5 Simple Tips to Flying with Your Video Equipment

Photo Credit Eva Darron

Once upon a time at Allied Productions, it wasn’t the crew’s first pick to travel by air for our projects taking place across the country. Outside of the relatively high travel costs, the local transportation logistics of your destination, and having one crew member (myself) who had a heightened fear of flying, we actually just preferred to pile up in a SUV Scooby-Doo style and take a road trip. It gave us the opportunity to bond as a team, explore new parts of our world on the route, and enabled us to choose which of our company’s gear we wanted to bring on the road with us.

However, there are times when traveling by air to a project’s location is the easier, more efficient, and on the rare occasion, least expensive option. When those occasions arise, the travel preparations aren’t as simple as swapping out a van rental for plane tickets and taking the exact same gear you planned to bring with you. Ideally, you would want to take as little gear as possible with you on the plane and rent the remaining equipment needs from a vendor local to your destination. Less stress as you travel, less equipment you own potentially getting damaged or lost in transit, less luggage to carry around; the benefits are plentiful. Unfortunately, not every filming location has a relatively close rental house and even in the areas that do, the exact gear you need may not be available.

Whether it’s a lack of equipment availability, costs, or simply not having enough time to pick up the rental, circumstances may force you to bring some extra gear on the plane after all. Just like any other time you make flight arrangements, your destination(s), airport size, and airline selection can have an impact on your experience when traveling with your video equipment. It would be fantastic if there were universal standards and procedures that were followed to a T at every security checkpoint at every airport but it’s been my experience (11 flights so far this year, I would say my fear of flying has been reduced to a more healthy level) that it really comes down to the temperament of the individual you’re interacting with at these spots. One ticket agent accepted us stating that we were professional videographers at Airport A, the ticket agent at Airport B had to get a manager involved to verify that claim (more on the importance of that later). TSA Agent 1, “I need you to disassemble your drone, layout the batteries, controller, and any other electronic elements into a separate bin.” TSA Agent 2, “You’re cool, man. You can just leave the drone in your bag.”

From customs paperwork to luggage size selection, there are many factors to consider when packing your video and photo equipment for a flight but if you follow the five tips outlined below, you’ll be able to put your mind at ease so you can place your focus where it really needs to be: the project itself.

Photo Credit Erik Odiin

Tip #1: Do Your Homework

Simply researching what protocols you’ll need to follow in order to get your equipment on and off the plane will help skirt most of the issues I previously laid out. I recommend starting your research on the necessary travel arrangements for the project BEFORE you book it so you can avoid failing to deliver on your company’s promise due to equipment issues or surprising your client with an unexpected expense that could have been laid out in the initial quote. Once you know your exact equipment needs for the production, determine what you need to bring with you and what can be sourced around your filming location. Then, decide the amount and dimensions of the luggage that your gear requires as that will have a direct impact on our budget. If you’re able to fit all of your gear and personal items into the luggage included in your ticket fare, go ahead and chalk up a fat “W” in life. More often than not though, you’ll have to fit these items into larger bags and cases, requiring you to check them as media bags which means you need to get some paperwork together.

Media bags are special luggage designations for video and photo professionals, allowing you check luggage that exceeds the normal weight and dimensions limits. Be aware that not every airline offers a special media bag rate so you’ll want to double check if you’re looking to book outside of the major airlines (American, Delta, & United). Even for the airlines that do offer media bag rates on your luggage, limits for weight and luggage dimensions can vary from carrier to carrier so be sure to find the right airline for the bags you intend to bring with you. If you are checking media bags, you’ll need to have media credentials in order to qualify for the special rate. Like I mentioned before, this paperwork can be of paramount importance or a trivial detail depending on the ticket agent you draw so best to be prepared and have it at the ready. Also, verify what can be packed into a checked bag and what must be carried on with you. Lithium ion batteries, for example, MUST be carried on for all flights…I think. Look it up, make sure.

If your project is at an international destination, research what documentation you will need to provide for customs agents both at your destination and for your return trip as these requirements can vary from country to country. Once again, the customs agent you interact may not ask to see it but when it comes to these documents, it’s very much a “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it” kind of situation. “You can pick up your bag when you return home” is disheartening to hear in every language so make sure that this paperwork is airtight.

Tip #2: Plan for Contingencies

So now that you have your equipment plan in place, it’s time to be like Marsellus Wallace and “contemplate the ifs”. What if a checked bag gets lost? What if my equipment gets damaged in transit? What if my flight arrangements change and there’s a delay in getting my luggage? All of these are real possibilities that you’ll want to have a Plan B in place for. The first step in limiting the damage from these hypothetical situations is to pack the most essential equipment pieces in your carry-on luggage. This may require you to swap out some personal items to make room but I can guarantee you that almost everywhere you go it’ll be easier and less expensive to replace a toothbrush than a camera, lens, or microphone so the trade is definitely worth it.

Remember looking around the shooting location for a local rental house? Bookmark any places that could be feasibly resourced should you need to supplement any damaged or lost gear, it could be your lifesaver. If you’re fortunate enough to have “secondary” or “backup” gear, bring that along with you, too, if possible. Sure, the video quality on your DSLR won’t be as nice as your production camera, but it’ll hit mark in most situations and it’s way better than relying on your phone’s camera. It’s also beneficial to keep an inventory of all your gear and which case each piece is in. Therefore, if you lose just one bag instead of all of them, you know exactly what needs to be replaced and what you may be able to go without. You can also discuss these contingencies with your client ahead of time and get them worked into your agreement so all parties can be prepared for the unforeseeable.

Photo Credit CJ Dayrit

Tip #3: Label Your Gear (And Yourself)

I mentioned earlier that one airline ticket agent simply accepted us claiming to be a production company before granting us media bag rates for our gear. While I certainly can’t confirm why that was sufficient in her eyes, I can’t help but think that our appearance at the time had something to do with it. First off, we either slapped a logo sticker or spray painted our logo onto all of the cases that we were bringing with us. This not only clearly identifies what bags are yours (a great bonus when at the baggage claim carousel) but also gives the clear optics that a company owns those bags, not an individual person, further legitimatizing your professional status claim. Also, some of our team members were wearing company apparel when we approached the ticket counter that day.

Who knows? Maybe that was all the proof the ticket agent needed. I mean, custom clothing, stickers, and straight up ruining the fabric of one case by spray painting our logo on it? Seems like a pretty elaborate ruse just to get some larger cases on a flight at a reasonable rate. But then again, maybe you get the ticket agent who once saw that exact scenario play out and you need to label yourself even further with your media credentials. You can also bring a few business cards with you, be prepared to pull up your company’s website on your phone, or even go as far as I did one time to cover my bases and bring a piece of certified mail (utility bill, etc.) addressed to the business. Whatever material items you have available that can prove the existence of your business, bring them along, just in case.

Tip #4: Act Like You’re On Set When at the Airport

Keep in mind that the travel arrangements are part of the project and your client is (usually) funding it so act accordingly. Your client may want to achieve some sort of viral fame with the project eventually but not because you got filmed acting like a fool with TSA on your way to the shoot. Let professionalism guide your conduct in each interaction and you’ll be good to go. I was once given what I thought to be a bogus additional fee on one of our cases. Now, if this fee was eating into my vacation budget, I might require a detailed explanation from the ticket agent before I would consider paying it. But since this situation happened on a business trip, I just ate the fee and disputed it with the airline’s customer service after the fact. (Turns out they snuck in a change to their bag fee rates when they updated their covid protocols….next time, Gadget. NEXT TIME!) However, when I communicated the additional fee to our client, they were absolutely fine with it because I prepared them for the possibility of this scenario ahead of time.

You know that TSA public address that advises you to always keep your eyes on your luggage so someone doesn’t try to hide something in it or maybe steal it? Consider that to be scripture when you’re in the airport with your gear. A potential downside to marking your cases with your logo is that it makes them more eye catching to a thief so keep them in your sight at all times. I would also advise politely declining any offers to help with lifting, unloading, or carrying your bags, too. That gear is just too important to let a stranger handle it. Lastly, it doesn’t matter if it’s a checked bag, a carry-on, or your personal item bag; if it has gear in it, lock it up like Fort Knox (with TSA approved locks, of course).

Photo Credit Michał Parzuchowski (By the way, don’t do this with your gear!)

Tip #5: Be Prepared for the Worst

I know that something as simply stated as this tip could fall into the category of “planning for contingencies” but this is the mindset you should have throughout this whole process. I’ll quote MJ from Spider-Man: No Way Home and say, “if you expect disappointment then you can never really get disappointed.” While I hate to sound that pessimistic and add to the social stigma revolving around the machinations of air travel, I can’t recommend a “prepare for the worst, hope for the best” strategy enough. Be prepared for your preferred airline to not offer media bags or have ticket rates that are within your budget. Be prepared for additional expenses that you didn’t anticipate. Be prepared for a “by the book” type of person that you’ll have to interact with along the way. Be prepared to lose your luggage.

If you approach the process with some expectation of disappointment, you can treat yourself to the joy of surprise when things actually do go as planned. We may look a little silly high five-ing each other at the luggage carousel when we confirm receiving every bag we checked but I prefer that appearance to looking like a madman because I expected perfection from an imperfect world and was then disappointed. The joy of all of our gear arriving on time after 3 separate flights spanning over 15 hours and covering over 6,500 miles definitely helped carry the crew through the proceeding 15-hour production day. Whereas if we didn’t have a Plan B in place for losing one of those bags, it could have ruined the entire project.

We hope that you find these tips to be useful. If you have any other advice from your experiences traveling with your gear, be sure to leave a comment below. If you want to check out some of our other blogs, you can find them here.