Category " All"

(Los Angeles 3/10/2005) An unofficial 70,000 soccer fanatics watched the annual battle between the national futbol clubs of Argentina and Mexico at the Los Angeles Coliseum last night. They watched the Mexican team put on a solid first half capped by an accidental autogol by Argentina’s Fabricio Fuentes. Then the audience watched a poised and disciplined Argentina team lead by Rolando Zarate comeback and tie the game in the second half.

But the audience also witnessed two HI-PODS covering the game. Each goal was towered by a separate HI-POD. This way all the action on each side of the field was easily captured. Both coaches expressed interest in the HI-POD as a new piece of soccer training equipment- even Alberto de la Torre the President of the Federation of Mexican Futbol took the time to check out the HI-POD and pose with the future of soccer goal camera systems.

(Los Angeles, CA 3/8/05- Tuesday 11pm) Towering high above the Villaraigosa victory camp at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre in Hollywood, HI-POD captured breathtaking footage of the election celebration. Although reserved and cautious over the apparent win, Villaraigosa was all smiles and offered profuse thanks to all his supporters.

As seen in the photos the HI-POD was able to move around the crowded event and capture candid shots of Villaraigosa and his supporters. From the back of the room, to the press pit, and ultimately to the stage, the HI-POD was able to quickly get up in the air, get the shot, and go.

(Los Angeles, CA 2/27/05) Hi-POD was once again invited to the attend the Red Carpet arrivals for the Oscars. Space is at a premium at this event. Every credentialed press photographer and videographer in the world fight for position at this gala event. All of these individuals are given a position on the bleachers that line the entrance the KODAK Theatre.

The HI-POD’s uniqueness means that the operator does not have to stand in the bleachers but amazingly the operator can be behind the bleachers. This means the HI-POD operator takes up no space. Elevated at fifteen feet above and extremely mobile, the HI-POD is a star at any red carpet event.

(Jan 19-24, 2005, Los Angeles, CA) Nike tapped the Team Agency to create a series of Soccer skills clips for the new NIKE “Tiempo” website. The NIKE Skills squad, a group of talented young ball players, were recorded in different locations around Los Angeles performing imaginative and awe-inspiring soccer techniques.

The Challenge? To get great footage in multiple locations across Los Angeles in a few days. Los Angeles has some great soccer locations, but dealing with traffic to get to those locations can become quite time consuming, and destroy a production schedule.

The Problem? For the shoot, logistically speaking, setting up each location and creating a method of obtaining altitude shots , like scaffolding. That usually means time to set up, labor to assemble and tear down, and money to make it all happen- all with very little “Tiempo” to do it in.

According to Team-Agency Director Lew Baldwin, “We considered renting a scissor lift for our overhead shots of soccer fields – used for establishing shots and action cut aways. The price and insurance were a big concern. Then we discovered the HI-POD and it did all we wanted and more”.

The Solution? HI-POD, the Xtreme Camera Monopod. The HI-POD is a telescoping mast that extends from 6 to 15 feet, (or any height in between) and provides the user total touch control of pan, tilt and zoom functions. Additionally an eye-level anti-glare monitor makes it easy for the operator to see exactly what the camera sees. And at only twenty pounds, the HI-POD is light enough to pick it up and go anywhere.

“We especially liked our ability to get into the middle of the field for more stylized shots,” stated NIKE director Baldwin, ” without being too obtrusive.”

Below Producer Keeley Gould and Director Lew Baldwin pose for the HI-POD camera after completing the Los Angeles production for NIKE’s “Tiempo” Documentaries. The company plans to produce similar ads with NIKE skill squads in Miami, New York City, Dallas, and Rio.

The clips will eventually live at Nike’s website: http://www.nike.com/nikesoccer/tiempo

Check out the Team Agency at: www.team-agency.com

(1/22/05 Carson , CA) Saturday the “International Soccer Match Series in LA ” moved south of the LA Coliseum to the Home Depot Center for the next to final match in this friendly competition. The Korean national team faced the national team of Sweden. It looked like Korea finally had a solid victory to end the tournament. Earlier in the week Jo Bonfrere’s Korean team lost to Columbia (2-1) in the first game and tied Paraguay (1-1) in the second match.

The HI-POD, the Xtreme camera monopod, was placed behind the south goal eagerly awaiting the action. And at 15 feet above the goal, a generic LANC controlled prosumer camera was capturing broadcast quality images from a breathtaking perspective.

Korea’s Chung Kyung-ho drew first blood, in the 71st minute, with a beautiful long -range shot just beyond the reach of Sweden’s goalkeeper Eddie Gustafsson and into the top right corner of the net. The Korean’s continued to pressure the Swedish defense, with Chung almost adding another in the 81st minute. Both of these shots were in the goal away from the HI-POD. But with a camera with a good optical lens on top of the HI-POD, the operator was able to capture the shots perfectly.

With time running out Sweden aggressively started moving more attackers forward and in the 85th minute success came their way. Marcus Rosenberg slipped through the Korean defense placing the ball firmly in the bottom back corner of the net. This shot was directly below the HI-POD. The HI-POD’s tilt mechanism made it easy to vertically cover the game up and down the field, while the HI-POD’s foot made for easy smooth side to side panning across the field. Its zoom controller made it easy to zoom in on any part of the field and cover the action.