A sloppy list gets paid for on load-out day: a fixture with no stand, distro that is too tight, and two phone calls to the rental house to catch up. Here is how to build a lighting list that holds, and what Cinecyclop does for you.
Short answer. A list that works is sorted by position (fixtures, grip, distro, consumables), every fixture carries its accessories, and the quantities are firm. Cinecyclop starts from a manufacturer catalogue, offers the accessories made for each fixture, reads the list back before you send it, and produces a PDF the rental house can follow without calling you. Web, iOS and Android.
A good list is a sorted list
The classic trap is the flat spreadsheet where everything follows in the order it came to you. The rental house cannot pull from that, and you cannot see your own gaps. Sort by position, the way the truck will be loaded.
- Fixtures, by family: LED, HMI, tungsten, tubes, with wattages and the accessories of each.
- Lighting grip: stands, boom arms, mafers, flags, cutters, negative fill.
- Distribution: cable, boxes, dimmers, generators. Enough to feed the rig without running at the limit.
- Consumables: gels, gaffer tape, batteries. The most commonly missing group, and the one that costs half a day.
Where lists break
Accessories, nearly always. You order a fixture and forget the stand, the cable or the barndoors that go with it. Those are lines you know by heart, which is exactly why you never write them down.
Then distribution. The fixture list looks great, but nothing feeds it properly, and you find out on location. Then readability: vague references and soft quantities, and the rental house calls three times to work out what you actually want.
Building the list in Cinecyclop
It all starts from a dated project, with the production, the cinematographer and the collaborators attached. You hang a lighting list on it, plus a camera list and a grip list if you need them, all living in the same folder.
To fill it, you type the way you speak. « 6x skypanel s60 » is enough: the app reads the quantity, finds the reference in the catalogue and files it under the right family. It then offers the accessories made for that fixture, grid, softbox, honeycomb, barndoors, chimera. You tick what you are actually taking. If you already have a list, you paste it or import the rental house PDF instead of retyping everything.
Before sending, the check reads it all back and shows what is off: missing accessories, set rules (a SkyPanel hung overhead wants a barrel clamp, a safety cable and a clamp per head), quantities that look too low, references worth verifying together. The report runs locally on the device. You fix, you save a revision, you export the PDF.
Every step, screen by screen, is in the equipment list guide.
Frequently asked questions
How should a shooting equipment list be structured?
Sort by position rather than in a flat spreadsheet: fixtures by family with their wattages and accessories, lighting grip (stands, flags, cutters), distribution (cable, boxes, dimmers) and consumables (gels, gaffer tape, batteries). Every fixture should appear with its accessories and a firm quantity.
What are the common mistakes on a lighting list?
Forgotten accessories come first: a fixture ordered without its stand, cable or barndoors. Then undersized distribution, which only shows up once you are on location. Finally the list that the rental house cannot read, with vague references and missing quantities, which multiplies the back and forth.
Can a PDF list be imported into Cinecyclop?
Yes. You import a rental quote or a colleague’s list and choose what you keep. It is the fastest way to start from an existing base or to check a list you received. You can also paste text in the « 6x skypanel s60 » format, one line per item.
Does Cinecyclop work on a computer and on set?
Yes. The app exists on web, on iPhone and iPad, and on Android. You prep quietly from the computer, then read the list back on your phone between two takes, on the same synced project.
See also: Equipment list guide · Cinecyclop vs Camlist · About Cinecyclop.