It is now time to turn your months of planning, budgeting and selling your ideas into a film. The next step is production of the film, and finding the right film lighting equipment and grip equipment is important.
Some basic equipment is essential, while other equipment that people might try to talk you into, is not. Choose the grip equipment that can create your film with the right look, sound and mood.
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Choose the lighting and grip equipment needed
The correct lighting is essential to the success of shooting a scene. Figure out which level of light works best with the cameras you use. Get only the very basic big light and reflectors to begin.
I recommend: Find entire lighting kits that are affordable at
Pacific Coast Lighting Systems. Find a huge variety of grip equipment at
Techno Films as well.
Look for used grip equipment and film lighting equipment
There are many places to look for used film lighting equipment. Many filmmakers sell perfectly good equipment when they move on to bigger projects. Make sure you can spot good quality when looking at used grip equipment.
I recommend: Search
Filmmaking.net for listings of used film lighting equipment. Also look at
KitMondo.
Consider renting lighting and grip equipment
There are companies out there that rent the equipment for filmmaking. Only rent if you don't have another option. If shooting lasts for several weeks or longer, renting can quickly become more expensive than buying, and then you can be rushed to shoot fast.
I recommend: Get a quick quote online for lighting a grip equipment from
CinEquipt.com. Look at
Limelight Productions too.
Purchase the perfect cameras for your needs
The cameras that you choose will depend greatly on your budget. They also depend on which format you are shooting. The basics that you must have for shooting include a basic camera, lenses, a zoom, a head, a tripod and a video assist.
I recommend: Look at
Wolf Camera, Inc. for purchasing new cameras and
ARRI for rentals.
Figure out transportation.
You need a van or at least a very large car to move all of your equipment around for location shooting. Consider renting one from a local car rental company. Lock it up to keep the equipment safe, and make sure the vehicle and driver are both insured.
I recommend: Look for cargo van rental deals at
Enterprise or
Avis.
Hire a lighting and grip crew.
Hiring a good crew may be the most important part. They do much of the grunt work. It is easy to find experienced lighting and grip crews, and many will work for low wages if they are freshly out of college or in college.
I recommend: Look for professionals at the
Motion Picture and Television Directory,
CrewNet.com, or
FilmStaff.com.
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