Traveling for Work
There are a wide array of considerations when traveling. Domestically is fairly straight forward, but international travel can be a bit more tricky.
Bidding the Job
Working conditions can end up being pretty difficult on travel jobs as timelines are often times much tighter because of all the additional time required to travel. When booking the job here are some things to consider:
- Turnaround for travel.
Advisable to make sure you have at least 10 hours turnaround from the end of your shoot day to when you have to leave your hotel.
- International Phone Plan
You will most likely end up with additional charges. You can tell the production company you just plan to have WIFI only and if they would like to have more access to you they'll need to cover your additional phone plan.
- Long Travel Days
Some travel days may exceed 24 hours. How will you be compensated for this time?
- Flying Business Class or Exit Row
Long flights especially when you are tall can be very tough. Asking for them to fly you business class or at least pay the additional cost for an exit row is a reasonable request.
- Additional Prep time for Visas and Dr. Visit
- For Extended Visits, how will Laundry be handled?
Will need to make sure you have access to a laundry service weekly.
Doctor Visit
As soon as you book the job, try and book a doctors appointment with an infectious disease doctor. This can be a phone visit or in person. Phone visit will help you to understand if vaccines are needed or if you will just need prescription medication. They can also prescribe you antibiotics that can help combat food poisoning, which can be helpful in some areas. Keep in mind there is a difference between what is required by the government and what a doctor recommends. You don’t want to get sick if you can avoid it.
Applying for Visa
Applying for a Visa is a time consuming and difficult process. It can take a day or two to get through it as you’ll want to make sure everything is correct, also you will have to rely on production to furnish you with a lot of your answers. It’s advisable to ask for a prep day if you have to apply for a Visa as it will be very time consuming.
Gear
Prepping your gear for a travel job can be very different than prepping it for a local project.
Ideally your main items will be in your carry-on. This includes lenses, batteries, camera bodies, and media. Basically if all of your checked bags are lost, you will still have a camera to shoot something with, even if everything else is missing. All batteries must be carried on, as they cannot be checked. You will have to check the airlines regulations on batteries, but usually it is best to only carry 98wH batteries as they do not have the same limitations as 150wH batteries do.
One of the most common carry ons is the Think Tank Roller Bag. It has padded dividers and is carry on size.
If you are shooting Multi-cam the Pelican 1650 can be a great case as it can fit two 1030 O Connor Heads/Sticks at once. You will need to be careful with the weight limit of this case though as you can easily exceed the max weight of some airlines.
You must travel with a rock n roller cart. They are easily collapsible and can be checked. Even if you have just a few cases it can make moving around the airport much easier since you are not dependent on the airports carts.
Batteries
Additional Batteries
You are able to take on as many <100wh batteries on your carry on, but only two >100wh batteries in carry on. >100wh cannot be checked.
Spare Lithium Ion batteries are never allowed as checked luggage. A battery drill with the battery mounted is fine. A battery drill with the battery removed and loose next to the drill is not.
Built in Batteries
Google the name of the airline you'll be flying with + Lithium Ion. This will give you a link to the airlines T's & C's regarding Lithium Ion batteries installed in products and their policies on how many each passenger is allowed in checked luggage. This usually varies a bit between airlines. But between 10-20 is normal.
Download and print the MSDS documents from the manufacturers website. Put a copy in the case and bring a couple extra copies with you for check in. The battery limit is specified under the MSDS.
Every airline is different, so call the airline and check with them and confirm.
It is possible to check items with built in batteries, but they have to be under 100wh. It will also vary per carrier.
Weight Limits
Check the weight limit of the airlines you are flying on and weigh your camera cases at the prep. Some airlines will have a 70lb limit and not allow you to take anything overweight, others will allow you to, but will force you to pay a higher rate.
Its also possible airlines will have wildly different policies on carry on luggage. Some will only allow 15lbs of carry on, while others will have limits up to 35lbs. Check beforehand to see how this will affect things.
Media Badge
Most airlines, if shown a media badge, will give you a discounted rate on checking camera cases. It will vary from airline to airline, but it can be the difference between 200 dollars for an overweight case to 70 dollars for the same case. Media badges, while they look official, are very easily gotten. You can search on google for Media Badge template and have it printed and laminated. As long as you have a physical badge to show, they will accept it.
For a good template, download this file.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QK5tF7ICbe9n6024WqjFZ6lZsziQwd1N/view?usp=drive_link
and make a badge using this website, it should be around 10 dollars.
Documentation
When travelling internationally you should check to see if you are traveling to a carnet country. If you are, it means you can obtain a carnet which is a document that is an extensive inventory of all of the items in your package, including serial numbers, plus equipment values. This is done to make sure that you are not illegally importing expensive equipment and then selling it without paying import taxes on the items. There is an extensive list here.
Non-Carnet Countries
Traveling to a non-carnet country will be a bit different as both countries must agree to use the carnet system. Without the Carnet instead you will need to get a document from the united states for your export and import of the equipment (CBP 4455), then you will also need to get a waiver for import and export taxes from the country you are traveling to. The CBP 4455 is free, so there is no reason not to do this.
Just like a carnet, you must take this form to customs before you’re flight and have it stamped and signed. The customs officer will most likely ask to see a few items, but rarely do they go through your entire kit. The Customs Officer will then stamp your form, which is handed back to you. They typically do not make a copy. Hang onto your copy, and then re-present to customs when you arrive back in the U.S.
You have to do your customs paper work at the first port of entry. So if you are flying back from Mexico with a layover in Houston en route to LGA, you’ll have to show your Carnet/4455 in Houston. It’s extremely important to make sure you schedule a long enough layover to get this done. While customs is usually a 10 minute process, you may have to wait in a secondary line for up to 45 minutes.
Carnets
This should be done by the production.
Once you receive your carnet, put it in with your camera bag that you'll be carrying on with you. This ensures you'll always have it when you need it. While most of the time the customs officers will just wave you through, they can do a detailed check of your equipment, so it is important to follow the rules as closely as possible.
When you arrive to the airport, check in at a desk and let them know you have a Carnet and ask where you can show your equipment to a customs officer. They will either call a customs agent over to the desk to sign off on your carnet or the customs officer will just ask you to check your bags and they will sign it once you get past security. It will take roughly 45 minutes - 1 hour to get your boarding ticket and begin to get through security, so provide yourself with ample time to get through. It is common that the people working the front desk will be confused on the process, but its important to know that you will need to talk to a customs officer to find out what they would like to do before checking your luggage.
The carnet will have to be inspected by both the country you are departing from as well as the country that you are entering. The most important things to list on the carnet are the expensive high ticket items, this is what they will care the most about. There are various online sites that will help you create a carnet, such as MerchandisePassport.com