Renting Out Red

[Zakaree Sandberg]

i was thinkin 6-700 per day for the body.. plus basic accessories..

in a post on dvx before it was taken off!!! i had issued a notice of a rentals page i would set up.. www.digitalcinemacameras.com all of us renting could use it as a craigs list for film making basically.. post rates.. locations.. and that way there would be a backup system involved in case one camera goes rogue.

 

[betty schaefer]

me thinks you need to have more than just one red if you want to start a small rental service. camera must be replaceable within half a day on a shoot if it dies. having a crew waiting just costs too much.. but i might be wrong

 

[Stephen Williams]

me thinks you need to have more than just one red if you want to start a small rental service. camera must be replaceable within half a day on a shoot if it dies. having a crew waiting just costs too much.. but i might be wrong

Hi,

Often with new technology, insurance companies will insist that a back up body is on hand. 4 hours delay can cost way more than a Red body.

Stephen

 

[Scott Webster]

Be careful you do not separate the amount of time you will need to educate your clients from the rental rate on the camera. Initially the Red camera is going to be time and education intensive and you may get to the point where a low rate is not covering your effort in actually getting the camera out the door.

 

[betty schaefer]

..although i can imagine in the first weeks/months when REDs are scarce big productions will rent left and right..as it costs less to use a RED as a stunt camera than an old arri 35 III ..that was mean..sorry

 

[Stephen Williams]

Be careful you do not separate the amount of time you will need to educate your clients from the rental rate on the camera. Initially the Red camera is going to be time and education intensive and you may get to the point where a low rate is not covering your effort in actually getting the camera out the door.

Hi Rocketeer,

The Red camera should be very quick to master IMHO.

Stephen

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

Personally I think a renter should charge what they can charge.

What I mean by this is a renter should get as much as they can. Lets face its a fact that all of us who have reserved a RED have taken a chance and put our bets on RED. This fact makes being someone that has a RED available to rent worth premium $$. Another fact if RED produces the camera they say damand will be high and availability will be low so that will be worth premium $$.

Like mentioned some of the cheapest day rentals around for a HVX is $250 and that camera is worth less then one third of a RED body. When I start to rent my RED it will be $750-$1,000 a day for body plus some accesories. If renters feel its too much they can find another RED, oops thats right theres not many out there and they are in high demand so supply and demand will regulate $$.

Keep in mind though if you rent a camera out for a one day shoot they will need the camera on the previous day to do camera prep with lenses and other accesories and will probably return the camera on the day after the shoot. So a one day rental becomes having the camera gone for 3 days. In this case I will as most camera rental houses do charge for 1 day of rental. Thus if a camera rents for longer then 1 day the cost will reflect the amount of time rented and be less then the $750-$1,000 a day.

In the end pretty much everyone who has gambled on RED deserves a reward for it. That reward will be $$ in the form of high rental costs in the begining. Rental prices will come down fast enough there is no use pricing it low off the bat.

Finner you are totally right. Very honest and a smart opinion.

 

[Stephen Williams]

..although i can imagine in the first weeks/months when REDs are scarce big productions will rent left and right..as it costs less to use a RED as a stunt camera than an old arri 35 III ..that was mean..sorry

Hi Betty,

Interesting point, not sure how well the data will survive if its recorded on a raid!

Stephen

 

[Scott Webster]

Hi Rocketeer,

The Red camera should be very quick to master IMHO.

Stephen

Hi Stephen,

Yes from a DOP's perspective I have no doubt the camera will be quick to pickup. It is producers who tend to be more risk averse and with short attention spans. Some DOP's have more influence over them than others

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

Finner, also as we know here in Vienna the film rentals are not renting the camera body only, you get an option to hire one skilled technician, assistant or even DP with the camera. It's a very simple security how they trying to protect the equipment from unskilled use or other non-standard treat to the cam. Have a look at
http://www.moviecam.at/

 

[betty schaefer]

hi stephen..don't know long tha cables can be - meaning how far away the raid can be from the camera/ 'crash-site'
ps: wonderful wonderful fries you got

 

[Stephen Williams]

Finner, also as we know here in Vienna the film rentals are not renting the camera body only, you get an option to hire skilled technician, assistant or even DP with camera. It's because how they protect the equipment from unskilled use or other non-standard use.

Hi,

Thats funny, I always rent for non-standard use! If you tell the rental company what you are shooting they give you their oldest kit hoping for an insurance claim!

Stephen

 

[betty schaefer]

one last thought: RED owners are madly in love with their camera (completely normal, i love my aaton and arri too). renting it out means accepting that it will be completely scratched and dented after a year..needing overhauls and paint jobs...so you really have to run it as a business and be a bit detached from the object - no?

 

[Stephen Williams]

ps: wonderful wonderful fries you got

Hi Betty,

It started life at Cape Canaveral (1959), shot some effects work on Titanic & Dante's Peak by Digital Domain before they sold it to me on Ebay! I may have sold it, to make way for a new camera!

Stephen

 

[Daniel Reichenbach]

Yesss...

Yesss...

I'm in the discussion for renting and will follow the price politics of the REDCORE. Hope to be at NAB talk to you guys about future, prices and stunning REDpics

Good and I would like to read some Austrian/German/Swiss commentaries about the future RED rental policies in those countries.