Product Notes & News
New website at NDIstuff.uk
No "new" news any more...
There will probably be no further News updates since ZEN Computer Services is 95% closed due to martin's retirement.
OLD NEWS
Create NDI routing switchers in any size from 6in-2out up to 20in-24out
Colour Gradient Background generator for NDI
ZEN and Magewell at IBC 2016 - Amsterdam RAI 9-13 September
Martin was in Amsterdam for the IBC 2016 exhibition and could be found (for much of the time) on Magewell's booth C79 in Hall 5 (that's at the northern end of the complex, to the right as you enter via the main entrances) The Magewell booth featured the 4K cards along with the rest of the product range of PCIe and USB3 video capture devices. There was also a demonstration of NDI, using a Quad input Pro Capture card to ingest multiple HD input signals and transmit them to a second PC via NDI. (This was almost 2 years before Magewell announced the introduction of their Pro Convert hardware NDI encoders!)
NOTE: The ZEN office in Salford is usually closed for the duration of IBC in September. |
Shaune Harrison Make-up AcademyWe had an interesting neighbour, co-located in the same building as ZEN during the late 2010s. Specialising in prosthetics for film & television, the make-up academy will run a range of courses including:-
Shaune is a highly experienced proponent of prosthetics, having worked on films like Star Wars Ep1, Captain America, The DaVinci Code, World War Z, The Fifth Element, Sleepy Hollow, Stardust, The Mummy and the Harry Potter series. For more information, see shauneharrisonacademy.com |
now relocated to the Wirral
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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera + B4 lens tests
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Lighting in modern office buildingsInspired by the techniques shown at the IOV "Shooting the Perfect Interview" Roadshows back in 2009, in this short video Martin talks about, and demonstrates, the benefits of using lighting when filming in modern office buildings. With modern cameras able to get a well exposed picture in fairly low light, it's easy to forget what a difference lighting can make.
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 Click on image to enlarge |
The changing face of ManchesterThose of you who have bought systems from us in the last few years may be familiar with our "Manchester Skyline" Windows wallpaper image (left) taken in January 2003 (from outside our old premises in Salford Quays). There has been a huge increase in residential building in the city since then, including the Beetham Tower, so we thought we'd offer an updated image from Summer 2006 (right). |
Looking back at Caption Generation ...
Back in the days before microprocessors, Character Generators were members of
the Graphics Department armed with sheets of Letraset and cardboard. The
finished caption cards were then handed over to the stage crew who acted as
"Caption Pullers". For a title caption sequence, cards were stacked in shooting
order alternately into two separate piles (like A/B film rolls) and placed on
blackboard-style easels somewhere in the studio. Two cameras (and cameramen)
would be assigned to shooting the captions, with the Vision Mixer switching
between them. As soon as the red light went out on the camera, the Caption
Puller would pull the top caption off the pile and the cameraman would frame up
on the one underneath.
The more complicated captions were made as a multi-layer cardboard sandwich,
with holes in the front layer behind which cardboard tabs could be pulled out to
reveal additional text or images beneath. Each one had to be individually made
by hand and, with a few exceptions like the opening/closing station logo, could
rarely be used again. (read more...)
The art of better sound - when to say "No" (article on the support page)
For some people, their experience of recording sound starts with making wedding videos or recording other live events. As a sound recordist, you’re there to capture whatever is happening, as best you can. Getting better sound under those conditions usually involves better equipment, or making better use of what you’ve already got. But not all shoots are like that, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that’s the only way of working. What I’m saying is that whenever you can have any control over your environment, you should try to make use of it.
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