We at Alias genuinely had a good time at the BVE that has just passed. We did not drink, nor did we attend any of the parties. And it’s not as if we saw anything ‘new’ in terms of debut launches. The 4K camera from Black Magic, the Arri Amira, the wonderful soon to come updates for Sony’s XAVC are not new…so why the good time. I’m glad you (probably) thought of asking that.
BVE is like a curtain closer of a season. Like the last day of a football season when all the major honours and silverware have already been decided.
With this years BVE, you know where you stand. There is no mad rush, no crammed crowds giving their expert opinion after just 20 seconds of holding the next must have toy (er, I mean new kit). And with that comes clarity. Exactly how good is the Amira? Exactly what are the updates for the Sony F5 and/or F55? What have the Fujinon Cabrio’s contributed so far and to what productions? And I think that being able to reflect on the past year is actually every bit as informative as looking forward to upcoming year. And that’s what BVE is able to provide. A balance, if you will.
But it wasn’t just about reassurance. We did see some really nice kit too. Followers of our twitter feed (@aliashire) will know we were quite taken with a quite wonderful slider. It’s made by Prosup slider and it’s quite nifty. As well as being extendable from 1.2m to 2m’s it also has reversed polarity magnets at each end, meaning it delivers a perfect, smooth end of slide (most sliders end abruptly when they reach the end of the rail).
But it wasn’t just about reassurance. We did see some really nice kit too. Followers of our twitter feed (@aliashire) will know we were quite taken with a quite wonderful slider. It’s made by Prosup slider and it’s quite nifty. As well as being extendable from 1.2m to 2m’s it also has reversed polarity magnets at each end, meaning it delivers a perfect, smooth end of slide (most sliders end abruptly when they reach the end of the rail).
And did you see the new Bridge Plate from Vocas (Vocas BP-18)? No? What’s that, bridge plate’s a bit of a boring topic in the world of Amira’s, Fujinon Cabrios etc? Normally I would agree with that notion but finally, after quite some time a manufacturer has made a bridge plate that can be centred and off centred. Or, to put it another way, a universal bridge plate that you can put an off-centred Arri camera (Alexa/Amria) and centred camera (Sony F5, Red Epic etc). It’s not actually released yet, apparently coming after this year’s NAB, but hopefully they will keep the design and that will solve many MANY headaches in the future.
Speaking of NAB, Alias is going. It’s a tough existence being flown to Las Vegas for what is probably the world’s largest broadcast expo but someone’s gotta do it.
What will we see there? WATCH THIS SPACE! Rumour has it that Canon are launching something BIG (although we hear what they have to show will actually be quite small).
As always, follow us on Twitter for a clear perspective (@aliashire)
