Run Bag

When Arturo brought in his run bag it inspired me to write a blog post about what is in my run bag and what should be in every good run bag. Every run bag will be different depending on what position you work on set, but from PA to director, every crew member should have a run bag.

I tend to Camera Assist more than anything else, so my runbag is built around that. Here are some of the most critical things in my run bag:

(from left to right)

Tape leash (with carabiner) - Great for holding multiple rolls of tape, and with the carabiner attached can be easily clipped to a belt or other things (Filmtools sells real tape leashes but I just used an old dog collar.) 

Tape -   This is all the tape I carry on me but many more styles and sizes (paper tape) come in handy

2" Black Gaff - for everything

1" Black Gaff - for everything else

1" White Gaff - great for camera stuff and  the slate

1/2" Colored Strike - for marking actors

Black Sharpies -  Come in handy for everything, especially marking waterbottles 

SD Card Case - Contains multiple SD cards of various sizes

Leatherman (with belt clip) - Swiss army knife x10

Interchangeable Screwdriver -  

Headlamp - Great for working in low light situations or before lights are struck

Flashlight - Various things, especially shining a light on slate when not enough light

Tape Measure - Measuring for focus & mirroring camera shots & detailed camera reports

Airblower - Cleaning lens & blowing dust off camera

Lens pen - Cleaning lens

Belt - Good to clip things on, holds your pouch, and keeps yo pants up

Pancro - Cleaning lens

Lens Tissue - Cleaning lens

Insert slate - Fits in AC pouch, used when a real slate can't fit or MOS shots to save time

Pouch - Keeps various things on your person, much more organized than pockets

Crafty - You WILL get hungry on set, and storing crafty in your run bag will keep you, and more importantly, the DP, satisfied

The rest of my run bag

Scissors, pens, C47s, HDMI, follow focus whip (no idea where that came from), power strip, hammer, pliers, wrench, grip gloves, cardellini clamp, cards, lighters, gum, towel, string/rope, box cutter, extra black t-shirt, phone charger, and many other things I'm forgetting right now. 

The Black and Blue has a great post about what's in his run bag. 

http://www.theblackandblue.com/2011/12/15/camera-assistant-toolkit/

Here's a video of Evan Luzi going through his bag: 

                   

And to finish off the post, the most useful piece of set advice I've received:

If you wear pants to set bring shorts, if you wear shorts to set bring pants.