I am re-organizing ad re-packing my gear kit, and I am trying to re-configure a few things for convenience and speed. First of all, I am trying to figure out how to put my c-stands into my truck and transport them efficiently on my rock and roller. I generally do shoots where I have either an audio guy, some times a PA, or sometimes just a producer who helps me load and unload gear, so the typical smaller ENG shoot. I drive a Ford Escape SUV (planning on upgrading to a Suburban, Expedition or similar in the future) But for now, I have to stick with it for budget and four wheel drive reasons. I am thinking about building some sort of a box inside on the side of my vehicle or maybe a PVC tube for putting in my c-stands. The problem that I usually have is that the C-stands are laying down unevenly and limit the floor space in the back for other equipment and cases, instead of laying straight. I have been working with a photog from GoTo Team recently, and I really like the way that all the stands are in a Pelican 1770, or similar long case, and that the lamp heads are in smaller Pelicans, such as the 1550’s. However, he doesn’t use c-stands, and this is where we differ, and I have one regular and two baby C’s that have removable bases, that could possibly fit in a Pelican, but I think that’s pushing it.

I am also trying to decide how to organize my audio kit, and I kind of like the idea of having the mixer bag, with batteries, receivers, IFB, etc. already hooked up and ready to go, put in my larger audio bag along with accessories. I used to just have all the audio gear broken down, and I would assemble everything or have my sound guy assemble on location, but it is much slower especially when you have a lot of run and gun with not a lot of prep and setup time.

Any suggestions or stories about how you organize your own vehicle would be appreciated. Thanks!