HI-POD was on the scene as well. We set up a crew all the way across the street from the Shrine Auditorium, across two lanes of limo traffic, and still we were able to get decent red carpet shots with our 15 foot in the air vantage point.

Our cameras managed to tape the much awaited arrival of Sopranos actor James Gandolfini even from a lousy position clear across the street. Without a mobile camera crane, any one else attempting the same shot would have captured only the heads crowd.

Many people in the crowd around us as we taped all but gave up trying to squint across the street to the red carpet, and gathered behind the HI-POD crew for the best view of the show on the HI-POD's crowd pleasing LCD monitor!

Later, we took the HI-POD to the exclusive HBO after party event, and got great footage of the proceedings. Many event-goers commented on the fact that two HI-POD units were able to cover the event, with such a small footprint; no one's view was blocked by the units in any way.

No other type of camera crane unit could possibly have had such mobility and ease of use in the tight confines of the event, with such a non-disruptive footprint.