We often find ourselves travelling to foreign destinations when making our productions and thought we would offer our advice on the top 5 things filmmakers should take on a plane to help spend the time productively and to get to the destination with all their gear.
Good Headphones
You may want to review footage you’ve recently shot, catch up on the latest Vimeo staff pics or just drown out the screaming child behind you, either way good headphones can come in very handy. Especially on long haul flights where you may be able to immerse yourself in a good blockbuster on the in-flight entertainment system.
Business Cards
I once met a filmmaker who got chatting to the person next to them on a long haul flight. They turned out to be the head of marketing for a large car manufacturer. After swapping business cards and few emails the filmmaker was making branded content for a worldwide household name brand… You never know, so always be prepared.
A note pad
Einstein used to do his best thinking on train journeys and if it was good enough for him… Something about the motion of a plane can really aid creative thinking and being away from the usual distractions of incoming emails and calls can focus the brain on important tasks. If you have a notepad you can jot notes, write scripts or plan upcoming shoots.
Lithium batteries
Well don’t take them as a matter of course but as a filmmaker you will probably require Lithium batteries for your equipment. If so then take them in hand luggage rather than storing them in the hold as they should not go into an unsupervised part of the plane. Also, check airline restrictions for how many and what voltage of batteries you should take.
Your camera equipment
Don’t put it in the hold where it will get bashed about, keep it with you and you’ll avoid it being lost, stolen or being sent to another city.
As a final thought, check out Trees for life to help you calculate how to offset your carbon footprint. Flying around the world making films is a lot of fun but in order to make sure future generations have the same opportunities these guys have some good solutions for how to donate some of your profit.
http://treesforlife.org.uk/support/corporate-support/becoming-carbon-conscious/