Lighting rental houses

[Genki McClure]

Hello folks,

 

I'm a cinematographer and gaffer based in London, prepping for a possible low budget independent feature in the US during late July/ early August, shooting on HDV, but pushing for HD. We'll be shooting in a quiet part of Pennsylvania.

 

My question to all you US based cinematographers/gaffers is:

 

What are the "good" lighting rental houses I can go to to secure the lights & grip gear I'll be needing.. I assume it works the same way over there as it does here, you strike up relationships with the reps at one or 2 houses and that gets you a better deal than cold calling around.. At this point I'm lucky enough to command some serious discounts - on rare occasions I've blagged substantial lighting packages for free! Unfortunately we'll be at square one in this situation, so I could really use some help. The relationships I have with the guys I usually work with here have been built over years, and obviously iin this instance I don't have that to fall back on..

 

I'm looking for friendly, understanding rental houses that'll appreciate our situation & give us a fair price & has a good selection of kit. I guess it would be helpful if they were based in PA, but maybe that isn't a big deal over there in the US? If you could give me some company names & web details and also the name of the guys that you think could help us..

 

Let me know if you need more info about my situation, the lighting wishlist is currently being compiled..

 

Hope some of you can point me in the right direction..

 

thanks a lot people I would really appreciate any feedback at all..

 

Genki McClure[/font]

[Kristy Tully]

I don't know of a house big enough in Pennsylvania to give good deals on equipment. Doesn't mean they do not exist of course. Depending on where you are in Penn., I would look into renting gear in NYC. A good place to start is Luna Lighting. Tony (the owner) is good about working with people's budgets. He has a lot of gear, so, renting cheap is an option. You will get the more "used" gear of course, but for a low budget feature it may be perfect for the price.

NYPG will have thier number- (New York Production Guide). The Light House is a smaller house in New Jersey with a small space in Philly. There you will get newer gear, but they are smaller and won't be able to match Tony's price. But, to be fair, when I left NYC a couple years ago they were expanding fast so they may have a lot of gear by now. Good Luck

 

www.nypg.com is a great resource for nyc and surrounding areas.

[Frank Barrera]

In Pittsburg try http://www.perflight.com/

 

In Philidelphia try http://www.locationlighting.com/about_us-new.html

 

good luck

F

[ChrisConnelly]

If you're in the eastern half of PA, Location Lighting is the place to go.

 

www.locationlighting.com