As I have mentioned before, I do not trust Rental Technicians when it is my career on the line. Double-check and prep everything carefully! Place your order with the Rental House early, at least a few days in advance. If you have a shoot coming up, but it has not yet been 100% confirmed, let them know this. They can pencil your order in tentatively, and then check in with you later to verify a firm commitment.
The worst thing that you can do is to march in to a rental house and expect them to drop everything and assemble you a complicated package right on the spot. For your own sake, give them some advance warning!
Be very specific when you order. General terms such as Stage Channel are fine when talking with producers, but have little meaning in a rental house. Tell them exactly what you want, and itemize every accessory and adapter cable that you envision needing. Take nothing for granted in terms of assuming that the technician knows “all about that stuff” -- unless you are familiar with the technician personally and have dealt with that person before!
Always write down the name of the technician that you are dealing with. Yours may not be the only order; nor may there only be one person working in the rental department. For that matter, make sure that both of you are clear on what name the order is reserved under (your personal name, the company name, or the name of the production itself).
You would not expect to walk into a strange bank and walk out with fifty thousand dollars in cash without a lot of credit checking. Do not assume that rental houses are any different. Establish an account with them well in advance of the date you need the equipment. Their credit check is not to guarantee that you’ll pay them the fifty bucks for the rental of the recorder, but that their ten thousand dollar recorder and you aren’t just going to disappear!
Sometimes, the rental can be billed directly to the account of the production company hiring you. Personally, I prefer to do business that way when I can. If the equipment rental is on my account, and the production company decides not to pay when they are supposed to, then I am stuck holding the bag. They owe me, but I am the one owing the rental company!
If you are acting as the “agent” of the production company -- in other words, doing the ordering and picking up of the equipment, but not financially responsible -- make sure that this fact is clearly understood by the rental house. Do not let them confuse your personal rental account with that of your client or employer.
Insurance on all equipment is mandatory. All equipment must be insured at “full replacement value” by the insurance carrier, with the owner of the equipment (in this case the rental house) listed as the “loss payee” (the check would go directly to them).
Proof of insurance must be provided to the rental house in the form of a “certificate of insurance.” This certificate comes direct from the insurance company itself (not from the production office), and must be requested in advance so as to be received by the rental house before the day of equipment pick-up. The advent of the fax machine has made this process a whole lot easier and quicker.
Note that this is a special business or commercial insurance, and is not included with typical homeowners or automobile policies. The proper insurance category is ENTERTAINMENT INSURANCE.
On large productions, the production company will have their own insurance policy covering all of the equipment. Professional freelancers will also tend to have their own blanket insurance policy, covering rented equipment during the year.
Insurance is available from several major companies specializing in motion picture or entertainment industry services. Check your local film/video trade directories for listings, or ask the rental house.
Some rental houses also offer house insurance, which is billed as a surcharge to your rental. It is usually billed as a percentage (e.g. 10%) of the daily rental fee, multiplied by each calendar day that the equipment is in your possession. Calendar day means that you have to pay the insurance even if it is not a billable rental day (such as a holiday, or a long-term discount).