Brian Yankou

Hi everybody! I'm going to be gripping on an indie feature that will be using a process trailer for traveling car shots. I've worked with hood mounts and the like but this will be my first time dealing with a process trailer. What are some of the basic things I have to know in regards to rigging, safety, etc? What extra equipment (clamps, speed rail, ratchet straps, etc.) should we have on hand? Is there a basic rig configuration that you'd recommend as a starting point? I'm sure a lot of you have a lot of pictures of stuff you've done on trailers too. Our preproduction meeting isn't until tomorrow so I don't have a lot of details about the trailer itself or what we'll be working with but since I wasn't able to find a thread on this subject, maybe the discussion can start off with more general advice and then I can ask about specifics for this job a bit later. Thanks!

Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your input on this thread! I'm happy to report that the shoot went off without incident, as far as electricity and lights are concerned; no shocks, no arcs, no green flames . Fortunately (for me) the temperature was consistently below freezing for the entire week so we didn't have standing puddles or slush to worry about. We did have a lot of wind and snow, but between the cello, sealing our connections with garbage bags and electrical tape (a method we started calling "Tootsie-Rolling"), and using extra sandbags and safety lines, we were able to neutralize these safety concerns. We grounded the generator and the light stands to copper spikes that were pounded into the frozen ground by a local electrician who used an auger to get the holes started. We ran 14 gauge wire from the light stands to the grounding spikes. The stands were placed on rubber matting and plywood. The generator we were using for most of the production was a Honda EU 6500is which we often used to power all three HMI's. The 2.5 was powered through a three-prong twistlock 30A outlet on the genny. We plugged in a twistlock to bates adapter and ran bates for the 2.5. The 1.2's were powered by the two 20A Edison courtesy outlets on the genny. The only time the other generator (Honda EU 2000i) came into play was on a day when we wanted the 2.5 and a 1.2 on opposite sides of an active snowmobile path, which we couldn't run cable across. We didn't use any GFCIs. One thing i'm not sure of is whether we had power factor corrected ballasts for the HMIs. How can you tell? Does "EB" stand for "electronically balanced" or something? The ballasts we were using looked similar to these: Does the One other question that came up was "Is it safe to refuel a generator while it is running?" We had opposing viewpoints on this. Let me know if I missed one of your questions with this response. Thanks again, everyone!

Hey everyone! I'm working as an electric on a short film up in the mountains where we'll be dealing with portable generators (6500 and 2000 watts) in snow. The gaffer, director, producer, etc. talked to a faculty member/ gaffer from their school who advised that we ground the generator and each of the instruments (one 2.5K and two 1.2K HMIs) and put the stands on plywood boards with rubber matting. We're also planning on visqueening and taping all the connections and raising them up on apple boxes and covering lights with celo. We'll also be using rubber gloves and rubber boots. In doing my own research, it seems like a ground fault interrupter (GFI) is recommended in any situation where you're potentially mixing water and electricity but they've been told that it's not necessary and will trip too easily or too often. I've never worked with a GFI or shot very much in snow so I put it to you, the experts: are GFIs absolutely necessary, just a good idea or a waste of time? Also, do you have any other tips about shooting/ running power in snow? Any pointers or trade secrets on grounding lights and generators? Thanks in advance. I look forward to your responses.