Rental Etiquette #SetEtiquette #RentalGear #ActRight
Everyone knows the term "set etiquette", it's how we conduct ourselves on set, especially in front of specific cast and crew. Sometimes shoots get stressful, and there's a lot of hurry up and wait, and thus, from time to time, slip ups happen; but mostly, we do our best to be on our best behavior. The overall theme is, use common sense, and do your best.
The same principles and theories should be applied to how you treat gear, especially gear that isn't yours. Your mom always told you to keep your feet off other people coffee tables, and she should have told you to respect other people very expensive gear. Irregardless of price, other people's gear should be treated better than you treat yours. It should be returned in as good of shape as you got it, and it should be returned packed up neat and organized. Sure, you're paying to rent the gear, but you're not paying to destroy or mistreat it.
This may sound like a rant, because that's what it is. We here at F11 Rentals in Las Vegas have a ton of great customers who take good care of our production rental gear. Sure, there's the occasional bad apple, but we are fortunate that most gear comes back just fine. So, if you or someone you know is a bad apple, reach out to us for help, and we'll be glad to set you on the right path.
Flags and Diffusion To Go! #Roadrags #MatthewsStudioEquipment #Amazing
Some of the most useful pieces of gear in the grip and lighting department are flags, scrims, and diffusion; however, they can be somewhat cumbersome to schlep around, especially if you're on the move. A great alternative to a full load of flags and diffusion is an amazing product from Matthews Studio Equipment called Road Rags. Road Rags are compact, portable flags and diffusion that transform in an instant; they're easy to build and easy to package back up. There are single, double and triple black and white bobinett available for diffusing light without changing the color- and they're flame retardant, which is great for not burning the joint down! Matthews also offers black and white silks in three different forms for bounce and diffusion services; the China silk is not flame retardant or self extinguishing... so we might be burning it all down. Lastly, there are gold, silver, and checker board lames for balling out and reflecting beautiful light; these are self extinguishing, so flame on!
Enough of my rambling, check out the product here, order yourself a set, you won't ragret it- nope not even one little letter. Oh, and, we have a few bobinetts if you need to rock out like us.
Maintaining the Studio #orginization #productionGear
We here at F11 Rentals stay pretty busy! Between handling all our outgoing and returning Las Vegas video gear rentals, to drafting estimates, chasing leads, and spreading the good word, there's hardly a moment to slack off and watch a couple episodes of It's Always Sunny on the clock. However, one of the most useful and important aspects of our job is maintaining our studio. Our studio is where all of our gear lives and thus, it's where out "bread and butter" lives. During the busy season, there's hardly a moment when something isn't outgoing or incoming, and it's very important to make sure that we're not only assuring all of our gear comes back in total but also in working order. We take pride in delivering the best rental gear, and that means it needs to be clean, organized, and of course, running smoothly (especially that darn slider). We of course love when our clients return the gear the same way it went out, but understand that life on set is often hectic; so it's our pleasure to make sure we cross our "Is" and dot our "Ts", and make sure each rental goes out correct. That being said, my episode of South Park is just about over, so I guess I'll go tidy up the studio for the next round of rentals.
F11 Gear Goes On An Adventure #MountainFilming #DesertFilming
If you thought our gear was only capable of working in air-conditioned convention halls and meeting rooms, well then, you have another thing coming, buddy! F11 Rentals sent a Canon C300 and Sony a7S rental package out on a music video shoot that had it way up near the tippity-top of Mount Charleston, and down in the sweltering heat of the Jean Dry Lake Bed. Our gear conquered the day among the aspens and pines of the refreshingly cool mountain tops, down in the formidable 110 degree, sun baked dirt of the Mojave, and even bounding across the rugged terrain of Red Rock Canyon. So, if you are having a bully day with say... Bear Grills, or maybe just a bear, consider our capable Las Vegas based rental gear for your Las Vegas video projects.
Canon's big 8K announcement #CanonCameras #8Kvideo #120Megapixels
At 5:00am EDT yesterday, Canon, our friends over in The Land of the Rising Sun (it's okay if you didn't know that was Japan's nickname) announced the near-future release of an 8K cinema camera and 120 megapixel DSLR.
The cinema camera will have a Super 35mm equivalent CMOS sensor, capable of 60fps, and 13 stops of dynamic range. The camera will feature the awesome EF mount, and the sensor will be 8,192 x 4,320 pixels (approximately 35.39 million effective pixels). Canon will also produce an 8K professional reference monitor.
As for the DSLR, it will have 120 effective megapixels, capable of beautiful, clear, poster size images, and allow for cropping without compromising quality.
Canon hasn't said whether the camera will be available and unveiled at NAB, PhotoKina, or... maybe a random Taco Tuesday.
Either way, what a surprise bomb-shell from Canon.
In Loving Memory of LeFrancis #OutWithTheOldInWithTheNew #AboutTime
Our favorite rebel rouser, Frank LaSpina, (aka LeFrancis) has stepped down as Director of Operations here at F11 Rentals to pursue a bright and sunny opportunity beyond these hallowed halls. While he will be greatly missed, we will persevere and carry on with full hearts and heads held high. Operations will continue as normal, and you may still contact us through the normal avenues, i.e. email us at rentals@f11rentals.com, give us a ring at (702) 703-5400, or send us some good vibes through the power of telekinesis (no guarantees there).
My name is James Moore, I was the one behind the camera for all of Frank's wonderful video appearances, and I will be the new Director of Operations here at F11 Rentals. I can't promise I have the same, wonderful, flowing hair as Frank, nor the winning smile, but, I will do my best to offer the same, top-caliber service you've come to expect from us.
As a tribute to Frank, here are some nice photos to remember him by.
Servicing Your Lenses #CanonC300 #GearMaintenance
One often overlooked aspect of good production is having your equipment routinely serviced and cleaned. A wise investment is buying a service and/or protection plan above the manufacturers' warranty. Here at F11 Rentals for instance, we send our Canon C300s out for an annual cleaning and "sprucing up"; that insures that everything is running correctly, all the nuts and bolts are tight, and everything is clean, especially deep down. The fine folks over at Canon are trained and able to clean all the intricate and difficult parts of the camera that we here would rather not mess with. We certainly take pride in taking the best care of our products while they're here in house, but definitely don't underestimate the trained professionals that help keep our machine running smoothly. Here in the desert, our production rental gear needs all the care we can give it!
Keep Your Package Wrapped #Cinebags
Here at F11 Rentals, we always use protection (no one likes a burner), that's why we're no fools, and we wrap our tools with Cinebags High Rollers, Skinny (not ours) Jimmies, and the always ergonomic and eccentric lap top bag that loves to hold on tight to the high roller. All of our camera packages and rental accessories are packaged nice and tight in Cinebags. The best video production rentals should be delivered in the best production bags. Get your very own bag here.
f11 Rentals offers special pricing for The 48 Hour Film Project
A great event here in town is The 48 Hour Film Project. It gives film-makers a chance to show off their skills, sharpen tools and build great relationships within the community. For these reasons f11 Rentals will be extending special rates on all of our camera packages and production gear to all participants. Book early to ensure we have what you need available.
Sony a7S Unboxing. . . The f11 Way
We're pleased and proud to announce the Sony a7S is joining the already fine family of production and broadcast cameras at f11 Rentals. Checkout all this wild and exciting unboxing action now.