Storing, packing, sorting, loading gear?

F

firehawk

Veteran
Hi all. Looking to hear how you guys manage gear in hopes of improving how I do it.

I'm working on getting a proper studio with loading/storing space but it will still yet be a while as I am still recovering from a crooked business partner stealing all my hard earned money and losing the building.

I do a very diverse array of production work (events, commercial, corporate) so I have a lot of different cameras and gear.
I currently have labelled cases and bags where I store everything so I know where it all is.

When a job comes I have to go through and gather the gear needed for that specific job and then pack it in temporary cases for the job so I can minimize the cases needed to transport.
For instance, today's job may require 3 wireless mics, 2 certain cameras, dolly, tripod, special mount, 3 lenses, 4 lights, batteries etc.
So I go into the mic case and pull out the ones I need, get the cameras I need, get the correct lenses and grab the right tripod from the tripod closet...
That way I don't bring a ton of gear to the job I don't need and have to sort through it there.

When I return I have to unpack it all and then pack it back in the appropriate cases so I can quickly find it next time.

I tend to leave C-stands and Rock-N-Roller cart in the van except during the 100 degree summers since it must sit outside.

Some of my cases/bags are:

Audio accessory case:
cables, adapters, splitters, lots of misc stuff etc

Audio recorders
digital audio recorders and acccessories for them

Video cables
hdmi, sdi, special purpose video cables

extension cords
usually keep this in the van

lav & hand mics
wireless/wired lav mics, instruments mics, hand mics

shotgun mics
shotgun/boom mics, mounts, wind screens etc

4 different lighting kits
small lightweight OMB kit, larger kit, etc

on-camera LED lights
for weddings

action cams

action cam accessories
batteries, chargers, cables, monitors, hoods, etc

special mounts
car mounts, unusual misc mounts, clamps, arms and joints

emergency misc case
odds and ends misc things
I take this case every time. Has a little bit of many things just in case I need something else or forget something

photo accessories
misc still camera accesories

slider
slider, monitor mount, motor kit

teleprompter

lenses
super zooms and misc lenses not always needed

boom kit
boom arm, blimp system, headphones, recorder, harness bag

each camera is stored in it's own case with it's commonly used accesories
for example, the FS700s have a couple batteries with them, memory cards, monitor arm, and a couple most commonly used lenses in thier case.

I haven't found a good way to group store my reflectors, portable chroma key, bounce cards, clapboards or Astra lights so they are stored individually and loaded as needed

Any thoughts?
 
I can tell us what I do.. Im obsessed with ReallyUsefulBoxes 64 and 84 litre size and the smaller two that stack with the former two :)

Stacking is king - IMO pelis are too heavy/expensive unless you need the robustness.

I place most of my bags inside boxes - because they then stack, but I now have a heap of bags for day packing too - small billinghams for solo opping and larger tamracs for crew work

I beleive 'being sorted' is crucial to an easy life and being slick on set.

I also have some maybe 120L EuroBoxes - more rugged for grip kit.

When I buy a bit of gear I go white if it is longer than a 70cm box.

Light stands I like Cstands with removable feet - the feet live in a box, the columbs on the wall.

Its an art craft science to get it right, but at $15 a box I think you win with RUB boxes.

I have not quite sorted 1.1 panels as they stick up out of a euro box and wont stack :( astras are partiularly bad bing way bigger than 1.1
 
morgan_moore said:
I can tell us what I do.. Im obsessed with ReallyUsefulBoxes 64 and 84 litre size and the smaller two that stack with the former two :)

Stacking is king - IMO pelis are too heavy/expensive unless you need the robustness.

I place most of my bags inside boxes - because they then stack, but I now have a heap of bags for day packing too - small billinghams for solo opping and larger tamracs for crew work

I beleive 'being sorted' is crucial to an easy life and being slick on set.

I also have some maybe 120L EuroBoxes - more rugged for grip kit.

When I buy a bit of gear I go white if it is longer than a 70cm box.

Light stands I like Cstands with removable feet - the feet live in a box, the columbs on the wall.

Its an art craft science to get it right, but at $15 a box I think you win with RUB boxes.

I have not quite sorted 1.1 panels as they stick up out of a euro box and wont stack :( astras are partiularly bad bing way bigger than 1.1
Click to expand...

Euroboxes look great. I have several US film milk crates, as well as larger crates that can hold bigger items - M18, 4x 12x12 solid blacks etc. so two separate systems depending on item size.

Sam, why not make a dedicated c stand trolley, I thought you'd be all over that? I have one that can hold 10 and would probably rather wheel the fully loaded trolley than carry three by hand.
 
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I like this thread. As my gear collection has grown, I was thinking about this the other day - not storing my gear in perfectly packed bags, but storing my gear in sections and then packing into appropriate bags on a shoot per shoot basis. Very helpful to hear about how others are doing this. I too have found my SUV filling up unnecessarily quickly as I lug a bunch of gear bags that are 50% utilized each.

Nothing to add unfortunately, just wanted to say... good stuff, carry on! :beer: :popcorn: (there should really be a popcorn emoji).

Good post!
 
Don't forget the transporting your gear thread - http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?330579-Transporting-Your-Gear


I'm nearing the end of my van fitout journey and due to share some photos. @ filmguy123, I have a general "set cart", which is pretty much four large crates on wheels that gets filled with different stuff every time - stingers, rags, camera on cinesaddle, dana dolly platform, assembled lights with softboxes etc.. Something similar may even fit in your SUV in pieces, then you could assemble it. But I'm guessing you don't have much room based on the equipment you have!
 
Thanks guys.
Stackable boxes sound like a good idea.

Ultimately I was thinking of having a larger gear room. Right now I have a small room and closets with a bunch of bags and cases everything is stored in.

The future gear room would have shelves on all the walls and the gear would all be sitting there not in cases or bags. All gear would have it's dedicated home spot on the shelves. Then when I prep for a job I just grab the appropriate gear and bag it/case it then and go.
When I return I unpack the gear and return it to it's place on the shelf.

This current ongoing unbag then rebag, go, return, then unbag, rebag store scenario is getting old. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

If the gear is sitting out on the shelves then it will be exposed to dust which it is not when stored in bags/cases though
 
This is what I was talking about. It's light enough to go up curbs and stairs if necessary. This isn't pretty and I packed this poorly and there's still plenty of room. I parked 5 minutes away from the location. It would've sucked to not have wheels.

The containers have holes on the sides and threaded rods hold lock them in place, but they stack on top of each other anyway. I unload it from the van and am good to go. If your vehicle doesn't have the vertical space you might be able to have 2x2 of the containers stacked, plus a dolly laid flat, then assemble once you arrive. The point is, don't think you need a magliner/cart with four wheels. You could replace my containers with hard cases and stack them taller than a person if you want.

- 2x Intellytech LC-160s
- 3x c-stands (can hold 4)
- audio kit
- C200 kit
- misc. items

containers.jpg

containers2.jpg
 
Firehawk.

I think ultimately organising your kit is part of learning your trade.. and knowing your clients and jobs.

Each solution has its pros and cons.

I guess we all dream of 'grab bags/grab boxes' - no sorting, just walk into your batcave and grab the kit.

But, for example BPU batteries, they run my monitors (used on bigger jobs) and my EX1 (used on my smallest jobs)

So where do my batteries live? in my Monitor box, in my EX1 box, or in their own box... or can I afford 2 sets of BPU batteries (unlikely)

You might get that BPU and chargers are 'shared' they go out on big and little jobs.

My dolly and track.. not shared.. not used on small jobs.

So 'not shared' can probably by packed and ready to go.

Shared, has its own box, or can float on your shelves awaiting placement when selected for a job.

Then you've got other stuff like security, for example Id leave Cstands in my van in a hotel, but clearly take my camera and glass into the room

So you got another 'class'.. security or high value. But usually chargers go into the hotel, so they could be cased with the camera,

Another 'class' might be weather proofing. Again a Cstand is not ruined by an on set downpour but glass and cameras are.. so you need to be able to protect them.

So overall its finding a balance. 'Grab Packs' and 'floating kit',

Really there is no correct answer.. just the best you can do by observing yourself and observing how your colleages, and local rental houses do.

(rental housing being different that they would have a set of BPUs for the EX1 and another set of BPUs for the monitor.)
 
doubledark said:
Rob, any chance of a shot just of the trolley by itself?

cheers
Click to expand...

Not at the moment but it's just four of these, connected with D-rings to one of these. The trolley obviously doesn't matter as much. The containers have holes and are all heald together with threaded rods. I can take more detailed photos when there's time. It's a pretty common trolley for sets in Australia.
 
Thank you all very much. Those stackable crates and Rigid stackable boxes look like a good idea.
I'm thinking I could dedicate a space in the van for those, pack them before the job, and then roll out on the job with those filled with what I need.
Going to look over this some more
 
My .02 from doing this for 20-somehting years, now. It's a constant evolution. You will find a system that you like and think is good and then you'll run into something about it you don't like or you'll come up with a "better" idea or you'll add one or two things and it throws the "system" off. I've been thinking about transitioning from mostly Pelican cases to milk crates for a while, now and just haven't done it. Some things I have, like A/C and a few lights, but the bulk is still in Pelican's or PortaBrace bags(most of my LitePanels). The meat & potatoes of my lighting and grip stay loaded all the time. Obviously camera and audio aren't in there 24/7, but it's a lot easier not taking everything in and out before and after every shoot and just adjusting if I need something that doesn't ride all of the time.

This was my shelf system right after it was built, about 5-6 years ago. The raised floor can accommodate two Pelican 1750 gun cases, a small gun case sideways and a tripod underneath it. It needs some tweaking, now, but it worked really well in the beginning.

Shelves Empty.jpg
Shelves Full.jpg
 
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