Almost everyone of us has a workbox or gig-bag that goes out with us to every show. What form your gig-bag takes can vary quite a bit. For an international man of mystery or hot shot Video Director, it may be a simple computer bag, with your favorite kewpie doll sharing a compartment with the most important weapon in your arsenal, your laptop. On the other end of the spectrum, the road-hardened lighting tech may have a twelve-hundred pound fully-customized thirteen-drawer double-hardened triple-galvanized welded-steel-frame road case that is designed with the perfect truck pack in mind. My work box has gone through several incarnations over the years and currently lives a sort of double life…
The one thing that you will never see me without on a gig is my computer bag. For the past thirteen years, I have relied on a black leather backpack that is still as sturdy as the day I got it. However, due to a recent camera upgrade (more on that in a later post), I have recently switched to a backpack that includes a dedicated section for my camera, a slot behind my back for my laptop, and plenty of leftover room for all of the other gack I carry around. (You can see my new bag here)
Fortunately, I long ago stopped trying to use my backpack as the place for carrying all of my personal equipment. As a freelancer, I reach a lot of different destinations by air travel, and since I have at least a couple of different clients, getting a workbox onto the truck isn’t always feasible. The addition of a hard drive to my regular needs as well as the TSA’s dislike of tools in carry-ons led me to search out a more robust case that would not only protect my precious bits, bytes, and bolts, but would stand up to the brutality of O’Hare baggage handlers. The search eventually led me to purchase an industry standard Pelican case. It’s even got a pull-out handle and wheels, just like my suitcase! (Check out my Pelican Case here)
While I depend on the lighting provider to, well, provide stuff, my dual case combo helps me ensure that I always have my bare necessities. It offers me enough space to bring everything with me that I want, while giving me the versatility necessary for air travel (and tour buses).
That’s it for this week. Time to pack my bags.
See you next week as we delve a little farther into the underground below Technopolis; a place we call The Complex.
Phil
| Technopolis Tech Question of the Week: What does your gig-bag/workbox consist of it and what do you keep inside?Let us know by replying in the comments below. |
Technology surrounds us every day. Often we focus on the ‘big’ pieces; the consoles, light fixtures, and video equipment that we use on a daily basis and are the signature tools of our craft. But the show wouldn’t go up without the ‘little’ pieces; power strips, keyboards, connectors, and all sorts of other widgets make it possible to use the ‘big’ pieces.
‘The Little Things’ is a regular feature dedicated to these important ‘little’ pieces of The Complex.
