Polecam Reports Booming Market In South East Asia

Polecam, a leading provider of hand-transportable camera systems for HD/SD television and digital cinematography, reports a highly successful Broadcast Asia 2008.
Held in Singapore between June 17-20, the event attracted visitors from throughout South East Asia to see the latest developments in programme origination, post-production and playout equipment.
Mel Noonan, Polecam Sales & Marketing Manager, said: "Our Singapore distributor, HWarta, secured a location adjacent to one of the industry's largest manufacturers which contributed to our stand being crowded for the entire three days of the exhibition.
"Many visitors were CEOs or senior management from film and television production companies as far afield as India, Sri-Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmair. We were extremely impressed by the level of interest shown in our mobile production system and we took a record number of requests for quotations.
"The message we set out to convey was that the Polecam rig forms the basis of a no-compromise video or digital-film capture and storage system which can be transported to practically any location, by hand if necessary ad configured for use as quickly as standard ground-level ENG system. It then delivers the production versatility normally associated with a high-budget heavyweight film or commercials shoot. If necessary, all on battery power. Storage can be to tape, disk or slid-state RAM.
"Polecam itself is widely recognised as an affordable and uniquely portable device for obtaining high-angle and long-reach shots under precise manual control. It is also ideal for underwater applications. Our FishFace head can be used to a depth of 4 metres on the Polecam or independently down to 10 metres. FishFace's carbon fibre support arm incorporates drainage holes, which allow the boom to fill and empty quickly. It is capable of a full 360 degree pan and the same fully unrestricted movement as a standard Polecam dry head."
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Polecam was established in 1998 by extreme sports cameraman/director Steffan Hewitt. While directing a series of windsurfing kit commercials in Hawaii, he needed to obtain close wide-angle front shots of a windsurfer in action, shot from a tracking boat or jet ski.
He improvised a rig comprising a minature camera on a carbon-fibre windsurfing mast. Returning to Britain, he developed a lightweight go-anywhere rig with a remote joystick-controlling a high precision pan and tilt head. Polecam now sells successfully around the world from its base near Bedford.
Further information is available at: www.polecam.com.
(KMcA/JM)