Good Rental House Etiquette
Sony Venice with Cooke S7I Full frame lenses, Prepped at No Drama Glasgow branch for short film Kinaara (2024) for DOP Leon Brehony
Good rental house etiquette and the relationship between camera assistants and the rental team.
This article focuses on the do and don’ts when working with a rental team and how you can work collectively to benefit the job, for an in depth look at camera prep keep an eye out for our upcoming feature on this topic.
Introduction
I have been in and out of rental houses since before I became a camera assistant. I’m talking about my early film student days back when I had no idea what an SDI cable was or that the word debarring even existed.
Now after 8 years camera assisting, shooting my own projects, multiple courses including a cinematography MA and film loading workshops, I have learned so much from rental teams.
I want to go in depth and explore this relationship between the camera assistant and the rental house, as a team that is essentially an extension of the camera department it isn’t really talked about just how important this relationship is.
The OpenGate assisting team have reached out to our local rental providers to build a greater picture of the correct etiquette to have when working with a rental company and flag up the do’s and dont’s with the objective of making their life easier as well as bettering ourselves as assistants, understanding how they can really help have our back on productions.
Thank you to Maureen Connolly (Mediadog Glasgow), Abbie Tallan (No Drama Glasgow) and Brian McCormick (Progressive Broadcast Hire Glasgow) for the information on this article. You can browse their websites by clicking on the respective logo below.
Key pointers to consider when working with a rental company.
1. Communication hits the mark.
It may seem like I’m stating the obvious here but bear with me as I go into specifics because this is far more important than you might think.
Understand the equipment you are using. If you don’t, then have a kit room tech walk you through it and answer any questions. You aren’t going to be judged for this! It’s your job as an assistant to make sure you’re confident on set with tackling the on set running. The prep is the best time to iron this out as you won’t have time to do this in the rush of production and it risks crew losing confidence in your ability. Your rental team would far rather take the time to go through things with you in the prep instead of returning broken equipment from incorrect use. Word spreads fast if you don’t know what you are doing and this opens your whole career up to risk.
If there are additional items needed that have been missed when making the equipment list, let the rental team know immediately and contact your production manager to see what is in budget. Countless times rental teams have added to the package at no extra cost because we keep a good attitude, treat everyone with respect and maintain good communication. This really helps if the budget is tight, and if you look after the kit and are friendly they will be more likely to help you out.
Let the team know in advance if there is any testing to be done prior to prep so they can accommodate you. The DOP may be deciding between a few different system and lens pairings but wants to see some tests before making a decision, that’s totally ok and the rental team will help you achieve this if you let them know what you are looking to view and set up. For example a colour chart to test looks prior to the full prep.
Talk to your team and understand what your DOP and operators preferences are. Maybe they prefer a specific fluid head system that needs to be ordered or cross hired, or is there an eyepiece extension that fits the Dop’s preferences? It’s all important when customising packages to know what works for your team. If you aren’t sure about something or you haven’t encountered a set up before, the rental house will also be able to point you in the right direction and recommend equipment based on previous jobs. Most of the time they are doing way more prep than you before you arrive so can flag up if they think something won’t work or needs swapped.
Check with the DIT in plenty of time how many cards or media will be needed for the codec and other settings you are using and work with the rental house to pull that together.
Personally, I like to read the script and know my locations in order to inform the kit room tech of anything that would be deemed as complex or out of the normal. For example, if I’m going to the Isle of Jura for a shoot and it’s going to be very cold we might need more batteries to manage the pressure on battery efficiency that the low temperatures bring. Letting them know locations also aids incase a kit needs dropped off later.
There really can never be too much communication and it’s better to overshare to cover all bases.
I also don’t think I’ve realised until now but I’ve always had rental teams show interest in what we are shooting, sometimes we can talk about it and it really builds confidence. They might even point something out you hadn’t thought about with the equipment or a configuration that you could use.
2. Damages and issues
No matter how careful you are, sometimes things break or items get missed.
As camera assistants, part of our job is to protect the equipment and have practices in place to minimise risk. However, sometimes in the rush of it all or when budgets are tighter, schedules can push you to your limit. I’m not saying that broken items are acceptable by any means, but if something does happen you should contact the rental house directly before letting production know the same day. Be upfront and in detail so a replacement can be sorted, they are much more likely to help you out that way and have your back even with a dropped filter.
TIP: We like to have direct numbers too so we can WhatsApp them quickly or call.
This also leads me onto the important point of documenting equipment in the prep. We take photos of every box as its given to us and check things up against a printed inventory provided by the rental house, meaning when we are returning kit we know what goes where and if anything is missing. It’ll make it easier when the rental house is checking equipment after you wrap, don’t give someone a hard job of finding all the cables in different boxes to sort through. It also allows for the kit room tech to know if anything is missing. Regardless of how on it they are, you aren’t the only job going out and sometimes things can be missed.
TIP: Take photos of how every box is given to you from rental so you know where items go back.
Some rental houses provide scratch sheets with lenses and filters, it’s good to take a look at the previous markings and assess against the damages. We tend to make up our own and after writing this I’ve made it a goal this year to start providing them to rental houses so everything is documented and we can keep track of the conditions of items together. A sample scratch sheet is shown below, we have these on our website shop for £2.99 as a template to keep for yourself as well as a prep checklist.
We had a scenario recently where we were using the cinefade system (love it). After doing our own research and reading instructions, when I got to the prep I was asked if I wanted help setting it up as it was also the first time they had it in stock and hadn’t been used yet. I almost said no before catching my ego and having Jason from No Drama set it up with me. He was able to point out some practical information with where to place it in the LBUS system that would have taken me at least 30 mins to have worked out. This saved me time so I could get on with the other bits.
Later that same shoot we had issues due to a software update meaning the LCS wouldn’t communicate with it, because Jason had set it up with me, he kindly came to set and we had a look at it together over the lunch break. This is a prime example of someone having your back if you just
Lens Scratch Sheet Example
A quick example of what the scratch sheet may look like for the purposes of this article. Please see our shop for the full detailed designs.
You can see the front and back element to mark where scratches or defects are and serial number for tracking this.
3. Early input and information
In relation to equipment lists after talking with your DOP and operator, it’s good to get any input as early as possible with the first draft of the list. For example, if you’re looking for a specific lens control system or you want something swapped out. This way the package can be finalised early and there won’t be as much back and forth. This will free up some time for the rental house so they can focus on the prep with you as well as the millions of other jobs they are doing on a daily basis. It’s all about efficiency.
Sample equipment list, we make notes and bring print outs with us for easier tracking of equipment.
3.1 Bringing your own equipment to the shoot
Factoring this in as early as possible is essential to let the rental house build the camera package. Most of the time these packages are either ordered or put together to fit in with the productions budget and having to unpick this with a line producer further down the line can be a real pain for rental houses.
4. Dial in your priorities
Efficiency is key on set but it’s especially key in the prep, you have such little time to complete a large amount of tasks and making sure everything is running prior to shooting. So when you get to the rental house, have your priorities in line so you can spot any issues with builds or if you need more items ordered. Don’t spend the start of the prep time doing tasks such as labelling up boxes or organising the cases. This can be done at a later stage after building camera and testing lenses, what if you need to shim a lens and you only find this out later or if you need to ask for a different battery plate for your accessories? This can’t be done at the last minute and requires proper time. So have an idea of what is essential and needs multiple communication factors to get that done first.
5. Returning on time and keeping to schedule
There is an unspoken rule that 12pm the next day is the drop off time unless otherwise agreed, so always factor this in and consider how you are planning this with production. This doesn’t mean turning up at 12 with fully rigged equipment to derig at the rental house. Be punctual and considerate of others. Again, you aren’t the only job going out and you could impact another production and more importantly the rental houses passing over process. If you are running late for whatever reason phone them as quick as you can and give correct information of anything changing.
6. Keep organised and tidy
When you are prepping in the rental house be considerate of others using the space. Try to keep things tidy and contained, if something is finished its prep then get it packed away. There’s nothing worse than having tools out everywhere and causing a trip hazard with bags spilling onto other prep spaces, it’s sloppy and unprofessional and we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard.
6.1 Check your prep space
When booking in, let the rental team know your working hours and work together to agree a timetable. I’ve always been accommodated and looked after regardless of just how busy they are, it’s just a heads up to tell them when you are going to be arriving and leaving and what kind of time you will need. You don’t want the staff staying into the evening because you haven’t managed your time properly. If you are going to need more time but you have limited days available with the production then give them the heads up and discuss this with the team.
On arrival to the rental house and before loading in equipment, go and check the space and see what’s there. Chat with the team and if you have a trainee with you then introduce them, we want to make those connections for trainees as it’ll help them in future and allow for a relationship to start. Most rental houses will have a space for you and everything laid out so before you come in with a van load of your own stuff, see what’s there.
7. Attitude
We all have those people we don’t like working with, those who just don’t have a good attitude to the job. We want a friendly environment especially when newer assistants are joining and for allowing a creative and problem solving mindset to be nourished.
This goes for the rental house environment also, be kind and patient. As mentioned, you are not the only job going out and they will have multiple teams to look after. If some kit isn’t there yet on your arrival, get on with other things after flagging it up and be patient. They aren’t your personal slaves and will get to you as soon as they can! Treat them with respect because you need to have each others back in this side of the business.
The way I look at it is you want to make friends, you may end up seeing the same people on a regular basis and its nice to be nice! It’s fascinating what you might learn from their wisdom and experience and it can open up new doors for you.
Leave your ego at home, don’t claim to know everything and take the pressure off of thinking that that’s possible. Listen to others and take interest in what people have to offer, this will make your life as a camera assistant so much more enjoyable.
That about wraps it up for this post, we wanted to focus on the key pointers given to us by rental teams on the relationship and how you can make their life easier and how in turn it can help and inform our work. We are currently working on a prep checklist about the running of a prep so stay tuned for more detailed information that will follow on from this article.
