2008Legal / Business Practices forum
Rental pricing strategy for camera equipment on different union show tiers
18 years old. Gear and prices may have changed since.
What the thread found
- Union show tiers are defined by production budget levels, with tier 1 being the highest budget and tier 3 the lowest.
- Rental rates for the same equipment package may differ across tier levels depending on production budget classification.
- Negotiations for equipment rental rates typically result in price reductions from initial quotes regardless of tier level.
- East Coast union contracts include penalty clauses that increase crew rates by 25% for every $250,000 over the tier budget limit.
- Equipment rental pricing should be negotiated based on market conditions and production circumstances rather than following fixed rate schedules.
Depends on
- The specific budget thresholds distinguishing tiers were not clearly defined in the discussion.
- The pricing discussion occurred in 2008 and may not reflect current market rates.
- One participant's description of tier definitions appears to be humorous rather than technically accurate.
- Advice about not posting rates publicly may limit the generalizability of pricing information.
- Example given about retro payments was from an unspecified past production with unknown timeline.