch on it; or you are able to power the battery to an As a multiple LED source, you also have a continuous

quality from light to light. In spotlights, you have a lotof different peaks in green or different lights from lightsource to light source, more complicated. But in themulti-surface LED panel we have a very stable quality.Pretty much all our resources are either in daylight andtungsten CRI over 95. Also TLCI measurement wasover 90, so we have a very high quality. When youlook at the lights and see how they build in thealuminium case, how the cable and plugs are made, wecome from the field and we know what the end userneeds on their quality standard, that the product willsurvive in a rental house.

Ed: And if it survives there, it will survive anywhere.

André: Exactly. NZVN

The GenieLite. An old concept with a modern makeover.

ARRI CamerasOn the camera side with ARRI at IBC, we have our dearfriend Markus Duerr.

Ed: Now Markus you’re the AMIRA specialist andwe’re certainly going to start off with that, but thenwe’ll move onto some other cameras in the ARRI range.AMIRA – it’s certainly had a success in New Zealand inthe rental market, but it hasn’t really captured thefreelancers. I understand though that in Europe andother areas of the world, the AMIRA is the freelancers’camera of choice. Can you explain why?

Markus: It is very much so. That’s what we seewhen we look at our customer base and the customerdata. We see that we have, in some regions, 40% newcustomers who are pretty much freelancers or smallproduction companies – it’s sometimes hard todifferentiate. It’s not the cheapest camera on themarket, so for a freelancer, it might be a pretty largeinvestment, but it also pays off at the end for them. Onthe one hand, because of the higher valued camera withthe better image quality and the more reliable camera,they get a higher production value to their customers,so they can sell the higher camera also to theircustomers. On the other hand they get a camera whichis very reliable, so they don’t have times when thecamera is not working.

Ed: So there’s no down time?

Markus: No down time, right. That is a veryattractive situation for the freelancers, so that’s why wesee big success in the freelance area for the AMIRA,which is in our camera product portfolio, the mostfitting camera for freelancers – much more than theALEXA. The ALEXA Mini is probably also applicable, butthe AMIRA is a very universal camera. It can be usedfor pretty much every production type – it is the perfectcamera for all its ergonomics and everything.

Ed: This isn’t just for cinema type or documentarytype activities is it? The AMIRA, with its high definitionability, is a great documentary camera, but it can alsobe used for a whole variety of commercials or whatevera freelancer could do?

Markus: We see the AMIRA now being established inthe market, being used for very different types ofproduction. So certainly for documentaries, it’s theperfect camera, but in the same way, we see corporatevideos, we see music videos, we see sports – I do notmean live sports but the kind of sports reportage andTV shows, even TV serials if they are lower budget. It’sa very versatile, very universally used camera.

Ed: Any changes since NAB in accessories or thesoftware that’s available for it?

Markus: We are introducing here SUP 3.0 which isthe latest software for the AMIRA and this has a coupleof exciting features. One of them is that you can recordin MPEG2 at 50 megabit for that higher level, that’s 50megabit in an MXF container. That technically soundscomplicated; you can say simply it is XDCAMcompatible, so that provides for freelancers who haveclients who are in the TV broadcast space or in certainpostproduction spaces which require a format which iscomparable to XDCAM, because that is how they set uptheir postproduction workflow. If they can record thatformat in the camera, it’s a huge benefit to them.

Ed: So that’s on the internal recording in the camera?

Markus: That’s internal recording in the camera andit’s also a low data recording at 50 megabit, so yousave a lot of space on your card. If the image quality isstill the most important part for that certain production,then you can record with 50 megabit and you havemore recording time on your card.

Ed: Well that is a big change, and again it’s a case ofnot having to go out and buy a new camera; it’s a caseof just an upgrade?

Markus: Exactly. It makes it more flexible forexactly these kinds of owners who sometimes, for“bread and butter” jobs, need MPEG2 at 50 megabit andfor their kind of higher quality jobs they use the ProRescodec and then they have that huge benefit all in onecamera.

Ed: Is it a significant cost to implement this newcodec?

Markus: This is for free. It’s SUP 3.0 and it comesfor free.

Ed: Markus, I have to keep asking the question,because there are people out there who still don’t quiteget it. They think that well, you get anything, you’vegot to pay for it. But once you’ve got an ARRI, a lot ofthese updates are for free?

Markus: That’s why we say we have a veryfutureproof camera, because we continuously developnew functionality for the camera and we very easily cando that because our hardware architecture is FPGAbased and you can re-programme these FPGAs in a veryflexible way that allows us to put features into thecamera which we have not designed when we designedthe hardware for the camera. So that gives us thechance to keep the camera in our customers’ hands andto futureproof it – just like offering them a new camera.

Ed: Anything else on the AMIRA?

Page 34

Marcus and his pet AMIRA.

Markus: Yes there is much more – there is ProRes4444 XQ, so that’s just the opposite of MPEG2. It’s avery high quality codec – something between ProRes4444 and ARRIRAW and that is now also available in theAMIRA. Then we have multi-cam functionality – youcan remotely control the camera with the Sony RCP-1500 which is the remote control panel you typicallyuse for system cameras. You connect that to thecamera through an Ethernet connection and it can fullyremote control the camera and access its camera imageparameters. That is interesting for people who want touse the camera in a multi-camera environment.

Ed: Could you actually mix it in with – dare I say it –Sony cameras and it would act like a Sony camera?

Markus: It would act like a Sony camera in terms ofthe RCP operator. So he would operate the camerafrom the RCP standpoint like he would operate a Sonycamera.

Ed: But the picture would be better?

Markus: The picture should be better, that’s forsure. There are also a lot of little improvementsimplemented on the usability side, so status bars, userbuttons, such kinds of things which are not the bignews on the feature list, but which are sometimes a bighelp for the operator. They sound really small, butoperators love them and they get that function then.We get a lot of feedback from operators as to what theythink we could do better and we look at every input weget and then judge it as to how to do that, and thenimplement it.

Ed: But you could choose, as an operator, which ofthese you implement surely?

Markus: Of course, you don’t have to use thefunctions. These are things where the camera has a lotof functions to make the operator’s life easier, which isalways a good thing to do.

Ed: Okay, anything physical, any material changes?

Markus: There’s a new audio slot here which is newin that camera. This is an extension to the camera; youput it at the back end of the camera and you can put anaudio receiver into that slot. If you want to connect amixer or a microphone to record direct to the camera,you put that standardised receiver into the Unislot andany receivers according to that standard can fit in here.It’s only connected by one cable to the camera andthat’s all. It replaces the battery plate. On top of that,it has included a buffer battery, so with that thingconnected, we can change batteries without poweringdown the camera, and you have like 2 minutes or sotime to change the battery.

Ed: Wow, that’s the first time I’ve seen that in anymanufacturer?

Markus: There are battery manufacturers who dothings like that …

Ed: What, have buffer batteries in the recorder slot?

Markus: Not in the recorder slot, but just bufferbatteries as an extension – like a battery plate, thebuffer battery, but they are generally pretty large, sohaving that included in that slot makes a lot of sense.

Ed: Okay … and?

Markus: Little things like better design for the knobsaccessing and controlling the camera functions.

Ed: But this is in the latest version, so if you’vealready bought your AMIRA, you can’t change the knobssurely?

Markus: You could if you would bring it into serviceand ask them to do that. They could change the knobsas well.

Ed: So if it’s going for service anyway, you could havea knob upgrade?

Markus: That’s our service policy; once a camera

gets into service, the camera gets all the technical

updates which happened in between to the new

cameras. So they are all getting updated accordingly.

Ed: Not for free though surely?

Markus: It depends what it is. If it’s kind of a useful

thing, then it’s often for free, yes.

Now we move on to the ALEXA Mini. There’s been a lotof interest in this around the world and to talk to us

about it we have Michael Jonas.

Ed: Michael, this has been a great success for ARRI?

Michael: Actually it’s an overwhelming success. The

Mini has been out for 4 months now and we’re doing

very well. Demand is very strong.

Page 36

Ed: Are people finding new and exciting ways to usethem … is that what you’re discovering?

Michael: Yes. The Mini is designed to be an additionto our camera set. If you look at the traditional dramateam and camera kit, we were lacking a small camerathat fits in tight spaces, a camera which can be movedeasily, and used handheld.

Ed: So you don’t have to use a DSLR anymore?

Michael: Yes, or any other camera. The Mini has thesame sensor as our larger cameras, the same imagequality, the same colorimetry, the same dynamic range.It’s just a smaller package and therefore, in post, youdon’t have to worry about matching other cameras.You have one look and very consistent recordedmaterial.

Ed: So basically, you’re taking the ALEXA, putting allof the important bits into a box and leaving the otheradjustments I guess for external use?

Michael: We had to compromise on certain things.Compared to AMIRA, we are lacking audio capabilities.We are lacking connectors obviously. Also theruggedness of the camera …

Ed: Well, you wouldn’t really compare it to an AMIRAwould you – this is really an ALEXA comparison?

Michael: It’s actually our new architecture. TheALEXA has been around for 5 years; with the AMIRA wehave created a new platform for software and firmware.

Ed: Aaaah, so really this is more a development ofthe AMIRA, using that technology, rather than adevelopment from the ALEXA?

Michael: The ALEXA is currently at SUP 11; AMIRA isgetting SUP 3 and the same SUP levels between AMIRAand Mini is happening. We just created the software ina way that we can share a lot and compile it for both

hardware platforms. In that way, we get a lot ofsynergy and the improvements for AMIRA we can moveto the Mini. They are different hardware platforms, butthere’s a lot of synergy that we can use going forward.The user interface system is the same, the viewfinder isthe same, so improvements in the viewfinder and othersmall things, we can just take over and implementthem.

Ed: So since the Mini came out, you say you’re nowon version 3 of the software – so what have been thebig improvements there?

Michael: Well we released with version 2.5, that’sjust to be on a par with the versioning of the AMIRA.So version 3 is really compared to version 1 of AMIRAsystem build numbers internally. Version 3 right now isthe second back fix release. The current softwareversion for the ALEXA Mini is 2.6; 3.0 will be available in3 weeks, so early October probably. With 3.0, we getfeatures that have been designed for the AMIRA like thetime lapse recording functionality, but also a couple ofback fixes because there are some issues that we werestruggling with – the camera’s pretty new, it’s like 3months old and there is lots of feedback that we getfrom the field, corrections. The way we build camerasis that we always talk and listen to our customers andwhen things do not work the way our customers expectthem to, everything is built in a way so we can adjustthe software and adjust the internals in order to adaptso that we have happy customers. This is why we haveSUP 11 on the ALEXA. It kept improving over time andwe are adding features over time. It’s going to happenhere; it’s going to happen for AMIRA as well.

Ed: So, other improvements in version 3?

Michael: Well version 3 is mostly for AMIRA so itadded the 50 megabit MPEG and the time lapserecording.

Ed: There is internal recording in the Mini, right?

Michael: Yes but it has just a single slot. You don’thave extensive audio capabilities; it’s the same sensor –it’s actually a larger sensor than on the AMIRA becauseit’s a 4x3 sensor, not a 16x9, so this thing can doanamorphic, that’s what we show with 3.0, we have ananamorphic prototype. The real 4x3 mode is going tobe released with 4.0 in November, potentially. It will doARRIRAW, it does anamorphic, so it is a real companionto our large studio cameras. It will do ARRIRAW, OpenGate internally; you will be able to do a higherframerate with an external recorder.

Ed: So in making a comparison between the ALEXAMini and the ALEXA, even though the Mini is in manyways newer technology, it’s still a case of “this is acompanion to a full size ALEXA, it’s not a replacement”?

Michael: No, it’s not a replacement. It’s acomplement of the set of tools. If you’re doing a largescale production, and you have an ALEXA 65 and anSXT and the Mini, every camera has special things thatit can do best. If you’re using a large zoom on yourcamera, the size and form factor of the Mini doesn’thave any advantages anymore, because your cameraset actually is heavy anyway because of the lens,because of the motors you need. And then theadvantages of the Mini actually decrease and theruggedness of the ALEXA and the medium like theCodex Mags and things like that become moreimportant, so for a standard tripod based “A” camera,the ALEXA is de facto the best choice.

Ed: I would say for rig operators, the Mini would beideal?

Michael: Yes, and if you’re doing car rigs, if youhave special purposes, if you use it on a drone, you canuse the Mini on a drone.

Page 38

Michael and friend with the ALEXA Mini.

Ed: That’s a bit of an insurance choice though surely?

Michael: No there are a lot of people doing this. Iwould say, a good portion of the customers we haveuse drones or they use handheld gimbals, which is alsoa new option that hasn’t been present before in thesetypes of productions.

On the other hand, if you are, for example, a natural

history cameraman and you can only afford to have one

camera and you have to stick your camera in your

backpack and you want the best image, that camera is

a perfect choice. Then of course, it

replaces the ALEXA for these cases, but

the natural history cameramen who used

ALEXA before, they actually struggle

quite a bit by carrying all the equipment

to the field.

That is changed with the Mini as well.We have natural history people who usethe Mini in the field successfully, like inarctic regions, in the jungle, whereveryou have to go and you have to go leanwith the small package, the Mini is agood choice. Or, if you’re a low budgetproduction and you cannot afford to havemultiple cameras, but you have arequirement to use a gimbal, a handheldgimbal, or small kit, because kit becomesless expensive if the camera is gettingsmaller, so you don’t use a big arm, youcan use a small arm. You don’t have tocarry a lot of counterweights with you –

hundreds of kilos.

Ed: It reduces your whole kit immensely?

Michael: If you want to use a five metre arm and afull size ALEXA compared to the Mini, it’s literally 100kilos of counterweight that you spare. If you cannotafford to have the full kit, if you cannot afford to havemultiple cameras, then the Mini is also a good choice forlow budget production.

Ed: But still maintaining the quality?

Michael: And still maintaining the quality, yes. NZVN

Page 39