STOLEN equipment...I’m devastated!
 

Don’t you just love the world on occasions? - Some really nice person with light fingers has just swiped ALL my pro video & sound gear - around £20,000 ($30,000) worth - from my car while I was filming in Spain. So I'm not a happy chappy!

It wasn't fully insured for worldwide work...so I'm devastated. It has taken me years to save up for all my own kit and I expect years to try and replace it. Trouble is that I was halfway through a major shoot for a new DVD series and now have no equipment to continue. The video equipment and sound gear was my livelihood, so I’m finding it a battle to stay above water at the moment.

It was a sad and black period driving alone back to UK from Spain...and the constant rain pouring from England’s grey skies these past few weeks doesn’t help much to lift my spirits…

The positive points are that all of my still photography equipment and big ED lenses etc, plus other mountains of expensive equipment was not stolen. But it’s difficult to make a movie with an SLR!

Another plus point is that I'd managed to store all my DV tapes with the previous months of footage and other work on hard drives etc back in the apartment.

Oh well...life does tend to chuck these bombshells at you now and again to spice up life a bit I suppose!

Tony, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss!

I know how you feel right now Tony, this is a nightmare to experience. But as you say, life must go on!
I'm also happy to hear that you didn't loose much of your footage.

Regards;
Per Johan

Thank you for your kind words, Per. All the best in your filming over the coming months.

I hope your client understands. I'm not much on compassion for people who steal other people's livelyhood.

My hope is that things will work out for you. This is one of those, 'but for the grace of God go I' moments.

Tony,

I can't imagine how you feel right now. I'm so sorry to hear about this and wish there were something I could do to help. Any chance at all that the police might recover some of it?

Chin up and hang in there my friend, the sun will shine again.

Mike

Thank you Steve and Mike.

Regarding the local Spanish police, I don't hold much hope from that quarter, even though we went though correct procedures to write out reports and detail the very long list of items with them; and I also have a friend living near the location who checks regularly with them for any updates. He actually made another check with the police yesterday, with no joy to report.

Regarding the sun shining...I just saw it peek from behind a cloud for 60-seconds, so maybe it's trying its hardest to comfort me!

Jeez Tony I'm so sorry to hear this... is this déjà vu or what!!... I can't believe it's happened again. How did it happen mate?

Spain definitely seems to be a bogey country for you... I know too that you'll not even get an acknowledgement from the police.

I'm just about back up to my previous gear spec, and still have two years to pay off.

I've since found insurance at around 1000 euros for my gear...

I know how hard it is out on the road solo to keep you gear safe at all times, you can't take 40 or 50 kilos of gear shopping or to the toilets.. I'm always paranoid about mine now.. I guess the only real way is like the TV crew, put some kind of locking cage in the rear of your motor. But then in Italy during the World Cup there a few years back we had stuff ripped off from our hotel rooms.

Hope you can get some stuff together to finish off your DVD..

Best Wishes

Gareth

Hi Gareth...yes, I just couldn't believe that it's happened a second time in Spain - I thought that the incident in Spain when we were together last year was difficult enough to bare!

I too have spent the last year buying back equipment lost when your own vehicle was broken into during our trip through Spain...but this time I'd bought a ton of new gear, including new expensive lenses and even four sets of top-of-the-range Sony radio mics, extra lighting, filters, etc., and like you, I recently took my credit cards to the limit just so that I could get back on the road and continue filming. But now I’m penniless and future money coming in will need to fulfil daily expenses and not buying a full set of pro video & sound gear again.

In fact, only the previous day Martyn had said to me that he thought I was over-the-top with paranoia about watching where my gear was all the time and that I should lighten up because my stuff would be very safe where we were located! We were miles down dirt tracks and everyone was stunned when we realised that the equipment had suddenly vanished into thin air.

I’m working on the French movie now, and all the editing, sound, music tracks etc are complete. Just the background narrative to do…and no decent mic system to do it! I tried to use some cheaper Sony gear yesterday for the narrative and it sounded terrible and “tinny” compared to the deep-rounded smooth tones from the Sony WRR & WRT units and AT shotguns that I had before.

The positive aspect is that I’ve had more time to spend editing the French footage and now I’m extremely pleased with the end results.

Regarding the Spanish project, I do have many hours of quality footage already in the can, but I still need to get back down to Spain to capture extra material to complete the DVD series. Dare I say...third time lucky?!

(By the way, I’ve just heard news that Hippo - from your lakes at Croix Blanche - has been out at a new record weight).

Thanks for the encouragement Gareth, and I hope that we can get together to film sometime in the future.

tony,

Breaks the heart!!!

I guess I should learn from your experience and get myself insurance on my gear!!!

How long to collect the insurance??

On a positive note, perhaps you can upgrade in a few areas as long as you have to rebuild!!

William has been wanting to go back to Spain this year, but I've been very reluctant, and your latest experience has confirmed this... sadly!

I suppose camera gear is a bit like fishing gear you slowly build up the little bits and pieces that give you a really nicely performing set up. To lose all that is devastating.

At least they didn't get your cassettes, remember I had three weeks of tapes in my camera bag last time.. and had to shoot them all again..

I'm sure though with decent material you'll get the DVD done just fine, ready for the Winter Show!!!! and earn enough to buy a new camera.

Any way all the best mate... I too hope we can get out and shoot some stuff too...

Yes the big one did come out of the lakes this week.. just missed my video news which was a pity .. I'll add it to next months. I'll definitely have to get the rods out on the lake in November when there is some space. You'll have to join us..

Chin up

Gareth

Gareth,

Speaking of fishing, a lake an hour and a half north of me just produced a new world record Rainbow trout, up in the 43 to 46 pound bracket!!!

No positive notes in that respect Dale - as I mentioned in the opening lines of the first post, all that expensive equipment, sadly, was not insured for world travel. If it was, it wouldn't have affected me so much.

Tony,
Sorry to read about your equipment loss. hope you can have it replaced soon. If everyone would treat each other the way they want to be treated this world would be such a happy place. This low down thief won't likely make it in the filmmaking business unless serious changes happen. Continue keeping your chin up the way you are Tony, and you will keep surging ahead dispite trials. All the best.

Leon Lorenz
www.wildlifevideos.ca

I too am VERY sorry for this misfortune.... Keep an eye on eBay spain to see if any of that equipment starts showing up!

Jon

Tony,

Sorry to hear about the terrible theft, I suggest doing a search on the web for sites which post stolen equipment and their serial numbers, as this may be of some help in tracking the thieves.

Try this site as a starter

http://www.broadcastvideo.com/netpolice/