On the subject of how to find a good camera jib or camera crane rental in NYC, it can be quite a process. Jib Rentals in NYC have variable rates, operators have different equipment, and policies. Larger NYC and Washington DC jib companies often will bill labor from the minute the equipment begins transporting to the shoot location! When accessing jib rentals in cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, DC, or NYC it’s best to try to identify a company that displays quality work online but also showcases great communication. As with any service you may ever need, someone communicating to address your needs and make you feel you are being taken care of is the first step! A lot of people are guilty of minimally responding to inquiries of any kind. How many times have you send a text to friend that had a few points to be address? For example, say you text your friend who is coming to your BBQ and you are double checking that he or shit is bringing ice, some extra burger buns, and chips? How many people do you know that are likely to just say “yea I got the chips”…..nothing more. Now how many people do you know that respond to emails like that in a world environment?? It’s staggeringly a lot! Thorough communication is something you should be looking for with any service as it builds trust and confidence!
Why jib ops love wide angle lenses?
Why are always asking for super wide lenses when we get a say in lens choice? This tends to apply most to events, cool spaces, or epic scenes. The jib has a role of establishing the space BUT also taking you into it. You don’t need much zoom to achieve this b/c the tight camera angles will capture those details. I have two polar opposite situations where wide angle lenses are super useful to me. The first one is MMA and the second is orchestras! In MMA, you want to position the end of the jib so it comes just over the cage bar. With a solid 2/3” 14x4.3 or a 4.5x13, you can usually fit the entire cage in your shot when flying around it. When it’s time to take viewer into the cage, you can boom out from the crowd, go super high over the cage, and then drift down INTO it for quite an experience if you’re watching it on a big TV at home. For orchestras, a lot of clients love the jib right on the stage to get the perspective of flying over the musicians. A super wide zoom lets you get the entire stage in the shot and zoom right into close ups of fingers on instruments or bows moving on violins! On top of that, you can start doing jib moves zoomed in while booming in the opposite direction to create a pretty trippy effect!
Jib Operator in New York City Using The SmallHD 1303!
OK. sorry to bore everyone with writing about this again. I’m not sure if anyone actually reads this, so it might not matter ; ) I used the SmallHD1303HDR yesterday jibbing a parade in Manhattan. I had an 18’ Jimmy Jib Triangle set up on a super bright sidewalk on 42nd st between 2nd and 3rd avenues. The morning sun was insanely intense and I even got a touch of sunburn despite it barely touching 70degrees. Despite all of this, I could see the smallest details and focus was rock solid. Meanwhile, in video village the director crew had rigs a whole lot of flags on C stands to block the sun. This monitor made SUCH a difference.
