Meet us at BVE – Free seminars

As usual, we’ll be giving talks at BVE/The Production Show at London’s Earls Court next week (14-16 February 2012). Our five sessions will be part of an extensive free seminar programme, with more than 300 seminars across the three days.

We’ll be doing our Production On A Budget sessions every morning (10am) in the Production Theatre with lots of advice on buying equipment and what to look at while you’re at the show, while Christina will do a session on How To Survive As A Freelancer at 3pm in the Producers Theatre (on Tuesday) and in the Production Theatre (on Wednesday) – both theatres are in the Production Show section right at the back of the Earls Court 2 exhibition centre.

The Production Theatre will also feature sessions on Shooting Sub £15k Music Videos by Den Lennie, budget feature film production, underwater filming, shooting in the cold for Frozen Planet, Fathoming the Fundamentals of Formats from Prokit, and how to make the most of Blackmagic Design's Atem switcher.

The Producers Theatre will include the 99-minute Film School (in less than half that time…), with Raindance Film Festival founder Elliot Grove (who will also do a session on Writing For Low Budget Filmmaking), plus seminars on Strategies for Survival in a Freelance World, virtual production, how to win commissions and funding, motion control DSLRs and special effects make-up.

There is also an Arri Production Skills Centre [Free tickets required], with lots of sessions on lighting (including two each day by Jonathan Harrison), as well as seminars on using the Alexa and colour grading.

In the main Broadcast Video Expo section of the show, there will be 11 theatres/seminar areas, dealing with big picture issues such as the next steps for 3D, new developments in religious broadcasting, cloud computing and brands becoming broadcasters, to practical hands-on workshops.

The 3D Revolution [Free tickets required] will look at the latest developments and where 3D might go next, with keynotes from William Sargent, founder of leading Soho post house Framestore, and Dave Blackham, MD of Esprit Films (who will discuss shooting wildlife and caves in 3D). Panasonic’s Peter Van Hooke will present sessions on the recent Elbow concert shot live in 3D. There’ll be several case studies and sessions on when 3D is worth using and how to use it best.

The Audio Room [Free tickets required] also covers 3D, with a panel discussion on immersive audio systems led by Pieter Schillbeeckx, Head of R&D at Soundfield. There is a wide range of practical advice on audio recording, including Phil Coates on working in extreme locations, Graham Boswell from SADiE on how to eliminate pops and glitches, and Jo Tyler of Bournemouth University on the sonic potential for radio, and sessions on loudness metering, HD Voice (for mobile audio) and audio post.

The Post-Production Theatre [Free tickets required] has one of our favourite trainers, Larry Jordan, with: a practical overview of Final Cut Pro X; Creating Motion Graphics that Don't Suck; Compressing Your Video for the Web - and Making It Look Great; and What Creative People Need To Know About Storage. Other sessions include: the making of a Top Gear Live commercial, and lots on tapeless production.

Broadcast Meets IT picks up the tapeless theme, with Mark Harrison, Controller of BBC North, discussing the issues of file-based production and Shane Warden of IMG World presenting tapeless workflows at the Rugby World Cup. Dr John Zubrzycki of BBC Research and Development will discuss Super Hi-Vision for London 2012, and Phil Rutter of AndCubed hosts a debate on 4K production and delivery.

The Institute of Videography will offer sessions in the IOV Theatre on how professional videographers can get involved with local TV stations, what videographers need in their post-production toolkit, and lots on weddings, including Shooting the Marryoke Wedding Sequence.

The Content Delivery Theatre will deal with all sorts of online and other methods of delivery and making money, connected TV, the use of second screens (such as iPads) while also watching TV, broadcast playout using channel in a box systems, and social TV.

There will also be one-day sessions dedicated to various aspects of a specific topic. Religious Broadcasting on Tuesday 14 February; Demystifying the Cloud on Wednesday; and Brands Becoming Broadcasters on Thursday.

The Sony Experience Masterclass Theatre includes sessions on the FS100 by Den Lennie, the F3, F65, and using XMPilot to speed up logging on the BBC’s Escape To The Country.

Added to these are practical sessions offered by Avid [Free tickets required] and Adobe, and FCP X sessions run by Soho Editors.

There's also the opportunity to try out lots of new equipment...

Free registration is available at www.bvexpo.com/register using Priority Code EBPR2.

By David Fox