The film industry nets billions for the local economy, last year the famed filming location of Cape Town had contributed more than R5 billion by May. Despite these lucrative figures local filmmakers are fraught with budget constraints and the profession of leasing film kit worth hundreds of thousands to the public is not quite as profitable. In an economically tight industry the rental equipment market is vital, yet the security of these companies is quite insecure.
Last year Screen Africa reported on separate incidents of theft at three major gear rental facilities. At the time they had thousands of rands’ worth of equipment stolen by clients who presented fraudulent credentials and then absconded with the gear.
In one incident a man picked up a large consignment of gear under false pretences from the Cape Town facility, Cine Photo Tools. In the second, a similar incident took place in Johannesburg at Puma Video. What was taken from Cine Photo Tools included a Canon 5D Mark 3; four Canon lenses; a Sachtler video tripod; two 1tb WD hard drives; a 32gb CF card and two Canon batteries. Taken from Puma Video included a Sony NEX FS-700; six Canon lenses; two Metabones E-mounts; a Swit charger; camera batteries; UV Filters; Chrosziel trays, Tiffen polariser; a Bon 7” HD Monitor; a Vocas Follow Focus and O’Connor 2060 head and legs.
Screen Africa assisted in creating awareness and alerting equipment rental companies in general to be extra vigilant and tighten security measures when renting out gear to unfamiliar clients. Outside of these incidents how often does this occur and how do these companies thwart the enormous risk of renting out expensive gear?
Screen Africa spoke to a couple of industry heavyweights who were both directly impacted in last year’s pilfering.
Henk Germishuysen, MD of Puma Video says his biggest security concern is staff safety. “There are a few, but staff safety is paramount. We try to ID everyone that comes through the gate but it’s not always possible.”
Marius Van Straaten, director of Visual Impact SA says his greatest security concern is, “First a full armed robbery where a team of criminals clean us out with a truck and a well organised approach. Secondly, absconsion. In this case the ‘client’ will open an account with all the right credentials and book high value kit, never to return it.”
Prior to the 2016 theft, Germishuysen says they were hit in July 2015, almost exactly one year earlier. “The first time ever that we had actually handed equipment to a ‘client’ who then absconded, to use the insurance term, with the kit. But it was massive fraud and identity theft because all the paperwork checked out,” explains Germishuysen. “Only after putting a private investigator on the case did we discover the extent.” He says they have also had incidents where they have rented kit to clients whereby the equipment was then stolen from them while in their possession. “The June 2016 incident is a case in point, in that we had no control,” says Germishuysen. “The equipment was with the client, on set of an SABC comedy-series when it was stolen. So there was nothing we could do really.”
Van Straaten says they were targeted once, at the same time as Photo Hire in Cape Town. “We fortunately got the kit back using CCTV images and social media to create awareness,” he adds. Now Van Straaten says that with new clients they no longer allow the first couple of rentals to be of high value. “We have increased and improved our CCTV cameras and lighting. So the footage is admissible in court,” he explains.
Germishuysen says that they had already beefed up security after their 2015 incident. “It became a necessity to request current certified ID’s from all new clients as well as requiring a refundable deposit for the first rental. In addition to all the other measures we had in place,” says Germishuysen. “This is now an insurance prerequisite as well, if the person collecting is not the applicant or an employee of the applicant, we receive confirmation from the client who the person will be that is collecting and make a copy of their ID too,” Germishuysen says.
Systems that Puma Video have in place to ensure the safe return of their equipment include thorough kit checks. “Kit is always checked by us prior to collection by the client. It is the client’s responsibility to check, and the opportunity is there for them to check that it is indeed working before taking it onto set,” says Germishuysen. “Just in the past month we had two instances where, one client checked and another shipped kit straight to set without checking. The client who checked brought back broken kit. The other client said their piece of kit did not work. But because we do our checks, no issues arose.”
Visual Impact ensure the safe return of their equipment with a 24/7 check in, an excellent HD CCTV system that is remotely accessible via IP. Van Straaten says “We have armed response, a number plate recognition system and a couple of other secret measures that should not be published.”
When renting out expensive and sometimes fragile equipment, damage is an equal risk factor for those incurring the major costs. When claiming from insurance are these companies at greater risk of theft or damage? Screen Africa asked which they claim more from. Van Straaten says they claim more from damages, adding that “Unfortunately damage is often negligence.”
Germishuysen says that damage is a huge problem. “Lucky for us, it has mostly been contained below the excess threshold, so we get the client to pay for these kinds of damages. One has to pass some responsibility to the client. It makes them look after the equipment as well, he adds. However in the last two years he has claimed more for theft.
“The onus rests with us to minimise risk as much as possible by the procedures we put in place,” says Germishuysen. “The difficult part these days are that because of all the processes, once you have explained to clients what it is we require from them, they want to run for the hills. But we do explain that while it is a huge amount of red tape, it is a once-off exercise. Usually the ones who comply with the least amount of resistance are the clients who are serious. So in a way it is a type of elimination of the chancers,” explains Germishuysen. He says “Another tough one is that our insurance is the biggest salary earner in the business but we can’t afford not to have it. At the same time it feels as though it is becoming more difficult for us to do business.”
Van Straaten says, “One faces risk with criminals and at times with clients. It is a high value game with increasing risks, but with thorough new client vetting and checks, risk is largely reduced.” He explains that their infrastructural security reduces risk. “Evaluating the crew’s competency to avoid damage is essential and sending out competent rental technicians reduces risk.”
These companies put a lot on the line to afford filmmakers the opportunity to create their projects without committing to the high cost of gear.
