Way too much crap

J

Josh Bass

Veteran
Not quite sure if this goes here, but it is lighting gear-related so I figured why not.

So I am, among other things, a videographer. Sometimes I am a one-man band that also has to light, do sound, the whole deal.

I feel like I bring/have way too much crap for what one person can reasonably handle, evidenced by how unwieldy my Rock'n'roller gets when loaded down with everything. Thing is, I'm afraid to leave much behind because, hey what if I need a flag or two? What if I need a C-stand or two? What if this mic doesn't work and I need another one? So I'm afraid to only bring exactly what I need, which I think is reasonable, but I often find myself with a cart that is stacked way high with things sticking out everywhere (c-stands without removable bases for instance). It's ridiculous.

Wondering if anyone else figured out a way to cut their "crapload" way down and still not be missing anything.

I can show you pics of all my stupid nonsense if that'll help.

P.S. Thus far I do not travel by plane with anything. Thank God.
 
Josh-

I often operate in a similar fashion. I really feel the key is the equipment choices. For example on the C Stands I went with turtle/removable bases then I carry them in this Sachtler C Stand bag:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1115060-REG

I used to have 100mm tripods, and moved down to 75mm tripods, which really saves a lot of space. That moves depends on camera choices, but I prefer smaller cameras. I have used a Canon 1DC for a couple years and recently bought a C500 though don't like all the extra gear you need to get that thing humming and am all the more impressed with the 1DC, if only for the portability factor. My next gear move (when does it end...) is those personal recorders that a few manufacturers make like the Tascam DR-10L or the Lectrosonics PDR. The main reason I'm buying them is one man jobs where every ounce counts. The difference in size between 4 of those personal recorders vs. 4 wireless mics and a dedicated mixer with all the cables and batteries is really hard to ignore when you're the producer, the PA and everything in between. Those are few of my specifics from the endless puzzle pieces we all cobble together. Sisyphus would be proud of your rock-n-roller cart. Keep up the good work.
 
Yes, I wish I had gotten c-stand with removable bases (one has one, the other doesn't; I only own 2). As for the recorders, I feel like that would be a step backward for me. I only have one lav, and I don't really produce my own stuff so a client would have to be okay with dealing with a recorder recording separately from the camera, which not many would since I don't use DSLRs.

I feel kinda stuck 'cause I don't do nearly enough of this stuff to motivate me to switch everything out to more compact stuff, like LEDs (small, could fit several in a 1 foot cubed container), STILL using my tungsten unless a client specifies something else, but bottom line is I only use lighting a few days a year at most. BUT, when I do have to do this, it is a huge pain.

And yes, I have looked into better carts. Bottom line, again, there really isn't anything more versatile or suited to my needs than a Rock'n'roller right now. Magliners are too heavy (even the junior with no modifications is a beast for me to handle) and the others are too small, don't have the handles that go up high enough, etc. I've looked at what's out there.
 
I have fallen in love with one-point lighting, like in Ken Burns's documentaries. Regardless, you can accomplish much with little.

Cinematography Tips: Don't complicate lighting - Geoff Boyle
One Light Cinematography

"We're in a world now and in a business where people perceive complexity as good. People don't understand the elegance of simplicity. . . . And don't get Simple mixed up with Simplistic. . . . You know, you hit somebody in the face with a pie. . . . Simple is your choices. One light coming through a window might be quite beautiful. That's all you need. You don't need six other lights, because why are you doing all of this, by habit or by need?" --- Gordon Willis

It takes a certain amount of bravery to work that way, don't get me wrong.
 
Maybe you just need to be realistic - and.,
Use less stuff
Take more time
Hire help

Yesterday I shot and was at my stuff limit - actuallu had too much to be healthy.

My stuff?
Camera dedo sticks

Yep you are laughing but I was collected in a mini had a walk to the location - then elevators then got a cab home
 
Josh Bass said:
I feel like I bring/have way too much crap for what one person can reasonably handle
Click to expand...

Post a list of your gear and the typical sort of set-ups that you like to shoot with.

It's hard to optimize your gear load if we have no idea what you are bringing or how you like to shoot.
 
combatentropy said:
I have fallen in love with one-point lighting, like in Ken Burns's documentaries. Regardless, you can accomplish much with little.

Cinematography Tips: Don't complicate lighting - Geoff Boyle
One Light Cinematography

"We're in a world now and in a business where people perceive complexity as good. People don't understand the elegance of simplicity. . . . And don't get Simple mixed up with Simplistic. . . . You know, you hit somebody in the face with a pie. . . . Simple is your choices. One light coming through a window might be quite beautiful. That's all you need. You don't need six other lights, because why are you doing all of this, by habit or by need?" --- Gordon Willis

It takes a certain amount of bravery to work that way, don't get me wrong.
Click to expand...

This is all well and good but it doesn't take into account modifiers etc. which need their own stands.

Josh, if you're by yourself - lose the flags! There's no reason for c-stands in your situation - get a stills stand instead.
 
I struggle with the one man band shoots from time to time, and what I have done recently is move the things that are still essential from multiple smaller cases into bigger cases that are still a manageable size.

Also if you have it in those cases, and haven't used it once on your last 10 shoots, you probably don't need it, and should go ahead and remove it from your load.
 
That's a good point. . .the one thing I really like a c-stand before, because they seems sturdier than Arri kit stands or something like that, is for putting a boom pole on a stand. I GUESS you could use a regular light stand (though it seems like asking for trouble, even if bagged), and I even have these beefy (though very light) stands I bought almost 15 years ago that might work for that.

Ok, what do I typically bring on a talking head setup? Here we go:

Camera (C100 or EX1 or something. C100 lenses etc. all fit in same bag).

Tripod (Sachtler DV4 'til I upgrade)

Portabrace production case (long case about a foot wide). I keep all my audio stuff in here, and because I'm paranoid bring everything every time. This bag holds several cables, several booms/shotguns, my lav, SD mixer, and some other stuff.

As I said, I still have Tungsten stuff, so my Arri 750 open face and three different fresnels all fit in a weird trunk from the Container Store I bought a billion years ago. It's a little oversized, I admit, 'cause I don't carry my 1K Mole fresnel around any more on jobs.

I have a big ol tool case (like from a hardware store), just a huge bin with wheels that all the grip stuff goes in. This carries a gelly roll, 5 in 1, black wrap, scissor clips, grip clips, dimmers, the Chimera for that Arri soft light, some pieces of diffusin/grid cloth, c47s, etc. etc.

Those two cases are just huge, especially together.

All my light stands go in a zip up bag I got at local photography store, holds 3 Arri kit stands, several smaller Wescott stands (I use these with gobos, etc. rather than C-stands), a reflector holder/arm.

Have an old camera bag I have stingers in.

Backpack with various cables (SDI, HDMI, all my support gear for my Odyssey7 (hood, basically anything that won't fit in the small Portabrace case for the Odyssey7)

Portabrace case with Odyssey7.

Sand bags (only have 2)

Couple pieces of black foamcore I use as flags.

Usually the C-stands.

Brought all this today on a gig, PLUS a teleprompter that was requested by client. Prompter is a rental and comes in two substantial Pelican cases. Yeah, it was rough.

I see just making this list that yeah, I could probably leave the c-stands out unless they're specifically requested. Could seek a smaller case for the light heads. Suppose I could buy a used Arri kit case but I don't know that everything would fit 'cause I don't have an actual Arri kit. . .it's all different lights by different makers that I bought over the years. Plus, I don't really like the idea of not bringing ANYTHING to use as flags (to keep key light off back wall, etc.), so I need a few extra stands.
 
Josh Bass said:
That's a good point. . .the one thing I really like a c-stand before, because they seems sturdier than Arri kit stands or something like that, is for putting a boom pole on a stand. I GUESS you could use a regular light stand (though it seems like asking for trouble, even if bagged), and I even have these beefy (though very light) stands I bought almost 15 years ago that might work for that.

Portabrace production case (long case about a foot wide). I keep all my audio stuff in here, and because I'm paranoid bring everything every time. This bag holds several cables, several booms/shotguns, my lav, SD mixer, and some other stuff.

As I said, I still have Tungsten stuff, so my Arri 750 open face and three different fresnels all fit in a weird trunk from the Container Store I bought a billion years ago. It's a little oversized, I admit, 'cause I don't carry my 1K Mole fresnel around any more on jobs.

I have a big ol tool case (like from a hardware store), just a huge bin with wheels that all the grip stuff goes in. This carries a gelly roll, 5 in 1, black wrap, scissor clips, grip clips, dimmers, the Chimera for that Arri soft light, some pieces of diffusin/grid cloth, c47s, etc. etc.

Those two cases are just huge, especially together.

All my light stands go in a zip up bag I got at local photography store, holds 3 Arri kit stands, several smaller Wescott stands (I use these with gobos, etc. rather than C-stands), a reflector holder/arm.

Have an old camera bag I have stingers in.

Backpack with various cables (SDI, HDMI, all my support gear for my Odyssey7 (hood, basically anything that won't fit in the small Portabrace case for the Odyssey7)

Portabrace case with Odyssey7.

Sand bags (only have 2)

Couple pieces of black foamcore I use as flags.

Usually the C-stands.

Brought all this today on a gig, PLUS a teleprompter that was requested by client. Prompter is a rental and comes in two substantial Pelican cases. Yeah, it was rough.

I see just making this list that yeah, I could probably leave the c-stands out unless they're specifically requested. Could seek a smaller case for the light heads. Suppose I could buy a used Arri kit case but I don't know that everything would fit 'cause I don't have an actual Arri kit. . .it's all different lights by different makers that I bought over the years. Plus, I don't really like the idea of not bringing ANYTHING to use as flags (to keep key light off back wall, etc.), so I need a few extra stands.
Click to expand...

- several mics? You can lose the mixer if you're going into a c100/ex1. You only need a cable per microphone.
- downsize the tungsten case. Gels and diffusion can go in here too.
- get rid of the entire tool case. How often do you use dimmers?
- two bags for cables?

The thing is, if you have a rock n roller, you can take the c-stands - I've fit 8 on mine before. But if you lose the c-stands then I wouldn't boom and would use lavs. If you do this you can also get rid of your boom pole and shotgun mic(s).
 
2nd person would be great, almost never feasible 'cause of budget.

Dimmers? Almost any time I whip out the frensels. Greatest damn thing ever. Tool case has a ton of useful stuff that would need to find another home (Chimera, clamps, c47s, whatever you call that pin that you put in a c-stand base to put a light really low, black wrap, cube taps). . .though I guess if I ain't bringin C-stands I don't need to worry about that. Just won't have a way to have lights super low to the ground.

I've used the mixer on live gigs, like lecture/presentations where I had to deal with several speakers. It's made things easier. Typical gig? Not so much. BUT, as always, would hate to need it and not have it. That's always the worry. End clients especially don't always (really, don't usually) have any idea of what is actually required for any task, so finding out that they don't have X that you expected (and were relying on) is pretty typical. Backup plans for everything are always good.

Reluctant to lose booms/shotguns. . .then I'd only have a lav to rely on. I would rather lose C-stands and use a beefy regular light stand (that collapses slimmer than a C-stand) for the boom.

Could probably slim down the audio stuff to a smaller case, consolidate some of the cables together. The stingers really won't fit with everything else so they need their own. Good to have one for each light and the cam. You just never know.

But yeah, I am starting to see the light. . .maybe you guys are right and if clients DEMAND certain things/gear, after a certain point it's time to say "I literally can't physically handle all this by myself. I'm gonna need an assistant."

Anyway, don't have anything else like this on the calendar at all yet, so I may revisit this when next I do. Could be next week, could be next year. Never know.
 
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Josh Bass said:
2nd person would be great, almost never feasible 'cause of budget.
Click to expand...

And that is the thing.. you are pushing down a blind alley that end with you doing your back, ruining your career, and setting a precedent to your clients and their friends that it is an acceptable employment practice to expect a solo operator to do jobs that have 1/4 of a ton of kit.

Everyone loses.

My job yesterday. They got a camera sticks and a dedo, if they wanted more they would have been informed that an assistant was coming and being charged for.

To clarify a little 'camera sticks and dedo' means..
Proper miller sticks, light stand, built FS7, 3 vlocks, shotgun and lavs, three lenses. So im getting from parking (200m from the foyer) with camera in one hand, camera accs in a shoulder bag and a sticks bag with sticks and light stand.. a full load. I was in City Hall - the sort of place where abandonded kit is .. tripped over (you get sued) or blown up by the bomb squad (bad for kit).. so I needed to be across my three items at all times.

Obviously for a pop vid in a chums daddys barn where you have a 1/2 day set up and can park by the door you can deal with what you want in your own time.
 
I kind of do something similar.....I load my SUV up with EVERYTHING
when I head to a shoot. Then I bring in the camera and sticks...take a look at
the room and make a quick plan. Set up the camera and sticks, and make another
trip to the car for what I really need. I have everything I need in the car if
there is an emergency, but often, I can roll with a softbox key, snap out
reflector fill and then a hair/backlight. Often I use practicals for BG lighting
but if needed I have more lights in the car. Often don't need a mixer because
most of my talking head interviews, are a single person, so a boomed shotgun
and lav for backup.
 
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Clearly a car/van by the location changes it all because you can dawdle in out all day to get that extra gobo arm.

Commercial jobs often only drop parking, then stairs/elevators/reception guards and strict timings.

The thing is to 'know' from experience, what will work for each job. Maybe a full truck, maybe that single Dedo is too much.
 
morgan_moore said:
Clearly a car/van by the location changes it all because you can dawdle in out all day to get that extra gobo arm.

Commercial jobs often only drop parking, then stairs/elevators/reception guards and strict timings.

The thing is to 'know' from experience, what will work for each job. Maybe a full truck, maybe that single Dedo is too much.
Click to expand...
Ha, yup I live in a small town. Don't have to worry about having to be dropped off because
of no parking. Makes things easier. I never have to worry about traffic either.
 
Yep I do jobs from 'City Hall' to 'The Shard' to conference halls reached by air travel through to indy fun in barns.. its getting the right package for the job. I have a 1ton van and really feel lost when Im forced to not bring it.
 
It's generally not practical to leave stuff in the car, from my experience. Cause it'll be some 22-story office building with high security requiring an escort, so every trip for a C-stand is 20-minute adventure. I like the idea of only bringing what I really think I'll need (with reasonable amount of backup whatever), and telling them "can't do more without a helper. Sorry." Maybe leave a few things in the car. Who knows.

On this last one though they actually requested extra C-stands so that was un fun. And the prompter. Anyway. I'll know next time to say "hey, we need another cart."
 
I don't do gigs where it's only me anymore. Even if the gig appears simple there will always be a PA and a grip/AC to help so between us three we have a few hands.

This is what i usually bring on typical interview / small b-roll setup (fits on 2x rock-a-roller carts):
-- Lowel kit in medium arri case
-- 3x 1x1 LitePanel kit (daylight)
-- 1x 575 HMI
-- 1x 200 HMI
-- 2x full applebox
-- crate of extensions
-- crate of gripology and extras
-- pelican with camera + lenses
-- pelican with 2nd camera and accessories
-- pelican with 17in client monitor
-- pelican with 2nd 17in client monitor
-- 2x sticks
-- 4x c-stands
-- 2x beefy stands
-- flag kit
-- some sandbags (also used to secure the stands on top of the carts)
 
I would love that luxury Patryk but again, not feasible most times due to budgets. For me on those gigs the only option is slimming down. If they want more they'll have to up the budget so I can get another guy or find someone else to do it.
 
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