How do you keep track of your gear?

P

Publimix

Veteran
Running around, changing lenses, tripod feet, light, batteries, caps and a million other parts and things. It can be difficult to keep track of all these things. Sometimes people borrow things. When I work alone it is no big deal, all gear is mine. A quick harvest after the shoot is enough.

But sometimes I don't have the luxury to work alone, and other people carry lots of gear too.

How do you keep track of your equipment? Without dedicated assistant who does this for you.
 
Fairly straightforward. Almost all of my gear has asset ID tags on them and I also have a piece of specific colored gaffe tape on almost all grip, lighting and other odds ‘n ends for quick ID. Cables have my last name or initials in Sharpie and/or marked with specific colored gaffe tape, as well. Shot bags(did away with sand several years ago) are marked with my last name in paint marker(a friend had his screen printed with his company logo. For some reason people love to walk off with shot bags). Not 100% fool-proof, but helps when you’re on multi-cam shoots with other guys and gear gets mingled.
 
Id like to get properly sorted.. so watching this thread

I do have cable ties with my name on.

Easy (but not perfect) for
Cstands,
'sand' (I use gravel) bags
Sticks
Vairous grip

etc
 
Run&Gun said:
.. Almost all of my gear has ... a piece of specific colored gaffe tape on almost all grip, lighting and other odds ‘n ends for quick ID.
Click to expand...

I do the same. When there is piles of pelican cases, stands, and stingers lying about that all look the same, I can spot mine with two different colored gaffe tape on each item (I figured one color may not be enough if everyone started doing it). It helps not only when you are alone, but when you have assistants. They can easily identify your gear and collect it up without being familiar with it.
 
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And to help those that may not be with me all of the time(and myself if I haven't been in a certain case for a while), In most of my hard cases I have laminated cards(8 1/2" x 11") attached to the inside lid with a list of contents and a picture of everything loaded in it's proper place.
 
DYNO labeller sits in my office. As things come into the stable, I label them. Power adapters get labelled with names of devices associated with them, every cable gets labelled using "flag mode" including all the bits and bobs that come in associated with cameras including mirrorless ones. Powerbars and XLR cables get labelled as well.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/835640-REG/Dymo_1801611_Rhino_4200_Labeler_With.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...4_1_2_1_3cm_Vinyl_Label.html/pageID/accessory
 
I really want to find a nice simple way, but I lose stuff all the time. However sometimes the God of touring helps. I was in Wales, in a theatre and sticking out of a wall box was one of my mic cables. I always buy purple cable, and transparent heat shrink my name onto the male end - and there one was being used on the West Coast of the UK. I live in the most Easterly town. In my summer venue I got out and old back cloth - painted with the Rio de Janeiro bay. a visiting well know set designer's jaw dropped and he asked how did you ever get that? it's the very first one I painted when I started out twenty years previously.

If I could find a nice simple solution to asset management it would be great but I suspect I'm just too disorganised.
 
Maybe we should throw all our current crap and out re-buy in the gaudiest colors imaginable. Bright pink sandbags. Red C-stands. Candy cane swirl stingers. Polka dot pelican cases. Come. Take this journey with me.
 
Name and phone number stickers is how I do it. If lost I at least have the chance someone will give me a call.
 
In addition to the labelling mentioned above, a great move is to use fitted cases that are labelled. I have used pick & pluck foam that is then wrapped in gaffer tape so that it becomes a solid mass of a specific shape. Gear goes in labelled spots and it's easy to see if there is anything missing. Sub-containers (pouches or boxes) are labelled as to contents so a quick count lets you know if anything is missing. It's very helpful to you and any assistant.
 
If you really would like to step up your tracking game, it's best to use a scanning system. (Something like LensRentals uses.)

These stickers (which can be very small) with the "bar codes" don't peel off very easily and you can set up various systems in your database.

I.E. Case #1 - Lenses (10 items), Case #2 - Audio (15 items), etc.

With some software maybe you can set it up in which once you scan a bar code the item turns a different color (like green) in the particular database. Anything missing could be a different color (like red).

If you really care and/or want to make sure everything is 1000% there and nothing gets lost, it's very helpful because you can just scan everything and see it all turn green in the system and not worry about packing everything perfectly (which is kind of part of this topic), but the method above only applies to tracking.

These "bar codes" can also be used with tagging barbs (think clothes' tags) for trickier items. The barbs could obviously be ripped off but if you're working with people who steal stuff then that's a different conversation.
 
Actually just saw on page 1 it was kind of mentioned already, but yea; these electronic smart systems are best (especially if you can customize them).
 
I backed this and still waiting a year and a half since it was finalized. I really need it because I lose smaller items on occasion. Otherwise, I have stencils I use to paint my mark with my color on gear.
 
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