Scarlet Rentals

[Charles Nader]

All im saying.. is dont plan your income or plan for paying off your kit with rentals..
You wont get the prices your looking for.

Don't plan to make money on Rental period. There will be too many R1, Epics and Scarlet's in the field its going to be crazy. I love these DP's with R1 cause they honestly think they are getting hired because of their talent. Some do, but most no...its not the case...its because they have a camera and so you can negotiated a good rate per day/week/whatever. I had DP's bid for jobs, and they lost because they honest believe that they're the only DP's with R1 at their disposal. DP's, Rental houses, R1 owners will do ANY thing to rental their gear. Trust me, I spoke to countless owners for rates. Its amazing how much they really what for a camera or with them included.

Go ahead, contact R1 owner/shooter/DP's find out what's the rate...their will be some one to undercut their price. I'm not fond of this practice but it happens quite a bit.

 

[Kevin Olsen]

I am planing on splitting the cost with a few friends to offset the cost issues and give us each some time to shoot and get an understanding of the camera.

Maybe that's a better way to look at it.

KO

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Sounds wise.

By all means: Go ahead and buy the camera and the system. I've never had more fun than since I did. But make sure that people hire you and not some low-cost, easy replaceable kit - if you plan to make money from it.

You are - hopefully - not replaceable in the sense a 7000 $ cam is.

Be good at what you're doing, and you'll get well paid.

Or buy a lot of quality kit and start a rental house... and be good at THAT...

That's it, really.

Don't expect rental dividents for a 7k$ cam system to equal those of a 250k$ system, just because you "think the image is better".

Deliver those better images, and you can take whatever. It's not the cam, but you whoe does that.

 

[Zakaree Sandberg]

It's not the cam, but you whoe does that.

Exactly.. Ive seen some horrific looking RED footage..
Alot of people think the camera will give them the look they want...
little do they know its how you light the scene, and color correct the project that really matters..

RED is a great tool (when you learn how to use it, and how to light)

bottom line.. dont rent your gear.. rent yourself

 

[Charles Nader]

Exactly.. Ive seen some horrific looking RED footage..
Alot of people think the camera will give them the look they want...
little do they know its how you light the scene, and color correct the project that really matters..

RED is a great tool (when you learn how to use it, and how to light)

bottom line.. dont rent your gear.. rent yourself

Exactly...the camera is a secondary option. If you're good...people will know you're talent...the camera is a tool much like using any tool at your disposal.

Be smart...learn lighting, lenses, DOF, tricks, tips from others and watch tons of films and see how they light every scene. Subscribe to ASC mag...ton of information of top DP's of what lenses, cameras, and their detail lighting set-ups. Learn from the best or others on set. Every opportunity you can get working on set big or small is an amazing opportunity for you to excel in knowledge and connections. Use it & do it.

And just have fun...down the road you will get paid for what you're worth. Hopefully, a lot.

 

[Rodger Knowles]

Rental Equipment Insurance Question

Rental Equipment Insurance Question

I notice a lot of the group talking about rentals. I run a Greenscreen studio (www.SkyHiStudios.com) and I rent cameras for internal use. However, I am afraid to rent for outside use because of the likelihood of damage/theft. How do I go about having renters take out insurance on the equipment that I rent to them? Any one know of a good camera rental house insurer?

I would be especially nervous about renting a brand new Red camera.

 

[Jimmy Moss]

I've got a little experence renting out my gear, its not my main income, but I certainly won't turn down money :smile5:

I've got a HVX200a and redrock setup with all the extras and find that people are willing to pay 300-400 a day for it (about a $15000 value). I find that if I offer my AC services with the gear I usually close more buisness that way. It's a fair price, I get to look out for my gear on set, my insurace will cover it, and I get my name out there. Obviously that dosent happen all the time, but Directors/producers rather hire me than another AC because its cheaper for them and they know I'm going to handle my gear well and fix any issues quickly.

As far as renting out stuff for $50-100 your only going to get scammers and hustlers charging that price. I know first hand. If their not willing to pay at least $200 then I would stay away. $150 would be like last resort. Reserve $50 for close friends.

 

[Mike Shugrue]

Scarlet Camera Package
550 per day.
includes 4 batts/AC power/DC/Sach-20
Storage -extra
monitor-extra-35
Thats it.

These units will have a shelve life of 2years.
Remember you will need one on the shelve -just in case you have a problem with one.
otherwise your clients will never come back. having one of anything is not a good way to go. You need to pay for your back up items that sit while your project is working. you are not only paying off the camera being used you must also consider the back up camera. This package has a value of over 12k.

 

[Marco D]

I would rent scarlet if I went along for the ride I'm still learning all of this

and I know that is need to get paid for learning instead of the other way around

I think that I'll rent me and scarlet for a bout $280 a day with security deposit of

around 8,0000 I would have it any other way.

 

[Stephen Strangways]

Before you start considering rental pricing, you should find out how much insurance will cost you. Not just damage or theft insurance, but you need fraud insurance as well, as some R1 renters have been discovering the hard way.

 

[Yannick Hagman]

7D with zacuto or chrosziel rails, mattebox and follow focus is now 220$-250$ here. 50$ (Canon) -70$ (Zeiss) for lenses. A monitor goes for 100$. I assume Scarlet will go for 350$-450$.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

It's important for everyone to study their own markets. Broad statements don't necessarily apply to every rental market out there. What one gets for rental in LA might be quite different than what one gets in Boston, Omaha, Boise, etc. The other thing to consider is that if you plan on becoming a mini rental house you'll need to support that type of business properly, meaning you'll need to meet your clients needs and expectations of a rental house. Proper maintenance of the equipment, backup gear if something fails, proper insurance, options for payment such as credit card. As an owner/operator, it works a bit different, although some of the same rules apply if you want to have success.

In terms of Scarlet, there may be a lot of them out there eventually and it will certainly change the way certain projects are produced, but keep in mind that for professional shoots that still need a certain level of quality, you will still need a lot of components besides a basic camera package. From my experience, it's not just about having a nice camera that can shoot pretty pictures. The reality on set is, can the camera mount to the support gear, can it be downconverted to SD for the steadicam guy who hasn't upgraded to HD yet, does it have the doodad that plugs into this doodad, that then allows XYZ to happen. There are some R1 packages out there that have caused shoots to compromise quite a bit because they were not properly outfitted with accessories. This is not just a RED issue, it's with any camera system.

I know the old model of "You get what you pay for" might be evolving, but I still believe it holds merit to a certain extent. If a producer wants to put their reputation on the line and hire out a Scarlet package at $50/day that's their choice. But, if it turns out that the camera shows up, doesn't have the right accessories, compromises the shoot, and in the end costs way more than it would of if they just rented from a reputable source, then the producer would only have themselves to blame. Now, if the camera package comes exactly as expected, the person renting it to the production provides great service, and at the end of the day everyone is happy - well, that does shake things up a bit. I just hope everyone can afford to live on those rates for a long time. It's hard to come up from there when you set a low price point. So when you eventually have a mortgage, family to support, etc. you'll find that going out with your camera package at $100/day for everything doesn't quite cut it. And then it might require a career change.

Everyone's situation is different and I realize that. And as I said earlier, each market will require a different approach. I would suggest that everyone looking at renting cameras out do their due diligence and find a price point that makes sense. Don't go in with the mindset of being the cheapest person out there. Go in thinking about offering the best service for a fair price. In the end, it's all about reputation. You don't want to become known as the cheap guy with crappy gear. That won't give you longevity.

 

[Alexander Ibrahim]

I would rent scarlet if I went along for the ride I'm still learning all of this

and I know that is need to get paid for learning instead of the other way around

I think that I'll rent me and scarlet for a bout $280 a day with security deposit of

around 8,0000 I would have it any other way.

You should be prepared to take a certificate of insurance, with yourself names as an additional loss payee from a renter. I usually couple that with a deposit to cover the deductible on the insurance.

Of course, this all implies that your renter gives you time to check out the insurance and the coverage levels. I usually require a minimum of 48 hours between my receipt of an insurance certificate and rental.

It can be a couple hours of being on the phone and paperwork... so you should factor that into your rental prices.

 

[Russ Blaise]

I would hope all the RED modules and cameras will have serial numbers stamped on them?

 

[Dana Schoenfeld]

Hi Brandon - So are you looking to rent out the Camera? And if so, at what price per day for a package?