I am sitting on the plane headed to Las Vegas for Blogs with Balls. With me is Rob Baker of Kabimba Media (who designed this website) who is going to be helping out with the videos. Should be a fun time, with some work mixed in for good measure. My friend Chris, who is one of the organizers of the conference, has put together a good group of panelists and some fun events for the next few days and I’ll capture as much of it as I can.
I find packing for air travel to be somewhat of a pain. Baggage costs are now astronomical, plus the logistics of transporting gear through the airports can be quite a hassle. I tend to pack lighter than some other productions, typically with a smaller lighting kit then when I am shooting locally. My goal is to check 2-3 bags and carry on the camera, laptop, and enough accessories that if that was all I had, I could shoot something. Last year on a trip to Central Pennsylvania (flying to BWI) my large checked bag did not show up and I had no lights or tripod. I was reduced to find a small camera shop and bought the best tripod they had (which was only $50 and ridiculously underequipped for a large camera), and fortunately could rely on available light for the warehouse I was filming in. Basically I try to keep on my person whatever I need to get by in a pinch. I also always look for rental houses in the area I am shooting (which sometimes does not exist in more remote places).
On this trip the only lighting I need is for run and gun interviews so I packed my Zylight Z90 LED light. This is a very versatile little light that I can put on my camera or a stand and is really all I will need for this shoot. I did bring an extra Sony EX-1 as we will be shooting some different things simultaneously and I also have my new Canon 7D, for it’s inaugural shoot. I will mostly use the EX-1s this week as I need to run 2 wireless mics and an on camera light, but hope to get some creative B-roll with the 7D. We may get out on the strip tonight to shoot some fun videos to show at some point during Blogs with Balls so I may use the 7D for that.
So I have my large rolly Kata case (the OC-97) with my tripod, several wired and wireless mics, the Zylight, my Zacuto shoulder mount system and other accessories. I have 2 Kata backpacks (the HB-207…I love this bag) with the EX-1s, the Canon 7D and lenses, batteries, media cards, and a couple mics. I sort of felt like a walking Kata advertisement, rolling through the airport this morning. We checked in fairly easily with only a 70 dollar charge for our three checked bags (after shifting some stuff in the big bag to keep it under 50 pounds). So all in all, it wasn’t a bad travel experience, but it helped to have Rob around to help out.
So on to Vegas and Blogs with Balls. More to come in the next few days.
Tags: Blogs with Balls, Canon 7D, EX-1, freelance, travel