# Special equipment

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/special-equipment
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Nick Harty, Storiara

> Special equipment is the breakdown category for any gear a specific scene needs beyond the production's standard daily packages, such as a Technocrane, Steadicam, drone, camera car, process trailer, underwater housing, or extra lighting rigs. It is marked with a box in a paper breakdown and usually rented only for the days it is scheduled.

## Where special equipment comes from

Very few scripts say "Technocrane." The need usually comes from the director's plan for a scene, so the special equipment box on a [breakdown sheet](https://storiara.com/glossary/breakdown-sheet) is often filled in a second pass, after the director and DP talk through the [shot list](https://storiara.com/glossary/shot-list). Some scenes make it obvious from the text:

| Sc. | Script line | Likely special equipment | Also needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "High above the valley, we find a lone truck on the switchbacks." | drone | licensed drone pilot, flight permissions |
| 44 | "Maya dives into the quarry. Underwater, silence." | underwater housing, safety divers | water safety plan, [stunts](https://storiara.com/glossary/stunts) |
| 61 | INT./EXT. MAYA'S VOLVO - MOVING - NIGHT | process trailer, camera car | tow driver, police escort, road permit |
| 70 | "One unbroken move from the street, up the fire escape, into the window." | crane or Technocrane, remote head | crane tech, extra grips |
| 88 | barn fire at night | condor lifts, extra generator | electric crew, [special effects](https://storiara.com/glossary/special-effects) coordination |

Scene 61 ties into [picture vehicles](https://storiara.com/glossary/picture-vehicle) and [INT./EXT.](https://storiara.com/glossary/int-ext) scheduling, and scene 44 ties into safety. Special equipment rarely comes alone.

## Budget and schedule

Special equipment is where scheduling saves real money. If the Technocrane is needed for scenes 70, 71, and 12, and they're at three locations, that's three rental days plus travel and crew. If the [1st AD](https://storiara.com/roles/first-assistant-director) can put all three on one day, it's one. When you move a strip on the [stripboard](https://storiara.com/glossary/stripboard), check the special equipment box before you lock the day.

Specialty gear often brings people with it: a crane tech, a drone pilot, a [Steadicam operator](https://storiara.com/roles/steadicam-operator), safety divers. Those are labor lines in the budget too, and they show up on the call sheet.

## How it connects to equipment lists

The camera, grip, and electric departments build their base packages for the whole shoot. The special equipment box is the list of add-ons for specific days, and it becomes the day-player equipment section of the [equipment checklist](https://storiara.com/templates/equipment-checklist). The [key grip](https://storiara.com/roles/key-grip) and gaffer confirm quantities and rigging time.

## Mistakes

Not asking the director early is the big one. A breakdown done straight from the script will miss the dolly move planned on every dialogue scene in the diner. Another is forgetting that special equipment affects access. A crane won't fit up a narrow driveway, and a condor needs ground that can hold it. Put these on the tech scout list. Storiara's [equipment](https://storiara.com/feature/equipment) module groups gear into camera, lenses, lighting, sound, grip, and other, with cost, rate, and availability fields for each item.

## Frequently asked questions

### What counts as special equipment in a breakdown?

Anything outside the base camera, grip, and electric packages that you'd rent for particular scenes: cranes and remote heads, Steadicam, drones, camera cars and process trailers, cable cams, underwater housings, high-speed cameras, lens packages for one sequence, condors, and large generators.

### How is special equipment marked in a script breakdown?

In the traditional scheme, you draw a box around the line or word that implies the equipment. On the breakdown sheet it goes in the special equipment box with the scene number.

### Why track special equipment per scene instead of just renting it for the whole shoot?

Specialty gear often costs a lot per day and may need its own operator or technician. Knowing which scenes need it lets the 1st AD group those scenes onto as few days as possible, which keeps rental days down.