When Ryan Creighton touts New Jersey’s potential as a film and television hub, he’ll start where everyone else does: Between the state’s growing network of studios and its varied outdoor spaces — its mountains, beaches, bustling cities and rural spots — there’s no better place to film.
Then, he adds something else, and it’s where he and his niche equipment rental company comes in: Moving between one filming site and another poses a lot of issues for film crews trying to maintain time and budget constraints. And, with so many options for filming locations in New Jersey, those challenges come up.
Call it an embarrassment of riches.
Gearing up
What sort of equipment does it take to make movie magic?
Ryan Creighton of Herc Rentals Inc. said that varies a lot depending on the location, scope and variety of the film or television show.
But, here’s a sampling of the sort of equipment its regularly lending out (which, by the way, tends to be painted nondescript colors, without logos, to make it easier in the editing process later if something accidentally ended up in the shot):
- Aerial platform rentals, such as scissor lifts and articulating booms, lift film crews skyward to orchestrate scenes with top-down camera views (think high-speed vehicle pursuits). Stunt teams also benefit from this heavy equipment, using it for planning out daring motorcycle jumps and the like.
- Without light towers, every outdoor nighttime shot would be a pitch-black horror film. These portable towers, as well as other lighting equipment, chase away shadows in a variety of settings. There’s even solar-powered lighting for when film crews have a zombie apocalypse-like lack of nearby power sources.
- Sometimes, film crews need to do landscaping to create the space and atmosphere they need for a shoot. There’s plenty of equipment offerings for that work, as well as ground protection nets that, for example, allow film crews to leave equipment out on the sandy beach where the latest rom-com (that’s romantic comedy, for the more action movie-inclined) is being filmed.
The equipment rental company Herc Entertainment Services might also call it a business opportunity. It’s one of the only businesses that has developed a go-to reputation for film producers searching for rental equipment when filming in the state’s different locales.
Creighton, who serves as Northeast district sales manager for parent company Herc Rentals Inc., explains that even established studios have fast-paced film crews utilizing their facilities with their own individual needs, sometimes beyond what that studio might have available.
The equipment needs of a given film crew vary. A film crew might need high-end air conditioning units to blast cold air to recreate winter in a Garden State summer. Some other film crew might try to make December feel like July. Yet another might just need to keep highly paid actors and actresses comfortable filming in a bygone church lacking central heating or air. None of those film crews might have the resources to outright purchase its tools.
So, as the presence of studios and film projects continues to trend upwards in the Garden State, and as more film crews move through the state, built into everything is a demand for more rental equipment.
“There’s new studios getting their start here to be excited about, such as Netflix, and there’s runway for more studios to pop up,” Creighton said. “Every one of them needs the right equipment.”
Coinciding with that is Herc’s own quiet establishment of itself as a prominent player in New Jersey’s emergent film industry. The heavy equipment rental business, which has a presence in Newark, has since 2012 been partnered with Cinelease, the company behind Jersey City’s giant purpose-built Cinelease Studios – Caven Point film studio.
Even as the incentives offered by the New Jersey Film and Digital Media Tax Credit (film industry proponents hope) bring more film projects into the state in coming years, Creighton said he doesn’t necessarily expect the amount of film equipment rental companies will grow at the same rate. In that respect, he anticipates only an incremental increase.
“There’s certainly a lot of businesses in the space doing rentals we don’t provide, such as tents,” he said. “But it costs a lot to be in this game. It’s not meant for mom-and-pop shops. It takes a lot of capital and operational diligence.”
Creighton describes the inner workings of the industry as built on hard-earned trust. It takes a lot of time to build that — something the company has tried to do over the course of many years, starting with California and then Georgia film-focused divisions.
“It’s a big industry, yet also a small community,” he said. “(Film and television producers) end up using up to 70% of the same ancillary companies from one show to another show, as long as timing and schedules allow, because they like to be familiar with how people operate. Once you’re in — unless you do something horrible that sets you back — you’re there to stay.”
But, don’t get him wrong: Creighton expressed that he welcomes any supporting staff to the local entertainment space. He’s one of the board members of the industry-promoting Screen Alliance of New Jersey, which formed this year with a stated mission of ensuring the state’s film incentive program “remains predictable, transparent and sustainable.”
“What attracted me (to that organization) was being at the ground level of establishing a framework within New Jersey with a great group of people, who I expect can really help folks making key decisions on a state and county level,” Creighton said. “All the companies as well as the individuals that help support this industry are having a positive impact, not only for the state, but for local families.”
