Top Rentals and How to Get the Most out of Them

Film & Video spoke to 11 executives at equipment rental houses on both coasts to find out what gear if flying off the shelves. These equipment experts tell us how to get the most out of their top production rentals.

Tom Dickinson

VP/GM, Bexel

"The Panasonic AJ-DSX900 DVCPRO camcorder with 24P capabilities is our hottest item. It’s a very cost-effective, rugged ENG camera that’s much cheaper to rent than Beta SP and has DVCPRO50 recording. The 24P camera capture capability allows the camera operator to create a lot of unique looks. If you’re doing an up-close interview, for example, you might want to go dramatic with 24P, but if the subject is walking around, you can shoot it normal news style at 30 fps."

Marker Karahadian

President, Plus 8 Digital

"Our most sought-after gear is Zeiss lenses. We rent every set we can get our hands on, because they’re the best HD lenses made. Our customers are eager to find solutions with low compression and 4:4:4 HD color space, and we provide them Sony S-950s and the Grass Valley Viper. What filmmakers should know is that any 4:4:4 solution needs to be coordinated with the rental company, cinematographer, post-production house and VFX supervisor. Everyone has to be on the same page, because the workflow for 4:4:4 is being invented. People do like to use the equipment they already own, but sometimes that equipment isn’t appropriate— and that can destroy the whole point of capturing in 4:4:4."

Terry Clairmont

CEO, Clairmont Camera

"Our Arricam 35mm cameras — the Studio and Lite — are the hottest things going at the moment. You can change the speed of the camera during the shot. Another unique feature is that you can control the exposure by either opening and closing the shutter or opening and closing the iris — or do both at the same time. Filmmakers can create a lot of effects in-camera simply by changing the speed during the shot."

Simon Broad

VP, Marketing, CSC / Manhattan

"On the Arri lighting side, the Arri HMI range has become phenomenally popular on both coasts. Crews are really keen on the quality and range of products in the Arri HMI line, which are all user-friendly and well made. The Arri HMI line is also very compatible with increasingly popular modern technologies, such as sophisticated dimmer systems. On the camera side, the big success story is the Arricam, which is very quiet and very modular. It can be broken down and used for handheld or Steadicam as well as in the studio. It can also work well with all the new accessories out there, such as remote focus systems, sophisticated video taps, motion control and the incredible range of computer programs for speed changing and other effects."

Michael Hodgins

Sales Engineer, Mole Richardson

"What’s big are beam projectors and the upgraded power distribution. In lighting, our new item is the Maxi Coop, a 6000-watt overhead lighting device that uses Par 64 globes. Par lamps have a lot of punch to them, and at the same time the Maxi Coop holds two gel frames that allows the light to be softened. The Maxi Coop is also much more flexible than the chicken coop. It will be available in four different beam patterns— wide, medium, spot and narrow spot— each one with an accessory holder that accepts two gel frames. Another advantage is that you don’t have to lay the gels on top of each other. The Maxi Coop’s gel frames feature different channels that keep them separated."

Alex Wengert

GM, Otto Nemenz

"In addition to the Zeiss Ultra Primes, we rent the Cooke S-4 primes. They’ve continually expanded, adding a 14mm, 21mm, 27mm and 135mm, with many more in the works. These are optically superior lenses by virtue of the mechanics, the anti-glare and anti-reflection coatings, and the glass in general. On the camera side, the Arricam is our hottest item and well received by everyone. One feature that users should be aware of is the LDS Lens Display, which allows the camera assistant to check the depth of field of the lens while they’re actually shooting."

Alan Suna

Co-owner, Silvertrucks at Silvercup Studios

"The Shotmaker camera cars are our biggest item. We have two, recently overhauled— and they’re out all the time. They’re very complicated to build, and offer a tremendous amount of flexibility and versatility with regard to the way they can conduct moves. You can attach a crane to the vehicle as well as just use it as a steady camera position. Clients who rent these know that they’re getting a car that offers more range in different set-ups and camera positions."

Paul Levy

President, Advanced Audio Rental

"We rent equipment for scoring and dubbing stages and the Digidesign ProTools HD is the mainstay of what we do. It’s a Macintosh, hard-disk-based recording system. These HD rack systems record at high sample rates, which will shortly be a requirement in the film and post industries because of the new CD formats coming out. That means the equipment records up to 192 kHz, as opposed to SD’s 48 kHz. To get the Mac to run reliably up to 192 kHz takes it up to the limit of what it can do. You can’t just pull it out of the box and expect it to work reliably under the high-pressue environment of a film scoring or dubbing situation. That’s a challenge we specialize in. We’ve designed a purpose-built customized rack system especially for use in film scoring and dubbing."

Richard Abel

Operations Manager/VP, Abel Cinetech

"The hottest items are our Panasonic equipment, especially the newest camera, the SDX-900, which is a DVCPRO50 camera that offers DigiBeta quality at a very affordable price. Like the other Panasonic cameras, it does 24P. Another feature that makes these cameras popular is the cine gamma, which lets them offer extended latitude. We rent all these cameras a la carte. That way, we can help the client build to their needs, from a documentary package all the way up to a full cine-style set-up."

Phil Radin

EVP, Marketing, Panavision

"On the film side, the hottest rental item is the Millennium XL camera, which can shoot in studio, handheld and Steadicam modes and is also synch-sound quiet. The camera is configurable to any of those modes without tools and in under five minutes. It’s also small and lightweight. The Primo lenses are still a driving force in the industry— and a very hot item for us. On the digital side, the Panavision Primo Digital Primes and Zooms that we developed for HD cameras are very popular. They were designed from the ground up to offer the same charactertistics as 35mm lenses."

Michael Bravin

CTO, Band Pro Film and Digital

"Our most popular product is the Miranda DVC-800, a downconverter and serializer for the Sony and Panasonic HD cameras. Relatively inexpensive, it allows you to go from HD to Firewire. Filmmakers use it for on-set dailies and for downconversion after they’ve shot. The Zeiss DigiPrimes are our other hot items. They allow you to shoot with an HD camera and then make a blow-up to 35mm film. These lenses are designed mechanically like a motion picture film lens, and designed optically to take advantage of current HD imaging systems."