FLW Outdoors Fishes for Dynamic Shots With Polecams

Polecams are increasingly prevalent for capturing unique camera
angles in sports. Forge Media is using one to provide dynamic camera
shots for the fourth season of Fox Sports’ FLW Outdoors bass-fishing
show.

“Polecam is giving us more flexibility,” says
Forge Media principal Jason King. “It is so portable in its
configuration. It moves nothing like a jib.

“When I
first saw a Polecam,” he adds, “I thought that I was going to have to
replicate it. Then I realized Polecam really had the broadcaster in
mind when designing them.” Polecams give the audience unique
perspectives without the restraints of expensive crane shots. They can
be operated by a single operator and can be attached on the operator or
to a tripod. They are lightweight and can be moved easily when
operators need to change locations.

Polecams are
attached to small remote cameras and have been associated with Iconix
HD cameras. King, however, prefers to use the Toshiba IK HD1 camera. An
important factor in camera shooting is measuring the amount of light in
a shot. The Toshiba offered more flexibility in measuring light, he
says: “We had two more stops of light then any other HD camera that we
found of that size.” with “We had two more stops of light with the
Toshiba camera then with any other camera of that size.” He has also
used the Panasonic US932HT camera.

The Polecam system
has the ability to connect to a remote-control panel, which allows
video engineers to take control of the camera from the broadcast mobile
unit. For color-correction, the Polecam has an HD monitor with waveform
and vector scope, which allows color to be monitored and edited, saving
time in post production. Polecam has enabled Forge Media to capture
exclusive shots from boats as well as from land.

“The
sport of competitive bass fishing poses many tough challenges — long
distances, unpredictable environments, pounding by water and waves —
but through it all, Jason King’s Polecam has added a fantastic
component to our visual style and is something I know I can count on
for quality video,” says Joe Novello, coordinating producer at FLW
Outdoors.