Airport Travel with DVX

235 Studios

235 Studios

Veteran
Well, seeing as how I just got back from traveling to Europe with my DVX I thought that I would offer up my expierence for those of you who will be taking your DVX through an airport.

As I tend to be a little paranoid with my gear, I decided to carry on my DVX rather then check it. (I've seen those guys throw stuff around, and I couldn't let them do that to my DVX.)

Gear that I took:
1 DVX
1 25' XLR
1 3' XLR
1 Shotgun mic (w/batteries)
1 Shotgun mic mount
2 DVXuser batteries
3 MiniDV Tapes
(No tripod as I had a connection in Germany who supplied me with one.)

Lessons learned:
1. Before walking though the check points unpack all of your gear and send it through out of any case/bag that you are carrying.
(The guy at the US airport kept scanning and rescanning my bag because I left the shotgun mic in the bag. He finally had to take it out bacause he did not know what it was - which I had to tell him what it was - A MICROPHONE!)

2. Be prepared to be searched a couple of times.
(Each airport I went to I was searched twice - once at the check point, and once after.)

3. Don't try and sumggle your DV tapes through the metal detector.
(I did not want my tapes going through the Xray, so I would put the tapes in my pockets and walk through the metal detector. Worked in the states, not in europe. Did I mention that I got searched twice? The second time was a pat down, where they would find the tapes and then put them through the Xray machine anyway. I have not reviewed all of the footage yet, but so far everything is fine.)

4. Don't hassel, comment, make chitchat, or joke around. Oh, and don't mess with the guy's with M16s.
(They take their job seriously, if you want to get out quick, just shutup and let them do their thing.)

5. Spanish is not the same as Italian.
(I went to Itally for a couple of days, and one of the security gaurds wanted to know what the cables were for. He did not speak English, and the only other language I speak is Spanish. Italian and spanish are similar, so I tried to explain what it was in spanish, and he got affended that I was talking to him in spanish. He kept correcting my words with Italian words - so much for that idea.

Overall the trip was a sucess, I got the footage I needed, my gear made it safe and sound, and I did not have to have any probes! :cheesy:
 
Just a piece of advice from past experience...
when you are making out a list of gear for a Carnet (document to bring gear into foreign country), DO NOT call them "shotgun mics."

Or if you insist, then you may as well bring your own rubber gloves...and maybe some lubricant.

Jeff Patnaude :shocked:
 
lol, nice tread.... I was almost arrested for arguing with the guy for trying to take apart my cd player...... i hate going through them security checks but i appreciate it at the same time
 
Damn...that must of sucked. I would hate to have my tapes pass through an XRay machine....even the thought of me sends chills through my spine. I remember one time...i had 6 new tapes...and i was stupid..and i let them go throu the xray machine...and guess what happend to my brand new tapes?

.....

Now whenever i go to the airport with my stuff...i pack my tapes tightley in the middle of my luggage..so when they go through the XRays for luggage..it doesnt get affected....ever since then..Ive never had any kind of problems. And i keep everything else with me...usually its a breeze.
 
JPatnaude said:
Or if you insist, then you may as well bring your own rubber gloves...and maybe some lubricant.
Click to expand...

lol!

Just for clarification I did not use that term (shotgun mic) at the airport, only in this post.
 
blckhawk542 said:
Now whenever i go to the airport with my stuff...i pack my tapes tightley in the middle of my luggage..so when they go through the XRays for luggage..it doesnt get affected....ever since then..Ive never had any kind of problems. And i keep everything else with me...usually its a breeze.
Click to expand...

Which I would have thought of that. I will remember it for next time. So far the footage is fine - keeping my fingers crossed that the rest will be ok....

Edit: that should be "Wish" not "Which" ... I swear english is my second language, or it at least seems that way at times.
 
Well, I've travelled with my gear up and down, left and right. Never ever had a problem with tapes going through the X-ray machine (for obvious reasons).

Airport security:

Washington, DC (Reagan National): Except for that fat loud lady at the front, most of the security staff are very professional. Didn't have any problems with anything. Have to take the cam out of the bag, and shoes off the feet. At least it's consistent, so I know what to expect.

Toronto: Next. That's what they seem to be thinking. No problems with security ever.

Munich, Germany: Is that a camera in the bag? Sweep for explosives.

Frankfurt, Germany: No problemo, so far.

Vienna, Austria: shotgun mic raised some eybrows - went through the x-ray a second time. Called a guy from another machine. He confirmed it was a microphone, off I went.

Prague, Czech Republic. A few years ago, I had to put 800 ASA film through the machine, but it was B&W, and I didn't notice any fogging. As far as security staff - communist regime manners remain noticeable after fifteen years, especially if you speak Czech fluently and they don't think of you as a foreign tourist. It's like going back to the times where the plumber and the waiter still were the bosses. But it's getting better every year.

Montreal Trudeau: Rude and obnoxious. Out of about a dozen airports I've used in North America, this must be the worst when it comes to dealing with security people. French is the word. OTOH, camera and tapes went through without a hitch.

J.
 
XCheck-

Glad to hear that you've had a lot of success. I'm sure that security was being extra cautious, seeing as how I was traveling durring the same time as the London bombings. I seemed to have the least trouble with American airports, but I assume that it was because I was an american. I did see several foreigners being hasseled there though ...

I just got used to the waiting, and double searches, no big deal, it added probaly only an extra 5 minutes each time.
 
KOVAROVA said:
about to fly with some radio mics.. anyone ever had any probs trying to explain what they are?
Click to expand...

I don't think that you'll have any problem flying with them. The biggest obstile you might encounter is a language barrier. I didn't speak German, or Dutch, but both the German and Holland gaurds spoke english, and were pleasent to deal with.
 
KOVAROVA said:
about to fly with some radio mics.. anyone ever had any probs trying to explain what they are?
Click to expand...

are these timing devices with antennas? = 'cavity search over here!' kidding of course.
t :laugh:
 
waltind said:
Oh, and don't mess with the guy's with M16s.
Click to expand...

Please elaborate. If you didn't actually mess with the guy's M16 then please lie and tell us a good story.
 
Owen said:
Please elaborate. If you didn't actually mess with the guy's M16 then please lie and tell us a good story.
Click to expand...

Well here is the story- both in Italy and in Germany there were mitilary gaurds walking around with M16s, very intimidating I must say. I did not bother them on this trip, but I have done so in the past, when I was more of a punk, and I have learned from that expierence that when you see them to take them seriously, and just keep walking.

From years ago, when I was in highschool I was traveling with a group of friends on a red eye flight to DC. This was obviously before 9/11. Well one of my friends could not make it through the metal detector, and he kept taking things off. It seemed as though there was no end. There were gaurds there, with handguns, not M16s. Well being the punk teenager that I was, after the fourth time he went through the detector I said in a very loud voice to my friend "Why don't you just come clean and tell them where you have the bomb hidden?". I laughed, the guard did not. He took me a side and in a forceful tone explained that it was not smart to joke around about that, and he could fine me, as well as possibly put me in jail. Whether or not he could put me in jail I don't know, but it was enough to shut me up, and have my friends raz me the rest of the trip. That's my story.
 
This reminds me of my first voyage to Canada. October 23, 1990, Vienna International Airport. First flight in my life, too. Those who remember - it was just days before the first Gulf War. The Austrian military was on full alert, and I swear there was a soldier every ten feet throughout the airport - whatever their guns were, they looked damn serious. For someone flying for the first time, very frightening...

They say that first impressions are the most lasting. Whenever I see a guy with a gun, I put on the most innocent look I can...
 
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