I needed to get my disposable camera film developed and decided to come here. The people are here…read moreare very helpful and kind! I dropped my camera off on a Monday and by Friday of that week my pictures were ready for pick up! The prices here aren't bad and I will definitely come back again.

I try to be fair and transparent in my reviews, avoiding hyperbole. It's best to be honest since…read morethese business are people's livelihoods. This was a horrible experience, as I would imagine even the business would recognize. I posted on reddit my situation about needing slides from the late 90s digitized and then some also printed for an exhibit. Reddit users suggested Valley Photo Service. I loved the idea of supporting a locally owned and seemingly historic small business. I called in late April and I confirmed that they could help my situation. A nice guy on the phone confirmed that they could do a bulk scan of my slides. I told him how they were digitized once before in 2003 but I imagine the technology had improved. He agreed that just even a bulk scan would be better than what was done back in 2003. We agreed I'd bring them in, do a bulk scan, check out the quality, and then from that bulk scan, I would pick out a dozen to print out for an upcoming exhibit. I drive in on May 1 and he is not there, but another guy is and he is very nice. He says that I should consider not doing a bulk scan but instead a higher price (per slide) flatbed scan. But we don't know if the bulk would be better or not and we're talking dozens and dozens and dozens of slides. So he suggests that at .80 per slide, we do them all bulk and check out the quality first. He says I'll get a link to check them out online when they are done. A week goes by. Another week goes by. I call and a woman says they'll get that to me. Finally I get a link and the slides look really crappy. Worse than when a bulk scan was done in 2003. How could the quality get worse? The slides have been in an archival quality box. I call and a guy says he's not sure. No one can of course confirm what the previous 2003 digitizers did; though I know they did bulk scan not flatbed. Perhaps they did some sort of "apply to all" adjustment of a filter or something? Either way, they say that they'll have someone call me back to think of a path forward. A week goes by. I then call and get the man who owns or manages the place. Very nice and attempts to help. I express my frustration about the time it's taking and that I have to keep calling them, seeing as I already paid. He said not to worry, he would definitely take a few slides, scan them on the flatbed and call me back with the comparison to my previous scans. A week and a half go by and I call to express my frustration that I still haven't heard from him. A woman says that she is so sorry, that the person who digitizes slides is there that day, but busy, so she'll have her call me within hours. Two weeks go by, I drive across town and I ask for my slides back. A woman gets them and asks "was everything done to your satisfaction." I say, "on the contrary nothing was done at all to my satisfaction." Not bitchy, not loudly, I just say it plainly as a fact. She hands me the slides and says, "oh, well here you go. Thank you." So that's my story of a two month long process of trying to get slides digitized. Was anyone rude? No. But did they communicate clearly? No. Mixed messages about possibilities. No calls back when they said. No finished work, after two months, nothing usable. And you would think after taking almost 100 dollars and a customer says they did not help at all, an employee might pause and ask what happened. Nope. That's Valley Photo Service, in my experience.

My team went to look for some things we needed for a show and the guy was super arrogant, even with…read morea business card they do not accept?? He works there for 10 years and has no WORD, DECISION or personality. He treated in a rude manner to my team and said that they are afraid of fraud. You will have less ans less people everyday:)

It's been awhile since I've been here, but I think this is a newer location…read more I've always had good luck with them. They have a good selection of video cameras at reasonable prices and do have discounts sometimes. They have good quality commercial cameras as well. Salespeople have always been really professional and polite and are quick to help you and find the items that you need. So overall if your looking for professional camera equipment...this is the place to be.

Perfect, A++++ experience and I'd give 10 stars if I could. I'm so grateful to John and Z Stories…read morefor helping us to keep a cherished memory. I only have one home video of my childhood. My uncle brought a big ass camcorder to my brother's baptism in 1991, and all of us were fascinated by the camera and had never seen one before. It's the only recording of my brothers and I as children and of my dad who has since passed away. When I started hearing about VHS digitizing services, I was super reluctant to mail the only copy to a stranger, especially after how many stories there are about these people losing photos or videos. I started seeing Z Stories advertise in my neighborhood Facebook groups and with tables at local Burbank events. I loved that they were local, I didn't have to ship my video far away, and the reviews were impeccable. I texted the owner, John, to find out more about their services and he seemed more than happy to take an order of just one tape. He gave me different options for submitting the tape (they even deliver and pick up locally!) and I ended up dropping the tape off at A Express Mail in Burbank, for Z Stories to pick up. When we had tried the tape on our VCR at home, the sound cut in and out and there was static and blue squares over a lot of the picture. I was worried that maybe I'd waited to long to digitize a 35-year-old tape before it deteriorated. John picked the tape up within an hour of me dropping it off and texted me with updates and questions (like whether we wanted to keep the football documentary that had been taped over!) and the finished product was ready within 24 hours! He met me at A Express the next day and seemed excited to show me the finished product on his laptop. I was ASTONISHED at how amazing the video looked. The quality looked even better than I remembered the original video looking in the 90s, and both the picture and sound were crisp and clear. I was completely blown away at how they were able to make the recording look so great. These are experienced professionals who obviously take pride in their work and care very much about helping people to preserve their irreplaceable memories. The total cost was only $17 because they provided a flash drive (if you provide your own, it's only $10.) We are going to use Z Stories to digitize all my in-laws' home movies, and I would wholeheartedly recommend John to anyone.

Z stories was nothing less than amazing! They were very responsive and I was able to drop off my…read moretapes the day after I texted them. The tapes were ready in a couple days. The service was amazing. They also charge a very fair amount for the amazing service they provided. I was able to get my video tapes converted into a digital media stress free. Would definitely recommend this business.

Sad to be reviewing them so late, but this team i think was and is the best audio sales/rental…read morehouse in LA and it breaks my heart to see them close down and join another company that will no doubt see some people without a job :( lots of great small businesses getting bought up by bigger ones feels like it never ends up well, but I just had to get it on record these these people were the best and nicest and most helpful out there. Never felt stupid for not knowing a certain piece of gear or how something worked etc. Hope nothing but the best for the whole team

Wow! I walk in baffled over a dead audio puzzle--amp, mic or cable?--only to find its a stupid…read moremistake and all is fine. But not only that, Gene swaps out a stripped set screw ring on the mic where I tried to turn it normal counter-clockwise (duh)... which involves some soldering, of course... as I stand there. And then refuses to charge me! Take your audio trust issues to this guy! I will from now on. And my layman's sound needs, too.

Got scammed here…read more Bought their used 600d light for $550. Tested it at their shop it worked. Take it straight to set literally an hour later, doesn't turn on. Immediately text the owner to let him know. Had to send talent home and cancel the shoot. Show up next day, they test it, it doesn't turn on. I'm extremely polite, not blaming them at all. I'm saying let's work something out. They had another identical unit that worked. I offered to add cash to exchange the dead one for the one that worked. Staff seemed hard working and normal. The owner though got immediately confrontational and tried to get me out of there. I remained calm and asked him to put himself in my shoes and work something out with me that was fair. Nope. He immediately accused me of lying, put words in my mouth, accused me of threatening him ( what? ), etc. Well here's how I know I got scammed aside from just bad business. He claimed multiple times that in 20 years in the biz that he's never had the 600d break on him ever. He goes "You probably dropped it" ( I did not ). When I offered to go half and half to cover the damage he literally said "It costs $500 to fix that light I don't want it, we tested it, you bought it, it's your problem". He said the dollar amount confidently, not a random number, he said $500. Meanwhile the talent is waiting for me on set I'm running super late. Super stressed out. No apology of any kind by the way. I beg for at least a free 1 day rental, he immediately accuses me of trying to swap the bad light for the good one ( what? ), but finally to get rid of me agrees to 1 day of free rental ( $75 value ), puts a $500 hold on my CC, I shoot return the light. Well here's the fun part, he sends me to the repair shop ( Lux ) that he says "will fix it for sure". Just got the estimate from lux. Guess how much. $514 ( light has multiple issues ). So if he's NEVER had a 600d go bad in his 20 years in business how did he know the repair was gonna cost exactly $500? Lol. If I had to guess he plugged in the good one during the test and slipped me the bad one. I have no proof of that but I'd bet my house that's what happened. But what I do know for sure is that he treated me like some lying scammer homeless bum off the street, super rude, disrespectful, unapologetic, couldn't care less that he wasted my time, money, and ruined 2 days of my shoot. Having a keylight to not turn on on set in front of talent and makeup and client is extremely stressful and embarrassing to have to send them home, they drove 2 hours each way to get to the location. I'd stay away from these guys at all costs. If anything goes wrong you'll get treated like trash. Would have been one thing if I had it for a week. But for it to not turn on after 1 hour is crazy. I told lux unless they wanna do me a favor and half the repair cost due to the circumstances that light will have to go straight in the trash can. Lesson learned.

Super sweet staff! So nice, answered all the questions I had and educated me :). Would highly…read morerecommend!

Have you ever felt the pressure of an impending deadline? Has your own livelihood ever depended on…read morethe speed and efficiency of someone you don't even know? If you are ever in this bind again and your impossible mission has something to do with Media duplication, replication, authoring or even getting your demo reel edited and posted online for that next big audition, then pull yourself together and contact the folks at Lightning Media. When I say they do it all, I mean it. They are a true full service facility that can handle damn near any post-production or multi-media need. In almost five years of utilizing their services I have NEVER been done wrong. And trust me; I've given them ample opportunity to mess things up. So on Friday my boss calls me at the end of the day and tells me to get a project dubbed on DVD...what me worry? Then he calls back just a bit later and tells me to "make it 100 copies and make sure you get them delivered by Tuesday, I'll send you a list of recipients" OK, by this time it's 6pm. That means I got til 4:30pm Monday to pick up a finished product and stuff who knows how many FED EX envelopes and make the East Coast deadline by 6pm. I was seriously looking at my phone sideways as he's telling me all this. Of course, I'll need to put custom artwork on the DVD's, and of course the person with the artwork needs to re-format it first. Naturally, I have a crazed look in my eye as I head out the door with product minus artwork. I walk into Lightning Media and they're packed (was there any doubt at this point?). I explain my mission to the young lady and then tell her I absolutely need it completed by Monday afternoon no if's and's or but's. She doesn't even flinch and then has me fill in the info on the work order. When she asks me if I'd like any artwork added to the DVD's I answer "yes, but I don't have it yet." Like a zen warrior she picks up a phone, mumbles something and then asks if I can have it by tonight... "of course" I reply. "Then it's no problem" she re-assures me. Dutifully, I verify that our artwork was emailed in by 7:15pm that evening. Later that night my phone rings at 10:52pm from a number I don't recognize. I cautiously answer, "hello". It's Lightning Media, I can come by at noon on Saturday to pick up my order. And just like that, my impossible mission is accomplished. Yes, there are cheaper facilities in town, but would you pay just a tad more for peace of mind? I would, and if my ass is on the line I want someone who scoffs at the impossibility of silly little mission's like my own.

I've worked with Lightning Media for a very long time when I was working for production companies…read moreand networks. However I really found out how cool they were when I started my own company and had to do more than one job from pre-production through post. They have always been very helpful and super fast when I needed to get jobs done in a hurry. I recommend them to anyone working in production.

The VES (Visual Effects Society) just finished our 22nd VES Awards Nomination Event at this…read morelocation. We've done it here for as long as I remember, and I feel almost ashamed that I'm just writing this review after so many years. FotoKem has 6 screening rooms and a marvelous staff that is always friendly and helpful. It's a great facility for screenings, and they have a small kitchen in one building and a snack lounge in the other building. Their wifi handled all 100 of us logging on and using it - though we might have been reaching its max when we were all using it and streaming at the same time. Also, FotoKem delivered all our media all across the globe with their globalDATA -- they have 24 hour round the clock support M-F. We had media delivered to NZ, UK, Germany, France, India, Canada, East Coast States and West Coast States -- every delivery was smooth and fast. One of the locations had some issues, and FotoKem walked them thru everything they needed to do. (It was user unfamiliarity on the other side, and FotoKem was very patient in walking thru things and explaining and resending for us)

Fotokem is run by self-absorbed people who couldn't give a crap about their customers. The lab guys…read moreare competent, but "management" is composed almost entirely of people who are incompetent but don't know it.

Great place for camera rentals, cool facilities, easy to get to and find. John is very nice and…read moreaccommodating, eager to get you a deal, very indie filmmaker friendly. Enjoyed dealing with him. Great rates, everyone is cool and professional. They have a small stage with a green screen. Very production friendly and cool folks, I can't recommend them more!

Super nice people over here. John is who I have worked with most, and he is a very nice guy. he is…read morealways willing to work with me one prices. Great gear. Super easy to get to from my place in silverlake. 15 minutes up the 5.