Little Slider, Big Results #edelkrone #sliderPLUS #travel size
One of our favorite pieces of gear is our slider, it provides a huge boost in production value without having to use a cumbersome dolly. Sometimes a regular slider can be too much as well, especially when traveling or space is limited, enter the Edelkrone SliderPLUS. The Edlekrone SliderPLUS uses inovative technology to double the available slide space by utilizing retractable rails and a built in dolly. The SliderPLUS is capable of executing smooth moves even with a fully built Canon C300 with 70-200mm lens. The sliders are durable and well built and come in a variety of sizes. So, if time, space, and budget play a role in your production in Las Vegas, or wherever, give us a call and we'll get you set up with a great tool that will add so much to the value of your final product.
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.
The All New Dana Dolly #danadolly #hihat #smoothasfrank
This is our Dana Dolly which we cannot recommend enough, it is delightful. Make sure to add it to your next camera rental to truly enhance your upcoming shoot.
An Epic Upgrade
With the announcement of Red's latest camera we were one of the first to send our camera in for a Dragon upgrade. Looking forward to the NAB announcement and adding a Red Weapon to out arsenal.
Green Screen - Perfect for Corporate Video Production #greenscreen #videoproduction
St Patrick's Day, almost over, but I thought it might be a good time to talk about green screen. The video equivalent of a blank slate oozing with imaginative possibilities. Appropriate? When most people think of green screens, they think of big budget movies where the actors are flying around, destroying things or doing unbelievable super acts in fantasy worlds. They're used for that but they are used far more often in corporate video production and corporate storytelling than most people realize. We do a good amount of corporate video production and there aren't too many weeks that go by where we aren't either shooting with a green screen or sending out an estimate for green screen production.
In Las Vegas, there are so many conventions coming through town and it's a great place for corporations to either show off products, grab customer testimonials or gather together executives to speak on camera. Instead of using a boring convention room with blah coloring and no dimension, a green screen offers so many more options, it's tough to pass up. We key out the green and boom, you're creativity runs wild but mostly simple wild, nothing crazy. We have a few on hand from a simple pop out 6x6 to a paper roll 10 foot wide to a full on 10x20 wraparound fabric. These can all be taken on location and built to whatever specs the client is looking for. It's an effective and creative solution.
Green screen is not out of anyone's budget. That's another misnomer that people tend to have. It's an additional cost for sure but the quality and flexibility of post production because of it is far more valuable than saving a few dollars. If for your next production you haven't thought about it, ask us about green screen and you'll be glad you have fun options to play with down the line. If all else fails, you can always put the CEO talking about EBITDA in the middle of a corn field.
Now, in honor of St. Patrick's Day I leave you with one of my favorite themed commercials, even though it's a couple years old.
Saying Goodbye to the HDX 900 & HVX 200 #panasonic #cameras
We're saying good bye over here to a couple of our old workhorses. Just sold a Panasonic HDX 900 and a Panasonic HVX 200 and we'll be sending them off this week. It's tough to see those two cameras go, we haven't had much call for them recently but they both made some incredible pictures and captured hours of great video.
The HDX 900 is still in use in many television productions as some old companies still prefer tape based archiving. It's much more difficult to erase a tape they say.....I agree if you have no idea how to use a computer. But that's for another conversation. I understand it's a great camera but I think the time to upgrade to some of the more technologically superior formats. We held onto it as long as we were getting calls but that time seems to be over.
The HVX 200 was a game changer when it came out. It held up all these years and is still in use for indie productions all over the world. We haven't had the calls for it due to upgrading our camera gear to the Panasonic HPX 500, Sony PMW 300 and Canon C300. However, it was a valuable piece of equipment and no doubt has been for countless other individuals and companies.
So, thank you to Panasonic for these two great cameras and we're looking forward to more in the future. They are going to good homes too!
Our new camera bags - The High Roller
We decided on purchasing the Cinebags High Roller for all of our C300 and PMW-300 Camera Packages. The Lens Smuggler has been a great accessory to transport our lenses and additional gear as a carry on. The quality is what you would expect from a high end manufacturer. The Zippers and stitching are built to withstand heavy use. I personally love that there is a little more depth to the main compartment over the previous version the Camera Daddy. Because of the added space we can now store the C300 camera with the top handle as well as the 24-70 lens on the camera. This allows for quicker setups and I think the less we can take the lens on and off the body the better. Oh almost forgot... These new bags have a telescoping handle and wheels. No more lugging a 30lb. Camera bag on my shoulder running from plane to plane. Also, while we are on the topic of traveling. I have to mention the lens smuggler allows us to bring a variety of lenses and stash them under the seat very comfortably. It is slightly thicker than the laptop case but not one airline worker has given it a second look. A highroller and the lens smuggler are a great combination. One carry on and one personal item. We are very glad to have these new bags and I expect them to be a valuable tool for us for the life of our cameras.
We go with American
American Grip is our grip gear brand of choice. Their products provide a level of durability, versatility, and reputation that other manufacturers can't match. Our American equipment has served us well during recent shoots out on location.
New Equipment
Stands
F11 Rentals recently added some new equipment to their grip and lighting arsenal in order to better serve clients and enhance the already impressive offering from Las Vegas' premiere, full service production company.