Fed up with losing your pen to the director - client?
 

Okay, here's my dilema. I shoot mainly for the BBC and I'm always losing my pens to the Producer or Director and if it's not them it's another client. So my question is what's it going to be like when you hand over a 32gb card with rushes on it?
What is everyone doing about these cards you can't have an infinite amount of them I was thinking about having 1 x 32gb , 3 x 16gb & 1 x 8gb card & charging them seperatley to the camera something like £100 for the camera per day & £50 for the card kit per day so that way you should always get your cards back.
What are you guys doing?
As for the pens I've attached them all to myself with a piece of string ! Shame you can't do that with the CF cards!!

Mark

What about specifying that they have to bring their own card to the shoot, and take it back at the end with the material on it?

And if they turn up without one, and walk off with yours, your agreement has a clause covering what the cost charged will be?

Hand them over in prepaid return envelopes. Look sheepish.
Cheers.

Or get ones with your contact info printed on them and chalk them up as a marketing expense.

This is dead-easy.


Use the crystal clear bic style. Take out the ink tube/ball end. Run some pitch or bitumen down inside and out of the little vent if there is one, Black silicon bathroom sealer is a fair substitute. Let the excess drain out by flicking the body of the pen and let it set. Use a cotton tip to swab out the end of the tube where the ball end fits in or it sets too thick and you can't re-assemble the ink tube/ball end.

This is the pen you offer - always. If you are lucky it is gracefully declined because it looks like it will haemorrage ink all over their fingers or suit any moment soon. If it is used it will likely be handed back to you. by fingertips as if it is a scrofulous dirty sock,

Of course the downside is, it gets used and the user then tosses it into a bin and tells you you should not be so cheap and should buy yourself a new one.

ok, Thanks for your replies. Is that what you guys are doing then letting the client take them. I think David's right I'll have to point out that there is a £50 surcharge per day to get them back quicker as otherwise they will just sit in the edit suite under cups of coffee and sushi packs!

Mark .. suddenly *threatening* a charge of 50 pounds like that is akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Ease into it or you might be looking at some blank booking sheets.
Cheers.

Thanks Allan I see your point but this all just screams a lot of lost CF cards to me unless you make the point to the client that the camera doesn't work without them.
Maybe a bit more thought needs to go into it.

I really think my first suggestion is the way you need to promote. They bring their own (blank) media along, and you fill it up and hand it back to them. Supplying a card (and charging for it) is then just a way of helping out if they have forgotten to do what they should have done.

I do agree with you David. This is going to probably be a job by job exercise as you will have orgainised clients who provide there own cards and then the other ones ! who may be a bit less orgainised & will have to use the "Gold Plated" stock you keep in the crew van !!
I'm also going to keep an old laptop in the van and a hard drive as I would prefer that to be sent to the depths of the edit rather than the cf cards.
Actually I found my old Jobo Giga one card back up device today and that may be the best solution as it's basically a hard drive with a cf card slot in the top of it.