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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

NO RENTALS!!!

A

AlexJones

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Hey everyone. So I have a question... WHY ISNT MY RED PACKAGE BEING RENTED OUT! I've been doing everything I possibly can to get this thing rented. I spend a solid 8 hours a day on craigslist, mandy, la411, I've emailed over 1,700 dp's, called over 400 production companies, posted flyers at college campuses, I talk about it at events and parties. From all of this i've only had 1 client and it was a day shoot. What am I doing wrong here? My package is pretty decent especially for the price. for 400/day this is what you get...

RED Scarlet X w canon Mount
DSMC SSD Side Module
4 Red Mag (64 GB)
2 Red Brick Battery Charger
Red BackPack and V-Mount for Bricks
Red Station
Top Handle Kit
Red Pro 5" Touch LCD
AC Power Adaptor
Follow Focus
Red Pro Matte Box
Red Clutch Shoulder Rig
Rail Support
Manfrotto 504 HD Tripod Kit
Zeiss 3 Lens Set (21mm,50mm,85mm)
Camera Operator or DIT
 
you may want to up your game and/or prices. you are worth what you say you are worth.
 
I think because people tend to rent from trusted and fully equipt sources. Although your package is cheap, most people renting epic and scarlets do have some money to spent when renting and most of the time go there local rental house. A 7D package would probably rent more because most of the people renting the reall lowball price stuff tend to be more price sensitive. As you move up price gets less important and service gets more important. Not saying you have bad service, but you cant compete with a real rental house probably with things like back ups, different tripod, lenses and monitors options, testing space, lockers for pick up for whenever productions wants etc.

face it, your not going to earn a lot with renting alone. Most will be with your own shooting days and a occasional rental
 
I wouldn't say you're doing anything "wrong" -- except perhaps misunderstanding the demand for rentals from a non-established rental house.

I don't know where you're located, but if it's in Los Angeles, there are a lot of Scarlets around. And Epics. And Alexas. And Sonys. And the productions with budgets don't generally rent from owner-operators unless they know them and the camera is part of the hire of their talent and expertise. It's just not worth it for the savings and hassle. And they'll probably go with an Epic for various reasons. And for those with a budget, it's better to rent from a professional rental house with backup, etc -- as the camera rental is likely a small percentage of the budget anyway.

The little productions or vanity projects with no budget probably know someone with a package they can get for next to nothing and maybe that person will be the DP or operator. It's small consolation, but you are not alone. I think it's pretty hard to compete with a Scarlet in any major urban market in the US.
 
That's pretty low for a Scarlet and operator. I know when I have looked for DP/Camera owners the three things that influenced me were Reel quality, references and price. If you don't have a reel, get one together. At that rate you should be booking gigs.

Also, and this is a situation wholly out of our control, the price point on the Scarlet makes it pretty reasonable for pros or interested amateurs to obtain their own.

I'm an Editor, and the days of me asking for an expensive kit rental are over, as the price for a fully loaded Avid Suite is a tenth of what it was at the beginning of the decade. I'm certain I will own a Red by the end of 2013, and I am not a professional DP, I just love to shoot and I've pushed my 7D about as far as it can go. Need 4K!

Sorry if this was not what you wanted to hear, I've had to swallow this pill on the Post side.
 
Yes as the operator or DIT. Santa Monica
 
Yeah I'm sure you guys are flooded with owners over there...not just Red but every other type of camera too. Just keep at it and make more connections. Repeat customers are the best (as long as they were good the first time) and just keep pushing. Until then, find ways to improve your skills and use your camera. No point in having it sit around.

Unless you have some other job that helps pay the bills and take up your time, work on samples and develop relationships by even donating a day here and there.

Rentals, like the others have said, is not easy. Keep pushing at it.
 
you see, the problem is, I had this package at around $950/day in the beginning. But I wasn't getting hitters. A DP told me my prices were too high so I lowered them considerably.
 
Thanks Warwick. I'd love to do that but could you explain how?
 
Alex this is only my opinion. You should have kept the editing and rolled shooting into a nice package.. You have the experience to demand a high day rate as an editor, so people will be more comfortable with you there, then bring up that you can handle shooting as well, and offer a discount on the editing, if you know what I mean.

We do that a lot with great success.. More labor for you, but it gets you in the door.

Jay
 
AlexJones said:
Hey everyone. So I have a question... WHY ISNT MY RED PACKAGE BEING RENTED OUT! I've been doing everything I possibly can to get this thing rented. I spend a solid 8 hours a day on craigslist, mandy, la411, I've emailed over 1,700 dp's, called over 400 production companies, posted flyers at college campuses, I talk about it at events and parties. From all of this i've only had 1 client and it was a day shoot. What am I doing wrong here? My package is pretty decent especially for the price. for 400/day this is what you get...
Click to expand...

Havent you heard Alex, Only Alexa's rent.. RED EPIC's are know good. can't shoot skin tones as well.. they are to sharp.. to difficult to use. Slow work flow... Color baked HD PRO RES is enough... (total sarcasm & kidding of course)

Mate... these are the times were alot of people already own the own cameras. Especially EPICS.
Even all the young guys I'm mentoring have them now... even my camera assistants own there own camera.
The days of RENTING Epics is slowly falling off, because people can afford to own one themselves.
A coupld of guys I have met that own rental houses, pretty much give the camera out for nicks... there money is made from Lens rentals. and by the look of your lens kit.... you don't have a great choice there to play with.

Best thing is to focus on creating sellable content yourself, Ad's , corporates, web videos. films etc..

Best of luck mate.
 
This was always going to happen with an industry that once upon a time set the men from the boys by the toys they owned (generalisation), with the entry level to "Professional Quality" dropping significantly it means that there are many more people competing for the same piece of pie. You're wasting your time chasing the same market as a million other guys, diversify and try and find a niche. With your skill set I'd suggest going straight to the corporate market if you want to make a buck.
 
Kemalettin Sert said:
tried porn industry? i know they still shooting with shitty hdv cams..
Click to expand...

That's an interesting thought actually; porn pretty much drove the internet. They do have a track record for better embracing and profiting from tech changes (VCRs, new distro formats, internet) than the mainstream business. Could be something that drives some early adopters of home 4K... not a business I've ever more than dabbled in the fringes of, however.

Mike
 
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