Jules.tv recently caught up with Ollie, owner and Chief Chimpanzeee at London hire firm Kitroom Monkey. Any company with a name like that deserves a visit.

What I like about KRM is they are happy to talk to and loan kit to young filmmakers, freelancers between contracts and for small projects.

Ollie started off as a mini-cam operator (he’s great for advice if you need to hire mini-cams for your next learner driver series). He later bought a couple of PD150 kits to hire out, growing and adding kit steadily from there to build his empire now based at London’s famous Ealing studios.

In this 5 mins interview we cover the Sony HVR-Z1u, HRV-Z7e, PMW-EX1 and the Red One camera. What’s clear is that going tapeless hasn’t yet got a hold, especially in broadcast TV production. There’s also a new wave of hirers making low budget Web Video - so golden oldies like the PD150/170 are still very much in demand. (This video was shot on my PD150 - I won’t be putting it in the recycling just yet).

Right now Kitroom Monkey are doing all kit at a massive 50 percent off until the end of January when the shooting season picks up. You can see the ratecard and more info at: www.kitroommonkey.co.uk