Equipment
Track camera gear and production equipment through the same sourcing lifecycle used for props — from vendor research to on-set use.
Two equipment systems
Studio Color separates equipment into two independent inventories designed for how each type is actually used on a production:
- Camera Equipment — Managed by the Camera department. Camera bodies, lenses, rigs, monitors, filters, and other optical or recording gear. Camera equipment is linked to scenes to track what gear is needed for specific setups.
- Production Equipment — Managed by the Production department (super admin level). Trucks, generators, trailers, craft services rigs, walkie-talkies, and other logistical gear. Production equipment is linked to locations to track what gear goes to each shooting location.
The equipment lifecycle
Both camera and production equipment use the same status flow:
The mechanics are identical to props — see the Props documentation for a full explanation of the status flow and sourcing process.
Camera Equipment
Categories
Camera equipment is grouped into categories for easy filtering and organization:
- Camera Bodies
- Lenses
- Camera Support (tripods, heads, sliders)
- Monitors and Displays
- Recording and Playback
- Filters and Optics
- Rigs and Mounts
- Other
Linking to scenes
From the camera equipment detail page, you can assign a piece of gear to one or more scenes. This populates the Current Scene view on set with the equipment needed for that scene and lets the camera department plan their gear pulls scene by scene.
Sources and rental pricing
Camera gear is frequently rented. Each potential source supports rental pricing fields: rental type, daily rate, and number of rental days. The system calculates total rental costs automatically for easy comparison between rental houses.
Production Equipment
Categories
Production equipment uses logistics-oriented categories:
- Trucks and Vehicles (production trucks, camera trucks)
- Generators
- Trailers (hair/makeup, wardrobe, production)
- Craft Services
- Communications (walkie-talkies, headsets)
- Catering Equipment
- Other
Linking to locations
Production equipment is linked to locations rather than scenes, because trucks, generators, and trailers go to a place, not a specific scene. From the production equipment detail page, you can assign gear to the locations where it will be stationed.
The production equipment list page has a location-grouped view that shows all gear assigned to each shooting location — useful for planning location logistics.
PDF exports
Both camera equipment and production equipment support PDF breakdown exports — a formatted document summarizing all equipment, their statuses, sources, and costs. These are useful for sharing with rental houses, insurance providers, or producers reviewing budgets.
Mobile access
The mobile app has dedicated screens for both camera equipment and production equipment under the Departments tab. Crew can browse equipment by scene (camera) or location (production), view source details, update statuses, and upload photos — all from the field.
Permissions
| Action | Who can do it |
|---|---|
| View camera equipment | All crew members |
| Create and edit camera equipment | Camera department editor+ |
| Delete camera equipment | Camera department admin+ |
| View production equipment | All crew members |
| Create, edit, and delete production equipment | Super admin only |