IN FOCUSDecember 2011 Issue 116

The GTC is pleased to announce that Vitec

Group PLC's Videocom Division, whose brands include Vinten and Sachtler, will be prime sponsors of the Zerb Awards 2012.

Vitec's generous contribution guarantees a superb occasion and enables the weekend to be the flagship event of the GTC's 40th year celebrations. The event has combined the GTC's social weekend and the annual awards.

Nadene Sayer, Vitec Videocom Head of Marketing Services commented:"Vitec Videocom is pleased to be associated with this prestigious event in the cameraman's year and look forward to celebrating the GTC’s 40th year with them"

It is also hoped that further sponsors will come on board in the near future.

Major Sponsorship for GTC 40th Anniversary Event

THE AWARDS WEEKEND RETURNS

After ten years the GTC AGM and Awards are

once again united in an annual social weekend event.

BACK TO OUR ROOTSThe GTC Awards returns to its origins. In May 1972 a few cameramen gathered in a room in Central Television Birmingham for the inaugural meeting of what was to become the Guild of Television Cameramen. In May 2012 cameramen will be once again meeting in a room in Birmingham - but this time to celebrate excellence, enjoy comradeship, exchange knowledge and of course appreciate endurance.

THE TIME THE PLACEThe weekend is being held at the prestigious IET Austin Court in Brindley Place, Birmingham

on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 May, 2012. Austin Court is based around a distinguished group of Georgian buildings, grouped around a beautifully landscaped courtyard.

It’s the 40th Anniversary of the GTC and it is planned to celebrate the occasion for the whole year - not just a single day. However this weekend will be the keynote event of the year and one not to be missed.

The event team has incorporated two masterclasses from the GTC workshop programme into the schedule.

Bring your own camera and check out its performance and update your lighting skills under the watchful eye of our most respected tutors.

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The March edition of GTC In Focus will contain full details of this weekend and all the other events associated with the 40th anniversary celebrations. In the meantime, up to date information can be obtained by looking at our website www.gtc.org.uk or byncontacting the GTC events organiser John Tarby. events@gtc.org.uk

by Events Organiser John Tarby

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EDITORGTC IN FOCUSRoger RichardsBriar CottageHolyhead RoadLlanfairpwllGwynedd, LL61 5YXTel: 01248 713535 07831 615691infocus@gtc.org.uk

IN FOCUS

ADVERTISING MANAGERJames French3 Alexander AvenueDroitwich SpaWorcestershireWR9 8NHTel: 01905 796910 07855 743 845advertising@gtc.org.uk

MEMBERSHIP ADMINISTRATIONRoger Richards administration@gtc.org.uk

Tel: 0300 111 4123

A PUBLICATION OF THE GUILD OF TELEVISION CAMERAMEN

PRESS DATESThe press dates for theMarch 2012 edition of GTC In Focus are:

Editorial Copy: February 15, 2012 Advertising Copy: March 1, 2012 Mailout: March 15, 2012

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Matthew Ford Freelance Camera OperatorLondon

Richard Gooderick Freelance Film MakerMiddlesex

Stewart Hadfield Camera & Video Editor Middlesex

Kate Harvest Freelance Camera Operator Greater Manchester

Matt HillStudent (Ravensbourne)Kent Chris Hollier Freelance Lighting Cameraman Worcester Nick McLachlan Freelance Cameraman Chertsey, Surrey

Gethin Roberts Trainee CameramanLlanrug, Gwynedd Andrew Rodger Senior TV Cameraman Leigton Buzzard, Bucks

Emiel Spoelder Freelance Lighting Cameraman Netherlands Shaun Wilton Shooting PartnersSurrey

THE GTC WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

2 GTC News 6 SIZE Matters : A quest for the ideal compact camera 10 Workshop: The Salford Quays

12 BVE Goes North 14 Kit News 16 Polishing to Perfection: The technology behind the ideal lens cloth

20 Review: The ideal crew transport? The VW Transporter 23 The Golden Age of Television 24 Insurance Matters

CONTENTS

John Hoare, GTC Vice Chairman, writes:

Readers may remember my recent article in this magazine about GTC plans to set up a digital archive of (mainly) photographs and video material relating to our Guild over the years. I am delighted that Simon Curtis of Feature Films (www.featurefilms.co.uk) has come up with ideas about what we could do, and perhaps more importantly an offer to set up the archive.

Our next step is to find out what is out there. So far, although we have asked you to let us know what you have, response has been frankly dismal. We know that there is plenty of material, and when we raised the idea at a recent AGM there was huge support, but we need a bit more than that if we are to put in the necessary effort and expenditure.

Next year is our 40th Anniversary, and a shiny new archive would be a fitting accompaniment, so please support Simon. Here is his request:

‘The Guild is looking to develop a digital media database for existing and ongoing material relating to the work of the Television Cameraman. This database could be made available to GTC members where appropriate and, subject to copyright, could also provide

resources to other interested parties for research/publicity etc. Those owning outright and/or in possession of past GTC magazines and newsletters*, photographs and/or video (either in hard copy or data file) depicting Cameramen at work, or relating to past GTC activities, and who would be willing for the GTC to hold a copy of this within the Digital Archive are asked, in the first instance, to contact the Digital Curator with quantities and format to evaluate costs and practicality.

Simon Curtis,Digital CuratorDigital.curator@gtc.org.uk(or leave a message with Roger Richards, our Administration Officer)

* We have unearthed enough copies of ‘Zerb’ from the year 2000 on, and ‘GTC In Focus’ from issue 85, February 2004, but for the earlier ones the situation is much more variable. Some are missing completely, and in other cases we have one library copy but need another because the best and cheapest way to digitise the pages involves breaking up the magazine.

ARCHIVEA GTC Project

GTC NEWS

COUNCIL NOMINATIONS2012 is a GTC Election Year Nominations are now being sought for all Council Positions for 2012 to 2014. A nomination form is enclosed with this magazine. Should you wish to nominate a member for election, please remember to ask the person you are nominating if they are willing to stand and also that they realise the commitments they will undertake.

Complete the form including your name and membership number. Any member of the GTC may nominate another member. There is no limit to the number of nominations a member may make.

Nominations may only be made by post to the GTC Admin Address and must be received by 12 noon on March 27, 2012.

If more than 20 nominations are received an Election will be called and voting papers will be sent out, along with the AGM Agenda, in due course.

The GTC AGM will form part of the 40th Anniversary Awards Event on May 11, 2012.

If you wish to make more than one nomination photocopies of the form are acceptable, or please contact the administration office for further copies.

GTC member DoP Martin Hawkins has been awarded the top award at this year's Royal Television Society Craft and Design Awards: the Lifetime Achievement Award. He collected the award on Monday 21 November at the Savoy Hotel in London, during a ceremony hosted by Myleene Klass. The RTS introduced the presentation with the following words: “The recipient of this special award made his mark in the late 1980s, running across fields chasing a young woman in ‘Challenge Anneka’. This is where he perfected his hand-held camera technique as well as getting extremely fit. “Very soon he would make an even bigger impression on many of the top comedy series of the last 20 years, such as ‘Drop the Dead Donkey’, ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Harry Enfield’, ‘Vicar of Dibley’, ‘Little Britain’, Peter Kay's ‘Live Shows’, ‘French and Saunders’, ‘Outnumbered’, ‘Armstrong and Miller’ and ‘The IT Crowd’, to name but a few. “His sense of humour and infectious laughter, combined with his skill at lighting and capturing the story, have made him the first choice for many producers and directors. He is a joy to work with. Martin has gone on to work especially well with writers/performers/directors such as Richard Ayoade on Garth Marenghi's ‘Darkplace’, and more recently with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on ‘Extras’ and ‘Life's Too Short’.”

RTS Lifetime Achievement Award for GTC Member Martin Hawkins

At the beginning of July this year we received

the totally unexpected and rather sad news that Nuffield Press of Abingdon (a 90-year old firm), who had been the printers for Zerb for the previous five years, had gone into administration. With just a couple of weeks to go before the scheduled print deadline for the Autumn issue, the pressure was on to find a replacement printer who could not only handle the printing but also our mailing and storage requirements at very short notice.

The result of a hurried trawl of a range of different print options was that the contract was awarded to Information Press of Eynsham who have proved to be very efficient, helpful and cost-effective. Despite the last-minute nature of the whole operation, remarkably, the magazine actually came out ahead of schedule. There were a couple of small teething problems but, having been involved in several changes of printer now, this unfortunately seems to be a

inevitable part of the process while everyone gets used to each others’ way of working through this rather ‘black art’.

As far as we can tell, the distribution also seems to have been very efficient although there have been a couple of reports of copies not reaching their (mainly overseas) destinations. Please do always let us know if you don’t receive your copy since unless we hear anything we tend to assume the mailing system is working well.

Information Press is a small independent printer just outside Oxford at Eynsham. Their symbol, an owl, was chosen because it is ‘intelligent, fast, accurate with excellent vision and widely loved’. Since this is quite local for me, I was pleased to be able to go and watch Zerb going through on the press (their biggest eight-colour Heidelberg 1028p B1 press) – quite a thrill as I have never

GTC member Michael Brennan wins award at Golden Eye Festival Cameramen Michael Brennan has won in the ‘Best Risk Shot’ category at the Golden Eye 2011 International Festival of Movie and TV Cameramen, held in Batumi, Georgia

New Printer Meets ZERB Deadline

actually witnessed this before despite being involved with a scary 36 issues of Zerb). I was also shown some of the lithographic plates being prepared.

The next issue (Spring 2012) will be with Information Press at the end of January in time to be ready for BVE 2012 at Earls Court.

by Zerb Managing Editor Alison Chapman

The award was made for an incredible low-angle slow-

motion shot of a large building imploding. This shot was captured at 500 frames per second using a camera built into a bomb-proof case. Although the case was made of laminated steel with an internal frame and ten millimetre polycarbonate front cover, even the strongest of boxes would have been crushed if the thousands of tons of rubble were to fall onto it. The solution was to pull the camera out of harm’s way after it had captured the shot but before it could be damaged or buried under rubble. Mike organised a track, made of scaffolding tubes and purpose-built cross bars, secured to the ground with twelve inch spikes. The dolly was powered by bungy cords, like a huge bow and arrow, triggered by two separate explosive charges attached to a tether. The dolly and payload weighed 120 kilogrammes and ran at 32 miles per hour for 150 feet. Mike Brennan comments: “The shot was in the back of my mind after I had successfully captured numerous implosions with cameras in innovative angles inside and on top of buildings - and I still have a few tricks up my sleeve for more interesting angles."

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76

Do you look at your camera gear and think ‘My kit’s too big’? Full-size broadcast cameras give great pictures and look impressive. But the big camera also screams ‘TV Crew’ and therefore often provides a ‘warped’ view of events. People react differently to a big TV camera or simply turn them away. Worst of all, I have no doubt that big kit intimidates interviewees in a way smaller cameras do not. So here’s an idea; cover news with a small camera. Keep the craft, but in compact form.

SIZE Matters

Cameraman Andy Portch from Sky’s Beijing bureau is on a quest for the ideal compact camera.

My experience shooting news with the Canon

5DMKII was a visual triumph, but the paraphernalia and workflow was overwhelming. Following 2010, the year of the DSLR, 2011 saw the emergence of compact large sensor video cameras. The latest Canon CS300 incorporates an onboard HD broadcast recorder.

Micro four thirds (MFT) caught my eyes. Smaller, cheaper and with cross over between the Panasonic GH2 video DSLR and AF101 video cameras. The AF101 has an ND filter wheel, XLR audio inputs, variable frame rate and dial-in white balance. I almost love it, except for... focus, focus and focus. I have lobbied hard for EVF and LCD magnification which will likely be incorporated into Panasonic’s next camera., The ND filter wheel is the critical plus factor. I would not recommend a video camera without one.

Working alongside the AF101, the GH2 video DSLR is discrete with improved video function over the Canon 5D MKII. The GH2 has a crisp EVF with image magnification which dispenses with the Zacuto LCD loupe. Shallow depth of field is more manageable. I can still use manual full-frame lenses with a low-cost adapter. In fact, the beauty is I can carry the same creative stack of lenses for use with my GH2, GF2 or AF101 video cameras. My trusty Billingham bag (16 inches long) was the defining

maximum size for the AF101 rig. If it ended up any bigger I’d failed. The compact camera concept had to be ready to record in broadcast HD quality straight from the Billingham bag. I’ve used the GH2 and AF101 extensively this year and to illustrate different issues will referv to a portfolio of five news stories. My correspondent in Beijing is Holly Williams who has supported my sometimes tiresome quest.

Chinese Hackers: Shot with the AF101. This was an alarming

story given the ease with which this young computer hacker accessed email and credit card passwords! I shot in the dark with Contax Zeiss CY prime lenses and a bit of slider and loved it. Despite recording in AVCHD I had comments from colleagues about how wonderfully sharp the images were. Most manual full-frame lenses are perfectly adaptable to MFT with a two times magnification factor (x1.86 with the GH2). The Zeiss CY are easily cine modified, aperture de-clicked and damped. They have a comfortable focus throw and gorgeous Zeiss image quality. The Zeiss CY 50mm 1.4 is a gem. The Canon FD is also a good manual lens option. More expensive adapters exist for Canon EF. Nikon/ Nikkor lenses I haven’t personally used because they focus in the opposite direction.

The AF101 does not handle highlights well. - they lose all detail very quickly and unless blown highlights are out of focus they look awful. But underexpose a touch and the problem goes away. I’ve tweaked my Cine Gamma settings, and still get fairly vivid colour and contrast. I do grade, but, if I like the ‘look’ straight from the cameras I have the option not to grade for a rush news edit.

The AF101 unscrews top and side handles to add accessories or brackets very easily. The ‘eureka’ moment for me came when I started using Olof Ekberg, of Westside AV’s, side bracket and wooden handle. Not only was it comfortable, but at last I knew where the on/off button was. I’m experimenting with a short padded tail that puts the AF101 camera on my shoulder without moving the centre of gravity forward. Baby Buying: Shot with the AF101 and Nanoflash. I shot sequences for a Chinese baby buying scandal story mainly with the Nokton and Zeiss

lenses. Again, using the slider resulted in lots of positive feedback. The slider is a real creative bonus, but when your subject is jumpy and really wants to head for the door, it takes nerve to create steady moves. There is a ‘slider in news’ debate raging but in my view it is fine to use the slider as long as you don’t loose sight of when it is not appropriate aswell as whether it is physically possible.

The compact system is extremely lightweight and my back loves it. I look at my P2HD shoulder-mounted camera with dread now. Lighter cameras mean lighter accessories. Everything on my AF101 and GH2 has the same Manfrotto 394 QR plates. I can move instantly from one piece of kit to another. I use a Miller DS10 head on Solo legs lighter, higher and lower than my Video18P. I carry a compact Kessler slider V2 that works a treat, especially now I have fitted the carriage brake! If I’m

in a controlled environment then the SmallHD DP6 is a great monitor. The DP6 is rugged and sharp. A single Canon LP6 battery will last a morning. The only downside is that the DP6 screen appears rather yellow when you first switch on!

China Tibetan region; Self -immolating monks: Shot with the GH2 video DSLR. This was a real test. I’m used to working as a journalist in China and being harassed and interfered with by police and plain clothes thugs.

The GH2 video DLSR has repeatedly shown its value, getting quality video in sensitive locations. (Its baby brother the GF2 has also been used, including a Bangkok ‘Lady boys’ doco.!). In Sichuan the police were all over us. We used every dodge in the book and over a couple of days managed to capture images of temples and monks to tell the story. We also shot material we could not

be broadcast for fear of what would happen to those we had met. Security is very, very tight in the Tibetan areas of Sichuan province. Every temple has a police station and the authorities knew exactly where we had been.

We were eventually sent to the airport. The GH2 had done its job, but the ND situation was a mess. I’d opted against the variable ND (which I’d found rather soft on the 5D) in favour of screw in ND8 (3 stop) filters. I had figured I’d be either outside or inside! In fact this turned into a real pain as we repeatedly sneaked indoors/outdoors which meant constant panicky filter changes. It is unbelievably bright in the mountains and I also had a tiny Sony AVCHD handycam that couldn’t stop down enough to shoot outdoors. I did use shots from this camera but it was tough trying to match them to the GH2. The other factor with the GH2 is that the small size makes it hard to hold without vibration from the blood pumping through your hands. Admittedly I was a bit stressed, but there are visible bumps even with the wide angle! I used the Nokton at F0.95, about two stops wider than I normally do. I was hand held at late dusk and had to sway gently to find the narrowest plain of focus. The GH2 is a surprisingly good low light performer. You can crank up the ISO and use the ‘nostalgia’ film mode, which actually had nothing to do with nostalgia, but did lift the shadows considerably. I find the GH2 easier to focus than the AF101! One-press EVF image magnification gives instant focus confidence.

After the pain of 5D MKII audio I have largely stopped using a mini mixer with the GH2. I let the camera record with manual levels displayed in the viewfinder. Simultaneously I use a separate Olympus recorder (LS11) with a Tram mic on my reporter that can record for eleven hours. It Screen shot from ‘Chinese Hackers’

Working with the Kessler slider Photo: A.Portch

Nokton 25mm and Olof’s handle Photo A.PortchPhoto: Dan Chung

8

is easy to sync afterwards especially if you have ‘Plural Eyes’ software.

next page...Boeing Dreamliner Inaugural flight: Shot with the AF101 Nanoflash. The 7–14mm Lumix F4 got a good outing on this trip. Lots of fun (as long as it’s bright) getting extraordinary images. Holly’s ‘piece to camera’ was centre frame filmed from one metre away seated across the aisle. The shot includes two passengers seated either side! The only caution was choosing an angle not to make her look cross eyed! The opening sequence has flash photography which looked worse than my P2HD, but nowhere near as bad as the 5D flash banding.

Micro Four Thirds (MFT) is dominated by Panasonic Lumix and Olympus, but other manufacturers have thankfully joined in and new lenses are popping up every month. Voightlander has already produced the classic Nokton 25mm f0.95. De-clicking is possible, but less straight- forward as the aperture ring is at the front. I like the Nokton; its images sit well alongside the Zeiss. The results from Lumix and Olympus lenses are mixed. Clicking electronic apertures,

twiddly control wheels, zooms that aren’t parfocal (even if they’re supposed to be), latency with focus by wire and focus rings that spin endlessly. I hope the promised 2012 Lumix X range delivers fast and sharp zooms.

For now, beware of lenses with a tiny focus throw. The Olympus 12–60mm, f2.8/4 has manual focus markings, but focuses from infinity down to one metre with just one centimetre throw. Compare that with a ten centimetre throw for the same focusing distance on my broadcast Canon HJ22. Some people use ‘follow focus’ devices, but again that defeats my compact goal. The Dreamliner by the way turned out to be identical to any other plane. I called it the ‘Binliner’, with slightly larger overhead lockers. To think Boeing was aiming supersonic before 9/11.

Bangkok Floods: Shot with the AF101 Nanoflash. This was a regular news scramble. I had to shoot, load, edit and transmit quality daily pieces by lunchtime every day; follow the package with hourly lives; then another shoot to update the package for later. The AF101 has analogue, HDMI and HDSDI output, but no firewire. An analogue-firewire Canopus box bridges the gap for streaming lives. Lens juggling above flood water added a frisson to changing lenses!

I’ve adapted a small bum bag with padded compartments that holds three or four lenses and those are the ones I have on the go. Rubber lens hoods are fitted to all my lenses to speed up changes. In Bangkok I tried the 14–140mm Lumix zoom with image stabilizing, but had trouble getting it sharp not just because of the spinning focus ring. I did get

more daring shots with the lightweight AF101 than my big news camera. I used a Gorillapod as mini brace either on the shoulder or in the water or wrapped around things even at water level. The lens mount of the AF101 is rated for 1kg, so fast Canon and Olympus zooms need supporting. I have used an adapter with my broadcast Canon HJ22 and with the ‘doubler’ it gives a great picture (no power zoom of course). I don’t want rails on my compact rig, so my lens choice had to weigh less than 1kg. The Olympus Zuiko 45–200mm 2.8/3.5 is my biggest lens and is sharp and good to focus, but lacks IS.

I haven’t really explored the autofocus. I can’t bring myself to trust it. There is Red Focus assist with the AF101, which puts a red fringe around whatever is sharp or sadly as I’ve found almost sharp - but it is a useful guide. EVF and LCD screen detail are good, but not to be used at the same time as Red Focus assist.

Horses for courses: What can you do with the AF101 and GH2? Both record to SDHC cards in AVCHD format up to 24Mbps. The GH2 currently has lower interlace bit rate than progressive and currently not at 25P. Both log and capture to Pro Res in Final Cut Pro. I conducted comparisons on a 25-inch HD monitor.

Some viewers couldn’t tell the difference, some chose AVCHD over HD broadcast codecs and only a video engineer spotted the higher bit rates. AVCHD does not meet the 50Mbps specified by HD broadcasters. What a pain! The low power Nano flash external recorder was the answer in conjunction with a SWIT S–8BG6 camera battery. This battery has an auxiliary socket and a single battery will power the camera and Nano flash for hours.

The Nano has power save mode, so you don’t have to keep plugging/unplugging. The resulting Nano flash XDCAM HD422 files are recorded to a CF card in either MXF or .MOV. I did have a Nano flash capacitor fail on location. However this was repaired by Convergent Design who said it was the first of 4000 units to fail this way. The Nano flash is attached by locking arm to my AF101 side bracket and sits there perfectly out of the way.

The compact camera is not suited to every shoot. Long lens stuff is most difficult. I wouldn’t choose it for a live press conference or for shooting over the North Korean border. Juggling lenses is troublesome:

I started dreaming about a revolving lens turret! I need to think clearly what shots I want and go after them with a specific focal length. The GH2 is getting an official firmware upgrade with hoped for 25P and higher bit rate this month. I guess photographers coming to video would have two GH2 bodies with different lenses as they do for stills. (I’m tempted!)

In conclusion with Micro four thirds I can do creative high quality work with a system that doesn’t cost very much. It is hard work, but anything with shallow depth of field is challenging. The beauty comes from the lenses and I love walking out the door with my kit in a Billingham bag and hope it makes my pictures look different in a good way!

“With Micro four thirds I can do creative high quality work with a system that doesn’t cost very much”

‘Baby Buying’

‘Bangkok Floods’

Tibetan Monks

‘Dreamliner’ PTC with 7mm lens

Photo: Dan Chung

Regional Film & Video the premier publication forprofessionals working in the media and broadcastingindustry. With breaking news on product innovations,quality editorial, features and case studies.

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10 9

WORKSHOPS

I’d been looking forward to seeing the new studios at Salford Quays. Paul Houghton was our guide around the complex called MediaCityUK and provided a bit of background. The complex was part of a government initiative to regenerate the Manchester docks. The BBC signed up to move some operations there in 2007 and now ITV and SIS have taken offices as well. The new Coronation Street set will be nearby and ‘The Pie Factory’ operates three sound stages and is home to many media related companies.

WORKSHOPSGTC

During the highly successful Freelancer’s Independence Day Workshop held in Manchester in June, members were given an opportunity to look around the new studios at Salford Quays.

Alan Duxbury reports

At the time of the workshop he BBC expect to be fully

operational here by October 2011 and had already started using the facilities for ‘A Question of Sport’ and ‘Mastermind’. There are seven HD studios altogether, the three small presentation studios HQ5, 6, and 7 will house CBBC and ‘Newsround’, CBeebies continuity and ‘Blue Peter’. Studio HQ2 contained the set for comedian John Bishop’s new series and HQ1was booked for ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ this autumn.

HQ1 is a 12,500 sq ft box with no lighting grid so a truss

system will be used. The empty gallery will either use a drive in facility or one of the other completed control rooms. With an investment of over £500 million Paul Houghton stressed that all the other resources for audience shows were there and the studios were flexible enough to move equipment around on demand.

There are also two audio studios, one dedicated to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the other called MPAS, the multi -purpose audio studio.

We were joined by Head of Studios, Andy Waters. I asked

him about using local camera operators and the perception that crews from London were being brought in. He told us a crew had come from Scotland to work on a programme and added: “We are not employing cameramen. Productions will want to use their own crews but that will change over time when individuals aren’t available.” He was willing to accept CV’s from anyone wishing to offer their services and CV’s should also be sent to Mike Hayes of fac365, contact details below.

Work often gets offered through word of mouth and I’m sure that will be true at Salford Quays too, but the workshop meant that as well as increasing business knowledge, contacts had been made and renewed, and no-one knows where that might lead.

Contact detailsAndy Waters - Head of Studios andy.waters@mediacityuk.co.ukMike Hayes - Director at fac365 mike@fac365.com crew@fac365.com for crewingtony@fac365.com for Tony Underwood, crew coordinator

12 13

Manchester Central was the venue for BVE’s inaugural North exhibition on November 16-17. Initial figures indicated that it attracted some 2,400 visitors - including some from Scotland and Ireland, for whom the London exhibition was just too much of a trek, and quite a few from the south of England. Some of the major camera and lens manufacturers had a limited presence supporting their dealers with the range of equipment on show being limited. This was because it was a shell-scheme only exhibition; no large, spectacular stands dominating the available space.

Words: Dudley DarbyPictures: Dudley Darby James French

There were seminar sessions with a variety of speakers, and informative presentations in the central theatre area which were well-attended. Jonathan Harrison’s lighting presentations went down particularly well.

Of equipment on display, most had been seen before at IBC but with some making a first UK showing as deliverable product. TV Logic’s LVM–074W has had a software modification which will now allow a full screen waveform monitor and vectorscope, and their TDM243 and LVM247 Grading Monitor will be shipping by the time you read this.

Canon UK had their EOS–1Dx and 5D and 7D cameras alongside the XF–305. The -1Dx uses a different sampling and encoding method from its predecessors, removing the aliasing problem encountered previously.

The Genus Hurricane 3D rig attracted interest on Ianiro’s stand along with the PRG Foton lamp, a small battery/

AC adapter powered LED fixture with beam angle adjusted by changing the reflector. Three different reflectors are supplied with the kit, giving approximately 20º, 40º, and 60º coverage. It claims a high CRI

(>90) and the ability to run for about 3 hours on a 98 Wh battery.

Of the kit associated with acquisition, lighting seemed to have the most new product on offer. ARRI’s L–7C LED Fresnel Spot is the colour controllable version of the L–7 series, the L–7D and L7T being specific daylight and tungsten fixtures. All have continuously focusable beam angles of 15º – 50º. Dimmable Kino Flo Barfly 200 and 400 and the new range of LED-based lights from Dedo-Wiegert were shown by Cirrolite. Galaxia 600 x 600 and 600 x 300 soft light panels were on offer from White Light. Both of these LED fittings draw 105W, have very even diffusers, and output approximately 5,500 lumens. Rotolight’s Anova 110º floodlight won a TVB Editor’s Award at IBC this year. Panels can be clipped together to create a larger light source.

BVE Goes NorthThere were high speed cameras and digital cinematography cameras to see from ARRI and Vision Research, and some enticing deals from dealers, including a Hitachi package from TNP. JVC, as well as displaying their camera range in the venue, had their demonstration truck outside alongside an Arena TV unit. There were opportunities to see a range of recording devices including the Cinedeck Extreme and Ki Pro.

Overall, a small but enjoyable inaugural show in a venue easily accessible by public transport.

Sola 6

1X1

LitepanelsA Vitec Group brand

®

Sola ENG

®

LitepanelsA Vitec Group brand

® emea@litepanels.com • www.litepanels.com

TOMORR OW’S LIGHTING AVAILABLE TODAY

Sola 6™ LED Fresnel Litepanels® daylight balanced Sola6 yields the illumination of a 650Wconventional Fresnel (in daylightoutput) at 1/6 the power draw anda fraction the weight. With variablebeam control from 70° flood to 10°spot and full-range dimming! Con-trol dimming and focus via on fixtureknobs or integrated DMX interface.

Sola ENG™ LED FresnelThis little powerhouse mounts oncamera or stand to yield as muchoutput as a 250W conventional lightwhile drawing just 10% of the power.Offers easy manual focus anddimming via lens-style ergonomiccontrols. Battery or AC operation.

1x1™ SeriesTried these versatile, cool-running,low energy-draw, 1.36kg/3-lb, game-changing LED lights? Choose from5600º or 3200º. Go with the Bi-Colorfor precise control of tungsten anddaylight. Or get variable Flood, Spotor Super-Spot with the Bi-Focus.

LP_Sola1P_GTC_BL.e$S_Layout 1 9/26/11 3:33 PM Page 1

15

Oxygen DCT Launches a Website For Cinedeck Hire & Rental Oxygen DCT has launched a new website that helps production companies, film makers, facilities and broadcasters to gain access to Cinedeck production equipment.

The company expects the demand for products to accelerate particularly in 2012 when many international broadcasters will have a UK base to cover the Olympic summer games. The company holds stock of both the EX and RX models to support its customers and, as a high service orientated organisation, is addressing hire demand by creating a forum for hire companies and production companies with the Cinedeck hire and rental website, www.cinedeckhire.com or www.cinedeckrental.com.

The original PanAura 5 was labelled ‘The portable window’ and is renowned for its light characteristics. The range is now being added to with the introduction of its big brother the PanAura 7.

The PanAura system of lighting instruments are large surface area soft lights that produce a wrap around light from extremely thin lightweight fixture - and now with the introduction of the 7’ version twice the output and size.

The fixture includes two individually switchable, dimmable lamps that can be boosted from 400W to 575W daylight or tungsten balanced discharge lamps. This allows a dimming range from 300W to 1150W without significant colour shift with both lamp types. The fixture is also available as a traditional 2Kw tungsten source or also as a 4kw tungsten source with high temperature octodome fabric.The 7 foot wide soft box is

KIT NEWS

THE MICROMUFFDesigned by filmmaker and designer Will Hutchinson, Micromuff is an accessory which claims to improve the sound quality of exterior video recordings by dramatically reducing the effect of wind noise. Compatible with most video capable DSLR's, the Micromuff attaches directly to the camera body, to dramatically reduce the effect of wind noise. Developed and manufactured in the UK, the Micromuff is made using high quality acoustic fur, and a unique cutting process, which retains the full length of fur-pile edge to edge. It attaches to the camera using die-cut Velcro rings, for easy attachment and removal. www.micromuff.com

Dedolight introduce the new PanAura 7

available with three different diffusers and a 40° grid is only 60cm deep. This will allow the use of this big window sized soft light in confined spaces and on location.

The PanAura7 is powered from two standard DEB400DT electronic ballasts, which additionally can be mounted to the lighting stand by ballast holders to provide best possible stability without using additional sand bags.

These systems are available for rental and sale as either daylight (HMI) kits or traditional tungsten kits – or a combination of both.www.cirrolite.com

The Canon DIGISUPER 95 (XJ95x8.6B) is the new generation super-telefoto lens that provides a range of imaging possibilities that conventional field lenses cannot match. The XJ95x combines the widest focal length (8.6mm) of any field lens in the industry with a 95x zoom range that’s longer at the tele end. The imaging possibilities are not only greater – so too are optical performance and image stabilisation. It is also claimed that this new lens provides

Canon DIGISUPER 95 WIDE ANGLE HD FIELD LENS

superb picture sharpness across the 16:9 HD image plane and improves on Canon’s previous image stabilisation performance.

The advanced Image Stabilization System comes standard in the XJ95x. Its improved optical shift-type stabiliser incorporates a sensor inside the lens that detects vibration. Compensating optics are then engaged at high speed to cancel out any effect on the image.

To counteract ‘breathing’ (a phenomenon that occurs when focusing, changing picture size/angle of view), the new lens includes CAFS (Constant Angle Focusing System). Through a 32-bit CPU, the zoom is calculated and controlled to give an almost zero zooming effect of focus.

Similar in size and weight to the XJ86x (W.250.6, H.255.5, L.610.0mm; 23.2kg), it is also ideal for panning and tilting. Equipped as standard with a 20-pin lens interface, the lens is easily adapted to work with a wide range of existing virtual systems.

www.canon-europe.com

Petrol Bags have introduced a new ultra-lightweight professional audio bag optimally designed to transport sound equipment comfortably and securely, and keep it safe, organised, and accessible while working.

Weighing just 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs), the bag’s interior can accommodate an SD 788 mixer with CL8 controller attached and is fully padded

to help safeguard contents. Removable internal dividers offer custom configuration. There is free access to all mixer panels – side,

back and top. A transparent top window allows viewing of

controls. Drawstring openings on both

New Deca Lightweight Audio Bag from Petrol

sides offer full access for connector cables to devices in the bag’s front and rear compartments. Additional features include multiple storage pouches for an MP1 battery, cassettes, connectors, etc., an external front accessories pocket, two expandable snap-on pouches to hold transmitters or wireless receivers, and a padded, adjustable shoulder strap.

The Deca Lightweight Audio Bag (PS614) has the following interior dimensions: 29.5 cm (11.6”) long, 10 cm (3.9”) wide, and 19 cm (7.5”) tall. The exterior measures: 35 cm (13.8”) long, 22 cm (8.7”) wide, and 23 cm (9.1”) tall. It will be available this month . List price is 160 Euro (138 GBP).www.petrolbags.com

Marshall OR-70-3DNew ‘Glasses free’ fully featured 7” 3D monitor

Dual Waveform and Vectorscope

Dual Vectorscope with Compare Box graph

Compare Box for 3D calibration

Horizontal marker for 3D depth control

Dual Real-Time Image Processing Analysis

3G-SDI Input with Loop-Through

Optional External Remote Control

Luminance difference view

16Mark Carey filming for a feature documentary about the Williams sisters

KIT NEWS

COMBINING LEADING EDGE DIGITAL AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGIES

■ 4:3 sensor with ALEXA image quality ■ Uncompressed, uncompromised ARRIRAW ■ Optical viewfinder and mirror shutter

www.arri.com

The BarFly 400D & 200D are the next generation of thin BarFly lighting systems. The soft, cool beauty lights feature a narrow profile of 4.5 ins in depth with onboard dimming ballasts, and lamp switching.The BarFly 400D is brighter than a 1,000 Watt tungsten softlight, but draws only 2 amps, while the BarFly 200D

New Kino Flo BarFly dimming soft lights

is brighter than a 500 Watt tungsten softlight drawing only 1 amp of power.

The new BarFly’s include a built-in reflector and removable gel frame, honeycomb louver and centre mount. The lightweight fixtures are the ideal solution for difficult tight shots on location

or in the studio. The fixtures take 3200K and 5500K True Match lamps that display a full range of photographic high colour rendering soft light (95+ on the CRI scale), as well as lamps for visual effects or green/blue screen.• www.cirrolite.com

The GTC is delighted that the Shooting

Partners Group has once again agreed to sponsor the Guild after a short break.

The Shooting Partners Group was originally founded in 1989 providing broadcast equipment rental.

Shooting Partners Facilities cameras are predominantly from Sony and include 2/3" full HD broadcast quality, plus some smaller units and mini-cams from Panasonic and GO PRO. Formats cover the full range of the Sony XDCAM family including PDW800 (disc), PDW500 and EX3 (SxS card). Shooting Partners also stock Panasonic P2 and Canon XF305s shooting to compact flash cards. A wide range of location broadcast HD monitors, tripods and HD vision switchers form the support kit. Lighting gear includes location lights from redheads to HMIs as well as Bi Colour LED Lite Panel lighting and dimmer systems. Recent credits: Pop Star to Opera Star, Safebreakers, Fairy Job Mother, Britain's Best Dish, Undercover Boss

Anna Valley Displays inventory consists of the world's largest stock of

Toshiba 6mm LED, LCD and DLP projectors, Barco MiTrix and MiStrip creative LED, PixLed F30, Lighthouse Duo12 and a wide range of Plasmas. Anna Valley also has a range of audio equipment including Sennheiser radio mics, Nexo and Martin PA systems; plus Soundcraft, Yamaha and Mackie desks, and its lighting includes a wide array of units from tungsten through to LED plus lighting control packages. Recent credits: X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Red or Black, A League Of Their Own, Don't Stop Me Now, David Walliam's Wall Of Fame, Dancing On Ice

Shooting Partners Project Management has been responsible for delivering many world firsts including: Robbie Williams 5.1 HD Live Cinecast for Sony/i.e. Music; first live HD 3D multi-camera transatlantic transmission with Jeffery Katzenberg / DreamWorks / Paramount StudiosAwards.

See more about the Shooting Partners Group at: www.annavalley.co.uk

NEW GTC SPONSORS

18 19

POLISHING TO PERFECTION

There are a number of different types of polishing

cloths on the market today aimed at the professional cameraman and I will attempt to classify these with various comments on their efficiency and suitability in everyday use.

Types of fabric used are 100% Cotton and 100% Polyester Microfibre

I will describe further the different constructions of the above fabrics.

100% COTTONThis is the traditional fabric that has been used for generations for general polishing from jewellery, to shoes to lenses. Normally the construction of the cotton fabric falls into 2 types, both being woven.

a) Woven with a one sided raised finishb) Woven with a one sided cropped finish.

These would both normally have one specific side of the cloth to use as the polishing side. The raising or cropping providing a soft finish so as to ensure no damage to the surface of the lens.

Members who have alrerady signed up to the GTC Direct Debit scheme for subscription payments, will have received their free lens cloth.But what makes a good lens cloth, and what are the differences between all the various materials currently on offer?

Here is a layman’s guide on how to select the best cloth for your lens and your equipment, written by Selvyt Division Manager Jeff Weston.

So what determines a good cotton polishing cloth from a poor one? This is all down to the construction of the weave and the quality of the yarn. The construction needs to be very tight and the yarn very well spun in order to ensure when the fabric is raised or cropped it does not create any surface lint. So for example your traditional yellow duster is loosely woven of a low grade yarn and would create a very poor polishing media

Cotton polishing cloths can be washed but again there is the need to have a well constructed fabric to avoid pilling of the raised or cropped surface which can cause abrasion to the lens.

100% POLYESTER MICROFIBRE

Over the past two decades advances in textile technology have brought about the creation of microfibre fabrics made of synthetic materials which have a soft handle unlike in the past where a synthetic fabric would have been deemed too harsh to use as a polishing media and would have in fact caused abrasions to the lens.

Microfibres for polishing are usually made of polyester fibre because of its strength and can be either in knitted or woven form. I will discuss here the differences between the two constructions.

KNITTED MICROFIBRE

This is the most common form of microfibre used in the polishing market and is the type that you would generally see used as small lens cloths as give aways with spectacles. Because of the relative cheapness of the fabric a lot of the major high street chains went over to this type of cloth over the past couple of decades. They are

also found in general use in larger sizes for the camera lens market.

Knitted microfibre has a nice feel and is aesthetically pleasing, however because of its construction is really a very poor fabric to use in polishing upmarket lenses.

The problem with any knitted fabric is that because of its instability, the polishing motion just tends to move the fabric itself rather than the fabric over the lens surface. This leads to poor cleaning and a streaky finish so what may be cheap and functional for the general public to clean their spectacle lenses is really not acceptable for the professional cameraman.

WOVEN MICROFIBRE

Much less in common use because of the relative extra cost as compared to knitted cloth woven microfibre possesses many of the good polishing qualities of the woven cotton cloths.

The only real drawback of the woven microfibre is because of its synthetic makeup it does not readily absorb moisture so if used in an outdoor situation where it is raining or damp it will not dry and polish as well as its cotton equivalent.

CONCLUSION

So in conclusion on the relative merits of the cloths readily available in the marketplace there is a distinct advantage in the traditional woven cotton cloth as long as it has a very good tight construction and is finished to a very soft feel.

There is one specific drawback with woven cotton and this is regarding the actual make-up of the polishing cloth.

Many cloths particularly small ones are die-cut to save on manufacturing cost and woven cotton can often fray at the edges when die-cut giving off stray fibres. Microfibres in general die cut very efficiently and do not fray.

As one gets into the larger cloths the cost of sewing the edges of the cloth in proportion to the total cost gets smaller so many larger cloths will have sewn edges which then stops any fraying of the fabric edges.

I would recommend then that if we are looking to use just small lens cloths normally around 12.5 cms square that the woven microfibre would serve that purpose better, however for normal general use for professional cameramen a

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larger cloth minimum of 25 cms square in the woven cotton would be ideal for both the polishing of the camera lens and the general cleaning and polishing of the camera and equipment.

Here at Selvyt most of our professional camera customers use a 35cms square cloth in either our woven raised cotton SR fabric or woven cropped cotton PR fabric either of which give excellent results.

Jeff Weston has been involved in specialist textiles for over 30 years - specifically in the polishing market.

You may obtain your FREE Selvyt lens cloth by joining the GTC Direct Debit scheme for Membership Subscriptions - see page 27 for details.

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20 21

For years, cameramen have chosen different makes and models when it comes to choosing a vehicle. With many factors to take into consideration, the choice has often been between an estate car, an MPV or a van. Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to have tried all of the combinations, starting off with a Volvo estate, then a Seat Alhambra and finally my current choice of crew vehicle, the Volkswagen Transporter Van. Many cameramen are big fans of these vehicles and its easy to see why; I was always impressed with the space and comfort they offered even before I owned one. Many years of driving the basic models supplied by facilities companies in my early career meant that when my kit outgrew smaller vehicles it was an easy decision and with it I became a bit of a Transporter geek! When asked to test drive the new model of Transporter van on some shoots with my kit, I was eager to see how it differed from my model.

When considering a van as a crew vehicle, there are many aspects the cameraman has to consider - load space, comfort, cost, fuel economy and for many, the look.

The VW transporter T5 has, since its launch in 2003, become a very popular choice for cameramen and facilities companies alike and it became one of the best-selling and most popular vans in the world. Talking to colleagues on shoots, many of us love the fact it drives like a car, that it can easily hold lots of kit and 3–6 crew members (depending on model), has efficient fuel economy, and has always had a smart appearance. In 2009 with much anticipation, VW released the updated T5 in

Europe, which was later made available in the UK in early 2010.

Whilst the chassis remains the same as the original T5 model, the new van is easily identified by its new front styling, more aerodynamic wing mirrors and a plethora of interior enhancements.

When it was initially released, many original T5 fans, including myself were sceptical that the new model would not really differ that much; same chassis, no extra space or change in design for the kit area. But in a way, when test driving the new van, the familiarity of many of the features from the original T5 are reassuring but with some new additional touches.

The Transporter Sportline kombi costs from £29,840 ex VAT, http://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/transporter-range/

With many thanks to VW Vans PR who made the loan van available to the GTC

REVIEWCREW CAR

THE VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER

The load area is still the same size, but as any Transporter owner knows, this is plentiful even in the short wheel base version and even better in the long wheel base model. Many people choose to rack out their van and there are plenty of VW specialists who will do the design and build for you. There is the option to have a factory fitted ply lining kit when you buy new, but I would get an expert to fit you with some bespoke shelving. One thing I found when using the loan van on location (which only had ply lining) was how much a crew relies on well designed storage! I think most cameramen wouldn’t be able to survive without a certain level of modification.

On the inside you still know you are in a transporter but with a few noticeable differences. The seats are slightly different offering improved comfort and I noticed that the front seats have better side support than the older T5. The cab is still generally a pleasant place to be which is something to be thankful for, as crew can spend days on end in their vehicle. The seating options are the same as in the older model T5; two single seats or a single driver and double passenger seat in the front cab area. The options on the rear seating remains the same also; three bench seat or split two and a single seat.

With added features on the dashboard, this generation of Transporter makes you feel like you are driving a car even more so than before. There is a new multi-function display which also includes a gear shift indicator. The usual factory options for the dash are available

including iPod units and touch screen sat nav, for those who really have the desire to pimp out their crew van.

If it’s the pimped version of a transporter you are after then VW have just made their stylish top-of-the-range Sportline model of the new transporter van available. As the name suggests, this model comes with their fastest engine in the 180 PS and with lots of sporty extras including colour coded body work and leather upholstered seats. In my opinion this is an overpriced way of paying for a smart looking transporter; you are essentially paying for the sportline badge. Chrome side bars, colour coded body work, lowered suspension (handy for NCP car parks!), alloy wheels and front/rear spoilers can all be added at factory (or after by a specialist) to the basic 180 PS model (or the 140 or 102). In fact the Kombi model of Transporter is usually the model most cameramen buy, however a good Transporter conversion specialist can turn even the basic model panel van into a sportline Kombi replica.

The same options are available in terms of barn (split) or tailgate doors on the rear; the tailgate can be a more

It’s 6am in a wet field in Devon. The crew, all owner operators are sat in their vehicles lined up in the field waiting for their 6.30am call time, reluctant to get out into the pouring rain.

Its fascinating to see the variety of vehicles that the cameramen have chosen to transport their kit and crew in.

expensive option but is invaluable when you are stood sorting kit out in the pouring rain!

I didn’t have the van long enough to pass a great deal of judgement on the fuel economy but certainly nothing worrying to report back and VW claim that the new engines are a real update to this new model of van. They use Volkswagen’s latest four cylinder 2.0ltr TDI engine, available in four power outputs of 84, 102, 140 and 180 PS, the 140 and 180 being 6 gears and available in the 4motion 4 wheel drive model. The 4motion that was on the van I test drove, certainly helped when we were in a muddy field in Devon, whether the extra expense is worth it for everyday use

Review and Pictures: Jon Boast

SENTINELBROADCAST

Along with all of the normalassociated dealer services, we are able to offer a systemdesign service from initialconsultation through to full system design, integration and implementation.

Please call with yourrequirements.

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We are always looking for good quality second hand equipment.Please email or fax details to us of any surplus equipment you have.

remains to be seen. All in all the new Transporter really helps to maintain the model as being the common choice of van in many industries and a very popular choice in ours, amongst cameramen and facilities companies alike. With lots of options from basic models to the fully pimped out sportline vans they still offer a comfortable drive with a load space we are all familiar with; I certainly know what I will be writing to Santa for this Christmas......

Media InsuranceSpecialists

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Allan Chapman & James Insurance Brokers Ltd,7 Phoenix Square, Wyncolls Rd, Severalls Business Park,Colchester, Essex CO4 9AST: 01206 500 000 E: insurance@acjltd.co.ukwww.acjltd.co.ukAuthorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority

2322

STRATFORD lost one of its greatest community arts champions when Claude Walters, general manager of the civic hall, died suddenly following a heart attack.

Claude was born on 6th July 1953, in Isleworth, Middlesex. It was around his 14th birthday that he went to the BBC to watch how a programme was made and made a decision there and then to become a television cameraman.He went to Guildford Art School to study film and television and on finishing his course in 1973, he went immediately to the ATV Studios, based in Elstree Hertfordshire, as a trainee cameraman. The studios were in their heyday under the direction of Lew Grade. Claude learnt his craft on dramas such as Edward VII, Clayhanger, The Life of Nelson, Mystery and Imagination and, most famously, The Muppet Show.

At this time, big variety shows were also in production and he worked alongside legends in show business such as Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby and David Bowie. He was part of the crew that recorded Crosby’s and Bowie’s duet of Little Drummer Boy and the very last recording of Bing’s White Christmas.

Claude had said one of his most enduring memories was when he was on set as a young trainee. He was setting up the cameras alone in the studio before recording began when Gene Kelly walked in and began to rehearse. He treated Claude as a fellow professional, engaging him in conversation and discussing camera moves for the show ahead. This consummate professionalism and the acknowledgment of all around you never left him.

In 1983, Claude moved to Birmingham when the TV franchises changed and worked for Central Television as both cameraman and lighting director. Shows he worked on include Family Fortunes with Les Dennis, Bob’s Your Uncle with Bob Monkhouse and of course Crossroads. Claude then moved to Nottingham to the Central Television Studios and remained with the new Crossroads with Jane Asher until both Crossroads and Central Television closed after a merger with Granada television.

Chris TowerStaffordshire Herald

I hadn’t seen Claude for a number of years but his likable

demeanour has ensured that my memories of him are still easily recalled so here are a few recollections.

Claude arrived into the ATV Elstree Camera Department as a fresh faced and rather earnest young man, but that didn’t last long just like all before him, myself included. It was the nature of the department that all were subjected to having the Mickey taken out of them for any real or even imagined reason but Claude in some way seemed above all this and was very quickly liked by all.

Claude was a dedicated tracker and I was always pleased when he assisted me as I knew that because of his professionalism he wouldn’t let me down. On one production of ‘Disraeli’ with Ian McShane and Rosemary Leach we had Claude Whatham as director who had achieved great success directing ‘Cider with Rosie.’ During the first rehearse and record day, Claude had gone off to sort something out with a prop man when I needed to talk to him, so I called out ”Claude”. The director Claude was close by and said, “Yes?”. “Not you, the other one” I replied. “I’ve not met another Claude in TV!” came the response at which point both Claudes were in front of me so I was able to say, “Claude, meet Claude”.

Because of Lew Grade, ATV did many shows that were mostly for the USA, one was “Bonkers” with The Hudson Brothers. I was operating Camera 1 on the Nike and after a look at a three minute musical number done to a track during which I got the crew to move the crane all over the place, the director, Pete Harris, said, “How do you feel about doing the whole number as one shot on your own?” Having a great crew with Claude Walters and Mike Dugdale on the arm and Steve Harrow on the motor

The picture was taken on the ATV backlot on a production of ‘Clayhanger’ and shows the camera crew with a Nike crane and an EMI 2001 on the front; people from left to right;

Floor Manager David McDonald with white hat, cameraman Mike Dugdale, actor as policeman, actor with bowler hat, cameraman Jim O’Donnell, senior cameraman Dennis Bartlett and cameraman Claude Walters.

Lifting the Lid Off TelevisionOn Wedneday November 2, BBC Television celebrated 75 years of 'High Definition' broadcasts with a modest gathering at Alexandra Palace. Cake and wine were on offer as well as an opportunity to meet various 'AP' tv personalities (amongst whom Zena Skinner and Michael Aspel) and also to prise the top off an original Emitron camera. On display was an EMI Emitron Iconoscope-type - although the picture tube was missing, all the (surprisingly small amount of) head electronics were intact.

All Seeing Eye Billed as a ‘Radio and Television number’ the August 27th

1938 edition of ‘Weekly Illustrated’ featured glimpses of pre-war BBC television, now 75 years of age. So what did those ’5 thousand lookers-in’ get to see? Well, a back stage murder for starters, screened live from the studios at Alexandra Palace and plenty of scantily-clad young ladies for seconds. Billed as a ‘Telecrime’ devised by Eric Crozier of Weekly Illustrated, the drama involved the viewers by dishing clues as the show proceeded. The viewers then had to guess ‘who dun it’. Of the quality of the drama, one has to wonder, but the photos taken from the screen (and re-printed in a magazine) show a remarkable pictorial quality. On a good day these 405 line monochrome images, shot with Emitron cameras with reverse angle and upside down viewfinders, must have been truly remarkable.

OBITUARYCLAUDE WALTERS 1953 - 2011

gave me confidence and I felt we had seen it enough so said, “Fine”. I turned and looked at them then said, “Let’s go for a take”, at which I laughed as all three jaws dropped behind me! We did two takes and it remains as one of the highlights of my career as a cameraman.

When Claude got married to Moira I was invited to the wedding and as usual carried my Pentax so took some very informal pictures of the happy couple. I was delighted when after later giving them to Claude some of the were added to their official wedding album.

Claude was a very well liked and respected member of the ATV Camera Department and eventually moved to Birmingham as a Lighting Director. I had also made the same move but to Nottingham which was then Central TV so was not able to see much of what he did as an LD. He lit ‘Crossroads‘ of which he told me about a cockatoo which was the only thing in the pictures for the engineers to find peak white on. He would have done that and many other programmes with the same dedicated professionalism which personified the extremely likable and sadly missed Claude Walters.

Jeremy Hoare

THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION by Dicky Howett of Golden Age TV

Lifting the lid off the EMI Emitron Zena Skinner and Michael Aspel

24

30

Insurance MATTERS

Each issue, Andrew Leen from Performance film and media insurance will answer your questions and queries on all things insurance related.

If you have any burning issues, or simply want to clarify how best to protect your business, please email help@performance-insurance.tv with the subject line ‘GTC Insurance Matters’ and Andrew will do his best to help you resolve things.

A selection of these questions and responses will be published in each issue of GTC In Focus.(please note that the questions and responses may be edited to save space)

24

25

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with finding presents for loved ones at Christmas. My wife is great at this, and always finds those little gems for the family, whilst the gifts I give look like they’ve been pilfered from a jumble sale…

Over the festive period, there are a couple of things that may need special attention from an insurance perspective.

ENHANCED RISK OF THEFT – CAPITAL ADDITIONSIt goes without saying that most homes will have a greater-than-usual amount of expensive ‘stuff’ in them over the winter months. Gifts from family, discounted items from the January sales, and probably some left over turkey. Thieves typically love this time of year – it’s nice and dark, some homes are left unoccupied for extended periods and there are usually some nice pickings to be had.

Whilst physical security will hopefully prevent your home or business premises being ransacked, there will obviously be those who are not so fortunate and will need to rely on their insurance to make things better, so there are a couple of things that should be considered.

Make sure you revisit your sums insured. If you have received that expensive item, make sure that your insurers are advised as soon as possible and keep the receipt safe (you can always scan a receipt and save it digitally, as a backup). Failure to do this could mean that the item is not covered, or the value of the item may

take you over your usual sum insured, meaning that any claim may be reduced by the percentage you are under insured by (I covered this in GTC In Focus Issue 112 Dec 2010).

Some business policies have something called ‘Capital Additions’ cover. This means that, if you acquire some additional items (generally buildings and machinery or items that would be classified as fixed assets as opposed to current assets in your balance sheet - so not stock, although some policies would include stock fluctuations clauses) that you have either purchased or received as a gift, and forget to notify insurers, they will still be covered as long as the overall sum insured has not increased by more than the lower of a certain percentage or pound amount (in Performance’s case 10% or £500,000) and as long as you add them within a certain amount of time from when you acquired them (Performance give 6 months) and pay the additional premium to add them from when they were first bought. These thresholds can alter from policy to policy, so do check your own cover to be clear.

In addition, modern home contents policies may provide for an increase in sum insured over the Christmas period (although now normally referred to as religious festivals to be politically correct) and usually limited to around £ 3,000 although this may be higher if you are lucky enough to have a ‘high net worth’ insurance policy. Again, check your own cover to make sure.

Even if you have Capital Additions cover under your policy, I would always recommend notifying your insurer as soon as possible, as human nature is to delay, delay - and then forget, and this could leave you exposed (never good in winter time!).

HOUSEKEEPINGIf you are lucky enough to take an extended winter break, then there are a couple of things you may want to check before you depart for some sun.

During the winter months, water in your premises’ pipes is at risk of freezing. This can cause the water inside the pipes to expand, fracturing the pipe which will subsequently leak.

One way of preventing this is to leave the heating on a setting high enough to prevent the water in your system from freezing. Some policies stipulate this as a condition and also state the minimum temperature required, or state that the apparatus should be drained to prevent freezing occurring.

Many policies will exclude water damage and malicious damage at any time of the year whilst your premises are unoccupied for certain periods (usually 30 days) so do check your cover.

Talking of travel, at the time of writing, the news is that Iceland is experiencing volcanic activity again, with the Katla volcano (which, incidentally, is larger and more powerful than its neighbour Eyjafjallajökull) showing signs of increased activity. Further afield, Chile’s Puyehue volcano has started puffing again - so much so that

Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newberry airport suspended all flights recently whilst it waited for an ash cloud to pass. So, time to check your Travel Insurance details again…

SANTA’S LITTLE HELPEROver the Christmas period, a number of businesses bring in additional staff to help them hit deadlines. If you are one of those businesses, then do revisit your Employers Liability cover to make sure that it is in place for volunteer, contract or temporary workers – all of whom could be viewed as Employees and therefore have a right to expect a Duty of Care from you as their Employer (see Insurance Matters GTC In Focus March 2010 Issue 109). This is one of only two mandatory insurances (the other is motor) where failure to hold cover can result in punishment by the courts. Important stuff.

SLIPS, TRIPS, BUMPS AND ‘DO A RISK ASSESSMENT!’If we have another winter like last year (and it’s on the cards, by all accounts) then ensuring that your job is properly risk assessed is of paramount importance to protect not only yourself, but those who may be impacted by your actions.

Slips and trips (and slides) can occur at the best of times, but during the snowy season, particular attention should be paid to walkways, gangways, and dangerous obstacles that may be hidden by snow in order to highlight any potential hazards and the likelihood of injury to yourself and others. Consideration up front can mitigate many of these perils and you have a duty to

yourself and others to spend time contemplating these risks.

HAPPY NEW (FINANCIAL) YEARI know that some of you are sole traders or partnerships, so please excuse me whilst I speak to the Limited Company directors for a moment.

An area of insurance getting a lot of press in these austere times is that of Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (D&O). As a Company Director, you have certain fiduciary duties imposed on you in law, and if you commit what is referred to as a “Wrongful Act” then you could be personally liable to the extent of your personal wealth for any claimants costs, damages or settlements – that means that they take everything - the house, the car, the kids... (ok maybe not the kids).

I often have conversations with Directors who say “but my company is a limited liability company, so I’ll be okay”. This simply is not true. Any Director or Officer of a company could be held liable for committing such an Act. A good D&O policy usually extends to cover all Employees (as a safeguard to them) and covers, in addition to the above, any Defence Costs incurred. Examples of Wrongful Acts could include:

Breach of Duty, including fiduciary or statutory duty Negligent Act, error or omission Defamation or libel committed in good faith Breach of warranty or authority

Misstatement or misleading statement not made deliberately or recklessly Wrongful trading under s.124 of The Insolvency Act 1986

‘‘Over the festive period, there are a couple of things that may need special attention from an insurance perspective.’’

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Employment Wrongful Act (unfair dismissal, breach of employment contract, discrimination, failure to employ or promote, wrongful disciplinary action, failure to adopt adequate workplace/employment policies or procedures, retaliation against whistleblowers, invasion of privacy, data protection legislation, libel/slander/humiliation/defamation, failure to provide accurate job references)

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Claims can be brought against Directors and Officers from employees, shareholders, creditors, competitors, regulators (Health and Safety Exec, for example), etc.

So what could go wrong? Here are some real-life examples:Breach of Duty – three friends set up a company. Some years later one of them in their position as shareholder, complained that the other two had breached their fiduciary duties as directors in a number of ways, including unnecessary client entertainment expenses, allowing friends excessive credit and the misuse of the company property for work at their home. Defence costs amounted to £463,000

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HONORARY PRESIDENTDick Hibberd president@gtc.org.uk

VICE PRESIDENTJohn Henshall john.henshall@gtc.org.uk

CHAIRMAN Graeme McAlpine chair@gtc.org.uk

VICE CHAIRMANJohn Hoare john.hoare@gtc.org.uk

SECRETARY, Press & PR, Manufacturers Liaison Darren Bramley secretary@gtc.org.uk

press.officer@gtc.org.uk : manufacturers@gtc.org.uk

TREASURER Simon Roe treasurer@gtc.org.uk

MEMBERSHIP OFFICERRex Palmer membership@gtc.org.uk

WORKSHOP ORGANISERClive North workshops@gtc.org.uk

AWARDS EVENT ORGANISER John Tarby events@gtc.org.uk

EXHIBITIONS MANAGERDudley Darby exhibitions@gtc.org.uk EDUCATION OFFICERDrew Hartley education@gtc.org.uk

FORUM MODERATOR Andy Smith forum@gtc.org.uk

WELFARE OFFICERBrian Rose welfare@gtc.org.uk

INSURANCE LIAISON, CARNET LIAISON, PAT LIAISONEric Samuel insurance@gtc.org.uk

DIGITAL CURATORSimon Curtis digital.curator@gtc.org.uk

SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICERChristina Fox christina.fox@gtc.org.uk

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP OFFICERJames Fulcher student.membership@gtc.org.uk

INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVESEurope - Richard Van Nijnatten richard.nijnatten@gtc.org.uk

USA - Craig Kelly criag.kelly@gtc.org.uk

South East Asia - Laurie Gilbert

COUNCIL MEMBERSMartin Hammond martin.hammond@gtc.org.uk

Paul Kay paul.kay@gtc.org.uk

Ray Meier ray.meier@gtc.org.uk

John Rossetti john.rossetti@gtc.org.uk

‘GTC In Focus’ EDITOR Roger Richards infocus@gtc.org.uk

‘ZERB’ MANAGING EDITORWEB CONTENT EDITOR Alison Chapman zerb.production@gtc.org.uk

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIPJames French advertising@gtc.org.uk 01905 796910 07855 743 845

GTC COUNCIL CONTACT LIST

GTC ADMINISTRATION OFFICERRoger Richards

administration@gtc.org.uk

0300 111 4123

DIRECT DEBIT SUBSCRIPTION FACILITY

Many busy working cameramen have little spare time enough and are often away on location for

weeks at a time. So why spend your valuable free time setting up standing orders sending off credit card numbers, or making internet banking payments for your annual subscription?

Setting up a Direct Debit for your GTC Subscription is easy, and if you do it now, you will receive a month’s free membership and a free high quality ‘Selvyt’ lens cloth. Just email administration@gtc.org.uk or call 0300 111 4123 and we will email or post a form for you to complete. You will also receive a form with your subscription reminder.

Your membership doesn’t have to be up for renewal for you to set up the Direct Debit. Once we receive the form your account will be automatically debited ONE MONTH after your current renewal date, and annually thereafter.

So why are we being so generous? Simply to save the GTC an enormous amount of time and expenditure that we currently incur in collecting subscriptions every month.

With many cameramen being busy or away on location, the subscription reminder letters go unanswered for many months resulting in us sending out several more reminders. The existing Standing Order system is problematic where the member hasn’t increased the subscription amount for many years and then has to send a supplementary payment (after more letters). We are still receiving payments from members with whom we have lost contact many years ago. We have no authority to change or cancel a Standing Order.

Signing up to the Direct Debit system means that you will have a hassle free way of paying your GTC subscription without having to lift a finger. If you wish to cancel, an email or call to the admin office will sort it out. You are also covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

FREE1 MONTH’S SUBSCRIPTION‘SELVYT’ LENS CLOTH

Libel & Slander – A company’s managing director was allegedly quoted as having concerns about the propriety of the owner of one of the company’s suppliers. The owner claimed defamation. The claim was eventually dropped, but only after insurers had funded the MD’s defence costs of £32,000.

Health & Safety Executive - A managing director and several technical managers faced criminal prosecutions for alleged breaches of Health & Safety legislation, which resulted in the accidental deaths of two employees The overall costs amounted to £890,000

Employment Disputes – A director was dismissed for alleged unauthorised use of company property for his personal benefit. He sued for

unfair dismissal and the action was settled for £275,000. This may be an extension under a D&O policy, so do check that cover for such eventualities is provided.

D&O cover is usually purchased with a limit of indemnity which is chosen by you. This typically ranges from £100,000 to £1,000,000, but other limits are available. The limit you require will be largely based on the perceived exposure to your business. As legal costs can escalate quickly and Damages awarded can be hefty, a minimum of £1,000,000 should be considered by most, but your broker will be able to help you arrive at what is right for you and your business.

Typically, the cost for such cover is in the early to mid-hundreds of pounds, which

is usually in reach of most businesses. I would suggest that, even if the cost of £1m cover is out of reach, having at least some lower level of cover in place to begin with is better than having none.

After all, you want to hold on to all those nice pressies Santa brought you over the years, don’t you?

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all the members of the GTC a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. Thank you for all your questions, problems and issues that I have had the opportunity to look at for you over the last 12 months, and please, please, keep them coming (see details below on how to do this). I hope that 2012 proves to be a great year for you, and I look forward to speaking with some of you in the near future.

STUDIO& LOCATIONLIGHTING

CAMERASUPPORT EQUIPMENT

DOLLIES& TRACKS

CAMERACRANES& JIBS

STUDIOEQUIPMENT

www.ianirouk.com

Unit 19, Walkers Road,

ManorsideInd. Estate,

Redditch B989HE

Tel.01527596955

Please do keep using the Forum to pose your insurance-related questions, or any problems you would like me to investigate for you.

As ever, if you have any questions about this article, please email me at help@performance-insurance.tv with the subject line “GTC Insurance Matters”, or indeed, if you have any other insurance-related questions that I may be able to help with, please drop me a line.

If you are happy for your name to be published, please let me know. If you would prefer to be Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms “Name and Address Supplied”, then this is perfectly fine as well, and I will only be too happy to ensure that your privacy is protected.

Insurance MATTERS

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