Portable Power Solutions

Power on Italian shoots starts from a 230V single-phase and 400V three-phase Enel baseline. From there it scales out to the power packs and battery options shoots use on location. Whisper-quiet film power packs come in 20kVA, 40kVA, 100kVA and 200kVA classes. They ship from Sirio Service, Bartolini and Panalight power depots in Rome, Milan and Naples, with an operator as standard on anything above 40kVA. Distribution is built around IEC 60309 and CEE 17 connectors and CEI 64-8 code-compliant cable runs. Proper RCD/MCB circuit protection then feeds the lighting and grip departments.

Lithium battery packs round out the kit. V-mount and Gold-mount cinema batteries, plus larger portable battery banks, cover sensitive interview setups and run-and-gun documentary work. They also suit the growing slate of Italian streamer shoots where silent power is a must. Solar charging and helicopter-transportable battery kits are ready for remote masseria, Dolomite peak and Cinque Terre marine-spray locations.

Italian location work brings its own safety, noise and emissions limits. ZTL low-emission gennys are required for Centro Storico Rome, Florence palazzo interiors and Venetian island shoots, and standard diesel sets are turned away at the perimeter. Rental houses now stock hybrid and battery-bridge units sized for those zones. We check power needs against the gaffer's gear list, since ARRI SkyPanel and HMI loads draw very differently from Aputure 600x or Astera Titan tubes. Each plan keeps proper headroom for startup surge and lighting cues.

We arrange Enel grid tie-ins when scenic permits allow. For each job, we prepare INAIL and CCNL Cinema Audiovisivo electrical-safety records. Power pack operators stay through wrap, handling refuelling, load running and on-the-spot fixes. The same depots and crews back shoots eligible for the 40% Italian Cinema Plan cash rebate. They keep these shoots on track even on tight delivery calendars across Rome, Milan, Apulia and Sicily.

Depot reach is what makes location power workable across Italy. Our rental network runs out of Rome, Milan and Naples bases, and we route units to wherever the shoot lands. Mainland jobs in Tuscany, Lazio or the Dolomites get a tow-behind genny on a transport call. Island work on Sicily and Sardinia is planned around ferry windows so the unit lands ahead of the crew. For coastal sites like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre, we size compact units that fit the access roads and footpaths.

Runtime and fuel planning keep a power package from stalling a shoot day. We work out fuel burn from the lighting load, then schedule refuel cycles that fall in gaps between setups rather than across a take. For long days we stage spare fuel and a backup unit so a fault never dark-holes the set. On battery shoots we map charge cycles against the call sheet and rotate packs through the day. That keeps power steady from the first setup to wrap, even on remote locations far from a depot.