Polecam Triumphs In US Presidential Election

Polecam's transportable camera system took to the US election circuit on the Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential campaign bus tours.
A Polecam rig, including a Toshiba IK-HD1E 1080i camera, was used for straight-to-air and recorded news reports from a string of locations including the national conventions in Denver and Saint Paul.
Greg Salman of Polecam's USA distribution company, said: "Polecam's very compact dimensions and operational weight of just 20 kg made it the only long-reach camera mounting system permitted on the press transmit which accompanied the campaigns.
"The combination of a narrow-diametre boom and miniature HD camera allowed high quality images to be taken from ground level up to as high as 15 feet without interrupting the view of the election presentations seen by convention audiences.
"The Polecam rig is uniquely quick to assemble as well as being easy to move from one location to another on a given set. Polecam's application in the US 2008 presidential election even came to the attention of general-circulation publications such as 'The New York Times' and 'Wired' which also picked up on the high-tech nature of the Democratic campaign itself. This included an enormous video projection surface and a 21 metre wide by 18 metre high stage set which took 25,000 man-hours to construct."
Steffan Hewitt, Polecam Founder and Managing Director, said: "The dollar's increasing strength against overseas currencies such as the pound has improved Polecam's affordability in the USA by over 20 per cent, making it an extremely attractive proposition for mainstream television networks and also bringing it within reach of the religious broadcast market as well as the rapidly growing number of IPTV channels.
"The new Dumbell system which we introduced at IBC2008 in September lowers the price even further because operators can now use ordinary sports practice weights as counterbalances, buying these from local shops rather than paying airline freight charges when travelling long distances with their Polecam rigs."
Being a genuinely single-operator system, Polecam is also far more efficient to drive than a heavyweight camera crane which typically needs at least two operators. The fly-through effects achievable by experienced operators make Polecam-originated content highly popular with television audiences and give much greater production freedom than can be achieve with a shoulder-mounted camcorder, including the ability to handle water sports using the FishFace underwater head and housing which was used to great effect during the diving and swimming events at the China Games in August. An entire Polecam system including HD camera, HD viewfinder and digital recorder can be operated from a portable DC power supply.
(KMcA)