Sunbelt Rentals backs industry with latest grip investment

blog 25 Sep 2023

Crane shots have contributed to iconic moments in cinema history, with the largest crane shot featuring in the Guinness Book of Records to produce all-time feature film, Titanic. During production a normal crane with a reach of 80ft was adapted to have an expanded reach of almost 200ft. A gyro-stabilized camera was then mounted on the crane basket and the crane was able to move on tracks along the side of the ship in the water tank.

The demand for grip equipment is driving rental businesses to invest in the latest innovative cranes, to support customers on set. Sunbelt Rentals recognises this and so far, in 2023 has invested over £882,000 in state-of-the-art cranes for hire by the film and TV sector. The new fleet of equipment includes several Service vision Scorpio crane systems which are renowned for their smoothness and high precision performance in both low and high-speed movements.

The new models available are the Scorpio 17 which is a lightweight, three section telescopic crane built to take payloads of 60kg in under slung and 40kg in over slung, and the Scorpio 23L which allows soft, silent, and effective camera movements through the aluminium telescopic arms.

Sunbelt Rentals has also invested in the new Scorpio 38 crane which has four telescopic sections and allows 70kg as a maximum payload, keeping a perfect rigidity in its maximum extension.

In addition, Sunbelt Rentals has also added to its current fleet of Scorpio 45’s, supporting productions to achieve the prefect compromise, between maximum distance of travel, the best movement of the arms, and the highest possible load for running-in.

And, new this September is the E Scorpion, a compact, all-terrain vehicle, designed to carry the Scorpion 45 or the Scorpio 38 to hard to access locations, without noise or sound pollution. It’s 100% electrical, with a built-in charger that can be charged while operating the hydraulics or arm, ensuring that your production can continue to run on time and to schedule, while reducing carbon emissions on set, on location.

All three of the new Service vision cranes have been hired out almost as soon as they have been added to the Sunbelt Rentals fleet.

Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and the Sandman 2

The Scorpio 17 has been used on the Ghostbusters set, the Scorpio 23L has been used on the Stars Wars TV series and the Scorpio 38 was specifically purchased for use on the Sandman 2 set.

All of our cranes and grip solutions are supplied with our highly trained in-house technicians, who’ve supported productions across the world, often in the most complex of terrains and locations.

To find out more about Sunbelt Rentals’ new range of Scorpio cranes, and how they can help you take amazing camera shots, contact us today on gripbookings@sunbeltrentals.co.uk