We’ve all been on set were all of your camera equipment is spread out on the floor in various black camera bags, hidden in a side pocket, or out of reach.
To solve this problem we have made a DIY equipment cart which can be used in a studio or on set.
The cart we used can be found on amazon: it is 75cm long, 70cm tall, the width is 35cm, and has 3 shelves. The wheels that come with this cart work for the amount of weight we are going to store on it, but you can always add some heavy duty wheels if you want.
We added pieces of carpet to each shelf, creating a softer surface for our equipment to be placed onto, and so it wouldn’t roll around.
We kept the top shelf of the cart clear so when setting up our camera rig we had a place for all of the pieces of equipment to go, whilst we assembled the rig on a tripod.
One thing we did attach to the top shelf was a flat headed screwdriver so anytime you need to add or remove the tripod plate you don’t need to be searching around for a coin in your pocket. Also, we added a bunch of Allen keys we use for our camera rigs.
Most equipment on the cart can be accessed from both sides, but we have made one side the front and one the back.
We’ve done this so everything will be setup in the same order, and if you are in a small place you can park it up correctly so you still have access to everything.
The second shelf is where most of the action is happening. On the right hand side we have all of the chargers we use which are connected to a extension cable that hangs off the side when not being used.
The main charger we use is for our Sony NP batteries as we use them to power our camera via a dummy battery, which you can find a video about that here.
The charger we has a battery level percentage which comes in very handy.
The box behind has extra batteries and chargers that we do not use often, and it is also used to store the batteries and chargers when in transport.
Once a battery is fully charged they move to a section on the left hand side.
We divided this section up with some white backing card, but cardboard would do the same job. Having it divided clearly shows were the charged batteries go.
Next we have a small section for the lenses we are using on the shoot. For our short films we switch between a 35, 58, and 85mm and having them on hand in a safe place saves time finding them in a bag. When a lens is being used, the caps from the lens are left on the cart, so they don’t go missing.
Since camera batteries and lenses are the thing you will will change the most, having a dedicated space allows everything to be stored correctly and safely.
It’s also a lot easier to direct someone to one place when changing a battery or lens, instead of them trying to find a battery in the pocket of a camera bag.
On the second shelf we also added LED lights so when it gets dark we can still see where everything goes.
The bottom shelf is where we store small equipment cases, as these normally still have power and audio cables, clips, and extra accessories inside which we might still need.
Next we have a place for our tool bag which is always handy on set, and the final box is where the flat batteries go when all of the charges are being used. Having this on a separate shelf makes sure the flat batteries do not get mixed with the charged ones.
On the front of the cart we have a plastic tube which holds our coloured gels, a velcro tape holder, a tin to store pens. These are all connect via bolts and wing nuts so everything can be easily removed if needed.
We also have a place for all of our metal clips and pegs to go. These are clipped on a piece of card so when in transport they can all be taken out of a camera bag and clipped to the cart.
This cart works well for us in our studio or on our short films. We already had some of the materials we used for this cart like the carpet and bolts, but we have estimated it would cost around £60 to make it from scratch and you can just keep adding to it until it suits you.
A professional equipment cart can cost over £1000, but this is because they are being used on films which has camera equipment that are much heavier and can cost hundreds of thousands pounds, so you will probably want to use a cart that costs thousands.
We still have a few things we want to add to this cart and we would love to hear your suggestions.
🎥 This episode's kit/gear/equipment:
🇺🇸 US links:
Cart - https://amzn.to/2JkVz1E
Flat-headed screwdriver - https://amzn.to/2xuUH5E
Allen Keys - https://amzn.to/2Hb3uJF
Sony NP Battery Charger - https://amzn.to/2sw4p27
Sony NP USB Charger - https://amzn.to/2J5S4bN
LED Lights - http://amzn.to/2fQ67ZF
🇬🇧 UK links:
Cart - https://amzn.to/2sri5ft
Cart Carpet - https://amzn.to/2sri5ft
Flat-headed screwdriver - https://amzn.to/2J7kWoo
Allen Keys - https://amzn.to/2J7kWoo
Sony NP Battery Charger - https://amzn.to/2xydkFP
Sony NP USB Charger - https://amzn.to/2kEbs50
LED Lights - https://amzn.to/2smXUPW
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