grip equipment

[Sven Seynaeve]

being introduced last year in shooting higher end commercials and wanting to shoot our own musicvideos & films etc.. i'm looking for some serious stuff to make our shots incredible.

The hardest and most difficult part for me is to judge what gear would be used the most because i'd like only to purchase quality and proven gear.
things that we'd like to have:
dolly :movietech magnum
steadycam mk-v ar
telescopic crane.

Lighting and power we could still hire for some time.

I know that it's a big investment , but as we've seen last year , renting everything for every production doesn't seem to make any sense.

From what i expect , i'm not pretty sure the magnum dolly would stand up
against the use of a descent steadycam in terms of easy of use and time savings, and having smaller crews and less budget.
Could i have the same shots being done by a telescopic crane or the steady you think. Or should i go for a much lower priced dolly from about 5 to 10k.

total investment will be arould 450k at least.
(having fould a telescopic crane for about 100k)



right now we already have editing suites and music and postproduction recording and mixing studio.

I would like to complete this as having a full service facility and be somewhat
future proof when i have the reds.

Please come back to this subject if you veterans could give me some advice on this. I'd really like to have our productions on a high level in the future.

[Sven Seynaeve]

could i have the same shots being done by a telescopic crane or the steady you think. Or should i go for a much lower priced dolly from about 5 to 10k.???????

To set all things straight, i do not own this money all by myself , but i've found some serious people who believe in what i'm trying to do and who would want to loan me the money eventually.

For me the goal is to get as much gear, standing strong as long as possible and being able to pay it back without any regret that I made a big mistake purchasing one thing over another due to not enough experience on the field and being obligated to descide most things by price and fora.

Here in Belgium we're not quiet good provided with good advise as this is a very small country and everyone seem to be a business threat to another. (next to the renting houses even the dealers rent out to our clients).

[Russ McDonald]

I would look at this for a stedicam.

http://actionproducts.ch/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=30

[Sven Seynaeve]

That's the one I was actually looking at,
but have you seen the stunning shots from an Mk-v ar rig yet??

It's amazing what you can do whit that rig.
That's where my doubts are coming from , if a dop was given chance to choose
between dolly , crane or this incredible flexible steadyrig. Which one would give him the best result and wow factor.

The quick changing from low to high mode could be achieved in one shot,
I know that action is offering also a sollution already, but it's not motorised and as far as i can see,
not as complicated as the mk- var.

[Sven Seynaeve]

ok, adobeone,

i checked it once again, and the one from actioncam has the 360xtreme
low-high motorised option also. But if you judge the footage on both companies websites, the mk-v ar is far superior in smooth movement. If some fine tuning and maby better operation could achieve the same result i definately would purchase the actioncam directly over the other, because the different price that is a huge one, but on the long term having seen the footage, would i still be satisfied. I suppose such a rig as the mk-v ar becomes rarely unused if you own one of them.

And to keep everything in reality, that's why it comes so hard in deciding to spent some money, if i should
go for a high end dolly or high end steady???

[Russ McDonald]

Svan I have done my fare share of grip work, but not anywhere close to advising you how to build a grip business. So please take what I am about to say with a grain of salt, or if you prefer a really creamy brie.

IMHO dollies are a dime a dozen, the movietech magnum is a sweet looking dime. I love German Engineers.

I live in Southern CA, you can't throw a feather here without it hitting a Starbucks, or a dolly. I have no Idea how it is over there.

What great about this business, is everybody cares about what they are doing, and wants it to be good, something they can take pride in. Which was a vary long way to go to make this point. Sorry it Saturday night, and I feel'in all rite if you know what I mean.

DP's are artist in the highest sense of the word. They like what they like. One guy mite like the pee wee, or the fisher, or that sweet Magnum.

You can make your own deal with companies Like Chapman. They give you a break, you make a little when it's rented from you. It's very sophisticated equipment. They get beat up and have to be maintained. In the long run it mite not be such a great use of you budget.

Stedicams are only as good as the guy it is attached to. They are the athletes of the camera world, that's no shit. (would be directors reading this post thats a allot of weight to deal with, so be decisive with your shot design) If you have to buy something to bolt a camera to, that would be my choice. Having said that, you have to have an operator that knows his shit. If you do that you will always, be busy. You can be that guy it just takes time. They're like pro wrestlers, who can dance like Mikhail Baryshnikov.

The money you save on a dolly, you should spend on a year of insurance coverage with a vary high ceiling of liability. You have that, you get whatever you need. Like I said most companies will work with you. The majority of the small films can't afford the coverage, so the compromise their vision. If they come to you, the production gear is under your companies Insurance, maned by your people, they write one check you take your gut. Sure it's a slimmer margin, but you don't have the overhead or the up keep.

I hope this helps, I not pissing on your dream. I just don't want you slit your on throat to get it. Again I know nothing about the market over there.

Good luck, who's knows I mite be hiring you some day.