Best Gear for Small Spaces
Filming in hotel rooms and on the trade show floor have one thing in common: small spaces. Hotel rooms are not designed with filmmaking in mind - of course. Also, the Realestate at say, CES, is very expensive! When you're not in a studio or wide open spaces, the right gear is crucial for success. Here are some of our favorite "small spaces" items:
Cinevate Duzi 4 slider. This amazing item gives you a 24 fantastic inches of sliding glory. It's light weight, and unassuming.
Edelkrone Slider Plus. Another awesome solution for motion, this item is great with DSLR cameras. The addition of the Steady Module was a game changer; adding much needed tension for smooth slides.
DJI Ronin-S. One of our favorite items, the Ronin-S immediately increases production value. DSLRs are easy to balance, and the Ronin is so simple to operate.
Sound Devices 633. While great in the studio, the 633 is really compact for how much versatility it gives you, and how many channels of audio you can capture. (Make sure to have a harness so you don't wreck your back!)
Litepanels Gemini 1x1 LED. You can do Man-on-the-Street interviews and b-roll all day with just one of these lights. They output a tremendous amount of light for their size and weight. Four batteries should get you through the day.
Canon 5D Mark IV or Sony a7S II. Both of these cameras are easy to use, capture great images, and can be used with all the above listed gear. The only caveat is audio capturing; however, if you have the 633, you can just record audio to your mixer. Less cables, more smiles.
Anytime you're here in Fabulous Las Vegas, make sure to hit us up and get the video production rental gear you need to succeed.
Green Screen Filming Basics
Green Screens are a popular way to create exciting, resourceful, and dynamic videos. Corporate and commercial work is a great example. A green screen enables you to add text, graphics, and logos. Also, green screens can really help when a location is not very attractive to film in.
Lighting a green screen correctly is not difficult, but it is very important for the post process. It is critical to have a very even spread of light across the entire screen. Similarly, it is very important to make sure the screen is not brighter than your subject. A great place to start on your waveform is an even line around 45 for the screen, and then your subject's face should be around 60. There are obviously exceptions with skin tones and wardrobe, but it's a good place to start.
For the budget conscience, I would recommend a set of Kino Divas for the screen, and an Arri Tungsten kit for the subject. 750 with a softbox for the key, 300 for the fill, and 150 for the backlight. About $250.00 will get you that gear with us. However, if you have a larger budget, you could go: S2 LiteMat 4s for the screen, a couple Astra Gemini 1x1s for the key and fill, and then a Dracast 1K for the backlight. That setup would set you back about $700.00, but it would be totally Cash Money of you.
Either way you go, we have the video production rental gear you need!
How to pair Titan Tubes to the ART7 AsteraBox.
The Astera Titan Tubes are a wonderful light for so many applications. They can be controlled easily and precisely through the ART7 AsteraBox. Choosing colors, filters, modes, groups, dimming, run-time, etc. is simple! The best place to start is pairing the lights to the box; here's how:
- Turn on the AsteraBox, and launch the AsteraApp on your phone or tablet.
- Through the AsteraApp's main menu (upper right corner), select the AsteraBox you want to pair with.
- Turn on all the tubes you want to pair.
- Press the "Menu" button, scroll to "Input", press "Enter".
- Scroll to "App Control", and press "Enter".
- Press and hold the power button for 3 seconds, the tube will start to flash blue. (Blue mode)
- In the AsteraApp's main menu, select "Pair with Lights".
- As the lights pair, they'll default to white. You're ready to go!
You can also reach out to us if you need further help. Of course, you can also rent Astera Titan Tubes if you need them! Happy filming.
Best Gear for Music Videos
Do you have some funky beats and dope lyrics that need to be seen as much as heard? Well then, my friend, you need a music video! Whether you spit hot fire, shred metal, or rely on Auto-Tune and lots of makeup, a music video is for you. Music videos have transformed the music industry. A TV channel completely dedicated to music (until "The Real World" happened) resulted from music videos. Music videos not only allow you a glimpse of your favorite artists, they allow expanded creativity and vision of their songs. The sky is the limit on creativity, but you need the right gear!
The overwhelming majority of creativity comes from the director. That being said, you need one heck of a talented director to just grab a handy-cam and strike gold. So, start with the following: Astera Titan Tubes (like Hansel, so hot right now!). Litepanels Gemini 1x1, the most versatile LED panel on the market. Easyrig Vario 5, handheld made easier, dutch-angles made dutch-ier. Rokinon Primes; because no one does snap zooms anymore, and you're artist is probably ballin' on a budget. Hurricane Haze Machine... welcome to the jungle.
Las Vegas is a great place to film music videos; from the Strip to the dry lake beds, hotel suites to Fremont Street! When you're in need of Las Vegas video production rentals, look no further than F11!
Why Insurance is a Must-Have on Set.
Nothing is worse than broken gear... okay, stolen gear is worse than broken gear. Cameras are expensive. Lenses are expensive. Microphones are expensive. Everything we use in this industry costs a lot, especially to those who own it. Breaking or losing your gear is horrible, breaking or losing someone else's gear is worse. It sucks something fierce to pay $1,500.00 to buy a new drone, and you have no drone to show for it. Like most rental companies, we require insurance; this protects us and our clients. A $300.00 policy and $500.00 deductible is way better than a $25,000.00 bill for a stolen C300/Sigma Prime/Sachtler setup. So, while we know it's not fun to buy insurance, it's definitely the best way to go. For your next Las Vegas video production rental, reach out and we'll walk you through the whole process.
Best Gear for Filming the Convention Floor: 2019
Conventions and trade shows are big business these days, and that's especially true here in Las Vegas. With well over 10 million square feet of convention and meeting space, Vegas constantly ranks among the top host cities in the world. Gear requirements of course depend on the project, but some of the best gear on convention floor are as follows... The Sony FS7 Mark II is great for ENG-style shooting, has a 17-110mm servo lens, and can shoot up to 4K. Couple the FS7 with the Sony a7S II and the DJI Ronin-S; b-roll shot over-cranked will really up your production value. Either the Astra 6X or Gemini 1x1 LED kits provide more than enough light, run on batteries, and have a small footprint. If you have an audio technician with you, the Sound Devices 633 is perfect. If you're a one-man-band, an on-board shotgun mic and lavalier is usually more than enough. Finally, the Cinevate Duzi is a great, compact slider to really take your video over the top. F11 Rentals is happy to provide all your Las Vegas video production rental gear for your next convention gig!
Most Popular New Production Lights
While the Astera Titan Tubes have been out for a while, they're still hugely popular with Vegas productions. From car commercials to music videos and short films, these lights are amazing! Their range and diversity make them one of the hottest lights in the industry. What's more exciting for us than the Titans however, are the Gemini 1x1 LED panels by Litepanels. The Geminis are essentially Skypanels in a 1x1 frame. The output is brilliant, the bouquet of built in filters is incredible. They can work well as interview lights or as a key source. For your next Las Vegas video production rental, make sure to include a Titan kit or a couple Geminis!
How to Increase Production Value
Increasing production value is the best way to keep existing clients and attract new ones. Increasing production value doesn't always mean excessive cost and work however. Some of the simplest additions can take your video, commercial, or film to a whole new level, and you past your competitors. The MYT Works slider or Dana Dolly are perfect for almost any shoot; if you are on a budget or have less space, try the Cinevate Duzi. Cinema lenses are noticeably nicer than non-cinema; our Sigma Cinema Zooms and Schneider Cinema Primes work constantly for a reason! No one notices good audio, but everyone will notice bad audio; our Schoeps CMIT 5 shotgun mic is an industry standard from New York to L.A.
Next time your Las Vegas video production needs a littles something extra, reach out and we'll be happy to help. From Litemats to Litepanels, C300 Mark II and Alexa Mini, F11 Rentals is your go-to for the best Las Vegas video production rental gear.
Most Popular Cameras from Summer 2019
The Sony FS7 Mark II enjoyed quite a bit of work during the flurry of spring conventions. The FS7 after all, is very popular for run-and-gun, ENG style shoots that usually accompany trade shows. As late spring turned into summer, and the trade shows took their normal breaks, so too did the FS7s. This summer saw the resurgence of popularity amongst the always impressive Canon C300 Mark II. Both commercials and high-end corporate projects dominated the summer months, and the C300 Mark II is perfect for such scenarios. The excellent range of picture profiles, 4K capability, and advanced image processing make this a go-to camera; especially with our cinema lenses. The FS7 did enjoy a hand full of "reality TV" days, as it's again, great for run-and-gun style shooting. Finally, the end of summer saw our Arri Alexa Mini go out for both a short film in Utah, and a few of Las Vegas' exciting music festivals. The truly cinematic capabilities of the Alexa Mini made it a no-brainer for the short film, as well as the very high-end demands of IHeartMusic and Life Is Beautiful. We are definitely looking forward to seeing what autumn brings!
Battery-powered Gemini
The long back-ordered V-mount battery plates for the Gemini 1x1 panels have finally arrived! These plates add a whole new level of mobility and versatility to the Gemini panels. We ran a few preliminary tests for time-of-run just last week. The shortest run-time was 20 minutes, this was with the panel at 100% power using our smallest V-mount. Make sure to include a few batteries with your next Gemini 1x1 rental. For the best selection of high-quality Las Vegas video production rental gear, look no further than F11 Rentals.