Rent your own gear with Motiontribe

Intro by Philip Bloom: 

I have a lot of gear as many of you know and a lot of it isn’t used anywhere near enough. I tend to sell things if I haven’t used them for 18 months but some stuff I am too attached to and always think “I will use it one day soon I am sure”. Wouldn’t it be great though for it to be a passive income for me when I am not using it? I almost NEVER rent out my gear as it worries me way too much. It is risky to do it yourself as it requires not just insurance but for me it involves trust. The only people I rent my gear to are close friends/ colleagues who I know really well. People I also know where they live so I can go round their house and give them grief is my gear isn’t returned! 🙂

So what is the alternative? How about a company who take the stress out of it for you? You take it to one of their appointed hubs where it is picked up and dropped off from, where someone checks it all for you. A company who do checks on all members and where the gear is properly insured. For me this makes the concept of renting my gear out a real option. Currently in London the hub is pretty far from me but it could work if I had a few things to rent at a time which would make the awful trek across London worth it! Driving is London is not much fun and getting the train in with a load of gear is even less fun!

I would like to introduce you to Haroun Sourijl who I met a few years ago when he organised a workshop for me in Brussels. It was probably in my top three favourite workshops ever. A wonderful location in one of my favourite European cities and a great bunch of attendees. I really loved it. Haroun is co-founder of MotionTribe and he will explain in more detail just how it works. Over to Haroun!

Hello! My name is Haroun, filmmaker and co-founder of MotionTribe with my friend Aurélien.

Even if you own kit yourself, the varying requirements of shoots and the sheer price of video equipment means you probably rent some as well. While brick and mortar rental houses have a great offering, their fixed locations, hours and premium prices sometime force you to look for an alternative: renting from owner / operators. There can be good prices but this often involves renting without insurance, creating a significant risk for the renter and the owner if the equipment is damaged. And the fact that you may be renting to or from a stranger only adds to the problem. This is where MotionTribe’s camera rental community comes in.

The best insurance on the market

MotionTribe is a collaborative rental platform dedicated to pro video and photo gear. We make rentals safer, more convenient and help you expand your network in the process. On the platform, freelancers, production companies and rental houses can add kit and rent from each-other securely. We make it easy to find gear with a search bar, filters, categories and a map.

 

Not only do we vet every member of the community manually but we also supply the best rental insurance on the market: theft, breakage, water damage, worldwide cover and lowest deductible. Our Belgian members have already added over 1.000 items (and are adding more every day) and we are now launching in London.

 

While most renters pick up the gear themselves, delivery options are coming up. We are also creating a network of exchange locations where Renters and Owners can drop off and pick up kit at different times for maximum flexibility. The first “Hub” is at Cherry Duck in Wapping (E1W 1NA). More coming soon!

Have youinvested in kit? I have as well

From building my first “Steadicam” and crane in my kitchen to owning over £30.000 of gear, I have experienced what it is like to invest in kit. My work was very diverse (documentaries, advertising, narrative) and took me to pretty much all environments (from studios to the Amazon rainforest) for clients such as Adidas and Vice Media. So I still rented kit often while my own camera was gathering dust.

This is the reason why Aurélien and I launched MotionTribe. So Owners can generate more value with their kit securely and with ease. And so Renters can find gear closer to their location and at a great price.  Convenience!

Some of our members have made enough renting their kit to buy new gear, like Enak (in the video below) who rented out his Sony FS7 more than 30 times and bough a set of primes with the extra money. Check out the video of the Belgian community:

Meet the MotionTribe Community from MotionTribe on Vimeo.

As an owner you are always in control: you set the price and choose or not to accept a rental request. And since renters pay at the confirmation of the rental, owners are always paid.

We love our community

As our members often remind us, the hidden value of MotionTribe is the community. Renting from peers adds local creatives to your network and creates opportunities for collaboration.

You can also network with members and check out new gear at our regular free workshops and events. Our event partners already include Canon, Panasonic and Atomos and more are joining. Our first London event will be announced very soon so subscribe to our newsletteror follow on facebookif you don’t want to miss it!

Who is MotionTribe for and how can I join?

MotionTribe is a community designed for active camera operators, DoPs, filmmakers and film students. For the moment adding gear requires to be able to produce invoices (with or without VAT). Renting kit is open to any verified member.

We are active in London and in Belgium and you can create a free account today to start adding gear. For people outside these locations, please fill out the form on our website so we make sure to launch in your location soon!

Subscribe link

Rentals will be activated on the 27th of February to leave time to build up a good inventory first. We recommend owners to add their kit as soon as possible so you can quickly get reviews, which will really make you get more rentals on the long run. Also check our referral program to send rental discounts to invited friends and get discounts for yourself.

There will be a 20% discount on the platform for the first month so don’t forget MotionTribe for your upcoming projects 😉

Let’s meet

If you want to meet us directly, come say hello to our booth at BVE London 2018 (booth F.06)!

Also don’t miss our launch event, which will surely be a great place to network. The event date, location and partners will be announced soon.

Looking forward to meeting you,

Haroun Souirji

Cofounder

Leave a Reply