Equipment for a DP

D

DDirector

Veteran
When working freelance on small budget short films or music videos, what equipment is the DP usually responsible to have?


I am student gradually getting in the business as a DP and wanted to know what equipment I need to have of my own. What equipment I should have and what equipment I do not need but rent - if not provided on the shoot by someone else or if money allows for it.

Right now, I only own a HDSLR and a shoulder rig. Nothing else.
So, as a DP, what else would I need that others would be looking for?
 
At the end of the day, my opinion is that no one will have an endless supply of gear, or even have the knowledge to be able to rent something instantly and feel comfortable using it, so the thing to keep in mind is that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a DP having their own individual style - I feel like so many DP's have lost character because they feel like they have to conform to a certain standard or look, yet don't specialize in a certain form of filmmaking or vision. And usually, unique variations are more a result of having limitations, as opposed to having thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of equipment in your arsenal. For instance with me, with lifestyle problems outside the filmmaking realm, I have to keep my gear very minimal, cheap, and on-the-go : and I constantly dedicate myself to trying to accomplish professional footage in alternative ways because of this. Everything's possible, it's just you have to choose which direction to go in - do you like being surrounded by a professional environment, with equipment that helps you take your job seriously and also provides ease and understanding? Or would you rather try and keep your equipment backpackable and work out your shoots from a solo perspective, keeping things simple, light, and cheap? And then there's anything in between, and the main decision is deciding what you'd like to continue to dedicate your education to.

But beyond that, really just look any threads in any DSLR section and there'll be tons of stuff about people looking for sound recorders, mini-dollies, sliders, different lenses, lights, mics, tripods, ect ect. I'd say just look around and see what appeals to you! At the end of the day, I like shopping just as much as anyone, but when just thinking toward my scripts, really the only things I need for the majority of the shots are a tripod, a slider, possibly an ND, sound recorder and mics, certain lenses, and I'll be deciding the light direction later on. For many things, you don't really need too much stuff!
 
A camera and things like extra batteries, memory, etc.

I'd say the minimal accessories are an ND filter set, some kind of sun shade and decent tripod.

For HDSLR lenses I would get a decent, fast, set of wide, medium and tele lenses. Some might opt for a zoom that covers this range though.

Something to easily carry all of this stuff like a camera case.

For a more advanced kit, I would start looking at lighting and such. Budget for power cables and so forth too. I've seen guys spend all their money on lights and then have nowhere to plug them in because they don't have stingers long enough to run to other circuits..

That would be my absolute minimum kit.
 
Technically we should only have a light meter....

everything else should be rented. But thats not the real world. DP's need to own some gear nowadays. The weird thing is, you gotta have everything.... or nothing. Like, either a HVX/5D/ex1, tripod and a microphone.... or the WHOLE shabang, RED/Varicam/Ex3w/ adpter, Lenses, crane, dolley, slider, monitors, lights, van etc.... Being in the middle is tough, without having everything, you will have trouble getting the "good" jobs. Hence why the guys with a lot of gear can support a lot of gear, they are a one stop shop. The guys with small gear, can be cheaper cause they have much less over head. But with minimal gear, you likely wont get considered for big gigs, cause its cheaper to hire the DP with all the gear the big job needs, than to hire the solo guy and then rent everything ala carte.

I wanna be the third option. The guy that just own a light meter..... but to get there... you gotta go the way of having everything.
 
T,
With gear one is gonna get small and mid jobs but not only probably won't get big but mentioning the gear ownership will hamper your chances to score the big gig (recent big mistake i made that cost me national commercial).
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
T,
With gear one is gonna get small and mid jobs but not only probably won't get big but mentioning the gear ownership will hamper your chances to score the big gig (recent big mistake i made that cost me national commercial).
Click to expand...

Well, set up PR Rentals... and charge the going day/week rate as required... I don't think anyone's going to worry that PR Rentals has only one customer...

And for 'special customers' you can get them a steeply discounted rental rate...

As a note, it would be good to think about equipment in this way for a 'pro', as one has to eventually upgrade/repair/replace equipment so thinking about 'what would a rental house do', may be a way of capturing those costs of keeping one's equipment current.
 
T, the fraction $ represented by gear rental on big jobs is so insignificant that bringing it up might almost feel like a joke - as if the craft service bitched to you for taking 2 cups of coffer rather then one...
 
As others have said, it depends on your market. Here in New York and in LA and other larger markets, the needs are different than say, in your neck of the woods. Talk to local DPs and see what the deal is. Also, within each market, there are different levels, as Patryk mentioned. For larger production work, you don't need squat (though it's good to own a light meter, I'd say). For middle of the road and lower budget work, own as much as you can manage - it will make you more attractive to producers looking for easy, one-stop shopping and also provide you with additional revenue.

I work on the documentary end of things and from the guerrilla stuff on up to the larger broadcast and theatrical work, owning my lighting equipment has been a huge plus, and the additional fees I'm able to bill for my gear has recouped the initial investments, they provide funds for maintaining the equipment and regularly turn a profit. This is all strictly about lighting. I've found that in the doc work I do cameras are a 50/50 split. It helps to own some sort of viable acquisition format but at the same time, other factors tend come up due to broadcast requirements and other sorts of things out of the producers' control and inevitably require a different camera than you own.

Timur brought up a great point about the microphone. I've gotten jobs where the producers agree to my day rate but don't have the budget for a proper sound guy. So I'm faced with a decision - suck it up and pull double duty this one time or lower my rate and bring someone on... hmm.... yeah, I'll just suck it up. I HATE thinking about sound (even if it's as simple as glancing at the meters every so often), but I hate not making my week even more.

Making a living in this business is about being prepared for any situation you're faced with. Learn from others and research your market. For instance, Patryk shared with us the lesson of not offering too much to the wrong people. Timur reminds us that we should be prepared to do a little more than one would normally expect of a cameraman. If you're starting first in large, big budget production (which if you manage, I want to know your secret) you don't need a thing except your wits and your eyes. But starting out low, it's great to have tools available without having to coordinate rentals every time you need to work.

Good luck.

~~Dave
 
Davdo said:
Timur brought up a great point about the microphone. I've gotten jobs where the producers agree to my day rate but don't have the budget for a proper sound guy. So I'm faced with a decision - suck it up and pull double duty this one time or lower my rate and bring someone on... hmm.... yeah, I'll just suck it up. I HATE thinking about sound (even if it's as simple as glancing at the meters every so often), but I hate not making my week even more.

Making a living in this business is about being prepared for any situation you're faced with. Learn from others and research your market. For instance, Patryk shared with us the lesson of not offering too much to the wrong people. Timur reminds us that we should be prepared to do a little more than one would normally expect of a cameraman. If you're starting first in large, big budget production (which if you manage, I want to know your secret) you don't need a thing except your wits and your eyes. But starting out low, it's great to have tools available without having to coordinate rentals every time you need to work.

Good luck.

~~Dave
Click to expand...

That said, its difficult to be in the middle. I am investing in Lenses for rental, but i am happy to use whatever my clients want. I am housing my gear with a collective of DP's w/ REDpackages and i probably wont see them too often.

I say do what you need to have your career go in the direction you want.
 
Make sure what you have works works well and is backed up

I made the mistake of getting wonderful stuff like a Steadicam Pilot and have ended up going 'over budget' once I realised what was actually needed - heaps of batteries, spare leads, spare lightbulbs extension leads, tedious stuff

Ive also had my 5d long enough for the shutter to go pop, so I would include a spare body in the arsenal of kit you need to be able to work reliably

My standpoint is shooting low end corporate

At a higher level - you rent everything im sure

Not having a steadicam is acceptable, running out of CF cards in an interview is not

S
 
Traditionally a DP, or Director of Photography, was ultimately responsible (and recongized) for establishing the overall "look" of a film according to what the director of the film was looking for. He would not only light each scene, but he was also responsible to pick the appropriate film speed and stock, and ensure that technically the images were being captured to film properly. If you were hired as a "DP" on a professional shoot you would budget (reach into the producers wallet) and make sure you had everything needed to light every single scene of a film according to what look you were asked to create. You report to the director of the film, and the DP would not necessarily "operate" the camera. A DP would have assistants to help setup and change lighting. As someone said it here already, a "light meter" would be your only tool as a DP.

On lower budget shoots, and especially in the world we seem to live in as inde-filmmakers, a "DP" is someone who owns a camera. A good camera. A VERY good camera, because that is what is needed to make a good film or production. People want a GREAT camera and lighting becomes secondary. A "DP" these days is forced to own a lot of his own gear in order to get some jobs, and the more gear the better! Dollies, steadicams, tripods, lights,... everything possibly needed to shoot someone elses "low budget" film! Where does that end?

So here is my advise: put together a killer demo reel with your work and keep adding to it every chance you get. Use lighting, use lighting, use lighting. And the better your work becomes the more people will see it and want to hire you because of how your reel looks and not because of your equipment list on your website. When you finally sit down with a client to discuss the project and look they want YOU INSIST on a budget to work with in order to rent any additional equipment needed for the shoot, and do not set the expectation that amazing images come cheap. If you do this properly, you will make people hire you for what you can DO for their production rather than what you OWN and can lend to it.

Be known as DP with a look, not the DP with a huge equipment list.
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
T,
With gear one is gonna get small and mid jobs but not only probably won't get big but mentioning the gear ownership will hamper your chances to score the big gig (recent big mistake i made that cost me national commercial).
Click to expand...

Going back to this from a while ago, I dont get how this would happen?
How could you loose your chance of a big gig if you mention your gear?
 
DDirector said:
Going back to this from a while ago, I dont get how this would happen?
How could you loose your chance of a big gig if you mention your gear?
Click to expand...

This has mostly to do with how people perceive a 'successful person'... doesn't drive a beater, but some sort of current 'hot' car, appropriate for the age of the person... or a CEO who states they are heavily involved in 'the day to day coding' from a 'software company'...

At some point, if you are 'good' you don't do 'those things', you direct the activities of others...

The problem that I've always had in this sort of thing, in my 'day job' area, is when I give a quote for doing a job, that includes the rental of required pieces of equipment, the customers kack... and had I had the equipment, I would have only added a 'depreciation' cost rather than a rental cost... (or, alternatively... get a vendor to 'lend' me some equipment for the duration of a job, while I 'evaluate' the equipment... that only works a couple of times though...)
 
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