Where it started

We're Jarrah and Orlando. We met at school, studied film together, and fell for it the way most people do, not in a lecture theatre, but on set, doing the actual work. The trouble with that work is the gear that makes it possible costs more than a student has. For a long time the thing standing between us and the shots in our heads was a price tag.

The people who kept the spark alive

What got us over the line was a little hire spot called Cine2481, tucked away in the Byron industrial estate. They didn't treat us like a credit risk, they treated us like filmmakers worth backing. One shoot it was four Astera tubes with a camera thrown in for a hundred bucks: enough to keep going when it easily could've fizzled out.

That generosity is the whole reason we're still doing this.

The gap they left

Cine has since moved up to Burleigh Heads, chasing the bigger sets and the bigger clients, fair enough, that's the industry. But it left a gap right where we came from: the students, the first-timers, the emerging creators around the Shire who just need good kit without the big-house price tag or the fine print built to catch you out.

Paying it forward

So that's what The Shire Film Hire is. We can't give it away the way Cine could for us, we've got to cover ourselves and make it worth the effort, but the everyday gear stays priced for students, and the high-end kit is there for when the budget's there.

Starting out, or already deep in it: we want the price of a camera to be the last thing that stops you shooting. Tell us what you're making and we'll help you build the right kit, we'll never sell you gear you don't need.