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Covering the Winter Games for Broadcast

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by Mel Noonan Issue 86 - February 2014 This was written a few days before the opening ceremony so news arriving from the front line is of last minute angst for some of the tech teams who go out and perform daily miracles in such unuser-friendly locations year after year. Camera platforms erected in the wrong place, cables lost under a recent snowfa...

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 March 2014

To have and to hold... with Polecam!

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Issue 84 - December 2013 The meaning of "Darwinism\" has changed over time, and varies depending on its context. While the term has remained in use amongst scientific authors when referring to modern evolutionary theory, it has increasingly been argued that it is an inappropriate term for modern evolutionary theory. For example, Darwin was unfamili...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 January 2014

Polecam delivers 500th rig

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by Mel NoonanIssue 81 - September 2013 We in the UK should be rightly proud of Polecam and what it has achieved, with news that the 500th rig has been delivered. Extreme sports cameraman Steffan Hewitt designed the lightweight jib for his own use, as a tool to get the shots he wanted. He kept refining it as he used it. Others saw it and wanted it....

Submitted by Mel Noonan

Published 01 October 2013

Does size matter? with Polecam

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It’s simple. Horses for Courses! ScenarioWhen shooting Anything, Anywhere, there is always a trade between budget, performance, manpower, speed and space – the production company and client will inevitably want quite simply “the best they can get and at the best price”. However when the application and location of the shoot dictate over and above t...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 July 2013

Crowd pulling at BVE

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There is no better crowd puller at a trade show than a stand using equipment from multiple manufacturers being used in way it will be once unpacked by the customer. This ethos is really the idea behind our monthly live studio show and was also the theme for our stand at this year’s BVE. Pooling stands with Autocue was the first good move as it not...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

Tv-bay questions with Richard Hooking

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Richard Hookings Q&A for TV-BayDifferent Animals - The Polecam Full Rig owner opHow did you get in to the Broadcast business?When I was 12 I went to a Michael Faraday lecture; they were demonstrating the latest TV technology of the day– how they made Superman fly with green screen, how they did the weather - I got the bug, and from then on I wanted...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 April 2013

Finally a compact HD zoom lens!

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By Steffan Hewitt, director, PolecamThere are a great number of situations in our industry where the requirement for a small low profile broadcast quality HD camera is needed, whether it be for documentaries, natural history, in car, on board, covert, news, drama, underwater, on a jib arm or small remote head – the list goes on, and expands from th...

Submitted by Steffan Hewitt

Published 01 March 2013

Will Strauss gets a grip!

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By Will StraussOf all the many areas of television technology that tv-bay Magazine covers, you might think that camera support is the one that appears, on the surface at least, to move the slowest. Take the tripod for example. Fundamentally, the design hasn’t changed for a hundred years. Or how about the dolly? The wheels and track device that Alfr...

Submitted by Will Strauss#

Published 01 March 2013

Off Trax interview for TV-Bay

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TV-Bay interviews Off Trax partners Crispin Kyle, Jonathan Dennis and Doug Urquhart. Tell me about Off Trax:Off Trax was set up in 1995 to fill a gap in the market as a specialist light grip company offering a unique dry and wet equipment hire service to the television and film industries. We are three partners, Crispin Kyle. Doug Urquhart and myse...

Submitted by KitPlus

Published 01 February 2013

Zoom lenses and minicams

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Finding a quality tracking zoom lens for the minicams made for the likes of Toshiba/Iconix/Hitachi/Sony has been an uphill battle. The cameras have been made primarily for the medical imaging market for microscopes and endoscopes but adopted by the broadcast industry as a high end minicam. However lenses were always a problem. Fujinon made the TF r...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 November 2012

Extensive, flawless and enjoyed by millions

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Due to the multiple locations of the London Games, coverage was inevitably going to a be a challenge, with locations throughout London and the South; some of them specifically designed and created for the events such as the main Stadium, Velodrome and Aquatics Centre, whilst clever forward thinking meant that existing famous landmarks such as Horse...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 October 2012

The Modern Solution - Just Add Carbon!

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Problem. Traditionally, getting in and among the action and seeing the true grit, determination and suffering of sporting competitors - be it filming something such as International Ironman competitions with cross terrain transitions from land through to water and back to land - speeds from a sprint, to a swim to a high speed cycle, Formula One pit...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 July 2012

Vegas Baby!

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So last month was NAB in Las Vegas, and I got to go!Now I'd never been to the States before. I really didn't know what to expect. Other than not being allowed in bars or casinos as I'm under 21. And trucks on the road, larger meal portions and a favourable exchange rate. Thankfully I'm used to long flights, and after establishing that I could take...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

NAB 2012 Kit Review used by BroadcastShow

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NAB kit review:-So pre-NAB we are all very busy organising interviews with 70 exhibitors over 4 days covering 4 halls and in our case around 28 miles. Late last year we developed an online interview booking system at www.broadcastshow.com which allows exhibitors to book one or more 15 minute slots, enter stand information and questions they may lik...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

Reaching for 3D

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From the opening shot of the Ryder Cup to the Champions League final when Manchester United played Barcelona this year, a stately homes documentary to a Derren Brown magic show, cameraman Chris Taber has been there, filmed it and got the T-shirt. And the reason the camera crane operator has been in demand for so many high-profile jobs? In a word: 3...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2012