In 2013 I departed Focus24 (F24) to work at Goldsmiths,
University of London. Back then F24 was based in a relatively new building on
Central Street in the Old Street area of East London – a far cry from the
humble beginnings on Hoxton Square. Today I have made the journey to Acton in
West London to visit F24’s new digs on the well-known Park Royal Industrial
Estate. Park Royal is home to some of the leading film equipment companies such
as Panalux, Cirrolite, Take 2, VMI, SOLA Lighting and the now well-established
studio facility Black Island Studios. The purpose of my visit – as well as to see F24’s new home – is to help establish industry contact and also to see what
the latest trends are in the world of camera equipment hire.
The building is situated in amongst many like it – however
on entering I was greeted by some well-dressed men who where pleased to see
people where arriving. I signed in and made my way into a large function room
with drinks and a huge flat screen TV (England V’s Croatia world cup
semi-final). I got chatting to an old colleague I worked with on a short a few years back and then Ben Mitchell, F24’s owner, gave us a whirlwind tour of the facilities. Consisting of two large prep rooms, Lens
collimation space (Gecko collimator & dark out room with projector) and a
massive kit room floor with its own bay for an off road vehicle
purpose built for filming. The bookings team have their own office and the
hallways are decked out with inspiring film posters and comfy chairs for
hanging out on. The space is brand spanking new and purpose built for the accommodation
of pre-shoot test crews and equipment hire builds and processing to the highest
standard.
Over the years since working at F24 I have increasingly
noticed the name appear in credits of some of the most creative and technically
excellent productions I have seen in commercials, music promos and
independent films. When F24 acquired Filmscape Media in 2017, a well-established
equipment hire company previously based at Pinewood studios and recently
relocated to Acton, the F24 family expanded. With the addition of Motion24 and rummors of U24 in the pipeline, it seems F24 are well placed to weather the future. With other
well-established companies just a stone throw away (Panavision, VMI, ARRI
Rental etc.) this will be a space to watch in the world of film equipment hire over the coming years.
Web links:
Focus 24 http://focus24.tv/
Motion 24 https://motion24.tv/
F24 on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/focus24hire/
Other web links:
Black Island Studio http://www.islandstudios.net/black-island-studios/
VMI https://vmi.tv/
Panalux http://www.panalux.biz/
Cirrolite http://www.cirrolite.com/
Panavision https://uk.panavision.com/
ARRI Rental https://www.arrirental.co.uk/
Filmscape https://www.filmscapemedia.com/
Take2 http://take2films.co.uk/
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