Example Of Basic Grip Equipment You'll Need To Rent For A Video Shoot

As you prepare for an upcoming video shoot for a commercial or short film, you may need to rent equipment to get the job done. It is quite common to rent instead of buying the equipment you need due to the cost and quantity of it all. However, that means it is on you to select everything so that you are prepared on set. Here are some of the basic pieces of grip equipment that you should consider renting.

C-Stands 

C-stand is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that can be used for multiple purposes. They can support various lighting equipment and get it into the right position, or hold flags on set to block natural light coming into the room. C-stands can even be used to hold a boom mic overhead so that you are not paying a crew member to hold it for you.

Sandbags

You'll need sandbags to weigh down all of your equipment that will be on a stand. The equipment being held up by the metal stand is quite heavy, and an accidental bump or trip on a cord can cause that equipment to come crashing down. Plan to have several sandbags for each stand you want on set, and then pick up some extras just to be safe. 

Grip Heads

Grip heads are what you attach to each stand so that you can put equipment on it. For example, there are special grip heads that hold a flag in place, since it clamps onto the pole that attaches to the flag. There are also gip heads that can hold microphones in a way so that the equipment is suspended in elastic bands. This helps prevent the microphone from reverberating due to nearby people walking and shaking the stand. 

Gaffers Tape

It is essential to have gaffer tape on hand to secure all of the cables to the ground. While the sandbags will help keep stands upright if there is an accident and prevent them from shaking, all cables need to be secured to the ground to proactively prevent problems. Always have more gaffer tape than you think you need, with multiple roles so that many crew members can work at once to secure cables.

Apple Boxes

Sometimes the height of a person or object needs to be adjusted slightly, and that's where apple boxes come into play. They are available at various heights and can easily be stacked. They work great if you have two talents standing side by side, but they have a notable height difference. One person can simply stand on apple boxes so that the difference is not as big. 

Contact grip equipment rental services to learn more.