Video Production Tips: On the Road
Introduction
As we wind down from our busiest summer on record, we wanted to share with you our favorite tips for video production teams on the road. Handling the logistics of travel and meeting the expectations of a variety of clients can be stressful. A little thoughtful planning can help relieve some of that stress. Whether going on the road for a week of production or simply planning a shooting day for a client you’ve never worked with, these essential tips will put you in a position to win.
Be Mobile
Knowing you will be on the road and working with a variety of clients in a number of different settings, it’s smart to look at your gear list and decide ‘the essentials.’ For us, the essentials include gimbal, slider, tripods, monopod, and shoulder rig.
However, making decisions on lighting can be a bit trickier. If you’re driving to the location, you have a lot more versatility with what you can bring as you don’t have to deal with airlines and securing equipment with local rental houses. Also, if you have power at the location, you have less to worry about with recharging batteries and managing shoot times. Still, having a basic understanding of watts, amber page and volts is essential. We’re not all electricians, but someone should understand when a circuit is overloaded.
That said, there are some situations so dynamic you may not fully know the specifics of the locations before you arrive. Considering this, create a ‘must-have’ gear list that reinforces your look while allowing enough versatility to meet client expectations. We will often bring our full Quasar Science kit in the case we need to fully light the environment as well as a dedicated LED panel key that will either serve as a key in a fully lighted setup or as a complement to the ambient light available on location.
Be Smart
Having a quality first aid kit isn’t just smart, it’s essential. With a variety of locations that tend to be remote, YOU are the first line of defense if something goes wrong. We carry the Survivorwear Large first aid kit. In addition, you may want to add an EpiPen, Narcan, Benadryl, or anything else that makes sense in your situation. Essentially, ask yourself ‘if something goes wrong, what do I need to be helpful?’ Most of the time, you won’t need your first aid kit, but the rare instance you do, you’ll be glad you have one. Not only is it smart to be prepared, but it also communicates an ethic of care to your crew. You show the people you work with that you care about them and are looking out for them. Because you should be.
Be Versatile
One thing we’ve learned is that no two clients are the same. While one client may need the highest quality footage for an intricately planned marketing campaign; another may want quality content in the fastest possible turn around, in a format optimized for phone viewing. The key is to be communicative, to listen, and to adapt. While you may have a specific workflow that you are comfortable with, you often have to adapt to the conditions of the production. Versatility comes from experience. Every opportunity you have to learn something new or embrace a new workflow is an opportunity for growth.
Be A Team
Working in production on the road can be a challenging environment. We’ve had 16 hour days in the car getting to the location. Taking on a challenge like that requires a team effort. It’s smart to change drivers on a long haul, not putting the entire journey on one person’s shoulders. It’s smart to rent a roomy vehicle that can accommodate all of your gear and your team without cramping. We tend to use Airbnb when we travel and take some food/snacks along as well. Anything you can do to limit the unnecessary road expenses helps your bottom line.
Be Frugal
It’s tempting to turn a road trip into a party. It’s tempting to want to do a pub crawl after a 14 hour day of filming. Often, with a travel budget, production teams can treat location work as a vacation. For us, being mindful of the goals of the overall project, we set a specific budget for the trip, and work as a team to finish the project under budget. The remaining amount of the travel budget can be used as a ‘bonus’ for any team members that deserve recognition. In this way, you can incentivize frugality. Plus, a 30 pack of PBR is a lot cheaper than a pub crawl.
Be Excellent
One of the things that separates us from other creators is that we genuinely care about every project we undertake. It’s often an attitude of ‘another day on set’ for some creators. For us, every new context is a growth opportunity. This summer we’ve learned more than we knew there was to know about heavy equipment, country clubs, advanced cancer treatments, roofing, plastics, and the music industry. Each of these opportunities presented unique challenges and specific end-use considerations. Taking the time to genuinely care about the context allows us to bring our storytelling expertise to their world. Our versatility comes from our experiences, but our identity is a result of our willingness to care as much as our clients do about what they represent.
