In Broadcast - January 2013 - 37

ISSUE 15 - JANUARY 2013 | WWW.INBROADCAST.COM

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

InFOCUS

Lights, Steadi And Of Course Filters!
Tiffen is synonymous with ﬁlters, but it also offers glass effects simulation software, lights from Lowel and camera support equipment such as the Steadicam range…
models offer performance at a costeffective price. The Shadow, is a heavy duty, high performance big rig that carries payloads of 9.1kg to 22kg. It includes a 74cm to 124cm telescoping carbon fibre post coupled to the stage, with a +/– 20 degree tilt head, and terminating in a new solid base. The rig can include a 800 NIT HD/SDI/SD monitor, dual monitor mounts and dual battery mount. Zephyr, another new rig, supports 4kg to 10.4kg payloads, includes a 7-inch LCD monitor and is wired for television operation. The Scout supports 2.3kg to 8kg payloads, is available in SD and HD models, has a dual-axis vernier adjustable stage and a seven-inch wide-viewing-angle monitor and a choice of battery mounts.

Practical Lighting
Tiffen Dfx software includes comprehensive Tiffen Filter simulations

i f fe n s t a r te d o u t a s a manufacturer of optical ﬁlters for the motion picture industry. Today it offers a range of over 2,000 types of ﬁlters for television, HDSLR and for motion picture production. The company’s products also include a line of support and accessories such as Steadicam camera stabilisers and Lowel lights. With its European base at Pinewood, Tiffen is well positioned to serve and support the wide range of cameras and operators that work with them. The London Filter Company, a part of Tiffen at Pinewood, offers hire and purchase of Tiffen ﬁlters together with help and advice. There is a huge range of effects ﬁlters that help to create a required in-camera look. Obviously this needs to be tried and tested before the shoot and Tiffen Dfx software, that includes simulations of most Tiffen ﬁlters, is available for Windows and Mac platforms as standalone and plugins. It provides a quick and easy way to experiment and get an accurate preview of the look. Then you can shoot

using the chosen glass ﬁlter and reliably create that look in-camera. Solution filters craft the light reaching your imaging chip to reliably capture the results you want – without any that you didn’t want. Most modern cameras use CMOS imagers which are designed to capture a wide spectrum of light, including deep into the reds. Each chip and camera is different and, unlike ﬁlm, you cannot change the chip; it has to perform in all lights. For example neutral density (ND) ﬁlters reduce the light and so help to control exposure – maybe to open up the iris and create a ‘big format’ shallow depth-of-focus look. T i f f e n offers a wide range of NDs both fixed and a very useful 77mm variable two-to-eight stop ND. Pollution ﬁlters include ultraviolet ﬁlters and these are well understood. However, at the other end of the spectrum, capturing those gorgeous reds can come at a price as infrared (IR) pollution may spill over, but it’s not easy to predict when. Known IR culprits include images of
Smooth shooting – Steadicam Scout

some black man-made ﬁbres that then appear as muddy red, but it takes a keen eye to keep checking if it’s in the image. Besides its IR ﬁlters, Tiffen also offers a range of combination IRND ﬁlters that avoid possible problems when using separate IR and ND ﬁlters together. To see the recommended ﬁlters, see the latest Tiffen ‘IR Solutions – HD Camera Filter Chart’ on the website.

Shooting Freedom
Steadicam was invented by cameraman Garrett Brown who famously used the device on its ﬁrst movies Bound for Glory, Marathon Man, Rocky and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The invention of Steadicam was so revolutionary that it won both an Oscar and an Emmy for technical achievement. With the camera no longer tied down to a tripod or limited to rails, Steadicam makes a whole plethora of shot-making possible. The Steadicam range offers stabilisers to support all sizes of cameras, and necessary on-board accessories, for every shoot from motion-picture cinematography to broadcast television, GoPro and iPhoneography. The same principals of excellence apply throughout the range to reliably produce the renowned smooth camera shots – even when running over rough ground. The Iso-Elastic arm is just one of many unique features of Steadicam, and the range is constantly evolving to meet speciﬁc market needs. New

Lowel has a long established reputation for versatile, portable, practical lights. Now focusing on LED technology it selects only the best with a high Colour Rendering Index to provide quality lights that result in quality pictures. Its Blender run-and-gun light comprises twin arrays of high CRI LEDs producing light that allows crisp and more naturally coloured pictures. Controls on the 100x75x75mm lamphead provide continuous adjustment of the daylight and tungsten LED intensities to deliver light that blends to make shots look naturally lit. The GL-1 Power LED light is designed for quick and effective tungsten lighting on the go. The 5:1 focus range can zero in to highlight a subject with a tight spot or pull out to wide ﬂood and add ﬁll-light to a larger area. The Lowel Prime LED collection now includes the 200 and 400 models, each available in dedicated daylight or tungsten colour versions. With a high CRI of 90+ these offer a bright and wide beam output. Originally designed for studio use, these lights are proving to be effective for all types of location production sets.

Lowel GL-1 Power LED light offers tungsten lighting on the go

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In Broadcast - January 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - January 2013