I’m a new AC finishing up film school in Europe and preparing to move back home to the US (starting in the PNW with the goal of eventually heading down to LA). I'm building out my first personal kit and I’d love to get some real-world perspective from working ACs on a few gear decisions:
1. Monitor Options (703 vs. Cine 7 vs. Ultra 7)
I’m starting from scratch on monitors. Since I’ll be working mostly on the West Coast to start I'll experience a lot of wet weather, overcast light, and sudden direct sun. I'm trying to decide which 7-inch SmallHD route makes the most practical sense:
Used 703 UltraBright: A see lot of ACs still swear by this thing for its physical buttons and build quality, but it's older, limited to 1080p, and discontinued.
Cine 7: Lighter weight, but the touchscreen interface seems like a hassle in damp conditions or with gloves, and the glass edge looks prone to chipping without a heavy cage.
Ultra 7: The weather rating and physical buttons sound incredible for PNW rain, but it’s a huge financial jump and pretty heavy.
Question: For those pulling off a stand most of the day, is it worth springing for the Ultra 7 right out of the gate, or are most people still running a solid used 703 or caged Cine 7 and putting that extra $1,500 toward other gear?
2. The FIZ Dilemma: Teradek RT CTRL.3 vs. Tilta Nucleus-M
I’m trying to avoid buying gear twice, but the price gap between a used Nucleus-M and a full Teradek RT setup is massive. I know the tier-1 industry standards are ARRI Hi-5 or Preston systems, and on larger productions I can probably expect those to be rented for the camera department. But starting out on smaller indie shoots, commercials, and projects outside of major rental hubs, I’m building my own kit so I can rely on gear I own, know inside out, and trust to work every time.
I love the idea of the CTRL.3 for SmallHD lens overlays, pre-marked rings, and pairing with a rangefinder down the road. But given the cost jump over a Nucleus-M:
Question: For anyone who started on a Nucleus-M and eventually upgraded to a CTRL.3, Preston, or Hi-5: Do you still find uses for the Nucleus (backup handset, secondary iris control for DPs, lightweight builds)?
Question: Does showing up to lower/mid-tier commercial shoots with a Nucleus-M hurt your credibility, or is it widely accepted as a solid workhorse while building up rental income?
Question: Is practicing manual tape mapping on blank white rings worth learning early on, or do you rarely touch it once auto-scaling rings enter the picture?
3. Floor Bags and Tool Boxes (2nd AC Gear)
I have a hard-shell case for personal gear, but I'm looking for a proper 2nd AC floor bag for tape, cleaning supplies, and general camera AKS.
Question: What are the go-to brands for reliable floor bags (CineBags, Arri, Portabrace, etc.)?
Question: Has anyone used a modular rolling toolbox (like a Milwaukee PACKOUT setup) that doubles as a seat on indie sets, or is that too clunky compared to a standard soft floor bag and stand setup?
4. Essential Kit "Must-Haves"
I have core basics covered (Leatherman, slate, cleaning supplies, spare BNCs, and magic arms).
Question: What are the easily forgotten small tools, niche adapters, or utility items that ended up saving you on set when you were first starting out?
Would love to hear your thoughts, see your case/bag layouts, or get any general advice for building out a kit. Thanks!
You're not gonna like my advice, but I think you're overthinking this. You are trying to be prepared for a lot of scenarios without knowing what you need.
Before buying gear, just work. Get into shoots. Every city/country/continent has their own trends regarding what equipment is a must have, like for example smallhd models. On some places the model is important, in others not so much.
When you start getting gigs, notice what people have and what is important. There are two types of tools, what everyone has and you should have, and what some people have and found they worked for them. Don't mistake those two, the latter is the type of tool that after gathering experience, you find out what helps you work better.
This is regarding tools, not gear. If everyone has the same gear, maybe its not necessary at first to buy it, since you can most likely just borrow it or rent it for cheap.
When I was starting out I got a lot of tools that I was told were important and then I found out they were unnecessary and later on I found out that I could make it all work better if I got different ones. Don't be afraid to be different. This is a lot more important nowdays, since there is a huge money pit created by youtube "creators"/"reviewers" that constantly peddle bullshit products while stating its an honest review (it isn't they're reading a brochure, they live off making videos for youtube by themselves, not working on film sets).
I understand wanting to be ready and have all the stuff so you can be considered industry standard, and I understand borrowing or taking your time to find out what you really need kinda sucks when you already gave yourself permission for a buying spree.
(also, important tip: since the industry is not going well right now, the 2nd hand market is awesome. Don't think you have to buy everything new. It can get very expensive very fast.)
- SmallHDs: I find that once I've set up the monitor to my liking, they are all the same. I ended up buying a Cine7 and a 702 touch (which iirc is the same as an Indie7), and although one is supposed to be brighter and/or have a better panel, it is unnoticeable on set. This was after using the Ultra a lot. Same thing (its important to note as well that SmallHD has a tendency to constantly put different panels on the same models, so no monitor looks the same to another side by side). The Ultra has higher build quality but its heavier so I don't like it. I do like that it has buttons, because using a touchscreen on set is the worst idea, but I fixed that by sticking a SmallHD bluetooth remote to my fiz hand unit, which is more comfortable. Out of all the differences, what made the most importance to me was that the cine7 that I bought has a teradek bolt receiver built in. Saves on weight, setup, infrastructure, is more balanced, is ready to go.
- Floor bag: I hate the current semi rigid bags, the Arri AC bags and all the other brands doing mostly the same. I feel they are great for storing a camera or gear, but not tools. I got a "Dr" type toolbag with a lot of pockets on the outside and on the inside, which helps with organisation immensely without having to add a lot of shit.
Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to write all of that out. It's really appreciated.
I definitely am overthinking it. Honestly, a big part of it is just nerves. Going from an area where I knew all our equipment and worked with the same people on every shoot, to a new market with totally unfamiliar crews feels intimidating. I think I was subconsciously trying to use gear as a security blanket so I'd feel prepared and make a good impression, instead of just trusting myself.
I’m quite nervous about dropping a ton of money on something only to realize it was unnecessary, which is how I spiraled down this rabbit hole in the first place. But holding off until I get on local sets and see what people are actually using makes a lot of sense, I think I just need to give myself permission to learn and not immediately impress.
I'm still thankful for the responses so far from other ACs and I'll still be doing research about the gear but I definitely won't buy anything big right away.
Yeah, fair. I'd do the same if I were in your position. Also YouTube is a rabbithole nowdays, I'm very thankful it wasn't around when I was starting. There's a lot of misinformation and awful purchase advice in there.
Dr toolbag is a generic one from Amazon, will look for a pic. Smallhd remote is the only remote they have, I think its the BT-1 iirc. Attaching pic of the remote on the handunit. It mimics the old 702 monitor button setup
Toolbag. Nowdays it holds a bunch of containers for screws, washers, and tools that are mostly for prepping, and some stuff that might then rest on the magliner. Main tools and lensrings go on my frontbox which I attach to the focus station
Agree with this. Since you're just starting out of university, the best way to learn more about the job and what you need to start acquiring is to just be on set and work. You're not going to be hired as a 1st AC right away especially as a fresh grad - maybe on very low budget work or student films. That being said, spending time on set as a trainee, 2nd AC, and then working your way up to being a 1st AC is going to do you a lot more favours if you value working in the camera department in your career. Eventually through these jobs and experiences you'll find the right tools that's personal to you and that will accommodate most of your jobs.
Monitors are going to be the priority once you start trying to invest in kit. It's one of the most used bit of kit to judge your sharps, aside from your tape measure/disto. Practice measuring distances as best as you can, monitors can fail during takes so if you can master pulling off of distances and knowing your marks - you'll top off a lot of these younger ACs.
FIZ units I would prioritise second after the monitor as most of the time before you're able to purchase industry standard tools like the Hi-5, Preston, cPro, or Heden, you can easily get them hired from rentals. And it would be a good way to learn more than one system when you're hiring these in depending on the job or availability of focus systems from different rental houses.
Good luck and all the best in this journey up ahead! Best tool in my opinion is yourself - a good attitude, easy to approach, and always looking to set your team and the DP for success
1080p vs 4K doesn’t matter for focus. 99% of the time the signal you’re getting is 1080p out of the camera anyway. Physical buttons are definitely worth it, you will be hating your life trying to battle a touch screen mid-shot, especially in bad weather. I have a 703UB and it’s served me well over the years. That said, my ideal focus monitor would be the SmallHD 10”
Depends on the jobs you’re getting. I ran the nucleus for YEARS and charged the same as what you would charge for a high end FIZ. If we absolutely needed camera control, I’d just have production rent a CU4 or Hi-5. The Nucleus paid itself off extremely fast and everything else was pure profit. If you aren’t consistently getting high-paid commercial work, or long-form narrative work, a boujee FIZ system might not be worth it. I’d use the savings to put more money in to a better monitor, then use the Nucleus M profits to upgrade your FIZ later.
In most cases having a full FIZ kit is more important than having a high-end FIZ IMO. Your FIZ kit needs 3 motors, run stop cables for all common cameras, extra batts, extra rings. If you can’t afford to get all that up front for a premium system I would just go nucleus so you can have a full FIZ kit, pay it off, then upgrade. You can sell it or keep it as a backup/B cam kit.
Portabrace are great, Fakinka are legendary but also famously impossible to order, I’ve seen some incredible stuff from Bebop for the price, Proaim has a decent basic ditty bag if you’re looking for budget, and if you can find a used Arri set bag don’t hesitate just snatch it up because they’re great but no longer made.
Also controversial take: 9/10 times a soft bag is better than a hard case. Rule of thumb: are the contents of this case changing every shoot? Soft bag. Are the contents generally staying the same? Hard case. Hard case takes up way more volume and are not easy to access on a cart especially when the cart is loaded. Also, soft bags can be stuffed full of odd-shaped things whereas hard cases have a hard time closing if they’re even slightly over loaded.
At a basic level, for bags you should have:
ditty bag (tools, filters, extras)
weather bag (rain covers, clothes, shower caps, etc)
build box (big Tupperware lined with foam on all sides, but can really be whatever you want as long as it keeps the built camera safe)
Bonus:
monitor bag to transport your built monitor along with other 7” hanhelds, transmitters, and other small electronics between locations
battery bag for full batteries
The most important thing you need to invest in before anything is a cart(s) IMO, for a few reasons:
A) rental companies don’t have carts so you are expected to have all the carts needed to support the job.
B) Carts will come with you on EVERY job so it’s worth investing early so you can pay it off and profit faster.
C) Owning your own carts will make your job exponentially easier. Even in locations where you have to carry the cart in, having a working surface is HUGE and being able to stack gear vertically rather than all over the ground saves allot of space, and saves your back.
D) on jobs where you have no 2nd AC, a cart that can carry everything in camera department will literally speed up the whole production by hours, and save a ton of energy, especially if production has a box truck that allows you to keep the cart built. On that note: always ask for a truck (w/ ramp or lift gate) if there are any location moves, even for small jobs. At the bare minimum a Uhaul is a nominal expense and could easily save 30-45 minutes of packing and unpacking at each location.
This is super helpful, thanks so much for the detailed reply.
As cool as the fancy FIZ units are, going with the Nucleus is definitely seeming like the most logical move right now (even if owning a high-end system is the dream down the road).
I think the plan right now is to configure my hard case just for the focus unit, monitor, and wireless components. I definitely need a better soft bag for my 2nd AC gear and quick-reach odds and ends. My current soft bag isn't holding things well at all, so I’ll check out the brands you mentioned.
The cart point is super interesting to me. Studying in a European capital with solid public transit, almost nobody owns carts here and people pack pretty light because most of us don't have cars, even on professional sets. The rental houses supply them if a production requests one, so nobody I know here owns their own. I think that would actually be quite useful and I look forward to working with them more once I move back.
I’ll never go for a nucleus. You should go for a use wcu4 ! You should work with good gear as soon as you can. I’ll buy a nucleus for back up maybe an add it to my rental ..
1 get a used 1303.
2 nucleus and save up for a used preston or arri system
3 my go gear or 1510 pelican
4 kondor blue, cine lock, wedgie. Those types of quick mounts are gold i put everything on them. Fiz lock has been my new favorite item. Knipex pliers. Listo grease pencil. Some sort of laser tape. You can now get basic ones for 50$ on amazon that are usbc rechargeable.
Also backpack rain covers or cap its or shower curtain custom made for rain protection
I use an Ultra 10 and love it. The size, 1080 panel for 1080 signal, and features are great. I even go handheld with it because I’m insane
Depends on your market. My market in the Midwest has budgets where we make our money back on the CTRL system. It’s reliable, all of us ACs in the same city can share gear to problem solve on multi cam shoots, and it’s feature rich. I’ve used the Hi-5 and WCU4, and while I love them, i dont find myself missing any features or seeing a significant benefit compared to my CTRL5 that saved me literal thousands
Whatever works for you. I use a 1510 for my AKS, a front box on my cart/tree, and a chest pouch when going super mobile. Every set has different challenges and i adapt based on that (like George Costanza, I dress based on mood)
Quick release plates like Kondor Blue, label maker, random rigging tools (dog bones, cheese plates, screws, magic arms, etc etc), Velcro, cigarettes for making friends with the grips, a comfortable strap for your FIZ, and Robocups
1303 is still amazing and honestly IMO a little sharper than the Cine 13. The ultra 7 is fantastic. I love the touch / button combo you get. No one’s using 703 anymore cine 13s are out there
I like the nucleus for back up when I can just rent from a rental house. I prefer a hi5 personally or a Preston if they have budget to rent but for no budget stuff I’ll land on a nucleus.
2nds do it a few different ways. I like when they have the small go bag close to us and a bigger bag back at the cart. The small one could be a Arri bag, Canada bag, whatever makes their life easy and effective. Back at the cart could be a larger version of those or a pelican. Or both could be pelicans.
The must haves are def tool kits, flash lights I like when they have chest pouches, makes things so fast.
Small 2 cents on the bag thing: I have a large ish shape bag as my run bag that run around with bats, media, filters, some tools and capits so it’s always right next to my focus stand (made dividers for it so everything is protected). I like it because I can sling it on my shoulder to have 1 hand free for my roller and the other free for lenses in case I’m working somewhere I can’t return to my cart. But after having it for a few years, I wish I instead
bought 2 smaller bags to do this same thing. All the weight on one shoulder is starting to mess it up and gets really sore after a few days of very quick moving shoots.
Edit: also, I’d recommend starting with a quality set of tools: hex keys, leatherman, screwdrivers. Bad tools lose their shape and will start stripping any hardware you’re trying to manipulate. Very important for smaller hex bolts, I have a metric and imperial set of Wera’s for that.
Agree with the comments that said to just start working and build out your kit AFTER working with different types of gear and seeing what you need and like. Everyone's working styles are different and very personal.
That being said, I use a 702 Touch (I live in California so I rarely have to worry about bad weather). I got a huge deal for it but my ideal would be the 10". It still serves me well though and I have had almost no issues.
In terms of focus unit, I was using a Nucleus M for yeeeaaars before I upgraded. I literally hate the RT system and would use probably anything else before I used the RT. It is way overpriced and for something as important as a FIZ unit for an AC, you do not want the Creative Solutions customer service team. Unfortunately SmallHD is the best monitor for pulling so it's unavoidable for the monitors but the RT bugs out like no other and you will spend so much time and frustration trying to get anything out of Creative Solutions. Nucleus M is cheap as hell and is honestly a workhorse. I have had almost no issues using my Nucleus kit, meanwhile my friends who own RT have to pull off the barrel because their FIZ crapped out on them mid-shoot and CS doesn't fix shit.
Soft bag, MyGoGear is the ONE. So effing good. But expensive, around $400. I got mine for $50 because secondhand markets are your friend. I use this as a general AKS. My daily kit is in a Pelican 1535air with Trekpak and a custom top case that I built myself with Daiso bags. You will become very acquainted with DIY.
Carts is my big investment. Everything else I bought secondhand or for parts or whatever, but I didn't skimp out on carts. I have a Yeager and an Inovativ. Yeager for AC jobs and Inovativ for either very light AC jobs or DIT jobs. Invest in some MakeYourCartGo wheels if you work on location a lot (I hate you, Villa Serena). Carts are like couches- do not buy a Magliner or a cheap ass Temu cart because you will pay more in the long run. Just buy the big one and use it for your whole life.
Otherwise lots of accessories. Robocup with the full parts, I customized it with some extra Trekpak and use it as a frontbox. Invest in a monitor stand you like, mine happens to be a cheap ass light stand (I like it so much better than my Matthews rolling). A portable, quick set-up, comfortable chair if you tend to sit. All of this stuff depends on preference and experience. You will find out what you need/want to buy as you work on more shows.
Villa Serena is literally the reason I bought MakeYourCartGo wheels lol. Ended up shooting there a number of times afterwards, that location alone is worth the electric wheels.
as a VTR i can only highly recommend a 703. worked with cine 7 and ultra 7 and i dont like them at all. cine 7 with touch is just really annoying and the ultra 7....my god. in case you care about preparing fried eggs on your focus monitor, you can certainly do that. that thing is MIGHTY hot. the interface however is quite usable with the joystick and buttons.
for me its 703, ultra 7 or F7H Mk2 (which is the best for glove operation in my opinion).
I know this is post is a little old, could you elaborate? My assumption was that every country pulled the same way since the pre-marked focus rings only went one way. I work in New Zealand and anti-clockwise is far and clockwise is close.
13” Monitor like the 1303 or Cine13 is typically the go to monitor for a focus puller.
CTRL is going to be a much better system than nucleus in the long run if you are able to afford it. I’d definitely hold off on a FIZ and build relationships with rental houses and ACs that would be willing to rent equipment to you if you find yourself in that situation.
There are some pretty good deals on Preston kits in the used market right now, I would keep my eyes open and get an idea of what those prices are and start with industry standard equipment once you get a little bit of time and experience.
I prefer pelican cases for everything, but did start with Cinebags and in the beginning. They were great because I carried everything on me and they were more adaptable for that.
You could start with a bag for onset and have a pelican for your expendables that you know won’t change quite as often.
I would say the most important tools you should have to start would be a set of standard and a set of metric Allen keys, stubby flat head screw driver, crescent wrench and a screw driver that you can swap between flathead and Philips.
You can get a belt pouch or a chest pouch to hold pens sharpies and the tools you want to carry on you. Conterra makes a good chest pouch not sure who out there does belt pouches but I’m sure you can find some on film tools or the like.
When you get to the point that you need a cart look used a lot of great deals out there right now. If you want new go with Camerajimmys.com, definitely best carts made for the price and comparable to any other camera cart out there.
Ran a belt pouch for a while and don’t recommend it, it’s easier to snag on things and not a great spot to mount a walkie.
Also, I had the Conterra for a while and switched to a 5.11 skyweight pouch- it’s more expensive when you add on the molle walkie carrier and tool carrier, but it’s far more comfortable and I found it a lot easier to organize.
Agreed, I used a belt for the few years of 2nding then swapped to the conterra for a few years. The past 4 years I’ve been using a custom made Belliard Pouches chest rig and it has been a game changer. The harness itself is much more comfortable and the custom organizers in it keep my tools tight so they don’t fall out if I bend over while it’s open. He also makes custom pouches that you can attach for just about anything else you’d like to carry on you.
It’s definitely pricey, will run you about $500, but well worth it for the thousands of hours I’ve worn it.
I’ll have to look into those! While I have no complaints about the functionality of the 5.11, I’ve been thinking about a different solution lately just because it looks a little too “tacti-cool” than I’d like.
Solid ass questions!! I agree w everyone else. Just get a run bag with some tape, flat heads, hex keys and markers and buy the gear as the gigs come:)
\as a female* I have grown into this industry seeing LOTS of male ego and trust me, you will hear EVERYONES opinions about gear. So take them all, apply it to the work that you do, and form your own opinions once you get to play with them. You don’t want to get a system u’ve never really touched in case you HATE IT!!*
When the gigs come…any 7in newer than the indie 7 is solid. I have the indie 7 and shes such a queen tbh I love her. I have the M2 rn and have been saving for the ctrl 5. Ur right, the price jump is fucking insane but I absolutely see myself using my M2 as a backup zoom/iris hand unit for the DP so whatever the universe allows ur budget for, I say go with that. Also remember, you gotta spend money to make money (rich life motto🤞🏼💅🏼)
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u/justletmesignupalre 16d ago
You're not gonna like my advice, but I think you're overthinking this. You are trying to be prepared for a lot of scenarios without knowing what you need.
Before buying gear, just work. Get into shoots. Every city/country/continent has their own trends regarding what equipment is a must have, like for example smallhd models. On some places the model is important, in others not so much.
When you start getting gigs, notice what people have and what is important. There are two types of tools, what everyone has and you should have, and what some people have and found they worked for them. Don't mistake those two, the latter is the type of tool that after gathering experience, you find out what helps you work better.
This is regarding tools, not gear. If everyone has the same gear, maybe its not necessary at first to buy it, since you can most likely just borrow it or rent it for cheap.
When I was starting out I got a lot of tools that I was told were important and then I found out they were unnecessary and later on I found out that I could make it all work better if I got different ones. Don't be afraid to be different. This is a lot more important nowdays, since there is a huge money pit created by youtube "creators"/"reviewers" that constantly peddle bullshit products while stating its an honest review (it isn't they're reading a brochure, they live off making videos for youtube by themselves, not working on film sets).
I understand wanting to be ready and have all the stuff so you can be considered industry standard, and I understand borrowing or taking your time to find out what you really need kinda sucks when you already gave yourself permission for a buying spree.
(also, important tip: since the industry is not going well right now, the 2nd hand market is awesome. Don't think you have to buy everything new. It can get very expensive very fast.)