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Low-cost productions are a reality for all production companies. The cost of 10-ton package trucks and the drivers required to operate them is greater than the budgets that these jobs can accommodate. We appreciate that sometimes the driver is making more than the producer and, for that matter, more than we are getting for the gear.

Often, the only solution is to rent gear ala carte and stuff it into a cube van. From your perspective, this approach is less than ideal because with pickups and returns, a cube van and at least one production assistant are required for minimally three days. The equipment itself gets stacked like cordwood making it inefficient for crew to handle, and often resulting in unnecessary damage. For us, it creates more work not only to pull and restock the equipment, but also to affect minor repairs and cleaning that inevitably results from the gear being handled in this manner.

In an attempt to create a solution that works for everyone, we have retrofitted AE 0.5, the Studio Truck, to provide a package that offers more gear than is usually ordered for these projects, at a very reasonable price.

Highlights:
6500-watt generator at no extra cost
1.2K and 575w HMI lights included
Driver overtime cannot exceed $27/hour
Package truck can transport a dolly, if required