As a local freelancer who doesn’t tour (although I’m willing to do the occasional out-of-town gig), I typically get no advance information whatsoever about a gig, other than the time and place. You’d think that as much as the clients want the gig to go off without a hitch, they’d be generous with advance information.
6 comments:
I think this article is really helpful for technical directors, carpenters, and anyone else in the building and engineering field. I personally never know how to pack and always end up packing too many things that can fit in my bag. This little bag organizer is really useful in terms of keeping track of what you can pack and what you should/need to pack for the job. Since every tool has its own little compartment and section, you know exactly where to put it and what to put in each slot. I think it also prevents you from bringing unnecessary things around with you and carrying a bag that is too heavy on the job. There are so many different compartments that can fit all of the things you need to work. Efficient bags like this make me feel organized and calm because I know exactly where everything is and I don’t need to search for it.
Traveling with a large amount of heavy tools seems like a burden. I understand though that it's important to come prepared and especially appear prepared. But I would hope that there is some minimum standard as to what a theatre must provide as far as resources and amenities. Another hassle to think about is physically transporting a tool bag, especially through an airport. With all the restrictions, I assume there is special protocol that must be taken. Many of the questions can be averted with checking a bag, but I do remember being asked about what was in a bag I've checked. The point about allowing others to borrow or not borrow tools is totally valid when one has invested their own money into them. This is harder to do in a school setting, but in the professional world I think it's valid. Offering to assist in the job with your own tool is also a more polite way to approach the situation.
I really enjoyed finding out what this freelancer considers a necessity enough to keep in his “go bag” of sorts. Despite note being a freelance audio engineer myself, I found that I just so happen to have a lot of similar tools in my tool bag as him. Granted, some of the more specialized equipment is not in my stock, but I have many of the basic tools – multitool, utility blade, headlamp, wire snips – the list goes on. The brief bits of narrative and story behind the tools he carries were also very intriguing. For one, I cannot say I ever intended to secure cable with electrical tape, but after reading about his experience with falling cable due to failed electrical tape, I now know that electrical tape is out of the question, even in a pinch. Some of the items he keeps in his kit, such as the binoculars, are quite odd, but practical. The lesson of never lending out your tools to others is an important one – I have experienced lost tools because I have lent my tools to people who claim to have given them back to me, misplaced them, or were just careless with them. I am very protective of my tools because it is a pain to purchase new ones.
This article gave a bunch of examples of what tools are useful to have on-hand in your toolbag. Admittedly, this is specifically for sound people, but some of the suggestions are useful nonetheless. One idea I think that’s really important towards the end is that sharing tools is nice, but making sure you hold onto them is imperative. We’ve all been burned by things (if not tools) not showing back up after we lent them out to someone we know (even well.) I appreciate his suggestion of offering to take care of the job for the person. The suggestion of binoculars is odd, but it’s one of those things you always carry around just in case. Maybe I'll do that to my toolkit this summer because I’ve got a pair lying around, but it probably won’t be worth it on scenic calls here. The grounding tester is a great idea and that could potentially save a life (as could the first aid kit.) I also appreciated the warning about electrical tape, which is not structural and is also really just a band-aid (thanks to Chase for pointing that out to me.)
I always enjoy seeing what other people carry around; I think it’s some cultural fascination to know what other people have and have with them on a regular basis. But this article was full of good information and tips for specifically audio, but they can be adapted and applied to any technical area. I think the most important takeaways for articles like these is to always adapt the information and tools to your own system and workflow. Many (if not all) of these tools stay the same if you go to work an electrics gig, but there’s no reason to bring a sound cable tester, obviously. It’s also incredibly important to keep evolving your toolkit as your expertise increases and the jobs you take shift in scope and scale. Having a bag packed and ready to go for any gig decreases the stress and anxiety of trying to remember every last important tool every time.
I found the best part of this article to be why the writer does not loan their tools and the response to when someone asks to borrow a tool. In the case of the actual main portion of the article it was useful although it was obviously intended for sound engineers. I am always looking for new methods for carrying my tools as I tend to have the “always be prepared” mentality, which causes me to have a gigantic toolbag. I should definitely downsize, however I can never tell what I might potentially need. I’m sure this information comes with time and experience, however it is important so I am no longer toting around a gigantic bag. I did find that although this was intended for sound, many of the tools the author mentioned were cross disciplinary and were things that would be useful to have in a technical directors kit.
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