PERG News: March 2019

| PERG News: March 2019 |

Dear PERG Members and Associates,

In this issue:

• Getting the most out of RENTAL GUARD?
• PERG Netflix Panel for NAB 2019
• Pacific Northwest Lens Summit 2019
• GPS Leads Sheriff Deputies to Stolen Equipment in Barstow
• ESTA's Above & Beyond Award Recipients

Harry Box

Manager of the ESTA Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG)

Getting the most out of RENTAL GUARD?

| PERG News: March 2019 |

Here are four tips for all RENTAL GUARD users. 

1. Do your new employees know they can: 

• Make a New Customer Reference Inquiry to get independent verification of a new customer from other PERG members. 
• Check/download the Watch List of questionable customers. 
• Post a Questionable Customer Alert—to shut down potential criminals who may be fishing by alerting others. 
• Check serial numbers before purchasing used equipment. 
• Report missing equipment—It’s your best chance for recovering equipment and information in Rental Guard directly helps law enforcement take action and make arrests internationally. 

2. Reduce unwanted emails. You can elect to filter alerts, so you receive only the ones that are of interest to your business. From My Settings in your user profile, it is easy to customize your account using the check boxes shown below.

3. Your company can have as many people registered for rental guard as you need. Some companies set up a group email so they can control who gets added and removed internally. Or, you can have your employees register individually. Your choice. Either way, the more people receiving alerts, the better informed your staff can be! Please let us know if an email address at you URL is no longer valid by contacting Harry Box. 

4. Be sure your employees understand that your insurance does not normally cover “voluntary parting.” Customer policies often have a waiver for equipment taken from unoccupied vehicles. These are two of the most common methods of theft. For helpful tips see Members News and Resources on the Rental Guard site.

PERG Netflix Panel for NAB 2019

| PERG News: March 2019 |

PERG is delighted to be hosting a panel discussion with NETFLIX during PERG’s General Membership Meeting at NAB 2019. It is hard to overstate the impact that NETFLIX has had on the motion picture and television industry over the past few years. Several years ago, NETFLIX’s technical requirements for camera and image capture made it mandatory for their original shows to be captured in 4K resolution or better. The requirements even prompted prominent camera manufacturers to develop new cameras, like the top-end SONY VENICE CineAlta, to be in conformance. The requirements affect many aspects of production including lens options, image monitoring on set, color gamut and other issues related to LED lighting, and of course post production workflow. The practical implications for rental houses will be part of the discussion at the PERG Meeting on April 9th.

According to Variety, NETFLIX spent over $12 billion on content in 2018, and that number is expected to rise to $15 billion this year. Variety sites new streaming competition as one of the reasons NETFLIX is aggressively solidifying their market advantage. Media giants Disney, Warner Media, and NBCUniversal will be starting their own streaming services later this year. All this commerce is welcome news for camera and lighting rental houses.

PERG first started talking with NETFLIX’s Post Partnerships and Integration department when their Partnership Outreach Manager, Michael Keegan, attended the PERG Breakfast at Cine Gear 2018. Since then, we have been discussing ways for PERG and Netflix to work together to foster the exchange of information with our members. PERG created a Studio Outreach and Technical Resources webpage to help its members propagate detailed production guides (including recording settings for each approved camera type).

The next step was for PERG to invite NETFLIX to participate in an open discussion at our General Membership Meeting at NAB 2019. The panel will be made up of representatives from two prominent rental houses who regularly support NETFLIX shows, two DPs who have lensed those shows, together with a member of NETFLIX technical team. 

NETFLIX’s team has been as interested to learn about the challenges facing vendors as the vendors are to understand the priorities at NETFLIX. The NETFLIX vendor outreach team has been actively meeting with PERG members, identifying areas that raise questions for DPs and raise purchase decisions for rental houses. These efforts have identified some areas where there is confusion. Their active engagement is paying off. 

PERG plans to record the NAB meeting and make the presentation available to its members. PERG regards this as a first step in establishing an ongoing relationship with NETFLIX and expanding this conversation to other studios as well.

Pacific Northwest Lens Summit 2019

| PERG News: March 2019 |

Saturday May 4, Koerner Camera, Portland, will once again host the Pacific Northwest Lens Summit. Koerner is expecting 300-400 attendees from across North America. Something like twenty-seven lens manufacturers and lens accessory manufacturers are exhibiting at the summit. Tech training sessions, begin on Friday May 3rd. The classes are aimed primarily at rental house lens technicians, with two classes in the morning and two more in the afternoon:

• Angenieux 45-120 by Jean-Marc Bouchet or another Angenieux technician
• Zeiss Supreme Prime by Zeiss
• Cooke S4 by Duclos Lenses
• Angenieux EZ Lens by BandPro with Jeff Cree

Michael Koerner relates “Besides gaining valuable knowledge from a master lens technician, what may be even more worthwhile is the relationships the technicians build with their counterparts from other rental houses.”

Paul Duclos, of Duclos Lenses, shows technicians techniques
for servicing Zeiss Super Speed from the 2018 Lens Summit Training

Lunch on Saturday is sponsored by Abel Cine, beer sponsored by The Camera Department, wine and charcuterie by Whites Camera, and coffee and pastries by Duclos.

Attendees with find discounted hotel rooms, things to do in Portland, and registration link on the event website lenssummit.com. Koerner says “Registration is not required but it is nice to know how many we can expect, and we are planning to have preprinted name tags.” As in previous years, the Summit will include a showing by Portland’s own Unipiper, flaming bagpipes and all. The lens training and lens summit attendance are both free of charge. In addition, on Sunday May 5th, there is a master class on Jim Geduldick on Previsualization, which is being put on by The Oregon Media Production Association and sponsored by Fujinon. This event will be off site and tickets must be purchased to attend this class.

GPS Leads Sheriff’s Deputies to Stolen Equipment in Barstow

| PERG News: March 2019 |

On February 18th a truck taking equipment to a NETFLIX production was reported stolen. It was later recovered by California Highway Patrol, but the equipment was missing. GPS data indicated the truck has made two stops, and going to a location in the desert, Sheriff’s Deputies located and estimated $1,280,066 in stolen equipment in addition to firearms, methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. The following day, two additional items were located valued at about $80,000. There are four suspects listed on the police report.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Deputy Dickey of the Barstow Sheriff’s Station. Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the WE-Tip Hotline at 800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the WE-TipHotline.

ESTA’s Above & Beyond Award Recipients

| PERG News: March 2019 |

The Entertainment Services and Technology Association’s (ESTA’s) Technical Standards Program (TSP) is pleased to announce the 2018 recipients of the annual Above & Beyond Awards! These awards are peer to peer, designed to allow Technical Standards Program volunteers to recognize other outstanding volunteers.

The awards celebrate those volunteers that have made a significant contribution or effort that advances the Technical Standards Program. The TSP exists because hundreds of individuals from across the industry volunteer their expertise and significant amounts of time throughout the year to write standards that increase safety, provide interoperability between different manufacturers, solve problems, and make life easier. These awards are particularly meaningful to the recipients because the nominations are made by their peers within the Technical Standards Program.

The 2018 Above & Beyond Awards are presented to: 

Sam Kearney (Control Protocols Working Group) was cited for having been “dropped into the E1.33 task group and immediately started pulling more than his fair share of the weight. Sam continued to pull the entire task group and document forward. He even brought the first wide reaching implementation of the standard to the Plugfest! He's a joy to work with and truly believes in building consensus, even when he disagrees.”

Art Wanuch (Electrical Power Working Group) was cited for having “been a strong, supportive and tireless leader in the development of the single-conductor feeder cable standard, keeping focus on the objective of the creation of this standard over an exceptional number of public reviews while guiding the task group to respond appropriately and substantively to all raised objections.” Art currently serves as the chair of EESA, the Entertainment Electrical Safety Association, in Canada.

Steve Serafin (Floors Working Group) was cited for having been “instrumental in developing ANSI E1.60, Guidelines for the Use of Raked Stages in Live Performance Environments. This standard provides guidance for the use of raked stages in live performance environments to mitigate the risks for the protection of actors and technicians.” Steve took on a considerable role in moving the task group forward, producing a quality American National Standard in almost record time. Steve is a Product Liability Specialist for Chubb Group of Insurance. 

Keith Sklar (Floors Working Group) was also cited for having been “instrumental in developing ANSI E1.60, Guidelines for the Use of Raked Stages in Live Performance Environments. Keith went above and beyond to bring years of experience and knowledge to the creation of a standards document that will help protect performers and technicians working on raked stages. Keith’s willingness to jump into the world of drafting technical standards concurrent with his role as a Business Representative at Actors’ Equity Association is exemplary.

Elmer Veith (Rigging Working Group) was also cited for “pushing standards into completion in a very short time, organizing his task groups, and attending just about every single meeting. Elmer is extremely knowledgeable in the rigging field, especially truss and hoists, and he uses that expertise to create thorough and complete standards.” 

ESTA’s Technical Standards Program is the only ANSI-accredited standards program dedicated to the needs of the entertainment technology industry. The standards created under the TSP are used directly or indirectly every day by almost every manufacturer, dealer, installer, production company and end user. These standards prevent accidents, protect lives and property, save time and money, solve problems, inform the industry, and enhance creativity.

The TSP is comprised of over 350 volunteer experts who devote time and knowledge to drafting American National Standards for the benefit of the whole entertainment technology industry. The TSP is always interested in any new member who wishes to join a working group. Information on getting involved with the TSP may be found at http://tsp.esta.org/getinvolved.