How do I get new gear?

[paulears]

I work with somebody very similar, and bit by bit, his equipment has expired and I have provided replacements and hired them to him. He does realise the necessity for certain items, but unless they are in permanent use, he feels it a waste of his money. It is now at the level where the hire fees are a substantial amount, compared to the fees for two people. I don't work for him directly, of course, but two year ago I removed the daily rate for the hire and started charging for the week, even if the equipment was used a single day or every day. He still pays less than he could rent it in from somebody else, because I've been very selective with the equipment, but now it's common for the invoices to be quite high, and most kit bought in the initial purchase is paid off. I didn't really want to own equipment myself, but it would appear hire items sit well on his balance sheet, and on mine too. Each time we need something specific - maybe as a line in a contract "The venue will supply X,Y and Z..." I give him the option of buying it, or (as long as it's not a one-shot wonder product) I buy it and it becomes a regular hire item to him. This year the hire charges are double what they were two years ago.

 

[NeoSlashX]

I was in this same situation a few months back, a tad bit worse then your situation cause least you had some equipment. I started this part-time job at a church doing the editing for their local events and commercials, they usually did their b-roll with their camera phones and volunteers within the ministry were doing it without any experience in cameras. My request was just to simply buy a real camera because not only was this a mega-church (the pastor even owned his own jet) but the commercials were airing on local TV so money wasn't an issue. I still have not won this battle but I"m young and only been doing this for 3 years so I have absolutely no leverage when it comes to requesting equipment.

Their reason has always been that I have to justify why they need it and how it would help their religion grow. I"ve done countless of paperwork and invoices on how it would help but it usually just gets tossed aside. It's a uphill battle that's incredibly tough to win especially if your boss isn't familiar with the production field.

My advice to you is to start with the lower price items that you need and are in dire need of. Obviously, that 5DmkIII would be amazing to have but it would probably put your boss off with how much it is. However, if your only tripod is a $60 dollar one off Craigslist then that is an issue especially if you are working with high-class clients? I would def. just compile a document on the items you need stating why you need it, how much it cost, and how it would benefit the company more.

Good luck and I hope for the best.