10 Aug
2013
10 Aug
'13
9:10 a.m.
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has
one one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or
month. Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a
large deposit would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done
something like this before and can share some tips?
John K
10 Aug
10 Aug
9:46 a.m.
Just make sure you don't rent them anything that you can't stand to
lose. Movie productions have a long history of destroying things rented
to them as props. Unless it's some student film they will have insurance
but, it will be a hassle getting paid and it won't make the item any
less destroyed or lost.
On 8/10/2013 9:10 AM, jthecman at netscape.net wrote:
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent
a IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum
has one one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per
week or month. Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im
thinking a large deposit would be required for this to happen. Has
anyone done something like this before and can share some tips?
John K
10:04 a.m.
I would sell it to them for full price with a promise to buy it back at a
lower price as long as it's returned in the same condition.
On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 12:46 PM, mc68010 <mc68010 at gmail.com> wrote:
Just make sure you don't rent them anything that
you can't stand to lose.
Movie productions have a long history of destroying things rented to them
as props. Unless it's some student film they will have insurance but, it
will be a hassle getting paid and it won't make the item any less destroyed
or lost.
On 8/10/2013 9:10 AM, jthecman at netscape.net wrote:
--
Sent from my time machine
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has one
one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or month.
Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a large deposit
would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done something like this
before and can share some tips?
John K
11:36 a.m.
If you rent something, assume it will be destroyed and plan accordingly.
Seriously.
On Aug 10, 2013 12:52 PM, "mc68010" <mc68010 at gmail.com> wrote:
Just make sure you don't rent them anything that
you can't stand to lose.
Movie productions have a long history of destroying things rented to them
as props. Unless it's some student film they will have insurance but, it
will be a hassle getting paid and it won't make the item any less destroyed
or lost.
On 8/10/2013 9:10 AM, jthecman at netscape.net wrote:
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has one
one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or month.
Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a large deposit
would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done something like this
before and can share some tips?
John K
11:14 a.m.
On 10/08/13 12:10 PM, jthecman at netscape.net wrote:
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has
one one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or
month. Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a
large deposit would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done
something like this before and can share some tips?
John K
You'd think in this day and age they could shoot a green screen and then
CGI a computer in. If they can do it for people, why not a beige box? :)
--T
11:32 a.m.
So the movie production company wants to take your 5150 out of the
country? Why? Couldn't they locate a 5150 where they propose to shoot?
Have you checked the bonafides of these people? Maybe it's just my
suspicious nature, but I hope you're not being set up.
It's not as if a 5150 is incredibly rare (and why not a 5160--can anyone
really tell the difference?) even in this day and age.
--Chuck
1:58 p.m.
On Sat, 10 Aug 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
It's not as if a 5150 is incredibly rare (and why
not a 5160--can anyone
really tell the difference?) even in this day and age.
Would anybody really CARE?
If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label, OR
the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port?
2:47 p.m.
Would they even know the difference? =-O
On 8/10/2013 4:58 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
...(snip)...
Would anybody really CARE?
If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label, OR
the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port?
3:11 p.m.
> Would anybody really CARE?
> If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
> will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label, OR
> the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port?
On Sat, 10 Aug 2013, Mark S Waterbury wrote:
Would they even know the difference? =-O
In any sort of mainstream movie, of course not. Such as "Con Air"
wreaking havoc with the geography of Las Vegas.
OTOH, if it were a "biography of Bill Gates" or "early days of
Microsoft",
then folks like us would spot the inaccuracies and take them to task for
them.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
3:58 p.m.
On 8/10/13 3:11 PM, "Fred Cisin" <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Sat, 10 Aug 2013, Mark S Waterbury wrote:
...which would probably have the same impact as all those physics types
slamming Star Trek's science. :-)
Would anybody really CARE?
If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label,
OR
> the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port? Would they even know the difference? =-O
In any sort of mainstream movie, of course not. Such as "Con Air"
wreaking havoc with the geography of Las Vegas.
OTOH, if it were a "biography of Bill Gates" or "early days of
Microsoft",
then folks like us would spot the inaccuracies and take them to task for
them.
11 Aug
11 Aug
12:51 a.m.
On 08/10/2013 03:11 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
In any sort of mainstream movie, of course not. Such
as "Con Air"
wreaking havoc with the geography of Las Vegas.
OTOH, if it were a "biography of Bill Gates" or "early days of
Microsoft",
then folks like us would spot the inaccuracies and take them to task for
them.
..and that gives them some publicity and, I think, in no way decreases
their box-office revenue.
--Chuck
10 Aug
10 Aug
3:20 p.m.
On 8/10/2013 2:58 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
Ben.
On Sat, 10 Aug 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Why not give them a empty case?
Working model -- charge more.
It's not as if a 5150 is incredibly rare (and
why not a 5160--can anyone
really tell the difference?) even in this day and age.
Would anybody really CARE?
If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label, OR
the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port?
5:08 p.m.
FWIW, I've done one prop rental in my life, and it was to a major
production outfit. They paid shockingly well for a few boxes full of
vintage motorcycle parts. And we had a loss agreement twice their value..
Unless this is a low-budget or student project, you may well be able to
rent them the equipment for more than you could sell it for. And most of
the time, rentals are by the day.. So if they need it for a week, tell them
$25. That would net you around $175 for a week, more than an original 5150
is worth.
Please listen to what's already been said, there is much good advice being
given. But if you can satisfy your mind as to dealing with them, then take
the profit, human. ;-)
On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 5:20 PM, ben <bfranchuk at jetnet.ab.ca> wrote:
On 8/10/2013 2:58 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
Ben.
On Sat, 10 Aug 2013, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Why not give them a empty case?
Working model -- charge more.
It's not as if a 5150 is incredibly rare (and
why not a 5160--can anyone
really tell the difference?) even in this day and age.
Would anybody really CARE?
If they would care (historical accuracy for 1982, or computer nerds,
will they ba close enough to read the PC/XT inch square front label, OR
the 8 V 5 slots, missing cassette port?
5:12 p.m.
It is not only about "what it is worth", but rather, what is the
replacement cost, to get one in the same or better condition, if it is
lost or damaged.
On 8/10/2013 8:08 PM, Bill Layer wrote:
FWIW, I've done one prop rental in my life, and it was to a major
production outfit. They paid shockingly well for a few boxes full of
vintage motorcycle parts. And we had a loss agreement twice their value..
Unless this is a low-budget or student project, you may well be able to
rent them the equipment for more than you could sell it for. And most of
the time, rentals are by the day.. So if they need it for a week, tell them
$25. That would net you around $175 for a week, more than an original 5150
is worth.
Please listen to what's already been said, there is much good advice being
given. But if you can satisfy your mind as to dealing with them, then take
the profit, human. ;-)
11 Aug
11 Aug
1:20 a.m.
On Sun, Aug 11, 2013 at 1:08 AM, Bill Layer <drlegendre at gmail.com> wrote:
FWIW, I've done one prop rental in my life, and it
was to a major
production outfit. They paid shockingly well for a few boxes full of
vintage motorcycle parts. And we had a loss agreement twice their value..
Unless this is a low-budget or student project, you may well be able to
rent them the equipment for more than you could sell it for. And most of
the time, rentals are by the day.. So if they need it for a week, tell them
$25. That would net you around $175 for a week, more than an original 5150
is worth.
Please listen to what's already been said, there is much good advice being
given. But if you can satisfy your mind as to dealing with them, then take
the profit, human. ;-)
And sometimes they need a baby sitter for the item or other expert to
help with the production
of the item. I have attended as a trained watch/clock maker
(helper/expert/also ran) to a rostrum camera (Ken Morse) job
where all I had to do was take a few items that would look nice under
closeup and be able to open them up for the camera to get a good shot.
They did provide a couple of clocks but quartz clock movements are
just not camera worthy, my old mechanicals got used.
More profit
Dave Caroline
10:02 a.m.
I have rented lots of stuff in the past to movies when we had the warehouse
in Portland. They would point out what they wanted and we would negotiate a
rental fee. Once they dropped a large copier we rented them, dropped it off
the truck returning it, broke it and paid handsomely from their insurance.
They also like to paint and alter items sometimes but will ask. We rented
one SF movie a BIIN chassis which they painted black. Since it was slated
for destruction we didn't mind.
We really liked renting equipment for making movies. We usually rented
stuff by the week or for the production time (up to 3 -4 weeks). Most of
the time they did not care if the stuff worked as it was for set decoration.
I would be concerned if it was out of the country and rent accordingly.
Paxton
--
Paxton Hoag
Astoria, OR
USA
10:55 p.m.
I was once approached by a leadperson who wanted to rent a KA10 (DEC
PDP-10) front panel for use in a film, which I later found out was
_Swordfish_. The script at that time involved a "hacker" somehow
accomplishing things with a disused KA10 found in a storeroom at MIT.
It seemed implausible to me that the "hacker" wouldn't have been
better off with a Pentium laptop, but hey, it's a movie.
They actually wanted a whole KA10, but weren't able to get one, as
there are probably only two or three left in existence. They offered
me about $500 if memory serves. They wanted to clean it but then put
some sort of coating on it to make it look "old". I wasn't thrilled
with that idea.
After asking someone with a lot of experience in movie production, I
reached the conclusion that my initial reaction of not thinking it was
a good idea to rent it to them was the correct one. He told me that
if I did rent it, to make sure that the contract was solid, and to
make sure that the item was returned and payment received very
quickly. Part of "Hollywood accounting" is that many movie production
companies cease to exist almost immediately after postproduction is
finished.
If I had made it available at all, I would much rather have had screen
credit, in the "Thanks to" list at the end, than the $500. I was told
that getting screen credit was impossible. Obviously it isn't
impossible in the general case, but apparently in this specific
situation the leadperson didn't have enough pull and they didn't want
the front panel badly enough to make it happen.
If they had asked me for a 5150, I would have been far more willing to
rent them one. While they're a little hard to find now, they're far
more plentiful than KA10 front panels.
I still haven't actually seen _Swordfish_. Maybe I'll rent it some day.
Eric
12 Aug
12 Aug
1:11 a.m.
On 8/11/2013 10:55 PM, Eric Smith wrote:
If I had made it available at all, I would much rather have had screen
credit, in the "Thanks to" list at the end, than the $500. I was told
that getting screen credit was impossible. Obviously it isn't
impossible in the general case, but apparently in this specific
situation the leadperson didn't have enough pull and they didn't want
the front panel badly enough to make it happen.
No that is actually pretty much
impossible on something like Swordfish.
Maybe a student or independent film. They didn't lie. Not a chance in
hell. They give thanks to whole cities and people that they can't make
the film without. Not some guy that rented them something. Could you
imagine the five hours of credits after a film thanking everyone that
rented them a fake lamppost or plastic shrubbery ? People pay tons to
get their names in the credits of something like Swordfish. The rest are
required by contract, rights holders, or the unions. If it was only as
easy as renting them a computer.
I still haven't actually seen _Swordfish_. Maybe I'll rent it some day.
Probably for the best. You didn't miss much.
Eric
8:57 a.m.
On Mon, Aug 12, 2013 at 2:11 AM, mc68010 <mc68010 at gmail.com> wrote:
No that is actually pretty much impossible on
something like Swordfish.
Maybe a student or independent film. They didn't lie. Not a chance in hell.
They give thanks to whole cities and people that they can't make the film
without. Not some guy that rented them something. Could you imagine the five
hours of credits after a film thanking everyone that rented them a fake
lamppost or plastic shrubbery ?
I didn't say they lied. However, their statement was clearly specific
to the situation, not in general. Certainly I've seen people credited
in the "Thanks" in Hollywood movies for a lot less than the rental of
a nearly unique artifact.
You can get a lamppost or a plastic shrubbery from anyone. If you
want something of which there are only maybe a half dozen in the
world, you're going to have to be more accommodating, or else you
apparently don't want it very badly.
Eric
10:29 a.m.
On Mon, 12 Aug 2013, Fred Cisin wrote:
On Sun, 11 Aug 2013, Eric Smith wrote:
Wait. There was a MOVIE before and after that scene? Wow. TIL! :)
g.
--
Proud owner of F-15C 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://www.diy-cockpits.org/coll - Go Collimated or Go Home.
Some people collect things for a hobby. Geeks collect hobbies.
ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
http://scarlet.deltasoft.com - Get it _today_!
I still haven't actually seen _Swordfish_.
Maybe I'll rent it some day.
a movie that will be remembered only for a single camera shot. 
11:53 a.m.
From: Fred Cisin
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 10:23 AM
On Sun, 11 Aug 2013, Eric Smith wrote:
> I still haven't actually seen _Swordfish_. Maybe I'll rent it some day.
a movie that will be remembered only for a single
camera shot.
Hugh Jackman talking about ITS on a PDP-10 in a basement at CalTech???
11:21 p.m.
On Mon, 12 Aug 2013, Rich Alderson wrote:
From: Fred Cisin
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2013 10:23 AM
That alone makes it worth watching almost!
At least Electric Dreams had the cheesy '80s pop music going for it...
--
Cory Smelosky
http://gewt.net Personal stuff
http://gimme-sympathy.org Projects
On Sun, 11 Aug 2013, Eric Smith wrote:
> I still haven't actually seen _Swordfish_. Maybe I'll rent it some day.
a movie that will be remembered only for a single
camera shot.
Hugh Jackman talking about ITS on a PDP-10 in a basement at CalTech???
13 Aug
13 Aug
12:48 a.m.
Our radio museum does prop rentals for movies. I heard there was a
minor problem with one of them, but, TMK, for the better part the
experiences have been pretty good. The more serious production
companies tend to be professional about it. Even though a given movie
is typically a company only existent for the production, the
production people have an interest in maintaining their and their
industry's reputation, at least if you're in a region where the
industry has some presence.
I just finished involvement in a teletype rental for a Tim Burton
production (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126590/). In this case it
wasn't just a static display, they wanted a functioning teletype
(newswire feed), which meant I had to be on set to operate it.
Demanding as the schedule changes by the minute, and somewhat
stressful as you are expected to be well-prepared, as a screwup means
dozens of people and hundreds-of-thousands of dollars of production
equipment will be waiting around on you.
For an active involvement like this, it comes down to:
- a month of preparation (getting a model 28 teletype going; my
responsibility if I wanted to do it)
and consultation,
- a day and half on set, most of which is being paid to wait
around and stay out of the way,
- 20 minutes of involvement in actual filming activity,
- all of which can be anticipated to result in about 15 seconds
of screen-time in the movie.
I thought of trying to wangle a line in the credits for the sake of
the anachronism of a line that says "Teletype operator ...", but
didn't ask.
12 Aug
12 Aug
1:35 p.m.
Hey John,
You might ask Sellam (vintagetech/vintage.org) or the folks at MARCH (Evan
K's on the list). Both of them do this sort of thing.
- John
On Sat, Aug 10, 2013 at 11:10 AM, <jthecman at netscape.net> wrote:
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has one
one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or month.
Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a large deposit
would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done something like this
before and can share some tips?
John K
1:40 p.m.
Hello
I received a email from a movie company wanting to either buy or rent a
IBM model 5150 computer for a moving they are shooting. The museum has
one one but I have no idea what a good rental rate would be per week or
month. Also it would be shipped out of the country and Im thinking a
large deposit would be required for this to happen. Has anyone done
something like this before and can share some tips?
John K
We in MARCH often do movie/TV rentals. I will send you a private response.
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