A place to rant and perhaps remedy all that ills mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, and any other shit that pisses me off!
____________________________________________________________________
HIGH SPEED TRUCKS, BIG WHOOP!
Twenty years ago if you had square wave ballasts (vs. magnetic ballasts) for your HMI lights there was a small window where that was a big deal, something to advertise and a selling point for your package truck. Within a few years everybody had switched over to square wave ballasts, it was no longer worth mentioning and everyone just assumed that that when you ordered an HMI truck it just came with square wave ballasts.
The same is now true with regards to High Speed Ballasts; their 15 minutes of fame has come and gone. This is because when you buy any ballast from Power Gems, you have no choice, they are all High Speed, whether you want it or not.
Consequently, on our new trucks AE 1 and AE2 all the ballasts are high speed, and AE4 that has been undergoing a freshen-up is also completely high speed. So, next time you fret about needing a High Speed Truck don’t worry, we have got you covered and more importantly you won’t pay any premium for it.
To sum up, we could try to impress you with a big announcement of “NEW High Speed Trucks”, but that would be like bragging that our trucks have seat belts.
____________________________________________________________________
CAMERA BODY COMPLETE VS CAMERA PACKAGE
Or
(Don’t Compare Apples with Fruit Salad)
There are so many bits that make up a camera that it can become confusing.
From back in the days of film cameras to the professional digital cameras of today, when you rent (or buy) a camera body complete, what you get is sealed box with a hole in one end that has a mechanism that controls the amount light it allows in. It is about as ready for use as a car without tires or a battery. You will still need to rent the media to capture the image, legs and heads to support it, matte boxes to hold filters, batteries to power it, follow focus, assorted plates, brackets, cables, and of course lenses. By the time that so called camera body complete (that rents for $1000-$1500 per day) becomes a working camera package you are easily paying in excess of $3000.
Why do other equipment rental companies do their pricing this way? It’s not that they are trying to scam you, it is because the options for accessories are so vast, they allow you make your own selections, a la carte, and charge you accordingly.
Now the big difference between them and us is that we figured out, some thirty-five years ago, that most of the same accessories are so regularly requested that they can be considered standard. And with regards to the remaining stuff, as long as you buy the best, no one is going to complain.
Accordingly at Affiliated Equipment when you rent a Camera Package you get virtually everything you need to commence shooting and because of the consistency of the packages we can offer them at a discounted price. This is assuming you haven’t hired someone who by nature chooses to be contrary or owns some of their own gear, but that’s a separate rant.
____________________________________________________________________
STOP SENDING THE WRONG TRUCK TO PICK UP PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT!
(YOUR LEGAL/SAFE OPTIONS)
CUBE VAN 16’ Ford E450/GMC4500
For decades this cube van has been the industry standard. It has a payload of 6000 lbs. and usually, unless tranporting an excessive amount of cable or sandbags, can be filled without exceeding weight limits. However, please note that these vehicles are registered over 4500Kg. so the production company must have its own CVOR (Commercial Vehicle Operators Registration).
CUBE VAN 16’ (E350 or GMC3500) capacity1500Kg/3307lbs
More and more misguidedly, showing up. It looks identical to the 450 but don’t be fooled or kid yourself. Once you have loaded a camera dolly, 100 sandbags and a driver even though the truck looks empy you’re at capacity. That’s all folks. It’s a bread truck, so if your hauling props and wardrobe you’re fine but for light and grip gear, you are usually overweight, illegal, and unsafe. You are damaging trucks and putting drivers and the public at risk every time you overload one. (Recommended: NEVER, it’s too light)
5 TON TRUCK 24’ capacity 3180Kg/7011lbs
Lots of room, but if you fill it you are likely overweight, probably not because you are at the vehicles weight limit, but you will exceed the vehicle weight a PA with a G license can operate. (Recommended: with caution, only when you need extra length, not capacity, It is too much truck for most PA drivers. Note: Despite all that additional length it can only carry 1000lbs. more than a 16’ E450 cube)
HINO 20’ capacity 3944Kg/8695lbs Best volume to load capacity truck to get, it is usually full before overweight. If you need the extra length or capacity it is the truck to rent. (Recommended: always, although not commonly rented it is the best truck for our industry)
____________________________________________________________________
ANY HALFWIT
Without any kind consideration or preparation there are three things in this world that any incompetent halfwit can and inevitably attempts; that is have children, buy a dog, or produce a motion picture. There are sufficient sorry kids, dogs, and movies without our contribution to the surplus.
To that end, once again a production company returned a Honda EU2000 generator, (the best and most reliable small generator on the market) not wanting to pay their bill because the generator stopped working shortly after it was initially turned on. Why didn’t it run? Very simple, the “fuel tank cap vent lever” was in the off position. This is a safety feature that reduces the possibility of fuel leakage when the engine is not in use.
There have been similar issues with other small generators that have caused some to ask why we don’t provide an owners manual or paste instructional stickers all over the device? Well, it is our belief that if you are so inept that you can’t figure out how to turn on a consumer appliance, for the sake of our gear and the safety of anyone in the vicinity, it is better that you not generate electricity.
If you are unfamiliar with the operation of any equipment we will gladly take all the time you need to give a demonstration, or better yet hire real gaffers and grips.