At Fantastic Plastic, when we shoot a video or film project for you, we use a wide variety of equipment. Whether on location or in our studio, you'll see cameras, lights (including HMI daylight instruments), reflectors, monitors and such that might crop up on any normal film shoot... plus we have the advantage of a couple of "extra toys" that many production companies don't.
We shoot video with a variety of cameras.
For standard-definition video, we often use our Sony DRS series camera as our chief workhorse... although sometimes we also use the tiny Canon XL1, which packs the same visual punch as its big brother but can squeeze into tighter spaces and accept a wide variety of lenses that can be useful for special shots.

For high-definition video, we use the innovative
Canon XL-H1 for truly amazing picture quality.
For film, we prefer Eastman and Fuji stocks shot on our 16mm and 35mm cameras.  For the highest quality, we usually suggest shooting 35mm film, with our Russian Konvas 1KSR-7M.  It's small, lightweight, with crystal sync and great zoom and prime lenses.  Six film magazines make the shoot day go fast, and video assist lets the director make sure we've got the shot.
e35mm is the most exciting innovation we've seen in years.  It's a real hybrid, providing the unmatched beauty of 35mm film images, but with the ease of production and lower cost that you'd usually expect only from video.  The e35mm system is basically a conventional 35mm film camera rig (complete with real Leitz-Panavision cinema lenses) ... except we have replaced the mechanical camera body with an electronic high-definition body that captures the true 35mm-sized images. Unlike conventional film cameras or video cameras (which record to film
and videotape, respectively), the e35mm system captures images directly to high-definition computer hard drives. The end result is an amazing 35mm picture, but without the cost of film stock, laboratory processing, and telecine. You can read more about e35mm here.
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Of course, something has to hold these cameras up. We have the usual assortment of tripods (we use OConnor, Mitchell, Vinten, and Universal sticks, all with OConnor and/or Mitchell fluid heads), but we have a few more camera support toys too...
Our McAlister crab dolly won't win any beauty pageants (it's seen a lot of brutal shoots over the last 30 years), but it's still rock solid. It has a silent hydraulic boom, plus an unusual two-stage hydraulic head riser that cuts down on a lot of equipment-changing time. It fully "crabs" (all wheels can turn either in unison or separately), and with eight big pneumatic tires no dolly track is needed. The only downside to this big boy is the weight: at almost 500 pounds he's a little heavy for location work, yet travels around the stage floor in our studio with ease.
Pans, tilts, dollies, and trucks are the most common camera moves you see, but our director often likes to add VERTICAL movement for an extra dynamic punch. We accomplish this with our Losmandy jib, which allows us to get crane shots up to about 14 feet high. This jib also compacts down tiny enough for use in almost any room, where even a very short crane or tongue move can add visual drama. Unlike the big crab dolly, at about 70 pounds the jib easily travels and is used on many of our location shoots.
There are some shots that are just virtually impossible without the Steadicam®, the Academy Award®-winning camera stabilization system that literally "floats" the camera in the air, free of the operator's movements. The result is silky-smooth shots whether walking, running, riding in vehicles, or even bounding up stairs. Although usually found only on major motion picture shoots, at Fantastic Plastic we are pleased to have our own Steadicam® rig which opens the doors for all kinds of exciting visual production. The only downside is that our Steadicam® has never paid for itself, and probably never will... but it sure is fun!
Of course shooting is just one piece of the puzzle. To see where the post-production happens for your project once principal photography is complete, visit the Studios page.