May 18th, 2010
I kinda’ did it to myself, and hope I didn’t set a bad precedent for the the whole industry.
I’ve been releasing single-day billed weekend orders that would normally go out after 3pm on Friday quite early, sometimes as early as Thursday morning. Turns out, that’s not such a good idea.
Sometimes, it was for my convenience, but not always. Weekend rentals that go out over any given weekend and bill a single day are already quite a value; they go out Friday and the rental customer keeps it all the way through Monday. That’s three days for a one day billing.
I’ve surveyed the market, from Vancouver, BC to Miami, Florida, and most rental firms charge 1.5 days for the weekend; still a deal. The thing is, a rental firm only generates revenue when the rental item(s) are out and away from the company. Not use days, where a customer picks up Friday, uses it Saturday and returns it Monday, Sunday being a non-use day. That would constitute a one full use day over the weekend.
What’s happening is the customer is in many cases getting more than a one day use out the the gear, and the gear begins to show normal wear and tear at twice (or more) the billing day rate. That just burns up the gear which compromises the longevity and potential revenue return. This also increases maintenance costs, and equipment must be re-purchased at a greater rate. This impacts rental rates directly. Naturally, a weekend renter is entitled to use the equipment from the moment they pick-up the order right up until they return it. That’s a given in the Los Angeles market area, though many area rental firms still bill a longer period over the weekend.
THE CAVIAT
If a customer has a 6am Friday call time, then they must pick-up the gear Thursday to make the call. If they are continuing to film through, say, Saturday, or even late Friday, they have to hold onto the gear until Monday.
So the gear is out Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday until Monday. That’s five linear days. The problem is how to bill it. If a regular Friday through Monday created more use than revenue, which it does, what about the Thursday release? It becomes, in effect, a one day week. Sadly, this billing practice will turn the finest, newest equipment into dust long before its normal lifespan, and way faster that the revenue vs. cost of the items break-even recovery. Not profit, mind you, just to break even. A firm can’t grow, or even sustain itself at a zero-profit level, indeed, being behind the 8-ball for the life of the rental item. You can’t hope to win.
Several rental firms have increased their rates to compensate for this effect. We haven’t yet, but are considering many options.
This next part is directed to the Line Producer, or other person setting up the schedules.
If you schedule a 6am call time for Friday, knowing darn well the rental firm opens at 8:30 or 9:00am, you really can’t complain about the extra day (Thursday through Friday, and into the weekend) billing.
Besides, nobody likes a 6am call time. Make it 10am so everyone is awake and arrives to set on time, at least on the first day of production. Then you have the gear ready to go and everyone’s found the shooting location, warmed up and ready to make movies.
This logic extends to the other side of the weekend, as well.
If you schedule an early call time for Monday, still knowing the rental firm doesn’t open that early, then you have to pick up your order Friday and hold it over the weekend. Expect to be billed the “extra” day.
THE RENTAL FIRM DOESN’T DETERMINE YOUR CALL TIME
There is potential advantage to the Friday-pick-up-for-early-Monday-use scenario. The crew member(s) in possession of the gear have every opportunity to inspect, set-up and verify they’re able to use the equipment, test it and increase their familiarity with the gear, or at least took a moment over the weekend to read the owner’s manual. If a real problem exists, there’s more than enough time to notify the rental firm so that they may implement a corrective proceedure, whether an equipment exchange or the additon of a necessary “thing” that was initially overlooked or was unforeseeable. If you deny the rental firm the opportunity to correct a problem and you choose to not take advantage of it, just like before, you’re fired.
If you pick-up gear on Friday and don’t test the gear until you take it out of the case to use it until Sunday – and then discover a problem - you’re fired. In the olden days, producers used to pay out a half or full day in advance of production start as a prep day. Some more established production companies do budget for a prep day, though that’s occurring less and less.
When I was doing sound, I would prep my Magliner a week in advance, including every conceivable cable, connector, soldering iron, extra connectors and anything else I could imagine I might even remotely or possibly need. Three boompoles, ten 100ft. XLR’s, ten 50ft. XLR’s, seven back-up mics, five extra wireless, etc. I never got caught under-geared . I’d even bring about 100 extra 9volt, AA, AAA and even C-s and D’s even if there wasn’t any equipment that used them. Recall the Boy Scout’s motto: BE PREPARED..
But that’s me, plus, I owned all that stuff, a desirable advantage. Plus while every one else was setting up, all I needed to do was get the cart of the truck, take the plastic wrap off the Magliner and I was pretty much ready to roll; plus I had the confidence that I’ve tested everything five times before I needed it.
But I regress; How does the early pick-up weekend billing problem be solved?
What about a weekend pick-up, either Saturday or Sunday? This sometimes can work out well. Be aware that no rental employee wants to schlep into work on a weekend to release an order. If you can convince someone to come in, they’ll most likely charge you a weekend opening fee. Typically it’s $100 cash. That too could be a good value if an extra days billing is greater. Don’t expect a greater discount on the package to off-set the weekend open fee. Did I mention it was cash?
The only thing I can think of, and have been trying for over a decade, is to bill 1.5 days Thursday-through-Monday, or Friday-through-Tuesday. Still quite a value. And even though it may still truly be a one-day-use, it must be remembered that the rental firm only generates revenue when the equipment is out and away from the store.
RENTAL COMPANIES RENT THE EQUIPMENT, NOT THE USE OF THE EQUIPMENT
Here’s a simple comparison. You rent a car from Enterprise on a Monday. You return the car that next Friday. You go in and tell the rental guy that you only used it on Wednesday, and can you be billed for only one day. When he or she stops laughing, they will bill your credit card for the five days. They too rent the gear (car) to provide the renter access to the gear, not its usage. Whether you drove it one day or all five is simply not relevant.
Naturally, there are considerations such as long-term rental and travel days; those topics are covered in earlier blog postings.
So next time your LP wants everyone to be there before sun-up, and they are screaming about the budget, send them over to this blog. I can’t say it will help, but at least they’ll get the rental firms perspective.
Tags: Call Times, Line Producer's, Thursday's
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April 28th, 2010
The winds of change are once again blowing; this time, we will be taking a look at the future of DOF adapters and some options.
HSR supports the Letus line of products, though there are several others such as RedRockMicro, Brevis Cinevate, MovieTube, P&S plus several indie-built and kits available.
The question remains if these adapters will be necessary for the future of Digital Electronic Cinematography. If you’re anticipating the move to a DSLR, you will inherently have all the bokeh and DOF necessary. SLR prime and zoom-type lenses give you the out-of-focus-pull-to-and-beyond ability in its very nature. No DOF adapter needed here.
I’ve actually put together a Letus Elite with a Canon 5D2 using Nikon lenses, then tried the Nikon lens directly on the 5D2 – sadly the DOF adapter didn’t produce superior results, but I was hoping.
What about the transition over to 3D cameras and camcorders? I can’t see a DOF adapter working with that product do to overwhelming optical and technical complexities. When everyone starts to ship 3D adapters and camcorders we’ll know better, but right now (based on available literature) a DOF – 3D relationship won’t happen.
What of all the DOF adapter manufacturer’s?
It is thought that the DOF manufacturing end of their companies will re-tool and move into other types of products, such as rod support shoes for full-sized ENG camcorder’s, etc.
You’ll always need rod supports and riser’s, grips and shoulder pad systems of some type, and whatever else you can apply to DSLR’s, and when shipped, whatever products that can make 3D rigs easier to use and more convenient.
Not in the Grave Yet
There are a million camcorders still out there, and even though the sales and trends are shrinking that end of the market, and this will most certainly effect the DOF adapter builders. There is little question that the adapters do, in fact, work very well with more traditional single fixed-lens camcorders.
With the introduction of relay lenses, camcorders with detachable lenses in 1/3in., 1/2in. and 2/3in. B4 mounts can now get in the game (actually, they always could have, it’s OK to use the supplied detachable lens without the absolute necessity of using a dedicated relay-type lens, though the relays are a cool item albeit a $2000.00 to $5000.00 price tag).
Not everyone is comfortable with DSLR’s as their HD Motion video capture device. Yes, they’re usually 1920×1080 and output 1080p, as good as the best camcorders and in some cases better. Those that have shot the DSLR products (and I’ve seen the end-product and largely agree) are overwhelmingly amazed at the results. They’re even a bit surprised that such a small package ca do such a fine job.
The images are quite good, full HD and using a ZOOM with Plural Eyes software solves the sound sync-ing and auto gain control problem creating a full 360-degree solution.
Out with 3CCD, a buzzword from the recent past, and in with Full Frame and APS-C single-chip image processors. I told everyone that single chip sensors must eventually win, that was back in 2003 when JVC introduced the JY-HD10U. Give it enough time and I predict all image capture devices will be 1-chip.
If you are getting the results you need using a DOF adapter and your favorite HD camcorder there is no reason to stop, the DSLR-acquired product isn’t specifically better, image wise. It always comes down to the camera operator and the post solutions.
Money, money, money
In as far as 2D is concerned, it is less expensive (read: cheaper) to shoot a DSLR. A Canon 5D2 with a good 24mm – 105mm lens runs about $3500. 32gB CF cards run a bit over a hundred.
A Canon EOS 7D runs about $1700.00 and a Rebel T2i 550D runs under $800.00 and quote the same 1920×1080 1080p and toss in 24p and 25p in addition to 30p.
A Panasonic AG-HVX200A runs about the same to buy as a 5D2, P2 cards have gone down in price and capacity is up, a 32gB E-series is under $600.00 (yes, you get a lot more RT on a CF card of the same capacity, but I have to draw some comparisons). But here’s the sting – you still haven’t got that DOF ability with a camcorder and will still need to purchase an adapter. A Letus Extreme will run about $1200 and lenses will still be necessary, just like in the DSLR scenario.
Which Way is Up?
HSR is a rental house, we need to keep all the bases covered and will continue to carry all the electronic and optical solutions whether DSLR, Camcorder/DOF or (eventually) 3D. One size rarely fits all.
Our goal is to allow you to pick the gear you want (and need) in an effort to help you produce the type and quality of content you deserve. Plus, we encourage trying different equipment rigs so you can get a feel for everything that’s available.
In that regard, our commitment is unwavering.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
If it’s called a TRAILER, why does it appear at the BEGINNING of the movie?
Tags: 3D, DOF, DSLR, the future
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March 31st, 2010
Captures natural and smooth, high quality 3D images at 240fps.
Sony Corporation today announced the development of a single lens 3D camera technology capable of recording natural and smooth 3D images of even fast-moving subject matter such as sports, at 240fps (frames per second).
This technology combines a newly developed optical system for single lens 3D camera which captures the left and right images simultaneously, together with existing high frame rate (HFR) recording technology to realize 240fps
3D filming.
Newly Developed Single Lens Optical System
In existing half mirror 3D camera systems with separate lenses for the left and right eyes, the parallax range is adjustable, enabling the depth of the 3D images to be modified. However, when operating the zoom and focus functions of such systems, the sensitivity of the human eye, in particular to differences in the size and rotational movement of dual images, as well as any vertical misalignment or difference in image quality has meant that complex technology has been required to ensure that each camera lens is closely coordinated, and there are no discrepancies in the optical axis, image size, and focus.
The introduction of a single lens system resolves any issues that may occur as a result of having different optical characteristics for each eye. Furthermore, by using mirrors in place of shutters, incoming light can now be simultaneously separated into left and right images and recorded as it reaches the parallel light area (the area where diverging light from the point of focus on the subject matter becomes parallel) of the relay lens. The separated left and right images are then processed and recorded with the respective left and right image sensors.
As there is no difference in time between when the left and right eye images are captured, it is possible for natural and smooth 3D images to be captured, even of scenes involving rapid movement.
Optical system for single lens 3D camera
240fps 3D Filming
Optical tests have shown that a frame rate 240fps represents the limit of human visual perception, and beyond that it becomes difficult to detect differences in terms of blur and “jerkiness” of moving images (where images that were continuous are now seen as a series of distinct snapshots). By developing a 240fps frame rate CMOS image sensor with properties close to the human eye, which is capable of capture natural images of even fast moving subject matter, Sony has succeeded in further enhancing the quality of 3D video images.
The combination of Sony’s new single lens 3D system and its 240fps high frame rate technology has realized a single lens 3D camera system, based on universal properties of the human eye, which enables natural and smooth 3D images with no accommodation-vergence*1 conflict to be recorded.
*1 Accommodation: focusing the lens on the eye, vergence: aligning the direction of both eyes on the subject
Technological Features
1. New single lens optical system captures left and right images simultaneously to deliver natural and smooth 3D images with no accommodation-vergence conflict. Eliminates the need for lens synchronization, ensuring easily accurate control of 3D zoom and focus functions. When polarized glasses are not used, viewers with still be able to see natural 2D images, as the disparity of the images for left and right eyes are within the range that human eyes can recognize as a blur.
2. 240fps image capture to realize high quality motion images; Realizes high quality capture of 3D content including fast-moving subject matter such as sports.
Prototype to be demonstrated at EATEC JAPAN 2009
Within the growing 3D cinema industry, Sony has supported and driven the expansion of 3D by providing a wide variety of professional equipment for the shooting, production and screening of movies in 3D. The number of digital 3D screens is increasing rapidly, and is expected to reach 7,000 worldwide by the end of 2009*2 In addition to 3D movies, Sony’s range of professional 3D products and technology is also driving the growth of 3D production and distribution across a range of entertainment industries, from theater and music performances to sport and beyond. Furthermore, Sony is also aiming to continue to lead the way in delivering new 3D viewing experiences by bringing 3D to the home in 2010.
*2 Source: Screen Digest (Approx. as of July, 2009)
Key Prototype Specifications
3.5 inch viewfinder able to display 240fps
Imaging sensor
CMOS image sensor system, Single panel color filter (uses two) Spectrum Optical mirror system
External size (W x H x D): Main body is 9.5in. x 7.9in. x 18.9in.
Weight: Main body runs on the heavy side so don’t get rid of those big heads and sticks just yet: 39.68lbs.
Pricing not yet announced as this item is still in the prototype stage. Odds are it won’t be cheap.
More on 3D as it comes in…
Please stay tuned…
Tags: prototype, Single lens 3D
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March 8th, 2010
When you think of the Oscars, you think of Best Director, Best Movie, Best yadda, yadda, yadda. This Blog is a bit different.
This year, as in the year before and the year before that and the year before that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave out the “sciences” part.
No, not during the actual broadcast, though they did take twenty secounds to show a group photo, but in late February. The winners are the brains behind the gear, and how it’s presented.
No surprise, a lot of Plaques (no statues, sadly) went out for 3D stuff, building a better digital projector and so forth.
I just though everyone should know and recognize these folks for their contributions.
Besides, this is a gear site, no thesbians here.
STRANGE FACT:
In 2004 I lost a Technical Emmy for my creation of the first lightweight low-cost studio-configured High Definition camera system for B and C markets to BLACK WRAP.
I can’t be around black spray paint or aluminum foil ever since.
Here are your winners and congradulations:
Technical Achievement Awards
•To Mark Wolforth and Tony Sedivy for their contributions to the development of the Truelight real-time 3D look-up table hardware system.
Through the use of color management software and hardware, this complete system enables accurate color presentation in the digital intermediate preview process. The Truelight system is widely utilized in digital intermediate production environments around the world.
•To Dr. Klaus Anderle, Christian Baeker and Frank Billasch for their contributions to the LUTher 3D look-up table hardware device and color management software.
The LUTher system was one of the first color look-up table processor to be widely adopted by the pioneering digital intermediate facilities in the industry. This innovation enabled accurate color presentation by facilities that had analyzed projected film output and built 3D look-up tables in order to emulate print film.
•To Steve Sullivan, Kevin Wooley, Brett Allen and Colin Davidson for the development of the Imocap on-set performance capture system.
Developed at Industrial Light & Magic and consisting of custom hardware and software, Imocap is an innovative system that successfully addresses the need for on-set, low-impact performance capture.
•To Hayden Landis, Ken McGaugh and Hilmar Koch for advancing the technique of ambient occlusion rendering.
Ambient occlusion has enabled a new level of realism in synthesized imagery and has become a standard tool for computer graphics lighting in motion pictures.
•To Björn Hedén for the design and mechanical engineering of the silent, two-stage planetary friction drive Hedén Lens Motors.
Solving a series of problems with one integrated mechanism, this device had an immediate and significant impact on the motion picture industry.
Scientific and Engineering Awards
•To Per Christensen, Michael Bunnell and Christophe Hery for the development of point-based rendering for indirect illumination and ambient occlusion.
Much faster than previous ray-traced methods, this computer graphics technique has enabled color bleeding effects and realistic shadows for complex scenes in motion pictures.
•To Dr. Richard Kirk for the overall design and development of the Truelight real-time 3D look-up table hardware device and color management software.
Through the use of color management software and hardware, this complete system enables accurate color presentation in the digital intermediate preview process. The Truelight system is widely utilized in digital intermediate production environments around the world.
•To Volker Massmann, Markus Hasenzahl, Dr. Klaus Anderle and Andreas Loew for the development of the Spirit 4K/2K film scanning system as used in the digital intermediate process for motion pictures.
The Spirit 4K/2K has distinguished itself by incorporating a continuous-motion transport mechanism enabling full-range, high-resolution scanning at much higher frame rates than non-continuous transport scanners.
•To Michael Cieslinski, Dr. Reimar Lenz and Bernd Brauner for the development of the ARRISCAN film scanner, enabling high-resolution, high-dynamic range, pin-registered film scanning for use in the digital intermediate process.
The ARRISCAN film scanner utilizes a specially designed CMOS array sensor mounted on a micro-positioning platform and a custom LED light source. Capture of the film’s full dynamic range at various scan resolutions is implemented through sub-pixel offsets of the sensor along with multiple exposures of each frame.
•To Wolfgang Lempp, Theo Brown, Tony Sedivy and Dr. John Quartel for the development of the Northlight film scanner, which enables high-resolution, pin-registered scanning in the motion picture digital intermediate process.
Developed for the digital intermediate and motion picture visual effects markets, the Northlight scanner was designed with a 6K CCD sensor, making it unique in its ability to produce high-resolution scans of 35mm, 8-perf film frames.
•To Steve Chapman, Martin Tlaskal, Darrin Smart and Dr. James Logie for their contributions to the development of the Baselight color correction system, which enables real-time digital manipulation of motion picture imagery during the digital intermediate process.
Baselight was one of the first digital color correction systems to enter the digital intermediate market and has seen wide acceptance in the motion picture industry.
•To Mark Jaszberenyi, Gyula Priskin and Tamas Perlaki for their contributions to the development of the Lustre color correction system, which enables real-time digital manipulation of motion picture imagery during the digital intermediate process.
Lustre is a software solution that enables non-linear, real-time digital color grading across an entire feature film, emulating the photochemical color-timing process.
•To Brad Walker, D. Scott Dewald, Bill Werner and Greg Pettitt for their contributions furthering the design and refinement of the Texas Instruments DLP Projector technology, achieving a level of performance that enabled color-accurate digital intermediate previews of motion pictures.
Working in conjunction with the film industry, Texas Instruments created a high-resolution, color-accurate, high-quality digital intermediate projection system that could closely emulate film-based projection in a theatrical environment.
•To FUJIFILM Corporation, Ryoji Nishimura, Masaaki Miki and Youichi Hosoya for the design and development of Fujicolor ETERNA-RDI digital intermediate film, which was designed exclusively to reproduce motion picture digital masters.
The Fujicolor ETERNA-RDI Type 8511/4511 digital intermediate film has thinner emulsion layers with extremely efficient couplers made possible by Super-Nano Cubic Grain Technology. This invention allows improved color sensitivity with the ability to absorb scattered light, providing extremely sharp images. The ETERNA-RDI emulsion technology also achieves less color cross-talk for exacting reproduction. Its expanded latitude and linearity provides superior highlights and shadows in a film stock with exceptional latent image stability.
•To Paul Debevec, Tim Hawkins, John Monos and Dr. Mark Sagar for the design and engineering of the Light Stage capture devices and the image-based facial rendering system developed for character relighting in motion pictures.
The combination of these systems, with their ability to capture high fidelity reflectance data of human subjects, allows for the creation of photorealistic digital faces as they would appear in any lighting condition.
Well, the TECH’s in the can for 2009/2010. Remember to get your applications in early. See you back in ‘11…
Tags: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar, Scientific and Technical Awards
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January 22nd, 2010
The past month or so has been rather dynamic. New product offerings have once again turned the MP&TV industry on its side.
Evolution? Perhaps.
Revolution? Maybe.
Conspiracy? Definitely.
It’s no secret, I love many of the new production toys that stream into the market. From a buyer’s stand point it’s a bit more challenging as it seems that new product comes out every nine months or so, many times rendering the previous model obsolete, or at least less desirable to the renter.
Much of the rental product hasn’t yet paid for itself, and selling it is difficult, offers to buy are sporatic and dollars are painfully low.
This comes as no surprise to the veteran buyer, certainly the renter deserves the newest models sporting the newest features, functions and abilities. On rare occasion some of these new features might actually make for an improvement in production quality, ease of acquisition or editorial work-flow.
But this past few months have seen the introduction of a few largely unforeseen camera categories. Many are a radical departure from the traditional approaches. In this SuperBlog entry, we will be discussing 3D camcorders and some related issues.
The front page of my website shows the soon-to-be-introduced Panasonic 3D camcorder. Looks like a HMC150 with dual side-by-side lenses and records to lower-priced SDHC cards. Pricing on this new camcorder is still unknown, but if it’s a dual lens 150 with two sensor groups (6 CCD’s total?) and possible servo-articulated lensing. The website www.dv.com is reporting a price of $21,000 per unit, limited or custom built units. For the professional user this price is fine, but no mention of a consumer version, which must be in the pipe-line to reinforce the limited number of pro vs. consumer unit s consumption and to eventually gain wide-spread accepance. Editorial work flow is anyone’s guess, though this Panasonic unit will be recording to two SDHC cards (separate content on each card?). FCP 3D??? As Dr. Smith used to say: Oh, the pain.
WHY 3D? AND WHY NOW?
Like most products that find there way into the Professional products category, consumer products provide the testing grounds and financial profits for many devices that eventually find a home with professional users. Indeed, the consumer electronics product universe is many hundreds of times greater in both profit and volume, and eager-to-buy consumers worldwide stimulate and maintain the product consumption curves.
But why 3D? Sadly, this is the conspiracy part.
Have you purchased a new plasma, LCD or LED TV set recently? The prices, driven by huge volumes have driven the price down to unimaginable levels, and manufacturers have realized that if you were to buy one, you probably already did. I paid over $5000 used for my first Sony 42-inch plasma and it was only VGA. Now a new 42-in. runs $800.00 and is vastly better in every regard.
Recall we went from 720p to 1080i to 1080p, then from 60Hz to 120, then 240, then 480Hz (though broadcast content is always 60Hz). The manufacturers shamed you into upgrade after upgrade until they ran out of new and improved features to get you to fork out more money and continue the stream of purchases.
But now, Sony, Panasonic (and others) have found a way to get into your wallet again. Sony introduced a new line of Bravia digital flat screens that can decode (disembed?) 3D signaling data found in a compatible transmission signal and display it on the screen. You’ll still need some form of glasses, shuttered, color difference, etc. to get the 3D effect, but now they have something you will want (or be compelled to want) but do not currently have – a 3D TV. They are becoming available for purchase within the next few months.
Better hurry, I think I saw your neighbor carrying in a new 3D set. Don’t want to be left behind the high-tech ball with Super Bowl coming do you?
Yes, there will be STB’s (set top boxes) to detect the 3D signal and allow you display it on an existing set, but you know by next Christmas, you’ll be putting that new 52-inch into the bedroom so that you can buy a new 60-inch with integrated 3D ability.
Then, of course, there will be the march of the scan rate, once again taking us from 60Hz up to whatever they can convince you what you actually needed, as well as any updated product feature like Ultra3D.
But it’s gonna’ be hard to sell the new sets without 3D content. Yes, you can go back and re-process your existing stuff into 3D, and there will be a lot of that, but you’ve already seen it – you want something new to justify the purchase.
JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DO SOMETHING – SHOULD YOU?
If production company X can shoot and deliver 3D and your company can not, you will be de-selected as the go-to guys. Irrelevant if the quality is compromised, irrelevant if anyone can actually take advantage of 3D, irrelevant if there is a current customer demand, because it exists, the content buyers will want it.
How soon before an all-3D station? Or a secondary digital channel of the same stuff as the primary but encoded in 3D? The Los Angeles DMA is an A market, and if it happens here, we all will be part of the experiment. One of my customers pondered how the adult content companies may quickly embrace this new techno-variant. Is this a way for that sector of the industry to bounce back? Can you imagine?
If Panasonic can put a 3D camcorder to market this fast, so can Sony, JVC, Samsung and all the other guys. Get ready for the flood.
What of your current equipment – that is to say a single-lens camcorder? We all know the answer to this, and it is depressing. The first people to get the 3D camcorders, and negotiate the post production work-flow will win. As stated, I appreciate the on-going technological advances, I wish they were a bit slower to come out, but I have little control over that.
What of the camcorders and accessories you already own? That too, is hard to predict.
2D camcorders may quickly fall into obscurity. RED, CineAlta, HVX-anything, single lens device may quickly become irrelevant and in the least, less valuable. Simply buy a second complete camera package, add a 3D adapter to unite the two and away you go. Maybe, but how expensive for a double RED package with low-angle prism and the rest of the necessary 3D gear? It’s about the same as a down payment on a house or a brand new Lexus.
HDSLR-3D? That’s just too much to think about right now.
To go wide or telephoto on the new Panasonic may require two exactly identical lenses, assuming you can even use a lens supplement. What about a mattebox, to use filtration, polarizers and such? Maybe, if the picture is telling, a 6.6×6.6 might work but will require a larger rodset and support (19mm?), which will also cost a bit if upgrading from 15mm.
What about DOFA’s ?, even if you had two depth-of-field adapters, and two matching lenses, how would they synchronize? How would they mount?
REVOLUTION YOU SAY?
If one is good, then two is better, lens wise. But is this something the industry requires? Will consumers begin to off their year-old sets for new ones? Will you be calling DISH for their new 1080p, 1TB DVR with 3D decoding? Is this indeed a revolution or just another ploy to access you credit card?
It’s a bit too soon to tell, but if past indicators are any measure of prediction, then yes, this new technology will soon be everywhere. You’ve been warned.
NEXT TIME ON THE ALL NEW HSR SUPER BLOG:
How DSLR’s are impacting the traditional camcorder market, their impact on Depth-of-Field Adapters (DOFA’s) like Letus and P&S Mini’s, and why real 35mm SLR lenses are becoming a bit rarer.
Tags: 3D
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October 22nd, 2009
Three friends got together one evening over white wine spritzers. Let’s call them Manny, Moe and Jack. “So I own a camcorder, a tripod and a portable monitor” said one. “I own a portable DAT recorder, a microphone with a cable, portable sound mixer, and a pair of headphones” said the other, The other friend owns an Arri 4-light kit, four stingers and two C-stands.
“None of us is using the equipment on a daily basis so why not rent it out and make some extra money?” said the third.
On the surface, it may seem like a great idea. Extra money from stuff you already own. All you need to do is get the word out, figure how much per day for each of the items and let the cash roll in. Easy street, next exit.
Oh, but if it were that simple.
When I opened up back in 1993, Bill Clinton was just elected President, gas ran about ninety-nine cents per gallon and everyone billed a four day week. There were only about eight or so well-known visible rental companies in the Los Angeles / Hollywood area and a few monsters like Panavision and Bexel. They generally stayed inside of their specialty areas; BetaCam SP camcorders, decks and monitors, Lighting & Grip, Sound, Film Cameras, etc.
Those were great days. Hi-8 and Super VHS dominated the lower markets, standard definition, composite video & Y/C were the only thing really moving signals around. Sound went on Nagra’s or the new DAT recorders, lighting companies moved product out by the truck load and a movie was being shot on every corner. Oh how I miss them days.
I was on Cahuenga Blvd. back then, working out of a 250 square foot office right across from Universal Studios. No parking anywhere and the bathroom didn’t work. Many of my current customers remember those times with a bit of nostalgia.
Despite the limitations, I made it a point during that time to expand rental inventories evenly and to grow the inventory so that I could reasonably equip an entire production with equipment in all of the various production categories. Perhaps I was the first “multi-category” specialist, carrying Video, Sound, Lighting, Grip, Communication and logistical support like Director’s chairs, pop-up tents and Banquet Tables. A one-stop shop. And since more volume was going out to a particular customer, I could apply more liberal discounting. I still do, but the center and focus of my inventory has shifted. It had to.
Times then were a bit different from today. Between real brick-and-mortar rental companies, and those who exist in the vapor without a location generally advertised through a Craig’s List ad, the number of equipment outlets in th Los Angeles area now number about forty-seven. Friend-to-friend rentals and gear made available through colleges, universities and film schools add to that number. Even the major studios are letting non-studio prductions access to their on-lot inventories for use off-lot.
RENTALS IN A LIMITED MARKET
While Los Angeles is perhaps the largest market for the rental consumer of motion picture and television broadcast equipment in the world, and LA firms still ship product everywhere in the world, the number of rental customers is declining. This is do to several reasons. Primary amongst those reasons is the fact that you can simply purchase very high quality equipment at very reasonable prices. Once you buy it, you’ll never have to rent it again. The old Sales vs. Rentals senario.
Need to buy a high definition camera and you’re on a tight budget? In my quicky review of the local market, I found a Kodak Zi6 true High Definition camcorder that shoots 720P to SD/SDHC cards selling for $145.99. While it’s not a CineAlta, but it is HD and has had some favorable reviews, all for under a hundred and fifty bucks. As Dr. Smith used to say: Oh, the pain.
With several manufacturers touting the ever lower purchase prices of their wares, a person intending to shoot a project must look at the purchase option instead of rental. A rental of sufficient length may be the same as the purchase price of the item they were intending to rent. And after use, sell the items to pay for post.
No great secret here, the other obvious reason for market constriction being the amount of production outside of the Los Angeles (Southern California) area. As Louisiana, Texas, New York and other Cities and States provide exceptional support both logistically and financially, and as productions continue to migrate there, those regions are seeing the creation of new local rental companies to cover most or all of the equipment needs of the production.
Who wants to rent gear in LA and truck it to Wyoming? Sometime you must, if quantities are gross, or the product unique. If shooting out-of-town and in the event of a device failure – you’re screwed, even if only for a day or so. Shoot LA, please.
Let’s go back to the folks that owned those few items with a slight detour. It’s no secret that when I first opened, I didn’t even have that much equipment. I had a boompole I made out of a broom stick I found, my lighting was largely shop lights with blue gels, all of my cables I made myself from scraps and remnants. It’s amazing how far a can of semi-flat black can go. Everything looked nice, albeit in the same color.
With the help of a friend, I brought in a Sony DCR-VX1000, an early MiniDV camcorder when they first came out, and built the first dual XLR-to-Mini-plug stereo plug to interfaces allowing professional balanced sound devices.
Now a days, rental houses don’t really build much, consigned to what they can easily purchase from a variety of sales vendors. Which leads me to the next point. Only a few have any form of service background. Bring back a defective unit, only to have the rental personnel say “Yep, it don’t work”.
EVERYONE CARRIES THE SAME STUFF
If you were to take the time to write down all the equipment shown on all the rental rate cards from all the area rental folks, and deleted those items that are the same and commonly listed between them, many rate cards would have but a small few items on them. Several would cease to exist all together. This commonality reflects the buyers (read: owners) belief that those fundamental items will be most popular. That is not always the case. It is true, however, that camcorders (et al.) are gateway products to the world of accessories where the profit lives, and where the true girth of the rental firm is displayed. Go wide, don’t go deep.
Like a 7-11 or Starbucks on every single corner.
How does one decide on where to rent? The “Proximity Effect” as I call it, is an important element. If you live in Long Beach, a Hollywood dealer is closer than the Glendale dealer, a Palmdale renter will go to Glendale instead of driving all the way into Hollywood. If the gear is the same, and the price is the same, most customers loyalty lay within the confine of their wallets. Who can blame them? Money talks and b……. .
Unbeknownst to Manny, Moe and Jack, the items they anticipate carrying are already carried in great quantities by twenty-five other rental firms. The only way to compete is to have a lower rental rate, better condition of equipment and a more complete group of provided accessories.
Mathematically, it doesn’t seen to work out that well, and to make it a go, many accessories must be purchased by MM&J prior to the first rental so that a complete package is able to be offered to the rental customer. An example of accessories add-on and its impact on unit item budgeting is illustrated below:
“The Sony PMW-EX1 example”:
The camcorder sells for about $6800.00 and includes a small battery and an 8 GB card, neither of which are particularly useful in a professional rental environment, so they are set aside.
To complete the package properly (HSR-style) the following items must be purchased:
PELICAN 1600 CASE WITH PADDED LINER $235.00
SENNHEISER K6ME66 W/SHORT XLR $450.00
3X BP-U60 @ $250.00 EACH $750.00
2X SBP-16 16GB CARD @ $530.00 EACH $1060.00
HOYA PRODIGITAL 77MM LENS PROTECT $45.00
TOTAL ACCESSORIES $2540.00 plus tax.
Now we’re up to $9340.00. We send the package out for $275.00 per day with two 16GB cards which is somewhat regionally lower than most, who rent at $350.00 plus cards, no mic. To be competitive, you would want to be below, or match, the commonly available lowest regional rate of $275.00.
If you rent the package thirty-four times you will break even. Not profit, mind you, just even. This assumes no un-billable damage or failure. In reality, batteries wear out, mic clips get broken and cables fail. Your EX1 better go out every weekend, because if it doesn’t, it’ll be a year before the break-even point. The division of profits is easy, though. Nobody gets nothin’, not this year, anyway.
That’s just a single example, most production equipment packages (sound, lighting) also need this level of completeness to be an effective, usable and complete rental item.
What if your new rental firm venture can not afford to buy two packages? You know, if one fails the customer will need a replacement unit. This will mean that you will need to sub-rent it, assuming you can find one. This also means you will be in “negative profit” on the rental. Negative profit equates to loss, which relates to an extension of your break-even point.
Let’s say you can afford two complete like packages. The second package will go out less than the first. Thirty-four rental turns may now take over a year.
UNDER THE RADAR
To be a real-and-true rental firm, you will need to file a bit of paperwork with the government. If you choose to operate under the radar to preserve profits, know that the District Attorney in every City and County has investigators whose sole job it is to ascertain and locate individuals or groups that are operating as a company but have chosen to do so illegally and in an un-licensed manner. If caught, many, many bad things may occur including confiscation and the preferring of criminal charges. After all, it is illegal.
So the thought of incarceration has convinced you to play by the rules. An excellent choice, but comes with a price. If you don’t wish to have your customers come to your house or apartment to transact business, you will need a location. You can work out of your house legally (with the required paperwork), but trust me, it’s not really a viable alternative to a real business location.
The small of feet, the dog poking its nose into customers crotches. While some may like this, most will not. What if they need to use the bathroom? Heavens to Mergatroid.
Here is a basic list of some of your start-up expenses and required paperwork:
LOCATION SECURITY DEPOSIT AND RENT
CITY LICENSE
D.B.A. STATEMENT PUBLICATION
OPENING BANK ACCOUNT DEPOSIT
STATE SELLER’S PERMIT
FEDERAL TAXPAYER ID NUMBER
LLC OR PARTNERSHIP FILING
ADVERTISING
CONFORMING THE RENTAL PROPERTY FOR YOUR NEEDS
BUSINESS TELEPHONE NUMBER
COMMERCIAL USER WATER AND POWER ACCOUNT
EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT DEPART FILING if you will be having employees
CREDIT CARD PROCESSING ACCOUNT
BUSINESS INSURANCE
ALARM SYSTEM INSTALLATION OR ACTIVATION
PRINTING, ALL FORMS
COMPANY DELIVERY & PICK-UP VEHICLE
INSURANCE FOR COMPANY VEHICLE
WEBSITE CREATION AND MAINTENANCE
DESKS, CHAIRS, FILE CABINETS, ETC.
CREATION OF LEGALLY BINDING FORMS AND DOCUMENTS
BOOKKEEPER/ACCOUNTANT (If you try to do this yourself you’re a fool)
BUSINESS FACSIMILE NUMBER
MORE EQUIPMENT
MORE ACCESSORIES
MORE CARRY CASES
MORE EVERYTHING
And many more too depressing to list here. The point being, it’s not hard to acquire equipment, indeed, that’s easy. What is hard is working within the confine of laws which are often contrary to logic and the multiple layers
of municipal policies and jurisdictions.
HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF MERGERS?
You take a few rental companies and put them together. Assuming you can work out the split, this process, according to Fortune Magazine, may increase the odds of survival (and growth) many-fold. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for may years, but the right mix has never happened. I am still looking as that’s just smart business.
Historically, mergers increase market capitalization, reduce employee payroll burdens by removing over-lapping employee functions, would allow a centralized operation in a larger location, often at a better per-foot lease rate than the smaller firms per-square-foot rate. In most cases, duplicate inventory can be sold allowing for the reduction or elimination of company debt, a stronger industry position and better access to banking financial products like loans and lines of credit as well as being able to re-enforce current product mixes or expansion and exploration into similar and tangental areas.
Maybe, instead of trying to open a new firm, approach an existing firm with what you can collectively offer them such as experience, rentable product and any customer base you already carry. If you got the goods, they should listen. Plus, they would (generally) have the legal and business infrastructure already well established, saving you a great deal of time and money.
AND IN CONCLUSION
Don’t let me discourage you from opening a new rental company. Our industry can always use a forty-eighth local company to address an ever getting-cheaper shrinking market cluttered with a never ending assortment of possibly necessary equipment that nobody knows how to use correctly that will most likely be replaced by a new model at a lower price with more and greater features in three months anyway.
I could have been an Optometrist. What was I thinking?
More to come…
Tags: Rental
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
September 16th, 2009
Every company, equipment rental or other, has wondered about and has been solicited by some leasing equipment company to “grow their business” while “preserving valuable cash resources” as opposed to the outright walk in and buy it option. While potentially effective for some industries (heavy equipment, food service/restaurant, expensive vehicle/trucks) leasing motion picture and television equipment is not the way to go. Not now, nor ever. But don’t take my word for it. Read on:
Leasing companies would have you think that leasing preserves operating capital; but that short-term logic is poison to a rental company. By the end of the lease, if you choose to buy the lease out when completed, will actually cost you about twice the cash price.
I get called about four times a week from various leasing companies throughout the country bestowing the benefits of leasing. Know this: THEY LIE, CLOAK and CONCEIL. That’s how they make their living. They are not looking out for the best interests of your company, only their own. Be careful - theses guys are trained to be slick operators.
EQUIPMENT IS SOMETHING YOU DATE, NOT MARRY
Here is an actual example of why leasing within our industry is not the way to go:
I selected some equipment back in 2005. All the new JVC stuff that was just coming out. GY-HD100’s, BR-HD50U decks, lens supplements, stuff like that. The bill got up to around $34,000. No fear – I’m just gonna’ lease it and keep my pocket full of money.
So I selected one of the dozens of leasing companies, submitted my paperwork, got approved (LIE #1: They will tell you it only takes a day or so to get approved and funded, it actually takes about a month to get funded). They offered me a few different pay options. I choose a 40-month lease to keep the monthly payment down and a 10% buy-out at the end. When done, I’ll be the proud owner of all that gear – how great !!! I must have been high. Turns out to be not so great – not even close.
After all the numbers came, at least the ones they want you to see, the out-of-pocket amounts began to grow. But OK, I know there will be some associated initial costs, so let’s go with it.
First there is added a brokers fee of 10% (add $3400.00 to the lease). Then there are the upfront fees: The down payment of 10% (another $3400.00). Then there is the first and last month’s payment ($1050.00 plus $1050.00). Oh yes, the UCC filing fee, the documentation fee, the statement fee and several other creative and unexplainable fees totaling an additional $500 to $600. All told, about $6000.00, roughly a fifth of the whole purchase amount.
Leasing companies don’t like to talk about “interest”. They won’t truthfully calculate the excess amount you will be paying above the real cost of the equipment. While not specifically interest, the same math that is used to calculate interest on a loan applies here as well.
When the sales vendor receives the PO and later the Cashier’s Check from the leasing company, you can go pick-up the gear. You sign a leasing company form stating that you have received everything you ordered and that it is complete and in good order.
Wow, that wasn’t very painful. But worst was yet to come. The equipment you just leased is not your property – it belongs to the leasing company. You’re in effect just renting it. You can’t trade it or sell it, even if it would be to a great advantage to your company and some guy is offering twice its value. You must insure the leasing companies property to its full value, even if the deductible is greater than the total value of the equipment (hence no real insurance protection).
If you have standard company insurance, which you should have, you’re covered. If not, the leasing company will externally insure it and the insurance fee will be added to the monthly payment. OK, that’s fine, it’s there stuff and want to be covered. Boy, are they covered.
So you’ve paid the $6000, you have the gear in your possession, and you await the monthly billing. Thirty-eight payments of $1050.00 equals $39,900; plus the up-front’s of $6000 equals $45,900.00. Without any other fees and expenses you are already at 50% interest, equivalent. But we’re just getting started.
COLATERAL EXPENSES
Usury was originally defined as interest on a loan. A fee to temporarily use someone else’s money. Now a days that term generally refers to interest charged above and beyond the legal rate. Even though a lease is not a loan, and the “usury” term may not be perfectly aligned, it is nonetheless applicable. (LIE #2: Change the language and wording to invite as much confusion as possible while not to appear in violation of banking standards and practices). Leasing companies are, if nothing else, creative. They seem to take their cues from the banking industry and used car sales.
Do you think 50% interest is usury? Me too. Buy wait - it goes up from there.
Everything’s rolling right along, you’re making timely and correct payments, time is elapsing and you are generating revenue in excess of the lease payment on the leased equipment. But recently something has changed. The once newest and most desirable equipment isn’t renting as well. New models have come out, and the popularity of the leased items has rolled off. Everyone wants to rent the newest stuff, and who can blame them. Why don’t you just sell off the older gear and buy new gear. Oh yea, you don’t own it so you can’t sell it. And even though the rental revenues on those items is waning, or non-existant, the lease payment isn’t.
The mail just came in and who should this letter be from? Our friendly Tax Assessor’s Office. Seems the leased gear is subject to PROPERTY TAXES as if it were any other property. Take out your check book – it’s 1% time. Yes, you will pay about 1% on the leased equipment year after year, every year until the lease is over, and year after year even after you own it until you finally dispose of the once leased equipment. By then, it’s dust. While it’s only $350.00, but it adds up over the years.
Tax incentive, they say. (LIE #3:) That’s bull. The real-and-true cash money tax deduction at the end of the year for a small to medium sized business typically amounts to a McDonald’s lunch. Your company must be specifically postured and positioned to take any tax credit deduction at all, and you need an accountant that understands leasing accounting practices and can maximize it. Specialty CPA’s and accountants are, as last I checked, not free.
The State of California want’s it’s piece as well. In the finest tradition of the Boston Tea Party and the Boxer Rebellion, California’s Board of Equalization assesses a tax on lease payments. Currently it’s at 9.75% on each and every lease payment you make. That’s another $3200 or so over the term of the lease. While technically not interest, it is a real expense, the total “equivalent” interest is now up to 61%. You can get a better rate from Guido the Killer Pimp. His vig is smaller, too.
LEASING COMPANIES ARE NOT BANKS, AND BANKS ARE NOT LEASING COMPANIES
Sometimes I think all the world is a Delaware Corporation where there are little or no restrictions on interest, and little regulation on the behavior of financial firms squatting within that, and other similarly positioned states. Put another way – They’re Out of Control and can do anything they want, if you agree to it.
Do you own a LLC or a Corporation? If yes, that’s great, but no help here. Even though you are a company, and may have a perfect DUNS and PAYDEX score, it matters not to the leasing company. They want an individual guarantor, a single person that is fully responsible for everything. (LIE #4) The lease, no matter what they say or tell you is nothing more than another extension of your personal credit. Your FICO is on the line if you (or your company) do not make whatever payments, real or imaginary, padded or created, that the leasing company wants. The will pull your bureaus and make a decision from there.
FICO’s less than 700? Don’t bother applying for a lease. They want uninformed small business owners to suck the life out of and make themselves rich in the process. PLUS even though they pull your credit, and use it to make a go/no-go decision from, even if you make perfect lease payments, they don’t report to the bureau’s if all is well (bureau’s charge to do regular reporting) so no FICO benefit is created. Leasing companies are structured to be paid, then paid again. Bad upon bad.
THE WORST IS YET TO COME
Any income generated and reported by the leased equipment goes toward your State and Federal Income Taxes, which depending how creative you accountant is, can be around 10% of your overall net annual revenue. Tax on tax? Why not, after all, this is America. Someone’s gotta’ pay for the waste (that would be you).
Let me bring you current. In the lease I was describing, I cleared the 40 months, and the lease is over. It felt like child support. But remember the buy-out? That’s another 10%.
The leasing company arranged to let me pay the 10% over ten months, about $350 per month. There is probably some sort of interest in there, but I’m too tired to figure it out. Will I ever be done with this? Sure, talk to me next year.
I promised the worst, and here it is.
Just for kicks, I pulled the original invoice to review what’s on it, that is to say what I had originally leased. None of the equipment is in regular rental rotation, none of it is revenue generating, many pieces have failed, and since out of warranty and too expensive to service, just sits so I can have a tax assessment on it. And even if I serviced those pieces – who wants four year old equipment (five by the time I’m done)?, and I’m still paying on it.
While a primitive approach, the best choice to stay lean-and-mean and to stay away from these unscrupulous financial ground feeders and to use the rental or sub-rental process when necessary, until save your money and then go to you favorite vendor to make the best deal. Traditional – very, but you can sleep at night.
IN CONCLUSION
Getting a bank cash loan to buy equipment is an option if you possess the perfect FICO – maybe. Short of cash-in-hand it is the best way as it preserves liquidity in your ability to off unpopular gear as you desire. While the banks have been gifted billions by you and me, they seem to want to hold on to it. Small business, which is the backbone of the American economy, and desperately needs a cash infusion for operations, expansion and paying down debt (and lease payments) has little or no access to it. Recall that these too are personal loans as well. If Charlie Manson was opening up a company that sold human body parts and knives, and he has equity in property and a 825 FICO, the bank will give him a loan. They will call it a “business” loan, but we now know better.
If the cash purchase option is available, you just buy it, you own the gear, you can do whatever you want with it, you don’t obligate you and your company into a variety of (creative) payments and billings into the next decade, you don’t have to pay up to twice what it cost you otherwise, and worst, you don’t have to keep paying for obsolete, ineffective, unpopular or non-functioning equipment ever again.
If I come off a bit jaded, it is for cause. This account is real and true and I welcome any leasing company to comment on my blog. I’ll post it without prejudice or editorial, though I doubt there will be any takers.
Hey leasing company’s – here’s your opportunity to respond. Let’s hear your defense. All the world is waiting…
Tags: Not what it's cracked up to be
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2009
With production budgets tight, filmmakers are looking for creative ways to reduce shooting costs. This blog entry is not really about budgeting, but rather how discounting in equipment rentals works; what to expect and what not to expect.
Discounts on rentals can take several forms all with the ultimate goal of reducing the total number of dollars spent on a particular equipment rental order. Presented here are the various category of rental discount, who qualifies for a particular type of discount, and what form the discount may take.
Some discounts are transparent to the renter but are actually integrated into the invoice. One example of this is THE WEEKEND RENTAL. Pick-up your order Friday and return it on Monday. Typically, rentals houses will bill this as one day. Pick-up times vary but are usually around 3:00 o’clock PM, with return before 10am on Monday.
Actually, the weekend rental has been discounted already. The opportunity to use the equipment begins Friday night after the equipment is picked up and, if you so desire, you can shoot right up to 10am Monday morning. That would be 3-1/2 days for which you are billed only one.
Booking and pre-paying a shoot that goes over several weekends can be a good idea. It locks the gear and the order in, and you can try to get some additional discount. A bird in the hand, so to speak. Realistically, it still a weekend booking, and the pre-pay thing can prove very tempting to the rental house. “A Bird in the hand” one might say.
We often speak in terms of USE DAYS. Let’s say you are shooting Saturday and Sunday. That would be two use days. Billing would still be one day. This would mean the equipment is experiencing use at twice the level the rental rate was intended to address. Naturally, this takes it toll on the equipment by reducing its useful live, or increasing the service and maintenance costs. We do understand that it’s yours to use while in your possession and generally do not define the billable days by use days, but since the gear is being used at 2X, a discount may be harder to get.
HSR RENTER – COME ON DOWN
At HSR, if the order is prepped, checked and ready to go, and it’s only 10am, come-on down early and we’ll get you out early. Having six orders going out simultaneously at 3:00 never made any sense to me. I like a more gradual pace. But you will have to deal with and respect other rental company’s policies. They make you sign a Rental Agreement to that effect. Please read it as it contains all the information you will need to know when working with that rental company. Some (nameless) rental firms will automatically charge you at 10:01am. If this their policy, it’s best to know up front.
Return times also vary. We would love to get all the gear back between 10am and 12noon, reality is when it gets here, it gets here. The only time a late return is a problem is if another renter is in the store and had been told it their order, some or all of which is in your possession, is not ready for them. If we know in advance of a early pick-up request by the next customer, we will let you know during the booking stage. We’ll also call you to check on your return time status should you be late. You if get a call from us, then someone is either waiting, or is on there way in to pick-up. Otherwise, we won’t bother you.
On any given day, if your return time is 10am and we don’t get the return until 4:00 or 5:00 that evening, we may have to bill you something. It’s always best to call us with any delays in return. We got a heart, anddon’t want you in a car accident or getting a ticket. We appreciate the notice call very much, and it generally assures you that you won’t be charged an extra half or full day.
Free days within the confine of a term rental are called a TRAVEL DAYS. These are the days the gear is actually in transit either to the event, or away from it. Local and in-town shoots have a greatly reduced amount of travel time for obvious reasons. We have a policy that travel days can not exceed the billing days. Here’s an example why that is:
We rented a small package (camcorder, tripod, LCD monitor and a wireless) to a person that was doing an interview of a famous person but was shooting in Milan, Italy. No problem, our gear goes everywhere. She picked up her order and went directly to the airport. This was on a Friday. Her rental arrangement with us was that she would be staying on in Italy and that FedEx would be transporting the order back to us (at her expense) so that we would have everything back by the next Thursday.
She said she would only be doing the one important interview and an hour of pick-ups; one day use at the most. As a courtesy, we billed it as a 2-day week giving two travel days on both sides of the rental (totaling 4 travel days).
NO GOOD DEED GO UN-PUNISHED
She shot her interview, packed the gear back up and brought it to a FedEx authorized shipper, paying for International Priority back to us. The shipper did as requested, as far as we can tell, but international shipping is not always particularly expeditious. When the order was late to return, we called the telephone number she provided but couldn’t even get a ring. Just dead.
It took twenty-one days for us to receive back the equipment, apparently stalled by various customs paperwork and practices, bills of lading, value and description, manufacturer’s country of origin, etc. The lady comes back into the store two Friday’s after her original order to re-rent the same package. We advised her that the package has not yet been returned to us, and that we had tried in earnest to reach her. She indicated that she had only returned the prior evening and that her cell phone didn’t function in Italy. We told her that we would call her upon its arrival back to us, which was, as it turns out, the next day.
We called her and told her everything made it back in, but there was some additional charges for the three weeks the equipment hadn’t been returned. She was not pleased at this. Even though we had discounted the carry-over order to a greater-than-usual level, she felt she should only be charged for one day total, not even the agreed upon two days, and certainly not the full month the equipment was out of the store. She suggested we bill FedEx because it was their fault.
Perhaps it was partially FedEx’s fault, but ultimately the renter is responsible for the safe and timely return of rental equipment. If someone is going somewhere outside of their shipping experience, they should inquire and be well advised in making that shipping decision. She just put it on the conveyor belt and assumed everything would be OK.
Even though she had only one use day, the equipment was away from us 30 days. She paid the additional six days, and has a new found insight into matters of international shipping. Frankly, she was lucky it got back to us at all.
TYPES OF DISCOUNTS
Discounts can be calculated by several methods. The easiest discount is by percentage. By way of example, a qualifying student, working on a student project with the blessing of their professor and possessing a Certificate of Insurance from that school, and school’s letter of attachment acknowledging it as a school project receives a 15% discount from the published rate card. Students shooting outside of the schools knowledge, or students that are shooting for profit (their profit) may not always receive a discount.
Other rental firms generally receive a 30% discount from our rate card. Employees receive a 50% discount on equipment rented for their personal projects. These figures are, at best, averages. There may always be a special circumstance that management can make an exception for.
Non-profit organizations may or may not receive a discount. We look at their requests on a case-by-case basis.
Another type of discount is a reduction in the rental days. If the rental company normally books a three day week on a particular item, and they give you a two day week instead, you have in effect received a 33% discount.
THE RENTAL HOUSE DOES NOT CONTROL YOUR CALL TIME
If your LP wants everyone on set at 5:00am on Monday, that’s fine, but realize you will need to pick-up any equipment on the Friday prior. It will sit Saturday and Sunday but that’s unavoidable, and the production will be billed for that time whether the gear is in use or not. The only way a rental company generates income is by billing for equipment when out of and away from the store. Take this into account when setting your schedules. Start Tuesday instead.
If that’s impossible, we here at HSR came up with the 1-1/2 day billing. Thursday through Monday bills 1.5 days. So does Friday through Monday. Standard pick-up and return times do not change. Under certain circumstances you may wish to spend an extra $100 and get a weekend open. It may, depending on the type and size of your order, save you money. The weekend open fee is paid in cash to whatever rental tech I can talk into getting up early Saturday or Sunday to open for you. Weekend opens are between 7am and 9am by prior arrangement only. If you bring some coffee and donuts it could couldn’t hurt.
Late pick-up or returns function similarly. We close at 6:00pm sharp, but if we have to stay open later please call us. Late opens means we have to pay a tech 1.5x for over-time, at best, this is a break even proposition for us. But if you need that service – it’s available.
DISCOUNT BY NO TAXATION
If you have had the opportunity to read some of my other blog’s, the one regarding tax-on-rental deserves a second look. Simply stated: Rental firms that charge tax on rentals (knowing they need not ever do so) should advise you in advance to accommodate the nearly 10% surcharge on your rental fees. You can pay the other 10% or reduce your order by 10% to accommodate the tax and stay in budget. What important piece of equipment are you not taking? Perhaps simply avoiding them is the easiest solution. Or talk them down the 10%.
If you are a professional user, and rent on a regular and frequent basis, your discount can be fairly high, and in certain rental situations up to 50%. The regular pro renter is very desirable to a rental firm. A good group of working pros can make the difference between success and failure.
Customers that come in once a year to rent a PA system for their weekend Christmas stage play break my heart. I want them to have it as cheap as possible, but there is only a thin line of opportunity to get them a great deal. The gear is already in extreme demand that time of year, the movie industry is largely on hiatus (read: no movie or TV rentals) and we risk running out of mics, mic stands, Anchors, wireless and all the related stuff anyway. Despite this, we will try.
THE BEST DISCOUNT IS TO START LOWER TO BEGIN WITH
I hope you’ve had the opportunity to review our rate card. If you have, you’ve probably noticed we’re pretty cheap. If another rental firm is lower, we will meet or beat it (with some exceptions: See our LOW PRICE GUARANTEE page).
A discount on every item we carry has in essence been pre-built-in. What gets us into trouble is when we run out of something. Most rental firms are (well) over 30% higher in their rate than we are. We only get a 30% discount, so if we do run out of a popular item, and we have to sub-rent it, we may not be able to give you our book rate. We will tell you in advance, get your approval and pass the item along to you at our cost. At least you will still be getting a great value. We promise the lowest price, but we do not promise going out of business getting there. When this happens, and it is pretty rare, we beg your understanding.
The only way a rental company brings in revenue to operate is to bill for equipment while the rental item is out and away from the store, whether it is being used or not. If you were to rent a car from Enterprise (or any car rental company) and you let it sit in your driveway for a week, upon its return the car rental company is going to bill you for that week. You could tell the “I only used it one day”, but generally that plea will fall on deaf ears, as they too only generate revenue when their rental car is out and away, driven or not.
I’ve sorry to have droaned on so long on a single subject, but I’ve had 20 years to think about it.
If all else fails, ask.
Tags: Discount, percentage, travel days, weekends
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
September 1st, 2009
We here at HSR publish a Rate Card which reflects our rental inventory. Depending on which card, it may contain equipment exclusive to a particular rental genre, say NIKON LENSES or LIGHTING & GRIP.
We publish those rate cards on our website, email them to those that wish a copy, and print them in-store and distribute them with the rental orders. Pretty simple – huh?
In the process of creating our rate card(s) I make it a point to cruse over everyone else’s websites, and when available, closely inspect their rate cards. I look through dozens of rental sites, from coast-to-coast to see what’s happening there, Filmstar in Boston, Gasser in Frisco, TAI in Florida, to try to get an idea what kind of the numbers they are doing, the equipment their market area uses, and regional pricing standards. It provides a wonderful insight into their rental operation and, if you can read between the lines, their actual resources.
TRUTH IN LISTING
Let me perfectly clear – if it appears on our rate card, we actually have it, own it, and it is here to be rented. I may have one, or I may have many. I had to say that as this is not always the case. I will not betray any confidences by pointing out who has what (or doesn’t have) in their actual inventory.
Let’s say a rental firm, we’ll call them CRAZY RENTALS gets a customer call looking for a particular piece of equipment; it could be very expensive, very rare, legacy, what ever, suffice to say it just ‘ain’t that common. Now Crazy doesn’t want to say they don’t have the item so as to not alienate the prospective caller and potential customer, so they say they’re not sure and can we call you right back as they “check stock”. The caller usually agrees and then starts calling other rental firms.
The next thirty minutes or so is really strange. Here’s how it goes:
Crazy calls Goofy Rentals down the block. “Do you have a Super FartMaster 900?”. “No” says Goofy, “We have the FM850 but I think I might be able to get you the FM900”. “Let me call you right back”. Goofy Rentals calls Silly Equipment Rentals and, well, you get the idea.
Sometimes a rental firm will say that it is out. Yea – really out, to the point of not even really owning it.
There may be only one FM900 in the whole city, but since it appears on ten different rate cards, nobody is quire sure where it is. It is so funny to get a call from five other rental firms all looking for the same, very rare item. I know the chain of inquiry has started and will bounce around for the next hour or so, everyone trying to sub- sub- sub-rent that one item.
WHY WOULD A RENTAL COMPANY DO THIS ?
While it is true that this is clearly a deceptive form of operating, listing something you don’t actually have, rental companies regularly sub-rent at a discount from other rental companies. That’s cool, but I’m a bit uneasy with listing un-owned in print.
Sure, I could list a Boeing 767, an Abraham’s tank and a 300ft. Luxury Cabin Cruiser, all of which are available to me as a “sub-rental”, but how honest would that be ?
Everyone wants to look as large and substantial as they can, especially in this age of internet-based research and the growth in the sheer number of rental companies. I am always fascinated by the rate card that lists the top 10 most expensive camcorder’s made. Sony SR, CineAlta, VariCam, Viper, Arri, RED, etc. but in surveying the remainder of their published inventory see great weakness, out-of-step with realistic departmental stock and inventory balancing levels.
Typically, a rental dealer-to-rental dealer discount is 30%, with an Insurance Policy on file, and depending on how much business they do with each other, may have net billing terms. But the mathematics betrays the reality with each side of the sub-rental equation being stung a bit. Here’s the math:
Customer wants rents an item for $100.00.
Crazy sub-rents it from Goofy at a discount of 30%, sub-rental cost is $70.00 plus transportation to pick it up and bring it back once returned. That’s gotta’ be $15.00 each way. With personnel costs, vehicle costs, risk window to accidents, fuel, even more.
So that’s $30.00 discount plus the $70.00 in real other costs. Oh yes, the paperwork to create and track a Purchase Order, faxing it over, and paper isn’t free, nor are ink cartridges. More personnel and tangential costs.
POOF. There goes the profit, and indeed, you may have lost money.
The rental firm has 30 days to pay from the date the rental item goes out, not its return date (is everyone reading this – you know who you are !!!).
The real rental firm must accept a PO, track that PO, offer the discount and understand that they just gave a 30-day loan to the other rental house of $70.00. The cost to buy money in the open market is about 25% (APR). So the master rental house just took a loss equal to taking a loan a/k/a buying money plus the internal accounting personnel costs.
Sure, I’ve screwed up too, and said “YES” to a piece I damn-well knew I didn’t own. Next is the panic call to ABC Rentals, all the while praying they have the item in stock, as the customer is on his way in. “Start the van – we’re on the road”. Keeps the heart rate up I’ll tell you what. But is that necessary?
While sub-rentals can work very well, and a padded rate card can make you appear larger than you are (like the feathers on a Flamingo) you run the risk of terrible failure. Sub-rented items are generally unfamiliar to the rental technicians hence they can only offer limited technical assistance. To have a customer call the originating rental company is a lifting of the veil and to be avoided at all costs. One general rule of thumb is never send your customer to the competition.
What is the sub-rented unit fails? You don’t know the item is sub-rented, the property stickers of the originating dealer have been peeled off or covered up. If they didn’t have one, how can they have two ?
If the truth be disclosed, the customer may ask themselves why they didn’t go to the originating rental firm first ? That’s best addressed by customer loyalty.
What if every rental company simply said: “No we don’t, but Crazy Rentals does”. “Perhaps you could try them. Here’s their phone number”.
A nice idea, but not realistic. There is money in deception, even slight deception.
We know what we own, and we know some of it is fairly exclusive to us. In other words, if you don’t get it from us, you may not be able to get it at all. At HSR, that tactical advantage would never be used against a renter or sub-renter. No $25 bottles of water after an earthquake pricing policy here. Just keepin’ it real.
We will try to steer you to the appropriate source knowing that when you need a stocked rental item we do carry you’ll come back here.
CALL FOR PRICE
One thing that drives me nuts is a long laundry list of rental items that do not show either a description or a price. Just the manufacturer’s name and model number. What good is that and thank you for wasting my time.
I guess I went the other way, perhaps just as bad. My System-Wide Inventory List (SWIL) also known as our FULL LINE RATE CARD is shown and available to print as a .pdf right from our website. It’s 12 pages long in two-column format. It took three days to put together and I wore out a new keyboard. It is, however accurate to the effective date and accurate to our inventory, though a bit overly detailed. But if you want to see the inventory, there it is.
I don’t expect you to print the whole thing. You can, and that’s great, but I have sub-divided the SWIL into sub-categories within a particular genre. Same info, less to print and more category specific.
Let it not be said we aren’t trying to be more Green.
As far as I can tell, our rate card is the most complete available anywhere. It has descriptions of each item (as room allows) and a rental price, typically quoted as a daily price. If you memorize my rate cards and the descriptions it counts as your first year of film school. (kidding, you’d be way ahead of that).
If your rental firm doesn’t provide the real-deal information and pricing that doesn’t make them a bad guy. They have their reasons, though twisted and misguided. Over our fifteen year history of equipment rentals in the Los Angeles are, we have always felt that the easier it is to access information (this includes pricing) the better, and certainly quicker for the poor Line Producer trying to bang out a budget. We have no fear that our posted prices will scare away customers. That’s what our LOW PRICE GUARANTEE is all about. That policy too, is posted.
As with all things, it comes down to credibility and truth-in-advertising. It is often as important in what is said, as what goes un-said. So there you have it. Additional insight into the world of equipment rentals. It isn’t pretty, but then again we’re below the line and behind the scenes. And perhaps that is best.
Good Hunting.
Tags: rate card, sub-rental
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 11th, 2009
The RED camera has both HD-SDI and HDMI, my little Sony HDR-HC3 has HDMI and YpbPr outputs, my PMW-EX1 has YpbPr and HD-SDI, but my Ikan V8000HDMI has only HDMI and YpbPr. My JVC DT-V1910U and DT-V1710U have YpbPr and HD-SDI but no HDMI. Same with the Sony LMD-9050, HD-SDI and YpbPr, no HDMI. My Ikan HD8000 has only YpbPr. My Panasonic AG-HVX200A has YpbPr but no HD-SDI, but my AG-HPX170 has HD-SDI and YpbPr.
Gets a bit confusing. Especially if you are using two monitors, one for on-camera focus pulls and the other for a simultaneous director/producer monitoring. Camcorders with HD-SDI and YpbPr let you pick one or the other, not both. Other camcorders that have HDMI and YpbPr auto-select which defers to the HDMI preferentially.
I had and have no problem with HD-SDI. It gave me four channels of embedding audio just like HDMI (HDMI can carry 8 embedded audio channels but who cares), 1080P resolution, and best of all - I didn’t have to spend a hundred dollars on a 25ft. HDMI cable, just use a high grade BNC-BNC cable for $35 and the results are great. And cheaper. The HDMI connector just pushes into its mating side, no locking or latching. Over time and wear, will it stay put with a slight pressure? Still too new to know, but my good old BNC connector (Bayonet Nut Connector) has two small round posts that lock it to the connector. You could pull the connector off, but it won’t fall off once seated. It’s a reliability thing.
But it seems HD-SDI’s days are numbered. HDMI, while actually a consumer format, was designed for home video and theater systems and keeps showing up in “professional” gear. The first time I noticed it was on my JVC BR-HD50U HDV deck. Boom, there it was right on the rear jack panel. That was a few years ago, and at that time there were very little HDMI devices out there. HDMI was something I wasn’t really too aware of since I hang out on the pro side. Yea, I read the various articles and boned up on its spec’s and copyright protections, but generally gave it little other thought.
Now I think about it a great deal more. I have to. And so should you.
Not only are many professional devices beginning to use HDMI, but the current (and assumably) future DSLR’s are using it. DSLR’s like the Canon EOS D5MKII, Nikon D90 and Panasonic GH-1 have a “mini” HDMI connector to making it even more difficult to find compatible cables.
BNC cables for HD-SDI are well built, can roll-up easily, come in a billion colors, are thin enough and light enough for transport. HDMI cables are thicker, either black or gray (new colors are being added), don’t necessarily transport well and are, as mentioned earlier, really expensive.
On the flip side, HDMI cables have accessories that can make a professionals life a little easier, and even less expensive. For several rentals, customers have asked how to split the signal coming from the camcorder (I guess DSLR’s are camcorder’s now) into two signal branches. I shopped around and found a cool piece from IO Gear that will take the camcorder’s HDMI out and make it two. We now stock it in our rental department.
It cost about $100 dollars, far less than an HD-SDI signal splitter costs. Perhaps that’s the advantage of using consumer technologies – there are so many consumers versus professional users, consumer goods fall in price relatively fast due to sheer and overwhelming volume, where pro gear starts higher and tends to roll down pricing more slowly.
I don’t see HD-SDI going completely away soon, it’ll hang in there a bit longer, until pro manufacturers convert completely. There are a couple of HDMI-to-HD-SDI (and the reverse) converters being made to ease the transition, and are somewhat expensive, but until the change is complete, consider the transition of interfaces in your equipment purchase.
Sadly, there is no single cable interface solution between the two worlds.
Wouldn’t that have been nice.
Tags: BNC, HD-SDI, HDMI
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
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