Latest updates is here to keep you up to date with the latest video productions that I am working on, latest kit, and shows the flexibility of the Polecam and gives you an idea of how it is used.
New Panasonic 101 Camera now available..
The perfect camera to add that '35mm film look' to dramas, commercials, music videos and promos etc.
The BBC approved Panasonic 101 is a revolutionary HD camera that has a large film-size sensor helping to deliver cinema style shallow depth of field and stunning HD pictures. Now you can create the very popular '5D look' using a professional video camera that doesn't compromise the way you shoot. This is a files based camera and can either record to SD or compact flash cards. Recording on compact flash cards back to the NanoFlash means that I can offer a number of recording options including Quicktime and MXF as well as higher bitrates and 4:2:2 encoding to meet broadcast guidelines.
The 101 can record full HD slow-motion and time lapse and is also switchable between 50hz and 60hz so ideal for NTSC recording. Recording formats include 1080/50i, 1080/25p, 1080/24p, 720/50p, 720/25p, 720/24p, 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 720/60p, 720/30p
Polecam in the Amazon Rainforest..
Okay so it wasn't the real Amazon rainforest but it's the closest I have got so far!
A huge structure with tropical plants, trees, animals and insects was built on top of the Westfield shopping centre in London as part of Sky HD's rainforest week.
The atmosphere in the rainforest really came to life once the sun had set and there were a number of vip tours taking place which were captured with the Polecam. The filming had to be as discrete as possible so as not to detract from the rainforest experience and this was helped by the fact that the Polecam is mounted on a standard tripod so has a very small footprint and I was able to position myself on top of a small bank behind some trees.
Polecam building a Roman Villa..
For Discovery's latest programme on how to build a Roman Villa Polecam was able to give the viewer a unique perspective of the Roman remains.
The Polecam can relocate in minutes and sometimes seconds due to its lightweight and fuss-free design and this was essential on this shoot where we were traipsing across fields and uneven terrain.
Some of the remains that featured in the programme were very low walls and from the ground it was hard to envision what the site and the layout of the villa looked like. The Polecam was able to give a very effective solution and the high angle view added a very necessary benefit for the viewer. The 6 metre reach of the Polecam was particularly advantageous when filming the mosaics - it showed off the beauty of the mosaic in one simple high angle shot.
Polecam helps launch new Ford Car in Paris...
Over and over again I am told how Polecam adds something special to an otherwise ordinary shoot and this car launch for Ford was a fine example. A typical two camera shoot for a press day car launch with the addition of the Polecam meant that the on-screen shots of the car and the presenter were brought to life. The Polecam, with its 20 foot reach, also had the added advantage of being able to reach right over the top of the press scrum so there was no chance of anyone getting in the way.
Polecam and Dizzy Rascal in Ibiza..
The Ibiza Rocks Hotel was the venue for this MTV Dizzy Rascal shoot
Polecam is an excellent choice of camera crane for music gigs, you can offer up a huge variety of shots from slow sweeps to fast spins as well as locked off shots and at the same time remain relatively discrete so as not to annoy the artist on stage.
...not your regular bike wash
Polecam was the essential choice for this Bennetts bike insurance commercial; shooting on HD with the Toshiba IK-HD1 mini-cam and recording back to compact flash cards on the Flash XDR.
The polecam was working alongside the 5D Canon DSLR and was able to get some nice high angles and smooth jib shots at the same time as the 5D. The rolling spider that the polecam is mounted on meant that the polecam could be repositioned simply and quickly.
Polecam 3D Shoot
On this shoot the entire day was dedicated to the polecam so we were able to really push the polecam to its limits to see what worked best in 3D.
Polecam has huge benefits in the field of 3D filming due to its lightweight pan and tilt head and minicam cameras making set-up and relocation of the polecam rig a very painless process and much quicker than a more cumbersome mirror rig.
Alignment is essential when shooting 3D to ensure you get the desired result and with a more traditional mirror rig the cameras would have to be realigned every time you moved the rig. We kept the same discipline with the polecam rig but due to the solid and stable set up of the pan and tilt head and the smaller cameras on most occasions no realignment was necessary - this was a huge benefit to the shooting schedule.
We were shooting with 2 Toshiba IK-HD1 minicams and recording back to two Flash XDRs onto compact flash cards. A stereo brain was used to give us an anaglyph output and/or side by side image.
Polecam - 1000 degrees of horizontal rotation - perfect for Street Dancing
For the 5th year running I have filmed the annual Street Dance weekend in London with the Polecam. The event is still shot on DVCAM so I had to use my Red-byte down-converter to down-convert the HD signal to component.
Polecam's pan and tilt head has 1000 degrees of horizontal rotation which is perfect for capturing some of the Street Dance Routines over head. The shots are shown live onto the screens and give the audience a unique view of some of the Street Dance freezes and moves.
Polecam - Dream shots for Discovery Dream Homes
Polecam can relocate in minutes and when you have a large house to film with lots of rooms as well as exterior shots it is the perfect bit of kit. Working with two sections inside, and 5 sections outside, the polecam really showed off the architectural design of this dream home.
Two Polecams are better than one..
I have filmed a lot of stuff over the years with the polecam and this shoot certainly goes to the top of the list of craziness. A huge one day extravaganza filmed for Cadbury's which included events such as crowd surf racing, mattress jousting, balloon pop belly flop and toilet roll goggle football.
The directors on this production had used polecam before so it was no surprise that two polecams were booked - it is the perfect piece of kit for a shoot like this. You have several events taking place over a very large area so you need a piece of kit that is easy to break down and relocate. The polecam was able to produce some sexy sweeping hero shots of the teams and also really gave you a sense of what was going on with a high angle top shot.
The two polecams were working together on some events to shoot the two teams involved and later on in the day split off into individual units capturing separate events. Both polecams were shooting HD using the Toshiba HD camera and recording back to a Flash XDR.
Polecam - Have you caught anything yet!?..and other polecam fishing gags.
Polecam and fishing jokes go hand in hand but at no better time than filming at sea.
Onboard the Aurora we were at sea for 3 days. The polecam was the ideal crane for working on board with a few thousand passengers and some tight spaces - it could be operated discretely, took up little floor space and could be moved and dismantled quickly - we even managed to get some fantastic signage on the side of the ship which we would otherwise been unable to get as we had no opportunity whilst the ship was docked.
Polecam - even makes resurfacing a road look sexy
When you have a shoot where you are filming machinery and you really want to bring it to life then Polecam is the right camera for the shoot. This was a single camera production only using polecam recording back to HD on the Flash XDR. Polecam was able to get the ordinary safety cutaways, close-up statics, wides etc and all the sexy sweeping shots.
The video needed to show off this new piece of Tarmac equipment and the polecam was able to do just that. The polecam followed the path of the machine as it laid the Tarmac on the road from a high angle sweeping overhead to get the road before and after it was resurfaced. Using four sections of pole we were able to get all the shots required from the safety of the pavement.
Polecam on a recce for new Jamie Oliver Sainsbury's commercial shoot
Polecam was the choice for the director's recce on the new Jamie Oliver Sainsbury's commercial. The shoot for real will be on 35mm film on a 40 foot long crane and the director wanted a lightweight crane that was quick to set up and transport and that could replicate the shots from the storyboard that the larger crane would be shooting to give him an idea of how it will look.
The conditions were pretty challenging with lots of rain and mud and a great deal of trekking across slippery farm fields. The polecam fit into the back of a Range Rover along with the driver and 5 passengers and we managed to shoot and recce 3 farms within a short time frame. This shoot clearly demonstrated the flexibility of the polecam and yet another way in which it can be used.
Single camera Polecam shoot in a cold London studio...
A cold London studio was the setting for this corporate shoot in December. The additional lights we put up had the added benefit of keeping us a little warmer.
It was great doing a shoot where the polecam was the only camera as it meant that I had the freedom of moving where I wanted to get the best possible shot and we had ample amount of time to experiment.
A pilot shoot for the BBC for a new illusion and magic-based programme.
What better way to shoot a flying car than with a polecam.
Never work with children or animals....
..unless of course you can keep your distance with a polecam - 6 metres distance
A shoot for the BBC's 'Inside Out' programme on a farm in the Forest of Dean
Polecam Bobsleighing in Austria with Ant and Dec...
Austria was the setting for one of Ant and Dec's challenges on ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway and the polecam was one of the cameras which covered the race.
The course was 1km long and the polecam was perfect for getting establishing shots of the course from high angles as well as pov type shots to introduce certain bends and other parts of the bobsleigh run.
Despite the steep slopes, the polecam was relocated with ease along different parts of the course and was either pushed along on it's wheels or broken down and reassembled in minutes.
Absolute Heaven is a Hampshire based chocolate fountain business.
The polecam was used with two sections and was ideal for showing off the chocolate fountain from all angles. The chocolate fountain stands at over a metre high and you couldn't get the overhead shot any other way in such a confined space.
These two pics show the final shot of the film which is like a pov of a marshmallow being dipped into the chocolate fountain. The skewer was cable tied to the anamorphic adaptor and the shot starts on a plate of marshmallows, spins round and then is dipped into the chocolate. This really does show off the versatility of the polecam.
Polecam in the land of the giants..
Belfast was the setting for the UK Strongest Man event for Channel Five.
There were 13 events over the 3 days of the August bank holiday weekend and on the first two days all the events were spread out around the city. The polecam kit can be set up in approx 10 minutes and is ideal for shoots like this where you are racing around from one location to the next.
The polecam was used at varying lengths from 2 - 6 metres and the size of the camera meant that it wasn't too intrusive for the competitors.
A bedroom in Beaconsfield was the setting for a promo for the Kenko Dream Sleep System. The polecam was the perfect choice in such a small space and was the only camera used throughout the day to demonstrate the benefits of this luxury mattress and duvet.
The polecam was set up at a length of 2.5 metres and achieved a wide range of sweeping shots and lock offs with minimal set up time.
15,000 bras and a
Polecam...
The Playtex Moonwalk is
the only power-walking marathon in the world and takes place every year to
raise money for breast cancer research and care.
Polecam covered the start of the 2005 moonwalk - a
26.2 mile walk which started and finished at Hyde Park in London.
The 15,000 participants wore decorated bras to help raise awareness and
raised over £400,000 for breast cancer charities.
Polecam goes to the Olympics...
Polecam covered several events at the Athens 2004 Olympics and I was one of two polecam operators covering the outside events.
The events covered included the cycling road race, cycling time trials and the triathlon.
The size of the polecam camera system made it ideal for getting interesting shots and camera positions without being disruptive or hazardous.
The Dido European summer tour started in July 2004. A total of 16 shows throughout July in Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Locarno, Frankfurt, Nimes, Lucca, Montreux, Munich, Vienna, Stra (Venice), Cernobbio, Rome, Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne.
The polecam was on stage at every venue providing images for the large screens. It was used with the camplex ccu system which means you can have full remote control of the camera settings in a multi-camera environment.
Polecam is a unique camera jib system: a 3-chip broadcast minicam mounted on a precision remote pan and tilt head on the end of a 5 section carbon fibre pole. The pole can be used at a length of between 1.5 and 6 metres and provides great 'flying camera' style shots that can be set up in minutes.
The polecam can be either be harness or tripod mounted and due its lightweight nature can be relocated in seconds.
Polecam is the perfect piece of equipment to raise production values or to get shots that a standard camera couldn't get. Ideal for music videos or live events, drama, documentary, lifestyle, sport etc
Polecam on a 'seriously fun' promo...
'Seriously Fun' is a new corporate entertainment company based in Hampshire offering scalextric racing events to corporate businesses and private parties.
With a 20' x 9' track and six cars racing simultaneously this was an ideal project for the polecam. You could drop the camera on the track, pull back for high angle wide shots as well as tracking the cars as they raced round.
On this production I used both my polecam kit recording to a DSR-50 DVCAM recorder as well as my DSR-500 dvcam camera kit.
First drama feature nearing completion...
There is only one more shooting day left until the end of production on my first feature length drama - provisionally titled 'Zygon'.
'Zygon' is a BBV production produced and directed by BBC director/editor Bill Baggs.
This Sci-fi feature is being shot entirely on DVCAM, shooting widescreen on my Sony DSR-500 and going straight to DVD some time this year.
Music Video site recently launched...
Throughout the last two years I have been working on several music videos for a new website that has recently been launched called musiceye.
Musiceye are publishers of new music & music videos from previously unknown acts exclusively available from the musiceye website.
The site contains a variety of music from r' n b', garage, pop to alternative and indie music.