DVX Manual for Air Travel with Your Accessories and Production Equipment

Part 1 of a Special 3-Part Series
by Thomas Whitman


It can be a sick feeling having to travel with something as precious as your film gear - especially when it comes to air travel. The trick, of course, is to travel safe and efficient with your film gear intact and accounted for. Sure…easier said than done. However, just keeping in mind the type of production gear you need and the necessary equipment and accessories you have to take with you, all you need are a few smart packing tips and you’ll be set.

Most of us are on the scale of independent film projects that are no-budget productions and won’t have to worry about traveling with any of our digital movie equipment since we don’t have any money to spend on our film, much less for travel. But in case you find yourself in a fortunate situation where traveling is required for a production that you’re involved with, then you’d want to keep in mind the following packing tips that’ll help save you and your movie production gear.

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time traveling on planes with my trusty DVX100 accessories and a lot of production gear. I’ve gone so far as traveling out of town, out of state and eventually out of the country on numerous productions. I’ve learned a lot about air travel and production equipment and what to expect. Here is some advice:

Keep it to a Minimum

Whether traveling a domestic or international flight, be sure to take only what you’ll need. Don’t go overboard by bringing your entire movie equipment inventory with you. “But how am I supposed to know what I’ll need? I was taught that it’s better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it.” Well, that’s true. But the more meticulous you are about the equipment you pack, the better chance you’ll have of a smoother journey. Let me explain.

If you take just the bare essentials and the gear that you absolutely MUST HAVE, you:

1. reduce your travel weight (which saves you money because you pay extra if you exceed the airline’s allotted weight for check-in baggage)

2. reduce the chances of your equipment getting lost or ending up at some other destination.

3. draw less attention to yourself which allows for faster and easier boarding and screening. (I noticed that the more items of gear I had with me, the more attention it drew not only from security agents, but from some uneasy travelers as well. And, we all know that on any given day, it just takes one security agent to tell you that you aren’t allowed to bring that one piece of equipment on board with you, for whatever reason. Who needs all the ruckus and hullabaloo?)

So keep it to a minimum.

continued on next page: DVX Travel

Do YOU have a cheap, low budget, do-it-yourself DVX100 tip or trick that you'd like to contribute?
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