Every cinematographer has tools that go into their bag, even if they’re working as part of a team. There are things that you just know you’ll need if you want to be successful as a Director of Photography. Everybody’s list is going to be slightly different depending on what they shoot, but it’s a good thing to think about it just so you’re not caught off guard.
We thought about that in order to help you and we created a list of five elements (plus one) that cannot be missing from a Cinematographer’s bag.
Multitool: an item with a variety of pliers, replaceable wire cutters, wire stripper, plain and serrated knives, saw, spring-action scissors, ruler, can and bottle openers, files, and screwdrivers, that only requires one hand to open and use, to be prepared to fix anything.
Small Led Light: a portable handy tool that will be able to throw a little bit of light in a dark pocket at a location without overpowering the main lights on the set.
Smartphone: an item that may seem foregone, with an unreal number of apps available and helpful for photo and video use, such as the sun seeker that will allow you to see the course of the sun’s position through out the day. It’s far more than “just a phone”, when used right, it can become a valuable tool for Cinematographers and DP.
Light Meter: an essential tool for quickly and accurately metering the light; it will be a fantastic aid in lighting your scenes and especially for relighting, matching, inserts and close ups.
Tripod: a support consisting of three rods joined to form the profile of a tetrahedron, made of a metallic, plastic material, which allows stability and control of the positioning of the camera in different situations and on uneven surfaces.
Plus One: a Camera (obviously needed).
Essentially this is the bag which contains the kit that you bring on set every day, that you can’t work without. As we mentioned, each person will have their own bag just tailored to his own needs.
Regarding that, Andrea Toy Bonvicini shared what he likes to keep into his own DP Bag, go find it out on YouTube clicking the video below:
