
We've all been there. You prepare meticulously for your shoot day, your talent and crew have arrived to set, and you're ready to begin. And then, you get hit by a curveball! For reasons you couldn't predict, you can no longer shoot in the interior location you booked and now you have to shoot outside. Or, the meteorologist falsely predicted that it would be overcast all day long. Maybe you have your lights all set up, but now you have spill going everywhere that you didn't anticipate and you have nothing to control it. Or you used up all of your C-Stands, Combos, sandbags, and flags.
Try as we might, we can't see into the future. Anything can happen. That's why it is best practice to prepare for the unforeseen aspects of production. A great way to do that is to rent a grip van package. Why? It will cover your bases and you will have the tools to improvise when things don't go exactly as planned. Things happen! But there's a way to avert disaster.
Our 1.5 Ton Grip Van Package, aka "The Dutchman", is as versatile as it is efficient. It will provide you with enough grip gear for a wide variety of situations and has been used on commercials, music videos, branded & sports content, short films and even features. It is built with custom, powder-coated steel shelving to organize the equipment and guard it from damage during transportation and on set. It features rags, nets and diffusion from sizes 2x3 to even 12x12, when a typical 1 ton package usually only goes up to 8x8. Essentially, you get the value of a 2 ton package for the price of a 1 ton. It's a bit of a hybrid, so we call it a 1.5 ton!


There is even room for add-ons like lights, other grip gear, and even camera equipment!

The Case Against Carts
Don't get us wrong, carts can be an efficient way to move gear around on set. But they can be a nuisance too. What if you just need to grab one c-stand, but the cart is all the way in the back of the truck? You'd have to pull out all of the other carts one by one and lower them each on the lift gate just to get that one stand. Talk about a time waster.
There are many other conditions where carts are impractical, too. Maybe the grip truck is parked downtown Los Angeles in a tight spot, and have a rooftop shoot on the 6th floor. And uh-oh... the carts don't fit in the elevator! Or, there's a flight of stairs somewhere between the truck and the floor you're shooting on. Or the spot might be so tight that you aren't able to even use the lift gate to lower anything. This isn't so much a problem on shoots with permitted parking, but you might not have that luxury.
That's why we have elected to keep the van cart-free. It's great for run-and-gun shooting and small to medium shoots. It allows you to work off the van so unloading and wrapping is faster. If you park it as close as possible to set, you can almost think of it as being a big cart that you don't have to unload from a lift gate. You have access to everything right there.
Benefits of Renting a Grip Package
Here's a handy bulleted list highlighting why you should rent a grip package for your next shoot:
Organized for transport and working on set
Cover your bases for the vast majority of situations
Remove the Guesswork of having to build a list of basic grip gear for every shoot
No manual loading / unloading when you are picking up or returning the equipment
No need to rent a separate, empty, and unorganized vehicle to transport the equipment or having to use multiple personal vehicles to transport it
Save Time on set and on pickup / return days
Saves Space with smart and logical organization
Get higher quality results and better looking footage thanks to improved lighting. Bad lighting can make footage unusable!
Impress the client with professional, organized, well-maintained gear
Save Money by getting a package deal rather than paying for each item individually
Prevent loss or damage to equipment caused by unsafe methods of transport
Easily add other equipment to the package
We have high standards for providing an accurate order, with good-looking equipment that just works. This is because we take good care of our gear and replace / repair it when necessary. Too often productions are plagued by cheap, poorly maintained equipment that causes safety issues and delays which makes everyone look bad on set. Luckily we can offer equipment at a higher standard with a lower price than you'd expect!
Summary
Every shoot should have an appropriate grip package. It will cover your bases in the vast majority of situations and allow you to adapt to the dynamic environment of a set. So what are you waiting for? Contact us today for availability - simply email rentals@flyingdutchmancinema.com, send us an online chat message, or submit a request for a quote here.

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