2.5K tungstem instrument free if collected

T

Tim Sewell

Well-known member
Hi - I've bought a second hand Quartzcolor Antares 2.5k tungsten soft light.

I didn't realise how bloody huge it would be - far too big to remain in my house!

If anyone would like it and can collect it from me in Brighton/UK - you'd not only be welcome to it - I'll buy you a pint as well!
 
I have a couple of ARRI 2.5k softlights and yeah when they arrived they sure surprised me with their size. Nice of you to offer this guy up like that, unfortunately I am too far away to pop in for it.
 
I want to move to the UK. DVXers are just giving away lighting gear! That never happens here ;-(
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Jesus, you want a list of reasons your life is better as a filmmaker in the US?

It'd exceed the maximum post length limit.
 
I suppose one of the factors at play is that it's actually possible to run a 2.5k light on domestic mains here.
 
Phil Rhodes said:
Jesus, you want a list of reasons your life is better as a filmmaker in the US?

It'd exceed the maximum post length limit.
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Ha, ha! I've shot in the UK a few times. Here's a few observations...

UK
You get completely and utterly ripped off on prices for all video and film gear
Gaffers are called "Sparks"
VAT is just another strata of fiscal punishment after the humiliation of overpaying so much in the first place
Not sure about video in general, but in features and television, I tend to find Englishmen are either brilliant at lighting or really awful. No middle ground. Not sure why that is? Different aesthetic preferences? So many brilliant English DPs too in big features.
If you want to make a film, much easier to get national funding, grants and financing for low level projects in comparison to the states
Brits have a much better chance of actually pitching to the BBC especially, but even to ITV and Sky, we researched pitching some of our show ideas there and not being from the UK is a decided handicap
The quality, overall, of your TV programming is about 90% better than here. I watch 90% UK originated programming and find most American TV mind numbing
The people who appear as news readers, spokespeople, and as actors in commercials, TV and even in features in the UK tend to look like real humans, which I find refreshing
You have the real Antiques Roadshow. Ours is just a pale imitation
Top Gear/The Grand Tour elevated the style and content of car pornography cinematography to an art form not even slightly approached by anyone else in the world
You guys have Kate Bush

US
We generally get the best prices and availability on all film and video related gear
Electricians are called "Gaffers"
Sales Tax is decidedly less humiliating than VAT
Generally, many more camera, grip and gaffers fall into the middle to upper middle ground here. Not sure why, but as a producer, I hire crews in the UK quite often, I did for coverage on Cosmos for Fox and for a lot of other projects and we found one crew who was really great at lighting and three who didn't have a clue about lighting.
Even though there really isn't much nationalized funding here for filmmakers, there are many, many more potential outlets here to sell programming to in comparison
I have shot several things here for PBS, which is the closest thing we have to the BBC although no comparison.
Overall, American TV is crap but we have a few things that are really well done
Most Americans who appear on American TV bear little resemblance to actual humans, they are largely escapees from the set of "Ex Machina". Fembots, droids and human replicants who have perfect bodies, flawless teeth and hair, a large amount of silicone and foreign matter in their bodies.
Our Antiques Roadshow is from places like San Diego, where an antique is something that is 20 years old. In the UK, antique means something from the Romans.
Top Gear USA was a travesty

Okay, now it's your turns UK DVXers, please add to or amend my list! ;-)
 
Re: VAT is just another strata of fiscal punishment after the humiliation of overpaying so much in the first place
In the UK VAT Registered Businesses, i.e. virtually all of them, don't pay VAT. They do but claim it back at the end of the 1/4. Some times the government pays you Tax refund.

Electricians always have been called Sparks.
A Gaffer is a boss not an electrician.
Americans don't use English..... :-)

In the UK we have REAL castles and old buildings ("old" is more than 250 years ) thus saving on building a lot of "historic" sets.

We have a lot of vary varied countryside in close proximity. Though given the current road congestion and the fact many UK roads are like US footpaths the "proximity" doesn't help much.
 
Hi guys

Looks like I have a taker, which will avoid me sustaining injuries from my none-too-pleased wife.
Thanks for the interest.
 
In the UK VAT Registered Businesses, i.e. virtually all of them, don't pay VAT. They do but claim it back at the end of the 1/4. Some times the government pays you Tax refund.
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Yeah, but the costs of actually administering that will outweigh the benefits for most people.

Unfortunately the comments posted above are largely accurate. The UK is cripplingly expensive for many things, not just filmmaking, and it is an appalling limiter of ambition and achievement. We're slowly achieving a sort of worst-of-both-worlds as regards the benefits of both corporate- and state-provided services and it is a complete disaster.

The UK has fundamentally been a failing country for decades. To drag this back on topic, note that almost all of the most prominent British film and TV people found their success outside the country, chiefly in the US.
 
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Phil Rhodes said:
Yeah, but the costs of actually administering that will outweigh the benefits for most people.
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Not true. Also given the amount of kit and services you need to buy that carry VAT you end up with effectively a 20% discount on most things. Also when working B2B most people we work for assume you are VAT registered. it's only a problem if you do a lot of B2C work.
 
I refer you to the edits I made shortly after your response.

The problem with VAT registration is the sheer amount of paperwork it creates, and the opportunity for error. Most people will end up needing to hire professional accountancy services (and I speak as someone who stopped doing that for self-assessment some time ago) and unless you're buying a new camera every six months it isn't worthwhile. It becomes an afternoon a week otherwise, or you risk getting it wrong, with draconian penalties. 20% is probably a fair price to pay for peace of mind, although it reinforces the standard UK approach that discounts are for rich people who are already doing a lot of business.

The actual problem is that 20% on what an American would call sales tax is an absolute insult, especially given what we get for it.
 
VAT takes us about 30 minutes every three months and that is for our company that buys and sells a LOT. We don't need an accountant for it (just a standard inexpensive accountancy package e.g. Sage) and we file the VAT on-line. Actually there is virtually no paperwork. Or at least no additional paperwork for the VAT over normal non-VAT accounting. We ran three VAT registered companies between two of us. (We have rolled them back into one for reasons other than VAT) I suppose it depends if you are organised.


What we get for the VAT (and other taxes) is a lot better than the USA. Try the US version of the NHS or state education system :-)
However we are a LONG way from a free lighting kit. So I will stop there
 
I think if you're in a position where you're making most of your money out of buying and selling gear and that's your business, you probably won't have much choice. But if you try to integrate VAT registration with a more conventional self-employed sort of scenario (whether or not you're actually admitting it), the tangled web of personal and professional finances can be very hard to keep apart. In that situation, it most certainly does become a bit of a nightmare - I know, I looked into it and rejected it out of hand.

The idea that VAT registration is a free discount on gear is very naive.
 
Phil Rhodes said:
I think if you're in a position where you're making most of your money out of buying and selling gear and that's your business, you probably won't have much choice. But if you try to integrate VAT registration with a more conventional self-employed sort of scenario (whether or not you're actually admitting it), the tangled web of personal and professional finances can be very hard to keep apart. In that situation, it most certainly does become a bit of a nightmare - I know, I looked into it and rejected it out of hand.

The idea that VAT registration is a free discount on gear is very naive.
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I suppose it depends how you work. We are a VAT registered limited company. We have been running about 15 years and work across Europe and N America ( I am in Germany next week). We hire people as and when we need them. Naive we ain't. and VAT takes (these days ) about 30 minutes every 3 months or 2 hours a year for the filing. YEs you have to separate personal from business that's why I have personal and company credit cards.
 
I think that's the operative point - if you're a company with offices, employees, accountants and all that jazz, it's not much extra work. If you're a freelancer, things are different.
 
Phil Rhodes said:
I think that's the operative point - if you're a company with offices, employees, accountants and all that jazz, it's not much extra work. If you're a freelancer, things are different.
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The office is a (dedicated) room at home. We don't employ anyone except me and one person who works for free. (we have people on contract as and when for days at a time.) we have an accountant who we see 2 times a year. we just use a computerised accounts package and VAT takes 2 hours a year.
 
:-) It was the enjoyable part of the afternoon. The rest o it has been ******* not to mention I didn't get the free light.
 
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