Film's Next Century?

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Mega Productions Benefit Lighting Rentals

Film rental houses need to stay on top of the latest technologies.(From top left) Collimating a lens at Nashville’s ArmandaCostanza, the latest Angenieux Optimo 35mm zoom with a range of24-290mm, Photo-Sonic’s rotary prism 35mm-4C with a frame ratefrom 85 to 3,250 fps, and Clairmont’s unique Squishy Lens.

Talk to folks in the production market and you'll hear aboutshooting fewer commercials while budgets tighten up.

The current economic slump highlights the increasingly treacherousfiscal and technological shoals film rental houses navigate. Newcameras, lenses, and film stocks appeal to directors and DPs, butwhere's the money to invest in them? Meanwhile, HD's slow but constantencroachment on the high-end film production market leads some to worrythat the market for film technology will dry up for all but the veryhigh-end feature films and commercials.

“There's definitely a slowdown in commercials,” saysDenny Clairmont, president of North Hollywood-based Clairmont Camera.Commercials, the engine for film rentals, track the overall economyclosely. After Sept. 11, 2001, rental house managers concur: an alreadyweak rental market nearly disappeared.

“[Film camera rentals for ad production] are trying to pickup, but it's in fits and starts,” says Bob Poimbeauf, owner ofHouston-based Texcam. “It will be busy one month, and then thenext it's just dead. It's not coming back like we used to seeit.” Poimbeauf considered the new Arricam, a hot item at somehouses, but doubted he would add one on anytime soon. Suchtop-of-the-line cameras require steeper daily rates to pay for them.“We have [flagship Arriflex] 535s, but folks will take the[Arriflex] BL because it's cheaper.”

It's understandable that cost cutting remains a constant concern forany production. Comparing HD tape costs to that of film stock andprocessing, for example, continues as a favorite exercise for videoenthusiasts. But even as HD imaging gains general acceptance, filmremains a mature medium. Electronic image production doesn't yet holdcenter stage.

“There's way too many issues with high definition to say thatit's really hurting the film business. … It really isn't,”says Lon Stratton, president of Stratton Camera in Farmington Hills, aDetroit suburb. “Business has been down the past couple of years,not because of high definition, but because advertising dollars havebeen down.”

All, however, is not bleak. Stratton reports a sustained pickup inbusiness beginning in the last quarter of 2002. Having a shop in theright market, with the right gear, helps too. “The reallyexciting thing is the new Arricam,” says Denny Clairmont.“We have 20 of them [in Los Angeles], and they're allbooked.” Clairmont Camera, with additional rental facilities inVancouver and Toronto, is busy enough to order two more of the modular35mm cameras for the Vancouver branch.

Whereas the commercials market suffers, film production continuesgrowing. Euromonitor International noted a dramatic 10.6% increase inproduction dollars spent in 2000 to a total of $8.41 billion in 2001.Not surprising, but the Los Angeles area reaps a good hunk of thosedollars. Clairmont, for example, expects to reach a total of anywherefrom 30 to 40 Arricams by the end of this year. A portion of thecamera's charm resides in its LDS (lens data system), part of anextensive list of computerized capabilities. Realtime feedback is key;all of the lens settings appear on an LCD screen attached to thecamera, including DOF (depth of field).

A wider range of 35mm lens options also figures into the camera'spopularity. Clairmont asked ISCO-OPTIC to build a 140-420mm zoom lensto compete with Panavision's 135-420mm zoom. “It's used primarilyfor car commercials,” says Clairmont. Meanwhile, he finds thatthe new Angenieux 24-290mm Optimo is very popular. “We can't getthose quickly enough from Angenieux.” Clairmont credits zoomrange, speed (T2.8), and an increase in quality over past Angenieuxzooms for the heightened interest.

Besides offering appealing gear, a rental house's location is animportant factor. Miami, according to Ed Stamm, Camera Service Center(CSC) general manager, offers CSC the opportunity to consolidate itsEast Coast operations and make itself available to its Latin Americanclients. CSC, an Arri Group company based in Ft. Lauderdale, alsomaintains camera and lighting rental operations in New York, withIllumination Dynamics, its rental lighting division, out of Los Angelesand Charlotte, N.C. Although many Latin American economies aresuffering also through economic downturn, Stamm, with an eye on thefuture, notes that many of the companies do their commercials in theUnited States, as Miami grows into a major hub for Central and SouthAmerica.

Additionally, filling a perceived need can help rental houses gainaccess to niche markets. “When I moved here, I realized it was anuntapped market,” says Max Fischer, owner of Gearhead Camera, aone-man operation based in Richmond, Va. Gearhead serves a real need,Fischer says, because the closest other film rental houses are inBaltimore, three hours away, or North Carolina, more than five hoursaway.

Gearhead meets another market demand with its camera selection: inaddition to an Arri 435 and 35 III, Fischer adds a more unusual find,the ultra-compact Aaton 35-III. “That is a niche camera; therearen't that many of them available,” Fischer says. “It'sreally small and light. It's great for Steadicam; it's great forhandheld. It's just a great little camera for independentfeatures.”

Rental house managers, along with glowing descriptions of theequipment they offer, inevitably mention service. Even though Gearheadis a one-man operation, “somebody can call me at three in themorning and say they want to pick up a piece of gear,” saysFischer. “That's fine by me. And I won't charge to open up theshop.”

Armanda Costanza, based in Nashville, also houses some of thehard-to-find Aaton 35-IIIs — as well as an extensive Arriflexline. “We rent a lot to Canada, ship to Detroit, Vegas, L.A., allover,” says Robert Costanza, whose sister founded the company. Hehas learned that any company can get the equipment out the door, butaccording to Costanza, the key is supporting the gear once it leavesthe building and interfacing with the client to maximize the shoot onthe front end. “I try to get real nosy with the producers to findout what they're trying to achieve, speak with the DPs to find out thelook they're going for, to find out everything so that we can make surehe has the things he needs to get the job done.”

HD production continues to grow, but rental shops are fighting backby playing on film's strengths as a medium. Customized lenses, filtereffects, and the wide range of film stocks can all be enlisted todeliver a distinct look. Clairmont Camera, for example, won thedevotion of many cinematographers for its homebrew lenses, filtersystems, and other unique gear that began rolling out of its shop soonafter it opened in 1976. Need a different look for a production, butdon't know how to achieve it? Let the facility design somethingentirely new. If Clairmont likes the idea, it'll make it for free, thenadd it to its inventory after the shoot.

For the movie Hideaway (1995), DP Gale Tattersall askedClairmont to create a unique type of eye light. Tattersall wanted toshoot a light along the lens' axis and directly into the actor's eyes.A rig containing a half-silvered mirror placed in front of the lens didthe trick. “[Tattersall] had the actors wear contact lenses withScotchlite on them, so the eyes would glow,” says DennyClairmont. When Dante Spinotti shot Blink (1994), the Clairmontshop created four “Blurtar” soft focus lenses. Thesingle-element lenses replicated the eyesight of a woman recoveringfrom eye surgery.

DPs manipulate Clairmont’s own Squishy Lens for a range ofunique flare effects.

Besides saving money and time by doing the effect in-camera, saysClairmont, “[A DP likes] to have control. He has that whenshooting the movie, but it can end up in the hands of someone in postwho doesn't get enough input. [The DP] ends up with something he mightnot like.”

Another unique look comes from a film format long abandoned by mostof the world: Super 8. While an underground of amateurs and artists usethe format regularly, Super 8 delivers an interesting look formusic-video production, commercials, and more.

“Top directors use Super 8, and they'll use it for an archivallook, as a graphic tool, or just because [the result] lookscool,” says John Longenecker. A second-unitdirector/cinematographer in the DGA, Beverly Hills-based Longeneckeralso rents out Super 8 and 16mm cameras, and he rented cameras to theBlue Crush (2002) production crew, who used the look for some ofthe surfing events as well as the title sequence.

Having used Super 8 along with 35mm when shooting music videos forDwight Yoakam and John Mellencamp, Longenecker emphasizes that thesmall format is not just for amateurs. “My day rate's the same asany other DP, and we'll go into a $1,000 an hour telecine session withSuper 8, just like you would in 35mm.”

Longenecker likes the varied look Super 8 delivers. “After awhile [on a music video], the 35mm just looks so clean and pristinewith all its slick camera moves. You just can't do that for fourminutes, it's too much of the same. I'll sometimes have three or fouroperators using Super 8 if we're shooting an intricate setup in 35mm.It gives the director lots to cut with, yet it doesn't take a bigcrew.”

Longenecker relies on Pro8mm in Burbank for film stock and othersupplies. While it might seem that Super 8 film stock would be limitedand hard to come by, the selection actually includes a range of KodakVision and EXR negative, as well as color reversal and black-and-whitefavorites PlusX and Tri X. Pro8mm, a division of Super8 Sound, alsorebuilds and refurbishes both Super 8 and 16mm cameras for sale(including the funky Russian Kinoflex) and offers processing andtelecine transfers.

According to Kevin Miller, a colorist for Pro8mm, the FrenchBeaulieu 4008 (modified, topped off with a custom paint job, andrenamed “The Classic”) is the top camera of the Super 8scene. “We've sold more [in 2002] than we ever havebefore,” he says. Clients include VH1's Behind the Music,Nickelodeon, and a number of feature film productions.

How does the HD's growth ultimately affect film rental houses? Someremain to be convinced that buying HD gear is right for theirparticular market.

“Owning HD equipment is a losing proposition,” saysFischer of Gearhead Camera. “I've got an Arri 35-III that's 20years old, and it still works. It still takes beautiful pictures and itstill rents for X amount of dollars a day. If I bought a Sony HD cameraright now, it would cost me $70,000, and in two years I could use it asa doorstop. You've got a shelf life for video gear, and you damn wellbetter keep it busy.”

Similarly, Lon Stratton is mindful of Detroit agencies' desires. Forthe last 18 months, according to Stratton, owners of film rental houseslike his have been asking themselves if they will need to spend themoney on HD equipment. “I haven't gotten the nerve up to do ityet,” he says, “but at the same time I don't think we'relosing a lot of business to high definition. There might have been alittle spurt of interest when it first came out, but when the realityhit, and the expense of it and its quality and all that. … Itisn't catching on as fast as [some have] hoped. At leasthere.”

Although the two types of cameras cost about the same, Stratton seesno possible way to get an equal life out of an HD camera as he would afilm camera. Smaller facilities, such as Stratton Camera, take loans tobuy their most expensive equipment. Because most of these loans work ona five-year repayment plan, Stratton would be left with outdated gearby the time he owned it.

The film rental industry faces any number of challenges, botheconomic and technical. Holding on in a weak economy, the optimists— and perhaps survivors — among them stress the oldverities: spotless gear, nonstop service, and innovative variations ona creative medium more than a century in the making.

But Only in L.A.

It's not really news to anyone, but the lighting rental business isfacing tough times, especially those who rent out to commercial shoots.“There's been a decrease in the amount of work the last couple ofyears,” says Peter Thomas, co-owner of San Francisco-based DTCGrip & Electric. Calls to several other lighting and grip houseselicited similar responses.

That downturn triggers other problems. According to Thomas, it'sdifficult to keep up with investing, buying the gear necessary toattract customers. Shoots that ran on a three- and four-day week nowrun on a one-day week.

While his classic Mole-Richardson 10Ks will hold up for a long time,says Thomas, HMIs keep churning through constant changes, becomingobsolete before costs can be recouped on the pricey devices. Living soclose to the huge Los Angeles market doesn't help either. “[Thelarge rental houses] put pressure on the rental rates all around in abig circle from LA,” says Thomas.

John Gresch, manager of Arri's U.S. lighting division, agrees.“The rates of renting equipment — this isn't just forlighting — are much lower than they were before.” Thisstarted happening well before 9/11, says Gresch. “It's a factorof supply and demand, as the number of rental houses grew but the rateof new production didn't.”

These additional resources for lighting rental not only drive downrental pricing — which filmmakers applaud — but alsodiminish the level of expertise on tap. “I used to see a highercaliber of education about the products and their application at therental facilities than I do now,” says Gresch. “The lowerprices are causing people to rethink their labor base.”

But while some rental facilities may struggle, others areoptimistic. Steve Basso, general manager at Marina Del Ray,Calif.-based Westside Production Services, says the demands made on hislighting and grip services just keep growing. Today's DPs, Bassoasserts, keep getting ever-grander ideas. For example, Westsiderecently helped to light a bridge for SWAT and a city street forthe Charlie's Angels sequel. “[Lighting for film] is justgetting bigger and bigger, crazier and crazier,” says Basso.“The DPs are getting bigger and grander, the directors want morestuff so moviegoers shake their head and say ‘I can't believe Isaw that!’ That includes lots of 18Ks, miles and miles of cable,large Dino lights, just a lot of things with a lot of punch.”

Gresch agrees there is a trend toward using greater amounts oflighting on movie sets, but also sees an additional twist from theworld of sitcoms and theater. “The amount of equipment used onproductions now is not only greater in quantity, but invariety…The average production would not use dimming in the past,but it's now more common to use dimming equipment in video shoots andmoviemaking.” According to Gresch, today's diversity of equipmentand technique almost completely removes any differences among lightingfor film, television, and theater production.
— D.O.