It’s still slow season at the moment and every dollar counts, so I booked a cheap room for the night, got a rental car for less than it would have cost to pay for a ride share or taxi, and ate dinner at the United Club during a layover.
It's worth the effort to commit to one airline and take advantage of the perks. Years ago a DP buddy of mine got me hooked on United Airlines and I’ve not looked back. At this point, I'm not flying enough to get club membership via elite status, so I pay roughly $450/year in membership fees for a United MileagePlus Club Visa card. It gets me Premiere status with easier check-ins, earlier boarding, and two free checked bags on each flight, as well as United Club access. The two free checked bags perk alone helps me save a crazy amount of money considering all the gear I travel with and more than covers that yearly membership fee. There are other perks too, but those are the main ones keeping me a loyal United customer.
I found a solid coffee shop in downtown West Palm Beach and after breakfast, I walked up and down the beach until my parking meter ran out. Before meeting the rest of the crew, I picked up some gear I’d rented from Lensrentals and had shipped to a local FedEx branch.
We scouted the first location that afternoon before heading back to the hotel for the night. I’ll typically have my Canon 5Dmk3 with me on scouts along with my iPhone. For sure I’d rather scout the location during the same time of day before the scheduled shoot, but that wasn’t an option. The Sun Seeker app let me know where the sun would be during our shoot and Artemis helped me make some shot choices by being able to plug in my camera, resolution, and lens choices.
The shoot itself went well the next day. The creative agency, Signal Factory, hired me out with my RED Weapon Helium package and CP.2 lens set. We used their Oconnor 1030Ds fluid head and sticks plus their Dana Dolly. For the Dana Dolly, Signal flew out with their setup and we bought two 10’ pipes from Home Depot near the location. They’d also rented some additional grip & electric but we didn’t end up using it – pretty bummed we didn’t even turn on the ARRI Sky Panels.
