More than standard gear

Laura Sturza

What do rows of brightly colored tape, audio and video cables, cotton

diapers, windshield sealant and sandbags have in common?

All are used by cinematographers, camera assistants and grips --

the people who set up camera and lighting equipment. And all are sold

by Burbank’s Filmtools, which moved to its 5,000 square-foot shop at

3100 Magnolia Blvd. earlier this year, having outgrown its 1,200

square-foot digs on Olive Avenue, where they opened in 2000.

“The only thing indigenous to the film industry is the film and

the camera,” said Filmtools employee Sam Cicchirillo, a Burbank

resident. “Everything comes from somewhere else.”

Sandbags are used to keep equipment from toppling over, while

windshield sealant works double duty to keep props in place or for

special effects since it is flammable, Cicchirillo said.

With the expansion, the store’s staff increased from six to nine

employees.

Some of the store’s inventory is made in the shop’s manufacturing

plant. Heavy-duty carts used to transport camera equipment are also

built by the company, and have been on the film and TV sets of “The

Sopranos” and “Spy Kids 2.”

Co-owner Stan McClain attributes the company’s growth to a

combination of providing online sales that are almost always

processed the same day, identifying a niche market that was not being

served and having set up shop in Burbank.

“There’s an invisible wall at the Cahuenga Pass, and people don’t

like going over that hill,” McClain said of his local clientele.

Burbank resident Kevin Ivey is a camera assistant who shops at

Filmtools.

“It’s more of a friendly environment going in there than anywhere

else,” Ivey said. “If you need something, [they will] make sure

you’ll get it.”