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What are the technical considerations when using Answer: Our Flatscreen Camera Displays can be fitted to most industry cameras with ease. Below some more specific details are outlined about their setup and operation. The Camera Base Plate / Mounting Systems The base plates used on standard broadcast cameras - eg. Beta SP / Digital Betacam - will fit onto our prompting systems without problems. The wedge/chip which slots into the tripod and screws onto the bottom of the camera base plate, screws onto the bottom of the autocue base plate. This then slots directly into the tripod, and the camera base plate is screwed onto the autocue base plate - using the supplied bolts.
For a studio camera mounted on a pedestal, you need to request a studio base plate. This will fit directly into/onto the pedestal and the camera will then fit into/onto this plate. Occasionally there will be cameras which do not have compatible mounting systems. This mostly occurs with Mini DV cameras or sometimes film cameras with specialised tripod heads. In this case, a prompter can still be set up on a stand and then placed in front of the camera. Bear in mind that this will prevent panning or tilting the camera. For simple dolly shots, you may be able to mount the prompter on a magic arm. Note that the Baby Cue and Cam-Cue systems use a Sony matt box mount (supplied) to attach to the camera, therefore your camera needs to be capable of having this mount attached. Filters would have to be stuck on the camera lens. As with the other camera displays, the Baby Cue can also be mounted on a stand instead of the camera.
The Weight Our autocue systems have a considerable adjustment range for moving the balance of the added weight. Our operators will work with you to ensure the weight on the tripod head is balanced and not front or back heavy. It is very rare that there is not enough adjustment to achieve this balance without adding extra weights. If you're using a particularly light tripod, you may wish to consider using the lighter Baby Cue or Cam-Cue system. The Camera Lens / Prompter Hood To make sure the prompter hood does not appear in edges of frame, the lens is pushed up as close to the prompter glass as possible when set up. For wide shots we generally avoid using a matt box. Instead, filters are often taped directly onto the lens using camera tape to overcome this. You may also need to remove the camera microphone and lens hood in order to keep the lens as close to the prompter glass as possible. Where light levels need to be precisely measured - e.g. when using film - be aware that the prompter glass reduces light by between a quarter stop and half stop. You can easily check this by removing the glass and taking a measurement with the light meter placed behind it. Power Our systems run off 240V mains power, and we also have Battery operated equipment. If your production will use a location without power, please request a battery system when booking. Vision Feeds We can output several vision feeds from our computer via BNC cables. This allows us to provide a feed to more than one camera display, extra monitors, and for a director's feed to an OB truck or control room. Please consider in advance how you might utilise these extra feeds and if you need to run any extra cabling. For studio cameras, we usually send a vision feed to the control room for the director and to be sent to the autocue camera. We then take power and our vision signal direct from the camera (prompter out) - running it into the autocue monitor using short leads. |
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