Polecam press announcement, 2008 November 3
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.

HI Rez image (Click to download)

Accompanying image shows Production Manager Rob Prowse with Polecam system in harness mode.

"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 transit which accompanied the campaigns," explains Greg Salman of Polecam's USA distribution company. "The combination of a narrow-diameter 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."

"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 IP-TV channels," adds Polecam founder and Managing Director Steffan Hewitt. "The new Dumbell system which we introduced at IBC 2008 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 achieved 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.

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. Steffan improvised a rig comprising a miniature 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.

Media contacts:

Mel Noonan, Sales and Marketing Manager, Polecam Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)1234 855 222
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David Kirk, Stylus Media Consultants
Tel: +44 (0)1342 311 983
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