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Daniel Smith

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Everything posted by Daniel Smith

  1. Thanks for the feedback Freya, it's surprisingly difficult, at this stage of my dissertation at least, coming up with solid questions. I'll try to define my question a bit further. I'm glad you mentioned teletext, I overlooked that completely. I really am exploring the past century of converged technology, covering areas such early acquisition methods, looking at the developments in interoperability etc. Discounting micro-processors as anything IT related, what other areas of broadcast do you feel may have become reliant on information technology, if any? If computers were not invented, what aspects of broadcast do you think would change? Could broadcast survive without it? I realise these are not short questions, but any thoughts, points or discussion would be really helpful. Thanks again.
  2. Hi, I am currently writing my dissertation exploring the convergence between information technology and broadcast. I am looking at the impact information technology has had on our industry, what advantages it has brought, and also any disadvantages. If you help me out and answer the following questions and share your thoughts that would be fantastic. Do you think it is a good thing broadcast and information technologies are merging to create hybrid systems? And why? Has the broadcasting industry become reliant upon information technology? Please explain your answer. How does the reliability of traditional broadcast equipment weigh up against the extra functionality offered within hybrid broadcast systems? Broadcast is still relying on BARB statistics to count a programmes viewers, whilst Youtube.com are able to produce instantaneous viewing statistics, with ratings, feedback and far greater levels of interactivity. Why are the broadcasting industry taking so long to adopt and make use of these information technologies to enhance its own experience? If you can share your thoughts that would be great. I would like to reference what is said, so if you could leave any credentials, such as qualifications/length of time working in the industry, that are not on your cinematography.com profile that would great. Thanks in advance.
  3. Thanks for the reply Phil. Interesting blog you posted the link to, fortunately I have no affiliation with any ltd company, so at least they can't use that against me. I can only apply and see what happens.
  4. Hi, I'm just looking for a bit of advice if anyone can help. Myself and many other casual based employees have had their casual status terminated, but with the hope of continuing business but on a freelance basis. I'm registered as self employed, however the company I want to remain doing business with is requesting a Lorimer letter, otherwise known as an LP10 letter. I have been in touch with HMRC about this, and I am in the process of compiling my application for the request of one. My question is, has anyone here applied for one of these letters? After some basic research, they don't seem very easy to apply for successfully, due to obscure rules surrounding it. I can't see in a world that is turning more and more towards freelancers, they can rely on enough people with these letters if they are that difficult to be applicable for. I'm new to the Lorimer letter so please excuse my ignorance, I've been freelancing for almost 2 years now and I've never needed one until now. Any advice, information or tips with my application would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
  5. I'm not making comparisons with MP3 downloads and VHS tapes or implying films should cost 99 cents, I'm disagreeing that any one film should be priced at £15 or £17.99. I have a cinema membership that I pay £15 a month for that allows me to see any of the films that are showing, unlimited times on a huge screen with 2k projection. Why would I bother paying that money for one film that I'll probably only watch a few times? I can appreciate that a hard copy is often looked upon as being more valuable than something stored on a hard drive somewhere, but it's the way home entertainment is moving, as is evident from music downloads, and illegal movie downloads. I'm not always convinced it's just the "free" part that is driving illegal downloads, it's the convenience. Why not make use of the technology available, and create a legal, convenient and reasonably priced outlet, to cater for and encourage the new 'digital generation', instead of threatening them with lawsuits.
  6. Just adding on from that, I think the whole physical medium is going out. A lot of peoples use of computers including my own is going cloud based, as it's not so uncommon for people to be using multiple systems to access and modify the same work. I think the future of home entertainment is steering towards wireless NAS drives or cloud based storage readily accessible by TV's, mobile phones, laptops and desktop computers. What needs work on is a digital licensing system so that it's more difficult to distribute the media, but equally it's far easier and quicker to purchase HD/3D content. Combined with a reasonable price I don't think it's impossible.
  7. Perhaps if Blu-rays and music CD's weren't so expensive in the first place people wouldn't bother downloading illegally. £15 ($23) for 'Killer Elite' or £17.99 ($28) for 'Final Destination 5' in 3D? They're hardly collectibles.
  8. I appreciate these styles of film making may be reminiscent of fond cinematic 'childhood' memories for film makers like Spielberg, but I just get the impression this film belongs in the 90's. But then that's a given when the protagonist is a horse.
  9. On the contrary, the mistake I made (when I actually studied film) was watching too many films that were highly regarded for their cinematography. I had no sense of contrast between good and bad cinematography, and therefore found it difficult to fully appreciate films like Citizen Kane and The Godfather.
  10. I know it's a little bit early to be posting here, but the opening times for the Broadcast Video Expo at Earls Court (London) are: Tue 14th Feb 09:30 - 18:00 Wed 15th Feb 09.30 - 18.00 Thu 16th Feb 09.30 - 16.30 I will be there on Wednesday, I can't make any other day unfortunately due to commitments at university. But I'll be up for a meet up if anyone is interested. Cheers.
  11. I think the Kino will work for lighting key subjects at close range, but for background I'd imagine a HMI bounced off some poly would be more effective. I could be wrong though, perhaps someone here with a bit more experience in lighting can help out. Apologies if you already know this, but just remember to grade the photos.. it's difficult getting the white balance and exposure 100% perfect for every shot when you've got people standing/sitting there posing, and lowering skin detail can often help give you that silky look you seen in a lot of professional photography. For example,
  12. I tried using continuous lights for photography once, despite the power of the lights it was still border-lining the correct exposure without dropping the shutter speed too low. From what I remember I was using 3x 800watt red heads. But then again I was using an f3.5-5.6 lens.. Maybe you'll have better luck, but I've always used Bowens flash heads with soft boxes for any photographic work, and I've always been happy with them.
  13. I remember once shooting a student documentary in Chislehurst Caves, and where it was cold I've never seen the batteries drain so quick. This only a suggestion but maybe it's worth keeping the spare batteries in Thermos bags?
  14. I heard a figure once that sound accounted for about 80% of the viewers perception, of a film. I don't know how true that is, but it's certainly an indicator that the sound should be looked after atleast as well as the video, which is something I don't see happen very often in indie films. It's worth learning a bit of theory, as this will affect the way the sound is both recorded, mixed and mastered. Quantisation noise, and aliasing are good things to start looking into.
  15. I'm just trying to work out how the sound operator is able to judge if the new vocals have been recorded with enough accuracy, before any post-alignment.
  16. Hi, I had a few quick questions about ADR if anyone has the time to help answer them. I've never done ADR myself, but I find the concept interesting. I saw a clip on YouTube somewhere the actor is fed the original recorded sound, but with a series of metronome clicks before their next line to serve as their cue. Is this true throughout most ADR? In terms of lining the audio up, do major film productions use automatic software for lineup or are they manually adjusted? I've been looking at 'Vocalign', a plugin for most major DAW's, it seems to do a pretty amazing job from the examples I've seen. Does the operator not listen to the original sound whilst recording, but just the live sound being recorded sound along with the video to see if they match roughly? Or do they listen to both the original and live sound being recorded to try and ascertain how much difference there is between them? Also, how long is it expected for ADR to take? For instance, a minute long sequence full of dialogue, is it a lengthy process? I don't necessarily mean with all the post effects, I mean just a clean vocal record, aligned to match the original sound. My last question is really the percentage of audio being replaced. Whilst I understand that either most or all the audio is replaced in post, is this really the case, even for extreme vocal work? By extreme vocal work I mean, an actors voice and tone slightly distorting due to emotion, either through extreme anger or upset. The reason I ask is that I've been paying a bit more attention to the ADR work in recent films, and I find it incredible the actors/actresses are able to reproduce that kind of emotion in their voice, in a sound booth or recording studio. But maybe I'm just underestimating their talent.. Any information is appreciated.
  17. Still very impressive though, I'd love to see some laser beam pulses through some haze.
  18. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16163931 Would be great to see this used in film somewhere.
  19. The behind the scenes photos were showing engineering students building the cameras and flyaway, and the operational students operating the kit during the shows. There were many industry delegates at the show, so it was good for the companies PR. The pictures will also be used on the rental companies web site along with a brief testimonial from myself. It's important I mention though that the equipment was kept inside the college at all times. I'm guessing your shoot is being shot outside the university, so you may need to swing it so that the insurance covers third party equipment whilst in and outside the university premises. Be very careful when promising future business, this can ruin any chance of future negotiations if you don't fulfill what you said you would, and not just for you either. You end up tarnishing yourself, university and fellow students.
  20. Following from what Brian was saying, check your college's insurance policy. All of the equipment I borrowed was covered under my college.
  21. You might be able to blag a sponsorship deal. Last summer I blagged an 8 camera HD flyaway, in return for some photos, it's the way you word it that makes the difference. Don't ask to a hire a camera for free because you're a student, say you're struggling to find resources for your shoot and ask if they are able to offer any help in any way, and work out some sponsorship benefits to offer them as well. Oh, and don't bother e-mailing any one. Phone, or talk in person.
  22. I'd like to, but I've got a fair bit of work to get through. Will be at the BVE though if anyone's up for a drink then. Will post back here nearer the time.
  23. I've always thought the TV or broadcast industry in the UK was doing well. It's the film industry we seem to lack.
  24. SSD hard drives are great for speed, but they are very expensive for the disk space they offer. Personally I would buy an SSD hard drive as my scratch disk, and use the SATA hard drive for storage. More RAM helps, I can edit quite comfortably using 6GB, but 8 is recommended. The speed of the RAM is also something to consider.
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