HI-POD CAPTURES GOALS AT HOME DEPOT CENTER (KOREA v SWEDEN)

(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. (Watch highlights by clicking here)

HI-POD GETS ABOVE KOREA, PARAGUAY GAME AT LA COLESIUM

(1/19/2005 Los Angeles, CA) The experienced Paraguayan striker Jose Cardozo took advantage of south Korean defensive inexperience and drew a penalty to put Paraguay ahead at the half. Cardozo's skillful manuever in the penalty box was easily captured by the HI-POD. Extended 15 feet above the field, the HI-POD was able to pan, tilt, and zoom to follow the shot- all without the obstruction of the net.

Quickly in the second half, Korea's Kim Dong-hun headed a cross past Paraguay's goalie Justo Villar. This shot was also in front of the HI-POD. Once again the HI-POD'S elevation above the net helped captured an unobstructed shot of the goal. (Watch highlights by clicking here.)

HI-POD SCORES AGAIN (COLUMBIA v GUATEMALA) LA COLISEUM

(1/17/05 Los Angeles) The LA Coliseum was the sight of the second soccer match in the "International Soccer Match Series in LA" tournament. This evening Columbia and Guatemala went head to head in a friendly match. In the third minute of play, LA Galaxy's Carlos Ruiz scored the first goal to put Guatemala up 1-0. This held until the 83rd minute when Columbia's Hector Hugo Hurtado scored a header to tie the game.

The HI-POD was used to capture still shots of the opening ceremonies and later with a video camera to capture the goal perspective. This impressed the Columbia National Coach (Reinaldo Rueda) so much that he requested the footage. (To watch the highlights click here)

HI-POD helps ROLAND at NAMM 2005

While the music equipment giant ROLAND was preparing for this year's NAMM convention in Anaheim, they realized they had a videotaping dilemma. With 40,000 sqare feet of booth space to cover and with so many "in booth" events taking place, they needed a way to get above the crowd to get an unobstructed view of the presenter, as well as a way to move that "elevated view" to other demonstration spots within the booth.

HI-POD addressed those problems. It gave them a way to easily move to any spot in the booth and to get above the crowd. Now with the introduction of the stand-alone base the job was made a whole lot easier. Just set it up and walk away. A portable crane has never been so easy.

Please visit the Roland website to see footage that the HI-POD captured for them. "There are a number of small demonstration clips on the website", stated Roland Marketing Communications Director Albert Dugas, "Within each of these clips are altitude perspective shots that were captured with the HI-POD."

Visit the Roland website at www.rolandus.com

HI-POD SCORES GOAL FOR KOREA v COLUMBIA at LA COLISEUM

(1/15/05 Los Angeles) Saturday evening kicked off the beginning of the International Soccer Match Series in LA. HI-POD was there covering one of the goals. The HI-POD operator elevated his camera fifteen feet in the air behind the goal for spectacle footage. At the end of the first half the HI-POD , positioned behind the Korean goal, caught the Columbian offensive onslaught that ended up as a penalty kick for the Columbian team.

In the second half the HI-POD was positioned behind the Columbian goal. The Korean National team turned on the pressure by aggressively attacking the Columbian goal keepter. HI-POD operator Steve Holmquist captured the many Korean attempts. In the end, however, the Columbian team withstood and prevailed 2-1.

The International Soccer Match Series in LA will run from Jan 15 to Jan 23, 05. Look for HI-POD reports throughout the week on the other matches. (To watch all the game highlights, click here)

• Jan 17, 2005 (Monday) Guatemala v Columbia 7pm
• Jan 19, 2005 (Wednesday)Korea v Paraguay 7pm
• Jan 22,2005 (Saturday) Korea v Sweden
• Jan 23, 2005 (Sunday) Guatemala v Paraguay 7pm

HI-POD covers Hollywood Hills Home destroyed by mudslide

(1/9/05- Studio City)- A mudslide toppled a home in the Hollywood Hills early Sunday. The multimillion dollar home came down in seconds trapping a 33 year old man, his 10-year old son, and his 5-year old daughter. The 5,000 square foot, two-story home came down in seconds, but luckily all escaped safely, according to Assistant fire chief Rick Garcia of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The HI-POD was on the scene documenting the event with a still camera. HI-POD operator John Murga explained "It (HI-POD) was a great way to get above the street and close to the scene. The Fire Department put up the yellow tape so it was difficult to get up close. This was the best way to get into the action without putting myself in danger."

Extreme Monopod delights at CES 2005

With over 2,400 exhibitors and over 140,000 attendees, CES is by far the largest Convention/EXPO in the world. With all the high tech companies vying for attention it was the HI-POD that attracted the attention. Used by a production company to document the exhibit, the HI-POD was nimble enough to get through the crowded aisles and get above the booths for great perspective shots.

The HI-POD is even versatile enough to use video cameras and still cameras, providing the news organization with double media gathering capabilities.

HI-POD featured on cover of Camcorder Magazine

Los Angeles, California, January, 2nd 2005- Camcorder & Computer Video Magazine featured the HI-POD Extreme Monopod on the cover of its January 2005 edition. The HI-POD was featured in an article on hot pro-quality video accessories listed as 'must haves'.