Filmmakers drooling over HVX

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Mickey Munday

Well-known member
i've had two different people ask me, from two different parts of town, if they could use my HVX and pay me rather than a rental house. i guess they figure they'll get a better deal. they dont want me operating the hvx they just want access to it for themselves. i passed on both of them, but i'm curious is it common for other filmmakers to rent out their equipment like that? how much would you charge someone if you are comfortable doing that?
 
I've done it before.

Normally I try to make sure I'm still operating the cam. I always tell them they can take DP credit but normally they want cam op credit, too. If it's for a friend then I'll rent and let them use it, but if not, I won't. I know that most likely they won't break it, but if someone's gonna break my camera, it's gonna be me.
 
how much have you charged somebody you don't know to use your camera? also, were they expecting to bump you out the way and use it themselves?
 
the only times I've done it are for friends so it's been $150/day. that's still criminally cheap but, as I said, they're friends. At the local cam shop it rents for $300/day.

As for how they use it, the understanding was that it was under my control 24/7 until the DP was going to shoot. IMO I think it's a pretty bad sign when a DP refuses to let the owner operate the cam if he requests, especially when he's getting the camera for a bargain. But it wasn't my project (and my hunches were correct when they failed to finish their project and pissed off the clients)
 
i have a VERY hard time renting my camera out. though i entertained the idea of buying another HVX200, and renting that out till it paid for itslef, then just having a "B" camera that also generates money.
 
TimurCivan said:
i have a VERY hard time renting my camera out. though i entertained the idea of buying another HVX200, and renting that out till it paid for itslef, then just having a "B" camera that also generates money.
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so you've done it though? if so why did you do it? was it a friend or stranger?
 
You have to ask yourself if you bought the camera to make money or to advance your film making career or hobby.

My gear won't be involved unless I know/like/trust them, and even then. Unless DP/AC/operator credit is involved and the owner operates the camera, you just become a cheap camera rental for them.

You did the right thing by not renting out. These people were just looking to save a buck. Good job!
 
Sometimes there might not be much wrong with actually getting ROI on your gear. At the very least, you could force them to let you be on set to monitor the usage of your equipment at a reasonable rate.

From that, you may gain contacts, future rentals and even future jobs actually Oping, Acing, or DPing.

There are ways to turn that into a fortunate situation for yourself, especially if you aren't doing anything else on those days anyway.
 
not sure i'd rent it. I'd rent it to friends only unless I had insurance that covered it. If you do rent it, make sure you have it in writting that they will pay for a new camera or the repair fees plus a little extra for down time. Everyone (even friends) say they will pay if things go wrong, until things go wrong. It doesn't mean they are bad guys, it might just mean they can't. So you get screwed.
If you are going to rent without operating (and maybe even with) get insurance. for 1500 / yr you should be able to cover 20k of equipment on the field.
I'm not renting, so I cannot afford the insurance. I know I'll take care of my baby. :) but as soon as I can afford it, I will bump my insurance up to cover field work.
 
ROI is always good. I have a 100, 100 A and a HVX 200, I've made alot of money from renting the 100 and 100A out. The 100 has always been a "B" camera, and now both the 100 and 100A are "B" cameras compared to the HVX.

I rent both out under two conditions, I must know the person I'm renting it to and they must sign a rental contract that holds them liable for any damage.

I'm going to be quite a bit more selective renting out the HVX as it's my "A" camera pride and joy.... but I will rent it under the right conditions.
 
What kind of wording would you put into a rental contract? I'm thinking of renting my hvx to fellow students up at college wiht the condition that I'm on set and they assume all costs for repairs etc. should something go wrong. I'm not a lawyer though, so I'm just curious how the contract would actually look.
 
good point siniarch. yea see i don't have insurance. i'm my own insurance since i know i won't break it until i get up enough $$$ to get some reliable insurance. maybe then i'll take a little more chances with it....but even then....

i like the idea of ROI, but that's not the reason i bought the camera really. i bought it to turn my ideas and screenplays into films. although getting some side money could help pay for additional equipment...
 
And that's exactly the point. Getting part of that 6k back could really help go for those things you want to do. Let other people or work pay for your tools, man. Not saying that's always the right way to go, but getting a little change back and just sitting around watching your camera closely can be a positive thing.

I just got my equipment put on an insurance policy, but I still won't be renting it out without myself going for quite some time. That's why I'm trying to make myself useful as a great operator, learning the digital technology and selling myself as part of the package on benefits instead of money.

It really is an expensive piece to just let go. 400.00 to replace those battery tabs is a BEAST!
 
We rent our two HVX's out all the time. Don't really see the point in having them just sitting in the corner half the time...

Actually, lately, it has been our 16gb P2 cards that have been going out the most. But that's probably because the only rental place in town only has two 8gb ones.

We pay insurance, but the rentals are making us quite a bit of money. And at the moment our business is only coming through word-of-mouth, but we're in the process of setting up a small website as well.
 
You might want to try approaching the camera rental houses and asking if they want to sub rent your camera out. Rental houses do this all the time, they sub rent from each other and individuals.

This way you can let them take care of finding the clients and renting out the equipment, they'll cover insurance as well, and you can get around 50% of their rental price.
 
When I was shooting Canon I had my cam and two other guys had the same cam in town. We would basically pool our inventory so we could all do three-camera events... we charged each other $100 and knew that if one cam broke we could loan the owner our cam until the other was repaired.

We rent our HVX out in a kit for $500/day, and that includes me. I can run the camera or I can just watch but until we get insurance it's not going to get out of my sight! I find that it's best to avoid the lowball offers because often those people aren't going to treat the equipment right anyway.
 
SeanEmer said:
What kind of wording would you put into a rental contract? I'm thinking of renting my hvx to fellow students up at college wiht the condition that I'm on set and they assume all costs for repairs etc. should something go wrong. I'm not a lawyer though, so I'm just curious how the contract would actually look.
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I think this would be a big mistake because students wont have the money to pay it back. Yeah they will sign all kinds of contracts but at the end of the day, unless you have the money to sue them and drag them into court you are going to probably lose on the deal if it gets broken.

I can see renting lights and grip stuff but not a camera if there is no insurance, it takes one person walking and talking on a cell phone to trip over the tripod and bring it all down.
 
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