When you run a film production company for long enough, you find yourself using set equipment that you know gets the job done most efficiently. Many will retain this knowledge as experience, but Tobias Deml took it into his next entrepreneurial journey. He used his unique experience to start a camera rental business. After months of renting out gear on ShareGear, he chose Booqable to take control of his bookings and inventory.
Camera Rental NYC
Tobias ran Prodigium Pictures, a production company, for many years and worked with powerhouses like HBO Max. He and his team worked on everything from documentaries to feature films. During this time, he shot 13 feature films as a cinematographer and gained a wealth of knowledge about film equipment. He learned what accessories work best with which cameras, creating streamlined packages.
When he moved to Manhattan in late 2023, he found that there were few camera rental houses that catered to small cinema, video, and photography productions. He saw this as an opportunity to lend his experience to those creating content in New York. He took the plunge and set up a store just off of Times Square, in an incredibly central location that allowed for last-minute rentals in the city.
He and his team hand-assembled equipment packages they optimized over the years, whether it be the documentary interview package they used when shooting ‘Gaming Wall St’ for HBO Max or the Alexa Mini package they shot their favorite feature films on. They also offer in-person prep, pick-up from their Times Square store, and curbside delivery.
Indie filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, and photographers worldwide utilize their services while shooting in the city. Some of the most memorable customers from the past year include a man who rented audio gear to take into a war zone, a woman who rented lenses to take on a safari, and a team of filmmakers who flew to the North Pole.
Reducing cumbersome tasks
While he and his team had a masterful eye for selecting and setting up film equipment, they faced some challenges getting their rental operation going. Many cumbersome tasks, including billing, cataloging, and manually sending emails, took up a lot of time and caused stress. As a result, Tobias began looking for rental software that would help him save time, reduce stress, and streamline the rental process.
He researched the available options and concluded that Booqable best suited his business needs. With just a few clicks, he could add his entire catalog to his inventory and create bundles while the system kept track of stock levels in real-time. This allowed his team to significantly reduce the time spent organizing equipment and increased their visibility over the equipment.
Next, he integrated Booqable with his WordPress website using the dedicated plugin. This allows him to accept online bookings, automate payment processing, and communicate with customers by email. Customers also benefit from seeing exactly what is in stock when booking. This made it easier for customers to reserve their equipment and saved the team a lot of time communicating back and forth with them.
More fun cameras
Tobias hopes to keep Camera Rentals NYC at its current location in Times Square (unless he somehow figures out an even more central location). Meanwhile, he hopes to introduce a few more fun cameras to choose from and is looking into creating some cool swag for his customers to show appreciation. In addition, he hopes Booqable continues to help the team save 30-50% of the time spent on manual and repetitive tasks.
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