Camera Foundation
- Lesson3 of 8
- Time50 min
Camera prep at a rental house
Outcome
Check a camera package against a kit list at prep, find what's missing or faulty, and record it.
Mapped to 3 ScreenSkills checklist lines
- ScreenSkills second assistant camera / clapper loader skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Keep an inventory and consumables list for camera equipment"
- ScreenSkills second assistant camera / clapper loader skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Deal quickly with faulty gear by repairing it or ordering replacements"
- ScreenSkills camera trainee skills checklist · Core responsibilities: "Flag faulty equipment, report losses or breakages"
ScreenSkills checklists are guides, not accreditation. This course is not endorsed by ScreenSkills.
Watch
2 films · about 37 minutes
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More like this: Focus pulling (1st AC) path
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What prep is
- Before a shoot, the camera team spends one or more prep days at the rental house. They build every camera, test every lens and accessory, and check the package against the kit list.
- Whatever you sign for, you're responsible for. If it's missing or broken at prep, it's the rental house's problem. If you find it on set, it's the production's.
How to check a package
- Work from the kit list, line by line. Open every case. Count every item: cables, plates, batteries, filters, caps.
- Power everything up. Test every battery on the charger. Test every cable, end to end.
- Check serial numbers where the list gives them. Note any scratch, dent or fault, with a photo, before you sign.
- Label cases and their contents as your 2nd AC asks. Consumables (tape, cleaning kit, report books, marker pens) go on a separate list.
- Anything missing or faulty goes on the prep sheet and to the rental house before the package leaves.
Check
3 questions drawn from 8 · pass mark 80% · safety-critical questions must be right · 3 attempts in 24 hours · new questions each time
Watch the films to open the check.
Do
Check a package against its list · 15 minutes
The kit list says: 1 camera body; 1 baseplate and 15mm rods; 3 prime lenses (25, 35, 50) with front and rear caps; 1 matte box; 1 follow focus; 1 on-board monitor with 2 SDI cables; 6 batteries and 1 charger; 2 media cards and 1 reader. What you found: camera body, baseplate, rods; 25 and 50 lenses with caps, 35 lens without a rear cap; matte box; follow focus; monitor with 1 SDI cable; 6 batteries (one shows 0% after 30 minutes on charge); charger; 2 cards; no card reader.
How it's marked
- Finds all four: 35 rear cap, second SDI cable, dead battery, card reader
- Raises them with the rental house before signing out
- Records them on the prep sheet
Met or Not yet, with a comment from a trained reviewer. Until accounts open, open the model answer after you submit and mark your own work against it.
Model answer (open after you submit)
Missing: rear cap for the 35mm, one SDI cable, the card reader. Faulty: one battery not charging. Note all four on the prep sheet, tell the 2nd AC, and get them replaced or credited by the rental house before the package is signed out.
Reflect
Record
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Moving on doesn't complete a lesson. A lesson is complete when the films are watched, the check is passed and the task is marked Met.