Camera Trucks?

[dpwanab]

Howdy everyone.

 

I just finished up day-playing on an Indie feature in MI, and while spending a lot of my time on the truck as the loader, I got to thinking about camera trucks.

 

The truck we were using, and I'm not knocking it cause it'll always be better than a van, but it certainly wasn't ideal. This was a small show with basically a single camera package, but we had a B camera and mags. The box was 14' long, with 12' of shelves along the passenger side, a VERY small darkroom(4'x3') in the front on the driver's side, and a 5' camera bench behind it. So it worked but was cramped.

 

Obviously there are MUCH bigger trucks with a full-width darkroom that includes the 'over-cab' section on the big 5-ton trucks, have that side entrance with stairs, but most smaller productions can't and won't have these. These trucks are huge, expensive, and not the easiest to drive. (if you somehow get stuck driving it)

 

So I got to thinking, and I thought maybe a Step Van would be a good idea. Your basic UPS or FEDEX truck.

 

You can get them will pretty long boxes, and can slap all the essentials on as well, like the liftgate. They're cheaper and easier to drive than the big trucks. Plus, the whole thing with a step-van is that it is a walk-in van. You can use that built-in entrance as the side entrance of a bigger truck, so long as you don't block it with the darkroom.

 

Anyway, This is pretty general, but here's a drawing of it, and I thought I'd ask for some input.

 

 

Christopher Ratledge

600 AC

IN/KY/OH

[Michael Nash]

You wouldn't want to clog up the lift gate/rear door area with a darkroom. There are always large and bulky items that need that rotating space, like dolly and track. The reality is that not everything fits neatly on the G&E truck or production cube, and extra stuff ends up on the camera truck.

 

Every show is different, and you really need to configure the truck for the package and working conditons. I just wrapped a 30 day feature that carried three Panavision bodies, two zooms and a prime case, three heads, two sets of sticks and hi/low hats, lots of mags, all the AKS, two magliners, a Chapman Peewee dolly with three curved and four straight tracks -- all on one 18' cube with shelves from PTS here in LA. There was no darkroom, but the loader had a permanently setup table and tent. Everything fit fine with room to spare.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

Do you really need a complete walk-in darkroom? Wouldn't a very spacious changing box

(like a big, hard glorified tent) be more space saving? Besides, I always prefer having

my head in the light - why sit and rot in a dark room with your irises pumping for light

when only the hands are needed?

[Bob Hayes]

Put the dark room in the front and make it smaller. Keep lift gate clear.

[John Pytlak RIP]

Take care about potential light leaks in any portable darkroom. The vibration of being on the road can cause a leak that may not be detected by the loader unless they have gotten dark-adapted.

 

Pay attention to any caulking on the wall panels, and the seals on the door.

 

Keep the loading area clean. A small battery operated vacuum (e.g., "Dust Buster") or "sticky" cleaners can pick up stray debris that could end up as a "hair in the gate":

 

http://www.nfgsales.com/data%20sheets/Miscellaneous/DRS.htm

 

http://www.filteration.com/craccessories/crdetail.htm

 

http://www.cleanroomitems.com/english_cont...and_rollers.htm

 

http://www.epinions.com/content_89265835652

 

Electrically ground your rewinds and use an anti-static wrist band and other simple measures to minimize chance of any static discharge on the film as you wind it.

 

http://www.absolutesci.com/shopexd.asp?id=23814

 

http://www.genesis16.net/esd.htm

[John Sprung]

You really don't need both front and back entrances. It's a waste of space. So I'd turn the plan around 180 degrees or mirror image, reduce the 2x5 shelves to 2x4 and turn them 90 degrees to push up all the way forward next to the darkroom. Then suck the bench up against these shelves, and you've made yourself plenty of room back by the lift gate where you need it. Consider making the bench hinged to the wall, with hinged legs so it can fold up and latch against the outside of the van for even more room in transportation mode.

 

 

-- J.S.

[dpwanab]

Ah, good to see some responses.

 

As for making room for the Dolly and track, I really don't like that idea at all. I've never worked on a production where the dolly rode on the camera truck. I've seen the occasional Sound or VTR cart here and there, but that's what the open space in the back is for. Plus, I'm really thinking about building the truck for me, and carrying the dolly shouldn't be my responsibility in the first place!

 

And I think it would be preferable to have both a side (in this case the front step) entrance in addition to the rear entrance. All the BIG camera trucks seem to have the side stairs in addition to the lift gate. As a loader it's inconvenient to have to use (and wait for) the lift gate every time you're in and out of the truck. Not to mention dangerous if you try to step up and down all day long, and I've got bad knees. A few small steps is a lot better than two big hops up and down on the liftgate.

 

Why exactly do I need so much open space at the rear of the truck anyway? The Darkroom in my design still allows enough room to operate in, enough room to swing a SR. magliner past it and up into the front of the truck if need be, and enough space to store other carts/items next to it on the open floor when parked or packed up for transit. Not all gates are large enough for two carts simultaneously, so it really doesn't seem like a big deal to take them up one at a time and load them in.

 

I kinda like the ide of a hinged workbench, but then I'd loose those nifty bench pockts where it meets the wall. Plus, I don't really see how that would help that much cause some of the space underneath would already be taken by a genny and an air tank, not to mention the body case(s). And I put it near the front entrance for obvious reasons.

 

And the preferable thing about a darkroom vs. a tent is simply speed and convenience. It takes a lot longer to have to zip twice and slither each arm into a tent than it does to close a door. Plus, for me there's the terepudic value of getting in the dark and away from all the chaos for a few moments!

 

Not nitpicking, just looking for feedback. Thanks already! :D

[GregIrwin]

The big problem I see is that the camera carts would have to make turns to come in and out. I would want a straight shot to and from the gate for this.

[dpwanab]

I agree about the preferable straight-shot in, if the gate allows that. Even some of the biggest trucks I've worked on have had pretty small liftgates. Small enough that you could only get one cart on at a time, but on top of that, it's a shallow gate that the cart has to sit on sideways, (perpendicular to the rear door) cause it's the only way it will fit. So to get them in, you HAVE to turn the carts anyway.

 

It would be great to get a truck with a HUGE liftgate, like a level-vator type that lifts to the up position and then like a hinge, folds up to BECOME the back of the truck box.

[Mitch Gross]

I think you should simply put the darkroom by the front cab and limit your front entrance to only two feet wide rather than four feet. It's all you need anyway and it gets the darkroom out of the way. In every camera truck I've ever seen the darkroom is buried as far away from the lightgate as possible, which also means it's as far away from the sun's rays as possible. Think how hot your little black box can get with the sun beating down on one side all day! This would allow you greater access for your carts plus it would push the ends of the shelves right near the lift gate for quick access to some cases that you don't need to carry around on the carts. Think Tripod tubes on the bottom on their sides so you could just pop the lid and slide the sticks in from outside the truck. Very comfortable. Also a good spot for the gear head case so that you can unload that beastie quickly. A camera truck design should be about convenience and speed. I want to get to the gear quickly and easily.

 

And make sure the frame of that vehicle can really handle a lift gate. Especially one that may have an additional 1000 ibs. riding up on it (loaded Sr. Magliner and two beefy ACs holding it in place).