Any ideas regarding cheap piano rental in L.A.?

[Mark Johnson]

The collective hive-mind of DVXUSER never ceases to amaze me. Thus, I am coming to the oracle once more with a question to pose:

What is the cheapest solution to rent a decent LOOKING grand piano for a one-day music video shoot?

If we were up in San Jose (where I used to live) I actually know some pretty bizarre piano recyclers who specialize in getting junk pianos that they "sort of" repair to the point that they look good enough to be a piece of furniture. These guys are kind of like those little scroungers in the star wars movies and it is amazing what they came up with. I mention this because we obviously don't care about sound for the music video and we just want a reasonably nice looking grand for the performance. Anybody have any connections here in SoCal?

We are probably shooting in a loft but I wouldn't mind shooting on a beach or a natural setting if we could get away with it. Again, having a "junk" piano that looks good would seem to be the best solution. Any ideas?

 

[ullanta]

Hmmm... I always need the pianos to be functional, so i go where the piano is. Tell us more about the space you need if that's a possible approach?

 

[Mark Johnson]

Hmmm... I always need the pianos to be functional, so i go where the piano is. Tell us more about the space you need if that's a possible approach?

Well, certainly having a functional piano would be a plus, of course. However, budget is key. We don't want to shoot at the typical concert stage or recording studio setup because the music video has very epic and ethereal imagery. So, we would probably prefer shooting in a controlled interior that we could build some set backgrounds for and light precisely OR we could go with an exterior landscape such as a beach or meadow (assuming we could pull off getting a grand delivered for the day). The loft we are considering is spacious and right in Hollywood so that space would be amenable for almost any piano. I've loaded grands with a grand board before and have some experienced help available too.

Right now we're just trying to figure out how to get a grand that "prints" well in frame for a reasonable cost. Any other thoughts or ideas are appreciated!

THANKS