Equipment Pick-Ups

By Tony Vallone

Pick-Up day is one of the most exciting days when you’re working on a film. It is the first real moment that gets you thinking, “wow, we are actually making this movie”. I think Ian (assistant director) put it best when I opened up the grip truck for him and he said, “Wow, we are actually making this movie”. Pick-Up day is usually day one of your equipment rental. This is the day you pick up your camera package(s) and lighting package(s) for the entire production. It sounds like just a glorified shopping trip but it is a bit more complicated than that.

Brad (director) and Rachel L. (AC)) went to Panavision to pick up our camera package that requires a thorough, million point inspection, of every element in the package. We are essentially renting about 50 different things from Panavision and each one needs to be inspected and invoiced before we can feel comfortable taking it, and Panavision feels comfortable giving it. Our camera package came in about 15 different boxes and required an entire Ford Expedition to transport it.

I was given the task of bringing home our 700amp (a crapload of power) generator that is about the size of an SUV and getting the grip truck to Westside lighting to fill it with lighting equipment. Once the truck and generator made it to Westside, I met with Rachel M. (director of photography) who had been there all morning organizing the equipment and making sure it was all there. Checking the equipment took about 7 hours because we had literally hundreds of items. Everything from the 10,000 watt lights to the half single scrims needed to be checked off. Once that was finished, Eon (gaffer) and I helped Rachel M. load the grip truck. That was actually pretty fun because anyone that knows me will tell you that I love to keep things organized. In fact that is a passion of Eon too. Same with Rachel M. and Brad now that I think of it. Maybe a passion for organization is something grows after working on films that require lots of equipment.

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