Vote for VMI Offset Scheme for 2023 Climate Neutrality 25 March 2024 Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VMI_2023_VOTE VMI’s plans to offset the 105T of CO2e carbon carbon emissions generated in 2023 an Albert-certified offset scheme run by Ecology and we are inviting our clients, staff and other … Read more
VMI SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES 5-PAGES IN ZERB 15 February 2024 Link: https://vmi.tv/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/02/Zerb-Feature-on-VMI-Spring-2024.pdf We are excited to share that VMI’s climate-friendly actions were recently featured in a 5-page case study in the Spring edition of Zerb Magazine, the official magazine of the GCT! … Read more
The Winners Announced – Sustainable Film Competition 22 January 2024 VMI and Sustainable Film arranged a competition to offer free camera and grip equipment and the results are now in…
VMI 2023 Client Survey – great results 17 January 2024 In December 23/January 2024, we held our 16th annual client satisfaction survey, asking all VMI clients who had hired from us in the previous 12 months exactly what they thought … Read more
Sustainable Film Competition 21 December 2023 CALLING ALL SUSTAINABLY MINDED FILMMAKERS! 2023 was a difficult year for our industry, to get 2024 started on the right note, VMI and Sustainable Film are offering 2 productions the … Read more
VMI Price Match – You won’t hire it cheaper. Full Stop. 6 November 2023 Find a better price elsewhere? Just send us a competitor’s quote and we will match it. You will also help to save the planet, since we are the only Albert Certified Carbon Neutral rental company. VMI Price Match commitment – we will price match against any other UK Rental company, subject to availability.
VMI Presents our Christmas Client Secret Santa! 31 October 2023 Your Chance to Save up to £500 on Your Next Hire We understand that this year has presented some unique challenges, with the writer’s strikes and the rising cost of … Read more
VMI Open House Event… In Pictures 28 September 2023 With the degree of weirdness for 2023 being off the weirdness scale, we decided to host an ‘Open House’ in September for our clients and it was a great success with lots of new and existing kit on show. Here is the story… in pictures!
VMI Publishes Sustainability Film 13 September 2023 VMI publishes a short film to show our approach to sustainability and how we have reengineered our business to become an Albert-approved Carbon-Neutral rental company since 2022. We know that … Read more
VMI Open House Day 13 Sep – Book Now 24 August 2023 A lot has changed in 2023, so instead of waiting until December for our annual new products day, we are hosting an ‘Open House’ in September with lots of new … Read more
VMI awards Best Shorts award at KIFF 2023 24 July 2023 VMI loves to support new entrants to the industry and after a successful inaugural Kingston International Film Festival (KIFF) in June 2022, VMI are proud to be continuing their support … Read more
VMI SPONSORS CINEMATOGRAPHY 2023 AWARD AT PORTSMOUTH UNIVERSITY 23 July 2023 We never forget that we were all once students – even James Cameron and Martin Scorsese had to learn the art of film craft once! VMI are proud to have … Read more
The VMI Value-added Factor 15 May 2023 Seriously, why choose one rental company over any other? We think that exemplary customer service, delivered entirely carbon-neutrally and which is competitively priced are our value-added-factors. Ready why here:
VMI has our own Brazilian Rainforest (really!) 28 April 2023 This is not quite as crazy as it sounds but there genuinely is a region of Brazilian rainforest which we have paid to be caretakers of, as part of an … Read more
Judgement Day – VMI Publishes Lens Comparison Videos 12 April 2023 FINALLY, THE FILMS ARE READY! In a break from tradition demos, VMI invited 40 camera department professionals to come and shoot their own tests across full frame lenses from Cooke, … Read more
VMI IS ALBERT-CERTIFED CARBON NEUTRAL 3 April 2023 VMI paid to offset our 121.4T of CO2e carbon emissions generated in 2022 to invest in a project to preserve the Brazilian Rainforest to avoid deforestation over a 30 year … Read more
VMI Publishes its third Carbon Audit 3 April 2023 VMI has completed its third Carbon audit, which confirms that CO2 emissions have reduced for a 3rd year and are now at half of 2019 levels, two full years ahead … Read more
VMI’s clients win 3 awards at the Royal TV Society Awards. 30 March 2023 A huge recognition to three of VMI’s clients who won awards yesterday at the RTS awards for Dodger (Children’s Programme Award); Brassic (Best Comedy Drama) and Tinder Swindler (Best Single … Read more
VMI Halves Carbon Emissions since 2019 13 March 2023 VMI has completed its third Carbon audit, which confirms that CO2 emissions have reduced for a 3rd year and are now at half of 2019 levels, two full years ahead … Read more
VMI is awarded Highly Commended in West London Business Awards 2023 2 March 2023 VMI, a has been awarded Highly Commended for Park Royal Business of the Year and named a finalist for Race To Zero Company of the Year in the West London … Read more
Not Another Boring Lens Comparison Event Mar 7/8, Acton 2 March 2023 In a break from tradition demos, VMI would like camera department professionals to come and see some of our new FF lenses and help to create a ‘real world’ comparison … Read more
VMI Website History – 1995-2023 1 February 2023 Few will realise that VMI’s website is now on its 5th version and thanks to Google’s cache facility, we can share some of these versions with you to show you how our website has evolved.
VMI Sponsors Year 2 of KIFF Film Festival 31 January 2023 VMI loves to support new entrants to the industry and is a founder member of a brand new film festival which started last year. The Kingston International Film Festival aims … Read more
2022 VMI Annual Client Survey – Best Ever Results 27 January 2023 In December/January 2023, we held our 15th annual client satisfaction survey, asking all VMI clients who had hired from us in the previous 12 months exactly what they thought about … Read more
Building a circular economy into every business 2 January 2023 We all like the idea of sustainable business and sustainable living but what about adopting sustainable techniques in an office? Barry Bassett from VMI was thinking about this when he … Read more
VMI is Double Winner at 2022 West London Business Awards 31 December 2022 VMI Named Park Royal Business of the Year For Leading On Climate Change and Barry Bassett is named West London Business Leader of the Year. The actions and leadership of … Read more
VMI’s Christmas-themed New Products Day was a great success 24 December 2022 We arranged an amazing event in early December 2022, which was superbly received, attended by several hundred visitors and above all, was great fun! Instead of a full written account, … Read more
VMI New Products Day 6/7/8 Dec. Limited Availability 1 November 2022 *** FREE EVENT – LIMITED AVAILABILITY *** VMI’s biannual New Products Day is this week! This is a big deal for us, as we only host this once every 2 … Read more
Excellent Bristol Lighting Event Held in October 26 October 2022 VMI held a very successful lighting event at the brand-new Boomsatsuma studios in Brislington, Bristol on 25 October 2022. Thanks for running the led lighting day in Bristol, which was … Read more
It all started with a comment… 7 September 2022 It all started with a comment back in 2018: Like many companies, VMI regularly engaged in customer questionnaires seeking feedback on product and service and like any company there will … Read more
VMI Implements What3Words for Efficient Deliveries 28 August 2022 Postcodes are great but can be really limiting when clients are shooting in open parkland like Richmond Deer Park or venues like Wembley Stadium which have several entrances. Even large … Read more
VMI Shortlisted for ProMoviemaker Rental Company of the Year 2 August 2022 Pro MovieMaker Magazine has written this terrific article on VMI’s environmental crusade as a reason for shortlisting VMI for their Gear of the Year award. A COMPANY WITH A CONSCIENCE … Read more
VMI sponsors Cinematography award at Portsmouth University 14 July 2022 One of our favourite sayings is that ‘Everyone got to where they are today, from where they were yesterday’ – even Steven Spielberg was a student at one time! VMI … Read more
VMI Hosts Successful Ronin 4D Workshops 14 July 2022 VMI continues with is new post-COVID 2022 workshop season with three bespoke Ronin 4D workshops held at West London College’s Studio in Ealing Green and also at the Cleveland Arms … Read more
VMI awards Best Shorts award at KIFF 1 July 2022 VMI loves to support new entrants to the industry and is proud to have been a partner and sponsor of the best short film at the inaugural new film festival … Read more
VMI Lighting Workshop Demonstrates Value of In-Person Events 6 June 2022 Seeing is believing, as they say, and now that we’re all back to business the chance, VMI’s new in-person workshops which allow visitors to get hands on with equipment and … Read more
VMI is voted one of the UK’s Best Workplaces 4 May 2022 Having achieved a Great Place To Work certification for VMI, we were invited to enter the UK’s Greatest Workplace Awards and were delighted to be officially ranked 62 as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces …more
VMI donates full ARRI camera kit to West London College 3 May 2022 West London College is proud to announce a significant partnership with camera rental company, VMI, who supply camera packages to the TV Industry for dramas, feature films, documentaries, music videos … Read more
VMI Awarded Ealing Business Pioneers To Promote Sustainable Lighting Use In Film and TV 1 April 2022 VMI has been awarded an Ealing Business Pioneers grant to help fund running in-person courses to spread awareness of the benefits and advantages of the latest LED lighting technology. The … Read more
VMI Sponsors KIFF Film Festival 7 March 2022 VMI loves to support new entrants to the industry and is proud to be a partner of a brand new film festival in June, which aims to celebrate a diverse … Read more
Launch of VMI Microsite to show 20-year Sustainability Journey 31 January 2022 Not many people know that we have been working for almost 20 years to make VMI into a more sustainable and socially equitable company. We are totally committed to becoming … Read more
VMI Donates Lights for Student Training 21 January 2022 VMI has partnered with Bristol-based college, boomsatsuma, donating a range of lighting equipment for BA Hons Filmmaking Production and Post-production degree student skills development, Jan 2021. Degree students based at … Read more
VMI is a certified Great Place to Work! 20 January 2022 VMI has always striven to be a place that people enjoy working in and a recent independent audit by organisation, GreatPlaceToWork, has confirmed that 96% of VMI’s workforce judge VMI … Read more
VMI wins National Climate Award 31 December 2021 VMI won a national award being crowned “Hero of Net Zero” by the UK Government at the international COP26 climate summit in November 2021 for its work on sustainability. More … Read more
Formal commitment to Net Zero on Government Business Climate Hub 30 December 2021 The Government Business Climate Hub keeps a register of all UK companies who have committed to a net Zero Pledge and August 2021 saw VMI also adding its name, committing … Read more
VMI Christmas Jumper Day to help Save the Children 11 December 2021 VMI took part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day on Friday 10 December 2021, where we all wore our silliest, most festive jumper on and raised £124 for Save … Read more
VMI 2021 Client Survey – 96% Service 6 December 2021 In December 2021, we held our 14th annual client satisfaction survey, asking all VMI clients who had hired from us in the previous 12 months exactly what they thought about … Read more
VMI Shortlisted for Park Royal Business of the Year award 2022 24 November 2021 For the third year in as many years, VMI has been nominated as a finalist for the West London Business Awards. VMI has been shortlisted as one of three companies for the Green ‘Race to Zero’ Business of the Year but what is really surprising is that also, for the first time, we have been also shortlisted as one of three companies in the category of Park Royal Business of the Year. Read Full Story
VMI Are Recruiting! 31 October 2021 VMI currently have the opening for a Senior Technician to join our busy camera rental facility in West London and are inviting applications now. Candidates must have a background in … Read more
VMI Retires all Tungsten Rental Lighting 14 October 2021 Tungsten is the most traditional form of TV/Film lighting still in use today, having replaced expensive and dangerous Carbon Arc fittings. In reality though, tungsten lighting fixtures ought to be … Read more
VMI switches to ‘Green’ Gaffer/Camera Tape 14 October 2021 We are starting to look at all aspects of our business processes and supplier LeMark suggested that their new gaffer tape was more environmentally friendly than the regular type. They … Read more
Mike Rosario joins VMI as Head of Cameras 4 October 2021 VMI has a new Head of Cameras starting this week on VMI’s camera floor in Acton, West London. Mike is extremely well known in the industry, having worked during the … Read more
Created Net Zero Roadmap 5 September 2021 We’ve created our Net Zero Roadmap! We will reduce our emissions to the limits that technology and society set for us by 2030 and offset any residual emissions along the … Read more
VMI Stops Using Disposable AA Batteries 16 August 2021 We all know that disposable batteries are extremely harmful for our environment and for a long time, we have been keen to eradicate them from VMI but did not have … Read more
VMI takes on three new Apprentices 10 August 2021 From left: Jonah Mann, Josh Barker, Matt Fisher. Dominique Unsworth recently posted on Linked-in, “I remember when everyone I spoke to said it couldn’t be done, it wouldn’t work, our … Read more
VMI Group Recycles 100% of Waste – CERTIFIED 28 July 2021 As part of VMI’s sustainability drive, we are immensely proud to report that a recent waste audit completed by our waste contractor, Collect My Waste, certified that none of the … Read more
Long-awaited UK Camera Tech Apprenticeship standard is rolled out 21 July 2021 More than 200 young hopefuls who initially lodged their interest in the new Camera Tech Apprenticeship programme, were reduced to 100 after the first sift, 56 at the second and … Read more
VMI wins award to achieve net-zero by 2030 11 May 2021 VMI is the proud recipient of a Better Futures+ Green Innovation Voucher, awarded by West London Business, to help VMI to become a net zero, fully sustainable business by 2030. … Read more
UK’s first Apprenticeship Standard for Camera Technicians now open for registration 14 April 2021 Back in 2019, VMI Managing Director, Barry Bassett, first contacted the TV Industry body, ScreenSkills in order to investigate whether it might be possible to set up a formal apprenticeship … Read more
VMI Bristol is 6 years old 1 April 2021 VMI Bristol celebrates six years since it was set up and in that time, Gary, Jon and the rest of the Bristol team have established it into a mainstream camera … Read more
VMI now charge a 3-day hire week on all products 11 February 2021 For decades, there has been an unwritten convention in the UK that professional and prosumer cameras/associated equipment attracted a 4-day hire rate for a week’s hire, whilst broadcast and film … Read more
VMI Expands London Facility post lock-down 22 September 2020 It might seem a strange thing to do in such uncertain times but VMI has taken the opportunity of the lock-down to expand its London operation to build a third … Read more
VMI London, VMEDIA & VMI Bristol now open with regular hours 1 July 2020 VMI/VMEDIA has resumed full operations in London, VMEDIA and Bristol as of Monday 3 July with full working hours. We have implemented new comprehensive COVID-19 procedures to ensure that safety of … Read more
VMI help to set up UK’s first Apprenticeship Standard for Camera Technicians 16 January 2020 About 18 months ago, VMI Managing Director, Barry Bassett, first contacted the TV Industry body, ScreenSkills in order to investigate whether it might be possible to set up a formal … Read more
VMI Is Recruiting 2 January 2020 Link: https://vmi.tv/about/careers We have 2 posts that we are looking to fill immediately both on the rental desk and camera floor. Do you have what it takes to join the busy VMI team … Read more
2019 VMI Annual Client Survey – Best Ever Results 4 December 2019 The latest annual VMI client survey had the best results of all time achieving a client satisfaction score of 4.7 out of 5 for the 5th year in a row, … Read more
VMI is a finalist in two categories of West London Business Awards 25 November 2019 VMI is a finalist in two categories of the 7th annual West London Business Awards, for “Creative/Media Business of the Year” and also the “Responsible Workplace award”. The awards celebrate business excellence, … Read more
VMI’s Green Credentials in the news 28 September 2019 VMI takes its social responsibility very seriously and has initiated many strategies to reduce its impact on the environment and even won awards for it too, so it is really … Read more
We did it! Superheroes raised over £60K in past 3 years to make world landmine-free 15 July 2019 8 riders calling themselves, “The Superheroes” raised £27,000 for MAG International to help make the world landmine-free by 2025 by riding from London to Bristol and London to Amsterdam in 2019 for the 3rd year … Read more
VMI receives accreditation of Living Wage Employer Status 11 June 2019 Link: https://www.livingwage.org.uk VMI has received formal recognition of its status as a fully accredited Living Wage Employer. This is the only UK wage rate based on living costs of £10.55 per hour … Read more
VMI Bans Single-use Plastic 5 June 2019 Link: https://vmi.tv/about/environment VMI has taken great strides to reduce its impact on the environment and continues to do so, going forward, wherever and whenever possible with a new initiative to ban single-use … Read more
VMI runs successful Phantom Workshops 24 May 2019 VMI ran a series of 6 Phantom Super Slow Motion workshops in London in late May to teach Cinematographers and Operators how to shoot in super slow motion with the … Read more
Jay Beats Cancer 9 May 2019 We are so pleased that Jay Patel, who has worked with the driving team of VMI for almost 15 years, has managed to totally beat Pancreatic Cancer against the odds. … Read more
Account of VMI Anamorphic and Large Sensor Event in January 4 March 2019 VMI hosted an Anamorphic and Large Sensor event in late January at the newly opened CVP Creative Space in Newman Street Fitzrovia, an elegant new showroom over four floors. The three-day event was well … Read more
VMI was a finalist for the 6th annual West London Business Awards 22 February 2019 Link: https://www.westlondon.com/west-london-business-awards-2019-shortlist-announced/ VMI was a finalist for the 6th annual West London Business Awards, for the category of Creative/Media Business of the Year at the 2019 West London Business Awards. The award celebrated business excellence, and showcases … Read more
We’ve been super busy-busy 7 January 2019 VMI has been busy-busy over the past 12 months and have supplied camera equipment for 17 drama series, 5 x Natural History Series, plus several features, promos, commercials,corporates and feature films. … Read more
VMI 2018 Customer Survey Results are in 13 December 2018 Link: https://vmi.tv/about/client-satisfaction-survey In December 2018, we held our 10th annual client satisfaction survey, asking all VMI clients who had hired from us in the previous 12 months exactly what they thought about … Read more
VMI is voted finalist for West London Business Awards 2019 27 November 2018 VMI has was a finalist for the 6th annual West London Business Awards, for the category of Creative/Media Business of the Year at the 2019 West London Business Awards. The award celebrated business excellence, … Read more
VMEDIA Invests in Camera Power Range 19 November 2018 Link: https://vmedia.digital/equipment/213/power VMEDIA, VMIs camera storage rental division has increased its rental range to now also stock camera batteries for hire. VMEDIA , better known for its rental stock of large CFAST and … Read more
VMI to give a talk on Super Low Light Production at the Wildscreen Festival on Tue 16 October. 21 September 2018 Link: http://sched.co/GK36 Barry Bassett, VMI’s Managing Director, will be giving a talk on Super Low Light Production at the Wildscreen Festival on Tuesday 16th October at 9.30-10.30am. The talk called, “A Shot … Read more