Fair price for gear rental?

[Matthew W. Phillips]

Yeah, Im primarily a Director but I do have a bit of gear. Anyways, I get offers from time to time to rent out my gear, but I never know what to quote, so i was wondering what you folks think would be a fair price to rent out the following:

 

Sankyo Supertronic XL-620 Super 8 cam which includes 24fps and manual exposure.

 

Incident/ reflective light meter

 

Decent tripod capable of handling much more weight than the camera aforementioned.

 

Audix UEM-81S Super cardioid shotgun micrphone.

 

10' high adjustable boom stand (can work as substitute for boom op on static shots)

 

1250 watt 3 -piece photoflood kit w/ umbrellas.

 

I know this isnt pro gear by any measure but I get inquiries from low-budget directors and some film students to rent out my rig. What do you guys think is a fair daily rate for the gear mentioned? Any special things I should consider?

 

Any comments appreciated.

[Brian Dzyak]

Yeah, Im primarily a Director but I do have a bit of gear. Anyways, I get offers from time to time to rent out my gear, but I never know what to quote, so i was wondering what you folks think would be a fair price to rent out the following:

 

Sankyo Supertronic XL-620 Super 8 cam which includes 24fps and manual exposure.

 

Incident/ reflective light meter

 

Decent tripod capable of handling much more weight than the camera aforementioned.

 

Audix UEM-81S Super cardioid shotgun micrphone.

 

10' high adjustable boom stand (can work as substitute for boom op on static shots)

 

1250 watt 3 -piece photoflood kit w/ umbrellas.

 

I know this isnt pro gear by any measure but I get inquiries from low-budget directors and some film students to rent out my rig. What do you guys think is a fair daily rate for the gear mentioned? Any special things I should consider?

 

Any comments appreciated.

 

 

If it was me, I'd start by finding out if what a rental house in the area charges for comparable gear. Pose as an interested customer and collect as much info as possible just to get in the neighborhood.

 

If that doesn't give workable answers, go back to what you paid for it and pull a reasonable number out of the air based on what you think you'd be willing to pay if you didn't own it. For example, a $2000 item might rent for $25 to $50 a day. Something like that.

 

If all of your gear is paid off already, any rental you get back will be gravy, so you're in a position to offer deals. However you should consider having your own insurance as well as requiring the customer to have his own with a rider to cover the replacement cost of everything.

 

Just eyeballing your list above, it sounds like you should rent it all out for between $300 and $600 a day. I'm guessing though that someone wanting to rent those things might not have that kind of cash, especially for a multiday shoot, which is where you're able to cut deals if you own it outright. Maybe give it to them for a hundred a day or something. I guess it depends on how generous you're feeling. :)

 

Put it this way. To buy a new F900 will cost someone around $100,000. To rent that camera package from a rental house will run roughly $1500 a day for everything necessary. But independent owner/operators who have already paid them off can undercut the houses and charge $900 to $1100 and not be affected too badly. Nobody wants to go too low and set a bad precedent, and you shouldn't either, but you also have to know what your client base can absorb and rental prices kind of are driven from that end too.

 

That's my $.02 cents anyway. If you were a client, I could mark it up to $.03 and pocket the difference. :D

[Alessandro Machi]

Yeah, Im primarily a Director but I do have a bit of gear. Anyways, I get offers from time to time to rent out my gear, but I never know what to quote, so i was wondering what you folks think would be a fair price to rent out the following:

 

Sankyo Supertronic XL-620 Super 8 cam which includes 24fps and manual exposure.

 

Incident/ reflective light meter

 

Decent tripod capable of handling much more weight than the camera aforementioned.

 

Audix UEM-81S Super cardioid shotgun micrphone.

 

10' high adjustable boom stand (can work as substitute for boom op on static shots)

 

1250 watt 3 -piece photoflood kit w/ umbrellas.

 

I know this isnt pro gear by any measure but I get inquiries from low-budget directors and some film students to rent out my rig. What do you guys think is a fair daily rate for the gear mentioned? Any special things I should consider?

 

Any comments appreciated.

 

Sometimes it may be a good idea to include yourself in the rental deal. You come along, keep quiet about their directing choices, and just help out. Perhaps your gear would get you a hundred bucks, but you come along for $200 or $250 for the day and your rentables are also included.

[Matthew W. Phillips]

Sometimes it may be a good idea to include yourself in the rental deal. You come along, keep quiet about their directing choices, and just help out. Perhaps your gear would get you a hundred bucks, but you come along for $200 or $250 for the day and your rentables are also included.

 

Then what would I come along as? A PA, DP, or just as needed?

[Brian Dzyak]

Then what would I come along as? A PA, DP, or just as needed?

 

If it's camera gear, offer a package deal as DP with the equipment. That way you can back up the truck with everything at their (your) disposal instead of renting it ala carte. If you make it look as if they're getting a deal, then they'll be more likely to take it and you get the benefit of taking care of your own stuff while watching somebody else go to work directing. I mean, I do my own lighting etc, but I still take operating jobs so I can have the experience of seeing how other guys light and manage crews. I take what works, learn from what doesn't, and my own career benefits. I think that sometimes Directors, DPs, and others at the top get comfortable inside their vaccuum and don't pay enough attention to what others come up with. Money isn't the only thing to be gained by working for someone else. :)

[Matthew W. Phillips]

If you make it look as if they're getting a deal, then they'll be more likely to take it and you get the benefit of taking care of your own stuff while watching somebody else go to work directing.

 

Thats a really good point...thanks.