Film Production Lighting and Grip Equipment

How to find the right equipment for your film production needs.

By Nikki Wheeler

It is now time to turn your months of planning, budgeting and selling your ideas into a film. The next step is production of the film, and finding the right film lighting equipment and grip equipment is important.

Some basic equipment is essential, while other equipment that people might try to talk you into, is not. Choose the grip equipment that can create your film with the right look, sound and mood.

Before shopping for equipment, you need to:

Evaluate your specific film lighting equipment needs for the entire film.
Set a budget, and try very hard to stay within it.
Hit up local film associations, which may be willing to let you use some equipment for free for the sake of art.

Choose the lighting and grip equipment needed

The correct lighting is essential to the success of shooting a scene. Figure out which level of light works best with the cameras you use. Get only the very basic big light and reflectors to begin.
Try: Find entire lighting kits that are affordable at Pacific Coast Lighting Systems. Find a huge variety of grip equipment at Techno Films as well.

Look for used grip equipment and film lighting equipment

There are many places to look for used film lighting equipment. Many filmmakers sell perfectly good equipment when they move on to bigger projects. Make sure you can spot good quality when looking at used grip equipment.
Try: Search Filmmaking.net for listings of used film lighting equipment. Also look at KitMondo.

Consider renting lighting and grip equipment

There are companies out there that rent the equipment for filmmaking. Only rent if you don't have another option. If shooting lasts for several weeks or longer, renting can quickly become more expensive than buying, and then you can be rushed to shoot fast.
Try: Get a quick quote online for lighting a grip equipment from CinEquipt.com. Look at Limelight Productions too.

Purchase the perfect cameras for your needs

The cameras that you choose will depend greatly on your budget. They also depend on which format you are shooting. The basics that you must have for shooting include a basic camera, lenses, a zoom, a head, a tripod and a video assist.
Try: Look at Wolf Camera, Inc. for purchasing new cameras and ARRI for rentals.

Figure out transportation.

You need a van or at least a very large car to move all of your equipment around for location shooting. Consider renting one from a local car rental company. Lock it up to keep the equipment safe, and make sure the vehicle and driver are both insured.
Try: Look for cargo van rental deals at Enterprise or Avis.

Hire a lighting and grip crew.

Hiring a good crew may be the most important part. They do much of the grunt work. It is easy to find experienced lighting and grip crews, and many will work for low wages if they are freshly out of college or in college.
Try: Look for professionals at the Motion Picture and Television Directory, CrewNet.com, or FilmStaff.com.

Keep the lighting simple. Just make sure the actors are visible.
Remember to insure everything when filmmaking.
Try to recruit volunteers to help, from friends and family members, to those just looking for experience.