Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Long. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Enigma 3’s story starts long before it was formed. In 2008, Matthew Long was working for the LDS Motion Picture Studio in their grip and lighting department. As a student at BYU and an avid filmmaker, he saw a need in Utah for an equipment rental house that catered to low-budget and student productions. Matt’s vision for the company was to provide professional high-quality filmmaking equipment for a reasonable price. With the knowledge and contacts gained from working at the studio, Matt purchased a small grip package (about $12k) and formed UFP Rentals.
UFP stands for Underfunded Film Productions, a name that carried on from Matt’s high school film production days. UFP was run out of Matt’s parent’s basement for the first year until Matt married Melanie and they moved their business into a small garage at their apartment in Provo. Once Matt graduated from BYU in 2012 they moved the business to a larger garage in Pleasant Grove and then upgraded to an even larger garage in American Fork in 2016.
The company grew slowly but steadily for the first 10 years by taking all of the company’s revenue and using it to expand inventory and purchase new equipment. Matt worked as a software developer and Melanie as a nurse to pay the bills. By 2018 the company was grossing over $300k a year and it had outgrown its American Fork location. It was time to move the company into a warehouse. This move required Matt to quit his day job and move to run the company full-time. UFP leased a small 1,800 sq/ft warehouse in American Fork just off the freeway. Within a few months, they hired a rental manager and some part-time staff.
In 2010 another company was started by Jacob and Katie Schwarz. Mystery Box is a production company specializing in stock footage and commercial content. They rented their cameras out under Mystery Box Cine Rentals. In October 2020 UFP Rentals and Mystery Box Cine Rentals merged and formed a new company, Enigma 3. Under the new name and new branding, the company grew quickly and moved into a 30,000 sq/ft warehouse in Vineyard. Its current location houses three companies, Enigma 3, Mystery Box, and Paradox Post (a post-production company).
Enigma 3 built out a 9,000 sq/ft sound stage where commercials and feature films have been shot. The company now has seven employees and is continuing to grow and expand. Our focus remains on helping local filmmakers create amazing content and building up the Utah film community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The film industry is an interesting industry and working on the equipment rental side can be rough. A lot of film shoots and rentals come up very suddenly or are not planned well and so a lot of clients are very rushed. This is especially true for low-budget and independent productions which make up a large part of the Utah Film Industry.
It has always been a struggle to ensure that each project has the equipment they need at the time they need it. This meant a lot of late nights and early mornings. What added more difficulty to that was trying to run the business out of our house and maintain day jobs to pay the bills and allow the company to continually purchase more equipment (which is very expensive).
Now that we’re more stable and have a good team of employees to keep the jobs moving we now have to deal with large overhead and a constant flow of new technology. When cameras and other equipment get replaced every couple of years it is difficult to keep up with how fast things change. You have to stay informed on the latest tech and be constantly purchasing new equipment to replace the old.
We’ve been impressed with Enigma 3, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Enigma 3 is a full-service film equipment rental house and studio. We have cameras and lighting equipment, trucks, trailers, vans, and a large sound stage.
We also have the most/largest cinema robots available in the state. Our brand is known for high-quality equipment and great customer service.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.enigma3.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/enigma3.rentals
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/enigma3.rentals
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/enigma-3-vineyard-2
