I'm heading up a new rental company down in South Florida and I'm curios to know what the average indie filmmaker looks for when they rent equipment. What would your ideal rental house include? What cameras would it offer? What lighting, grip, etc.? Also, what would be considered fair rates? I'm looking forward to your responses. Thanks!
Renting Equipment
- Thread starter MattMiller
- Start date
I look for choice in camera rental companies. And plenty of extras.
Grip equipment is pretty easy - just the usual items and plenty of them.
I hate placing an order and finding out they only have - say - 50 c-stands
and 40 of them are out on rental and I'm stick with the 10 wonky ones.
Same with lights - wide choice, well maintained and enough of them.
My ideal rental house will carry the top of the line - too expensive to buy
or too large to store - items. I own a camera, I rent lenses that cost more
than the camera. I rent dollies and track (too expensive to own and to big
to store) and jibs.
And the number one thing I look for is a knowledgeable and friendly staff. When
I was starting I remember renting a dolly and track. The rental agent simply
took my order and sent me on my way with the equipment. I didn't know
I needed different wheels for the track, things like side rails and even a
different head for the camera I was using. I wish the guy had seen I didn't
have everything needed and asked.
Even now, with more experience, I like it when the rental agent sees I've
got 10 c-stands and no sand bags and mentions it.
Grip equipment is pretty easy - just the usual items and plenty of them.
I hate placing an order and finding out they only have - say - 50 c-stands
and 40 of them are out on rental and I'm stick with the 10 wonky ones.
Same with lights - wide choice, well maintained and enough of them.
My ideal rental house will carry the top of the line - too expensive to buy
or too large to store - items. I own a camera, I rent lenses that cost more
than the camera. I rent dollies and track (too expensive to own and to big
to store) and jibs.
And the number one thing I look for is a knowledgeable and friendly staff. When
I was starting I remember renting a dolly and track. The rental agent simply
took my order and sent me on my way with the equipment. I didn't know
I needed different wheels for the track, things like side rails and even a
different head for the camera I was using. I wish the guy had seen I didn't
have everything needed and asked.
Even now, with more experience, I like it when the rental agent sees I've
got 10 c-stands and no sand bags and mentions it.
Thanks for the feedback. We're about 10 mounts out from completion. South Hollywood Rentals is the name of the company.
We'll be offering HMIs, Kinos, dollies, jibs, remote heads, lenses, cameras, etc. What most may be especially interested in is the Si-2K camera rental. South Hollywood Pictures recently shot a music video with the new Silicon Imaging prototype Si-2K camera... and the results were more than quite impressive. We intend on offering this camera package within the next year or so.
I hear what you're saying about knowledgeable staff. What we intend to implement is a checklist system to prevent things like "oops, no sandbags" or "mierda!! coño!!! NO GELS!!!" Having 2 sets of wheels for a dolly is a must!
Keep plenty of things in stock? Definitely. We're only going to stock quality equipment... not those crazy C-stands that feel like they're made of plastic dog doo.
I would greatly appreciate some more responses from everyone. We're trying to mold this business concept around what real independent filmmakers need and want. Be as ridiculous with the suggestions as you like. Thanks!
We'll be offering HMIs, Kinos, dollies, jibs, remote heads, lenses, cameras, etc. What most may be especially interested in is the Si-2K camera rental. South Hollywood Pictures recently shot a music video with the new Silicon Imaging prototype Si-2K camera... and the results were more than quite impressive. We intend on offering this camera package within the next year or so.
I hear what you're saying about knowledgeable staff. What we intend to implement is a checklist system to prevent things like "oops, no sandbags" or "mierda!! coño!!! NO GELS!!!" Having 2 sets of wheels for a dolly is a must!
Keep plenty of things in stock? Definitely. We're only going to stock quality equipment... not those crazy C-stands that feel like they're made of plastic dog doo.
I would greatly appreciate some more responses from everyone. We're trying to mold this business concept around what real independent filmmakers need and want. Be as ridiculous with the suggestions as you like. Thanks!