Equipment provider Lighthouse Film Services, Bangkok, Thailand recently took delivery of Matthews Studio Equipment’s Intel-A-Jib and Rob Erik van Gelder, head of maintenance immediately set up an intense training session for their local crew.
“The rental system in Thailand is quite different from Europe and the USA,” van Gelder says. “Dry hire is not possible and there are very few freelance crews available. That means we have over 150 people permanently employed and divided in several lighting, grip and camera crews. Before any of them take a new piece of equipment, we set up training so that our crews have a library of knowledge as to the full value of each piece we have. Intel-A-Jib is the latest piece from Matthews and we wanted to make sure we are able to take full advantage of this new tool.”
“We needed a jib that was easy to setup and transport and did not require a big crew,” he explains. “These productions have limited resources. And they use lighter cameras so therefore it is a good choice.”
According to Matthews’ vice president of sales and marketing Robert Kulesh, who recently visited Lighthouse to personally check on the status of their delivery, “the importance of the Intel-A-Jib to their operation is key to the success of many of their client’s projects. Intel-A-Jib will set up in less than three minutes. And, the unique X-Box extrusion construction greatly reduces torqueing and twisting of the arm. The new optional four-foot extension to the arm greatly enhances the scope of the Intel-A-Jib’s functions.”
Intel-A-Jib is only the latest MSE addition for this relatively new company. Lighthouse Film Services started in 2005, a co-operation between several production companies with Somboon Piryapakdeekul (a well-known director of photography in Thailand). Their intention was to change how clients access production equipment. The mission was two-fold; upgrade the safety of electrical equipment by using internationally accepted lighting and wire systems, and providing high-end support equipment to the industry.
“A big part of this is MSE equipment,” van Gelder says. “From the start we had in our inventory Doorway Dollies, grip equipment and stands, Round-d-Round, straight and curved track, C-stands, Centipede and more. Intel-A-Jib was a no-brainer for us. We chose these pieces and MSE for their quality – because they are simply higher than other companies.”
Matthews Studio Equipment www.msegrip.com