PERG Newsletter: January 2024

      

| PERG News: January 2024 | 

In This Issue:

PERG Updates
Bianca Halpern (Owner of Becine, Los Angeles) takes the reigns in 2024. The PERG Council is the advisory body that decides the direction of PERG and represents PERG members’ concerns and desires in our monthly Council meetings. Read more...

PERG Links

Be sure you and your staff are not missing out on PERG events, initiatives, presentations, and training sessions with three clicks:

• PERG Calendar. Want to check details about an upcoming PERG event? It’s all in the PERG Public Calendar.
• Newsletter sign up. Anyone who wants to receive the PERG Newsletter can sign up HERE.
• Slack sign-up. Want an invitation to join PERG’s Slack channel? Please contact the PERG Manager.

New Member Spotlight: 
PERG is delighted to welcome the following new members to ESTA and PERG: Ace West, CAMERAJACK, SONY, and Versa-Flex. I asked each of the companies to tell us a little about their company and got some great stories into the bargain.

• Ace West
• CAMERAJACK
• SONY
• Versa-Flex Inc.

Last Call for NATEAC 2024 Proposals
Public-facing buildings should welcome the public. In any solution that we create for these spaces, we need to ask ourselves, “Are all welcome here?” Have we created obstacles that will bar patrons or workers from fully utilizing these buildings? Read more...

Upcoming Virtual Trainings for Mental Health First Aid and Bystander Intervention
Join the 1200 entertainment industry professionals who are making a real difference in their workplaces by becoming a certified Mental Health First Aider. Expand your skill sets by learning how to identify, understand and respond to signs of distress in your colleagues and help make our workplaces healthier and safer spaces. Read more...

PERG Updates

| PERG News: January 2024 |

Bianca Halpern fills PERG Council Chair Position.
Bianca Halpern (Owner of Becine, Los Angeles) takes the reigns in 2024. The PERG Council is the advisory body that decides the direction of PERG and represents PERG members’ concerns and desires in our monthly Council meetings.

Andy Shipsides Elected to the ESTA Board of Directors as Rental Director.
The PERG Council extends their warm appreciation to Andy (President of ARRI Rental, North America) for his work as PERG Council Chair, 2023.

PERG Coffee Break - Sony Venice Mini Masterclass.
Our thanks to Sony Master Trainer and DP, Katie Eleneke, for her fantastic session on Thursday, Jan 11. Did you miss it? You can view the session HERE! The virtual training event was extremely well done and there were immediate requests from our members for the even “more nerdy” version. PERG and Sony are partnering to bring in-depth dives into the Venice II, Burano, and Sony Monitors in 2024.

New York Back to Business Celebration.
PERG and the AICP are planning a party for our New York members to celebrate the return to business. Details are still being worked out. Watch for an invitation coming to your inbox very soon. 

PERG Coffee Break - Winning Strategies for the Production Restart. January 24th.
Join Alex LoVerde, CEO of ProdPro, for a discussion of the North American scripted production market, how to get more leads, and the benefits of an outbound sales process for rental houses. REGISTER 

Rental Works User Group Meetings.

PERG hosts monthly meetings of the PERG Rental Works User Group. To join the group, just RSVP for the next User Group meeting HERE. Please note: This initiative is not an endorsement or promotion of any vendor by PERG. Please contact the PERG manager if you are interested in forming a user group for other rental software. It is a great way to gain mastery of the software, get answers to current questions, bring the vendor’s attention to existing issues, and share with other PERG members.

PERG 2024 Annual Sponsors.
PERG gratefully applauds our 2024 sponsors for their continued support. The annual sponsors make it possible for PERG to host our annual events and pursue initiatives that support our member rental companies.

There are a range of sponsorship opportunities still available. To find out more, please contact the PERG Manager or a member of the PERG Council. 

New Member Spotlight: Ace West

| PERG News: January 2024 |

aceforwarding.com

Ace West has established a strong reputation for understanding the shipping needs of the AV and entertainment industry. I spoke with David Bacic, Director of Business Development. “Our expertise is responding to unique and specialized requests ensuring our availability to our AV clients. Whether it's an after-hours weekend call for a show deadline or meeting delivery requirements for same-day, next-day, or in 5 days, we are on point to serve and deliver.”

Ace West is a subsidiary of Ace Forwarding, which started out in 1994 with a single truck supporting local customers in the Detroit area out of Detroit International airport.  Over the next thirty years, Ace evolved into a leading logistics provider for Detroit's big-three automotive companies. Fast forward to 2017, Ace West emerged to focusing on expedited services and other unique transportation needs.  Based in Las Vegas, Jeff Woods, Ace West Division President, leads a team of seasoned logistics professionals delivering a specialized service that focuses on expedited shipping nationwide including same-day, next-day airfreight, and ground services via sprinter vans, box trucks, or full trailer loads. Ace West has successfully developed into a preferred service provider for AV rental houses throughout the US.

The business is known for its reliability and transparency. “For AV clients, we are consistently accessible, providing the staff and resources to support and meet needs and shipping deadlines of our clients. We are proactive with communication, clear and honest with customers regarding our services.  

David told me they get some wild requests from unique clients needing a speedy shipment for unexpected needs, like this gem: “One of the PR pros for the Pittsburgh Steelers hit us up because one of their top receivers had a sudden urge to rock a specific pair of fancy pants for a last-minute interview with the hosts on FOX NFL Today.  What is special about these pants? They are purchased in Beverly Hills Friday at 7:30 pm and needed to be delivered the following morning. Our team sprang into action. Those pants got VIP treatment, hitching a ride on the next flight outta LAX to LGA. We swooped in, grabbed 'em off the redeye, and voila! They were on set, ready for the player, just in the nick of time.  Now, here's the kicker: we were dying to catch a glimpse of these mythical pants. But what?? The player goes and does the interview and “waist up!”  Yep, no pants reveal. We all had a great laugh about that one!”

I asked about Ace West’s facilities and fleet. “Our expansive network spans over 300 agent locations and encompasses 500+ ground and air carrier relationships, empowering us to cover numerous warehouse storages across the US. This extensive network is complemented by our asset-based fleet comprising 50+ vehicles, including tractor trailers, box trucks, and sprinters, laying the foundation for our operations. With our dedicated team stationed in Las Vegas serving PERG, backed by our parent company in Detroit, this synergy guarantees seamless and comprehensive logistical solutions, allowing our 100+ employee-strong company to deliver exceptional services nationwide.”

David finished off saying, “As active PERG members, we're committed to providing top-tier shipping services at great value while ensuring transparency. If our service isn't the right fit, we will do our best to openly communicate alternatives. With 50+ years of shipping experience, we're not just a strong service partner but also a go-to resource for members' logistics needs. Our goal is that association members can confidently reach out to us for advice, support, and tailored solutions for their logistics requirements.”

https://aceairfreight.com
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn /acewestairfreight

New Member Spotlight: CAMERAJACK

| PERG News: January 2024 |

www.camerajack.tv

At the ripe age of twelve, Jack Allred signed up as the neighborhood paperboy, delivering newspapers on his bicycle at 5 am before catching the bus to school. A few years—and jobs—later, instead of buying the used Honda he’d been saving for, he was uncontrollably seduced to buy a Mini DV Sony Handicam and 17TB Sony Vaio Digital video editing computer with his $3600 life savings. One thing led to another… and now CAMERAJACK is the largest camera rental house in Utah.

CAMERAJACK is helmed by Jack Allred, Founder & President; Colin Becker, Sales & Operations Manager; and Burke Herold, Prep & Equipment Manager. Jack explains, “Our small but obsessive team of camera enthusiasts are aggressive purveyors of emerging products, often taking early delivery of hard-to-get items such as the long-awaited 18mm Cooke Panchro Classic FF, full set of Xelmus Apollo’s including 24mm/32mm/40mm, Moon Smart Focus, and the extremely backordered Atlas Mercury Series—all available as subrentals to vendors outside of Utah. Another point of pride is our expanding innovation and design capabilities to improve functionality of our rental inventory through custom parts and accessories. In 2023, Cinematographer Matthew Rivera wanted ARRI Signature Primes and ARRI Impression V Filters on a Sony Venice 2 for the Angel Studios original series Homestead— at that time there was no LPL mount for the Venice 2 that could accommodate the rear protrusion of the Impression V Filters— with 3 days to find a solution, we designed & prototyped on our 3d printers, used our CRC status with Wooden Camera to overnight parts, milled the parts to spec, tested and solved with a day to spare. Possibly the first use of ARRI Impression V Filters on the Sony Venice; definitely a fun project.”

A Utah-native company, CAMERAJACK has the largest rental inventory of motion picture camera and lenses across Utah and surrounding states. With dozens of camera packages, hundreds of lenses, thousands of support items, full time certified technicians, and a deep connection to Utah Film community. “We work hard to bring the top tier camera rental experiences that camera professionals expect in larger markets to productions filming here in our home state of Utah.”

CAMERAJACK partners with Utah’s largest and longest running film equipment vendor, Redman Movies & Stories. Together, they provide a one-stop-shop for Camera, Grip, Electric, Transpo, Production Supplies, Audio, and on-site Sound Stages.

The company has a 33,000 sq. ft. facility located in central Salt Lake City, with direct freeway access to nearby world class Ski Resorts, Salt Flats, Moab, Red Rock National Parks, Lake Powell, Park City, Sundance Resort, and Silicon Slopes. Jack says, “We are a 10-minute drive from the airport and the perfect anchor location for productions in Utah or surrounding states.”

A unique facility partnership enables the team to have a dozen full time staff within the building— three of which are dedicated exclusively to camera prep, sales, service, and innovation. “Spanning a variety of backgrounds, heights, and ages— from as young as 20, to as old as… well… very — our team has an important balance between courage and wisdom.”

CAMERAJACK’s focus today is on strong and sustainable growth of inventory, services, and innovation so professionals filming in Utah have a reliable, trusted, local support partner, “not only this year, but consistently throughout their careers in the decades to come.”

Instagram: @camerajack.tv

email: jack@camerajack.tv

Photos courtesy Dylan Wineland.

New Member Spotlight: SONY

| PERG News: January 2024 |

Sony corporation needs no introduction. PERG is excited to be working closely with the Cinema Division to bring value to our members. Sony provided us with the following statement.

Sony Electronics’ Cinema team is thrilled to join PERG. Our team is based in Los Angeles and New York. We are very interested in hearing from you on what kinds of training and communication you are looking for and the best ways we can help support our rental partners. Over the next few months, we will be focused on providing VENICE 2 and BURANO camera training as well as releasing a survey to help identify any common questions that you might have! 

For now, we’d love to share some resources and contact information.  For cinema information – whether that’s downloadable charts, or who is using Sony cinema cameras, please visit, sonycine.com. The site has the latest product information, custom camera resources including Recording Format charts, Recording Time charts and the latest stories of DPs and productions who have used our cameras.

To request parts, visit pro.sony/ue_US/ and navigate the top menu to “Support.”

We’d love to hear from you! Send us your requests for training to tanya.lyon@sony.com.

New Member Spotlight: Versa-Flex Inc.

| PERG News: January 2024 |

www.versa-flex.com

Versa Flex, Inc. manufactures custom photographic equipment bags and a wide range or fabric devices. The company prides itself on being the only such manufacturer with products that are made in the U.S. and manufactured to a very high standard. 

Larry in 1995, standing on a MU-1417.06 Airline Case (Multi Use).

Larry Nolan founded the company in 1991 as a side hustle to his day job as a camera assistant. After a stint in the Navy and attending Ohio State University, Larry bought his own camera and started shooting and assisting. Larry told me that his Jewish tailor grandfather must have been looking over him because he envisioned a simple modification to shiny boards that would make them more versatile, a fabric jacket the makes them into a five-in-one reflector. He started sewing, and the V-reflector was born. 

Larry’s industry experience put him in a unique position to understand the needs of still photographers and film and video crews. He saw opportunities to improve on the camera bags that were available at the time. His goal became producing custom quality bags that not only protect valuable equipment, but also stand as a symbol for reliability and trust for years to come. Versa-Flex became the preferred name for top notch clients like Sports Illustrated and NFL Films. Larry continued to innovate creating products like the Versa-Flex harness for location audio technicians, the flag bag, rain covers, and much more.

Today Versa-Flex produces a wide range of products from their 12,000 sq. ft. facility in North Ridgeville, Ohio. He has three full-time employees and other part-time ones. They make bags for monitors, antennas, flag bags, lens cases, lighting cases, photo accessories, rolling cases, audio rain covers, and the list goes on. Bags can have a printed or embroidered company logo. Versa-Flex also has a line of high-quality swag shirts, sweatshirts, hats, cups and so on. 

Versa-Flex does not have a booth at expensive trade shows, but Larry attends them and is always happy to meet with clients to talk about their needs and customize a solution for any challenge.

Last Call for NATEAC 2024 Proposals

| PERG News: January 2024 |

Public-facing buildings should welcome the public. In any solution that we create for these spaces, we need to ask ourselves, “Are all welcome here?” Have we created obstacles that will bar patrons or workers from fully utilizing these buildings? Sometimes these obstacles are physical, like a single step that doesn’t even register for some but is a sign to others that they weren’t intended to be there. Sometimes the impediment is emotional, like when the 98-year-old cabaret in your historic Black neighborhood is renovated into a space that is otherwise unrecognizable except the historic façade, weirdly taken out of place without moving at all. Perhaps the obstacles are economic, like when the chosen site has no safe public transportation nearby.

In our endeavor to create spaces to incite public discourse, celebrate our cultures, tell the greatest human stories, feel music, experience bodies moving in space, and bring people together … we can tear people apart. At NATEAC, our challenge this year is to use our creative voices to help each other understand what it means to belong in these facilities so that we stop looking at accessibility as a code obligation and rather look at access to art as the point of the endeavor.  

To that end, we are opening our request for proposals one more time for sessions that speak to one or more of the following topics:

• Disabling People – Understanding how the built environment creates physical obstacles and how to remove them from the design at every stage.
• Building Advocacy – What does it mean to be an advocate for belonging in an Architecture, Engineering, and Construction context?
• Supporting Communities – Breaking the pattern that the proscenium is the “main” stage, and the black box can support “everything else.” Every culture deserves an appropriate venue to tell their stories in their own unique way.
• Communication – Involving everyone in the conversations in the theatre, in the environment, and in the planning meetings.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted proposals so far. We have a great selection of topics and presenters and will be assembling the programming this month. Additional proposals will be considered as they are submitted, so the sooner, the better. Submit your proposal at esta.org/rfp.

The submission portal for NATEAC 2024 will close again for the last time on January 31st.

Upcoming Virtual Trainings for Mental Health First Aid and Bystander Intervention for Bullying and Harassment

| PERG News: January 2024 |

Mental Health First Aid
Join the 1200 entertainment industry professionals who are making a real difference in their workplaces by becoming a certified Mental Health First Aider. Expand your skill sets by learning how to identify, understand and respond to signs of distress in your colleagues and help make our workplaces healthier and safer spaces. Mental Health First Aid takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations, teaches how to listen non-judgmentally and give reassurance, and how to refer to appropriate professional support. You will be able to use the information you learn every day in interactions with your co-workers as well as friends and family.

Mental Health First Aid virtual classes are posted for January 21 and 25 and February 5, 13 and 25 at btshelp.org/mhfa. The course is delivered in two parts. The first is a 2-hour self-paced online course that must be completed prior to an interactive 6-hour virtual, live instructor-led session.

The registration fee is $125. IATSE Members and those working under IATSE agreements may be eligible for Training Trust Fund reimbursement upon proof of successful completion of the course. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available to individuals not eligible for reimbursement. 

Private group classes of 10 -25 are available – contact mhfa@btshelp.org for information.

Bystander Intervention in the Entertainment Workplace

Have you ever witnessed a co-worker being bullied or intimated? Would you like to know how to safely intervene? In just 90 minutes you will learn five easily accessible tools for use in any workplace to safely intervene without the worry of retaliation. Entertainment industry scenarios will help you understand how to choose tools to match your comfort level.

Th webinar is free but advance registration at btshelp.org/bystander is required in order to receive the zoom login. Upcoming 2024 dates are January 22nd at 7pm ET, April 21 at 4pm ET, and July 22 at 7pm ET.

Bullying, harassment and intimidation is a common workplace stressor throughout all sectors of the entertainment industry. These behaviors create a physically and psychologically unsafe workplace for everyone. This training will teach you how to safely intervene and help to make a difference.

Behind the Scenes is partnering with Right To Be, a social justice organization that specializes in education around bullying and harassment, to present these free interactive webinars. These webinars are sponsored by the IATSE International and are open to all entertainment industry workers.

Visit btshelp.org/mentalhealth to see all the available tools and resources in our Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Initiative.

PERG Newsletter: October 2023

     

| PERG News: October 2023 | 

In This Issue:

AICP/PERG Plan New York Event in New Year

PERG was disappointed to have to cancel our annual AICP/PERG Oktoberfest Party in New York this year due to fallout from the strikes. However, planning is now underway for an AICP/PERG cohosted event in New York in the new year to celebrate the strikes being over. Read more...

Cleantech Demo Days in Los Angeles

The Clean Mobile Power Initiative is hosting an opportunity for people to “kick the tires on fuel-reducting equipment designed for production” at a free two-day demo (November 3-4). Read more...

Fuse Technical Group/All Mobile Video Host Open House

In the absence of the AICP/PERG Oktoberfest, Fuse Technical Group/All Mobile Video invites PERG members to immerse themselves in the world of LED volumetric sound stages at their Oktoberfest Open House. Read more...

Recent PERG Virtual Meetings and YouTube Posts

PERG recently hosted a PERG Coffee Break with Brain Doran, ARRI’s Lighting Product Specialist to discuss ARRI’s new SkyPanel X from the rental house perspective. With more than two dozen rental companies in attendance, Brian fielded questions in a lively discussion. Read more...

Slack Channel Reshuffle

We encourage PERG members to stay active on PERG’s peer-to-peer Slack channels, which were recently streamlined and reshuffled to make them more user friendly. Read more...

Cleantech Demo Days in Los Angeles

 | PERG News: October 2023 |

The Clean Mobile Power Initiative is hosting an opportunity for people to “kick the tires on fuel-reducting equipment designed for production” at a free two-day demo (November 3-4).

You can register here.

The event features technology by Aggreko, AMP, Anton Bauer, Big Battery, Base Craft, Galpin Hollywood, Greenlite, Herc Rentals, King Kong Production Vehicles, Lightnin, Moxion, Portable Electric, Quixote, Saniset, Sesame Solar, Set Zero, Sparks Equipment, and Sunbelt Rentals.

Rental companies that rent generators are eager to stay on top of market pressures and opportunities as some major studios lean into reducing the industry's carbon footprint. PERG continues to monitor the developments in this area.

The Clean Mobile Energy Initiative is a partnership that includes Disney, Netflix, Third Derivative, and RMI. According to their website "The entertainment industry currently relies on diesel generators, accounting for roughly 700,000 tons of CO2e emissions per year globally. To reduce emissions and deliver on 2030 climate commitments, we need to find, test, and scale new clean, reliable, and mobile power generating technologies. There are a variety of challenges currently inhibiting cleaner technologies, such as higher upfront costs, lack of clean mobile power solutions at scale, limited education and training for safe and effective uptake, and complex stakeholder relations and procurement practices across the industry.

The Clean Mobile Power Initiative aims to increase the availability of clean alternatives to diesel generators used in the entertainment industry by unifying demand and accelerating supply for mobile batteries, hydrogen power units, and hybrid systems."

AICP/PERG Plan New York Event in New Year

| PERG News: October 2023 |

PERG was disappointed to have to cancel our annual AICP/PERG Oktoberfest Party in New York this year due to fallout from the strikes. However, planning is now underway for an AICP/PERG cohosted event in New York in the new year to celebrate the strikes being over. Details to be announced closer to the event when we can say “Cloudy gray times, you are now a thing of the past.”

So long sad times
Go long bad times
We are rid of you at last
Howdy gay times
Cloudy gray times
You are now a thing of the past

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again

From the 1930’s hit song Happy Days are Here Again, written by Jack Yellen and Milton Ager

Fuse Technical Group/All Mobile Video Host Open House

| PERG News: October 2023 |

In the absence of the AICP/PERG Oktoberfest, Fuse Technical Group/All Mobile Video invites PERG members to immerse themselves in the world of LED volumetric sound stages at their Oktoberfest Open House.