by Steffan Hewitt*
Beijing was our third Summer Games. Conceived during a windsurfing shoot off Hawaii in 1996, the Polecam go-anywhere transportable camera rig was developed from the combination of a carbon-fibre windsurfing mast and a miniature SD camera. Two Polecam systems were fully up and running by the time of the Sydney Games in 2000, increasing to six at the Athens Games in 2004. This short article attempts to track the ten Polecams known to have been in used at the 2008 event.
If you are in Dubai early this March check out Polecam at Polecam Distributor Tevido's stand ZM-33 in Zabeel Hall
3 - 5th March 2009
Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre
Polecam owner operators in the Netherlands
Edo and Thijn of Camforce were commissioned to make a corporate video for the sale of a property in Orba,Spain, on the Costa Blanca, shown in the photo (attached) - a unique 'finca', a villa with surrounding gardens and guesthouses on it.
They did the shoot with an ENG HDV camera and the Polecam (connected to a laptop via a DV-converter), in around. 5 days ( well, they took a bit of a holiday as well ). The clip was used on the websites of the real estate agents and the owner.
Here is a little clip they made which well demonstrates Polecam's ability, as well as their own.
You can also watch the final clip, which has a lot of Polecam shots in it, here
Edo says
"The Polecam gives it great production value, the video looks very classy, like the house... The Polecam moves make the video different from most of the other real estate videos you can find on the web."
A cold London studio was the setting for a corporate shoot in December. The additional lights we put up had the added benefit of keeping all of us a little warmer.
This was a single camera shoot which as a polecam operator is perfect - I had the freedom of moving where I wanted to get the best possible shot and we had ample amount of time to experiment and get creative.
Richard Hookings
www.thecameraman.tv
Photo is from Polecam owner operator Camforce, who are very active in and around the Netherlands with their rig. Thijn and Edo of Camforce did this shoot for TP Marine, who build very fast patrol boats for (to name but a few) the marines, army and police.
They tracked the target boat from this second boat, pre rigged with Polecam and lowered into the water, speeding alongside in classic Polecam style, the only mistake being forgetting to tell the driver to step on the gas (750 horsepower) a liitle more gently than usual. They almost disappeared over the side with the rig, but hung in there and completed the shoot with some great shots.