ACADEMY MOBILE STREAMING
The TV station on your phone
Apple iPhones are the go-to smart device formany in the creative industries as they are capable of recording staggeringly good-quality video. But they’re a longway from being used tomake broadcast- quality finished films on the go. French firmCTpro is trying to change that and has created an all-in-one production tool for iOS. Designed fromscratch for a real TV production team, the app aims to start an iPhone production revolution. It was developed and built by Bertrand Samimi, owner of a local TV station in Saint-Quentin, France, as a solution for his TV journalists whowanted an easy solution to shoot and edit footage. “He decided to build a tool by himself for himself,” explains CTpro’s Philippe Baudet. “It’s a tool that’s been designed by a guy for his own crew and not for commercialisation. But we found the tool was so cool that it should go beyond his own company.” CTpro bills itself as aMobile Video Suite and features tools for shooting, editing and live streaming froman iOS device. The app permits shooting in either 25 or 30fps HD using either HEVC or H.264 codecs. Professional features, such as Zebra, colour waveform, vectorscope and an image stabiliser are built in. The app also comes with its own self-contained picture and audio editor with easy export to Final Cut Pro X. Livestreaming, with automatic bandwidthmanagement, is included and you can also switch between pre-recorded clips and other cameras while livestreaming. Thismeans you can upload a pre-recorded filmor even advert, and switch to it when youwant to stop livestreaming from the phone. That gives you time to get to the next shot or interviewee. “CTpro is not only a camera, it’s a fully integrated and comprehensive workflow,” Baudet says. Using the app, you can shoot, edit your footage, mix it with voiceover and thenmake titles using different fonts. You can even upload andmix in logos, stings and stock video content, Is an app your all-in-one answer to production?
“We’re sure about the future of this. The best camera is the one you have in your pocket”
standard iOS camera compression technology. Instead, CTpro takes the information right from the camera sensor and converts it real time in the Rec. 709 colour space for HDTV. The latest version of the app has the capacity for three video overlay tracks – for titles, graphics and subtitles – and includes animation options on the lower third of frame. The upgrade also has full support for Bluetooth audio, allowing use of any Bluetoothmicrophone for pro- quality audio. CTpro is available through the Apple App Store for £225 a year or £22 amonth, but will not be available for Android devices. Baudet reasons: “Android is only an operating system, running on 25,000 different devices. We wouldn’t be able to have control of the hardware.” He adds: “A Bentley adwas recently shot on an iPhone and Steven Soderberghmade a feature film, Unsane , on an iPhone and said he would never use another camera again. It’s just the beginning. We’re sure about the future of this, because there are somany advantages. The best camera is the one you have in your pocket.”
too. When it’s done, you send it to an FTP server or publish it on social networks, or you can livestream it right from the phone. “As it’s on a small device using two fingers, we had to find a smart interface tomake it all possible on a phone,” says Baudet. “What we discovered is once you are used to doing it on a phone, youwill never go back. It’s amazing.” Aimed at professional content makers, including TV stations and journalists, the app is currently being trialled among a number of French TV stations, producers and freelancers. “We just had a report back from a very big French company who is using the app,” explains Baudet, “and they asked how it’s possible that the picture quality coming out of it is so much better than the native phone camera.” CTpro’s picture quality is the result of the app bypassing the
ABOVE CTpro aims to provide a complete production workflow, with camera, editing and streaming tools in one app
More information
ctpro.com
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