10 Tools & Consumables That Every Filmmaker Needs

INTRODUCTION

To capture images, filmmakers not only need a bunch of camera, grips and lighting gear, but also all the bits and bobs that assemble and hold everything together. That’s why today I’m going to go over 10 commonly used tools and consumables which are present on almost every professional film set. 

TOOLS VS. CONSUMABLES

Quickly before we get going, we need to understand the difference between tools and consumables and who usually brings them to set.

Very simply, tools can be used over an extended period of time to assist in assembling gear or to aid the filmmaking process. Consumables serve much the same purpose, but, as their name suggests they are perishable and need to be restocked or replaced over time as they are used up.

On an industry film set, technicians will usually own and carry a kit with their own tools in a unit bag, which helps make their lives easier. For example, a 1st AC may carry items like allen keys, wrenches, magic arms, spigots, cine locks, and screwdrivers - which they will use to assemble and build the camera.

On long form jobs like movies or series, consumables are usually requested by technicians and purchased by production. Whereas on short form shoots, like music videos or commercials, typically these items will be supplied by a technician who purchases these items themselves and rents it out to the production at a daily rate.

For example, a 2nd AC, will bring along a unit bag complete with items such as different shades of gaffer tape, dust off or velcro cable ties.    

1 - GAFFER TAPE 

Gaffer tape, quite literally, holds shoots together.  

This adhesive tape comes in a few variations: the most common, all purpose, being the wider 2 inch black, or sometimes white, gaffer tape. This high tensile, matte tape sticks to almost any surface without moisture and can be used for a number of varying applications by the camera, grips and lighting department. Whether that’s sealing a weather bag on a camera, taping down a power cable, performing a quick fix on technical equipment, or covering a stand to stop it reflecting light. 

Then, there is the narrower 1 inch gaffer tape, which comes in a variety of colours. This is usually used by the 2nd AC in the camera department to mark media or film magazines with a roll number, to apply to a slate where permanent text can be written, such as the production company or title of the movie, to give actors an eyeline mark to indicate where they need to look, to create tracking marks that can be used for visual effects, or to mark the position an actor needs to stand in. 

When marking actors on a long form job, a different colour is used for each character, so that actors can easily identify their colour and where they need to stand. The first lead is usually given a red mark, the second lead a blue mark, and so it goes. Likewise red gaffer tape is usually used on the A camera, and blue tape used for the B camera.

Other types of tape also exist, such as paper tape, which is thinner, lighter and may leave less of an adhesive mark on surfaces. Black paper tape is used by camera assistants to flag or block light from hitting and flaring a lens by attaching it to a matte box. It’s used because this tape has a black colour on both sides, unlike gaffer tape which has a white adhesive side which may, undesirably, reflect more light.

2 - T-BAR

One of the most used tools in an AC’s kit is a T-Bar. This is a flat screwdriver head, which is attached to a T-shaped grip. It’s used by the camera department for any assembling or disassembling of equipment parts.

For example, screwing a baseplate into the bottom sliding plate of a camera. This baseplate can then get attached to a tripod head.

The reason this T-shaped grip is normally favoured, instead of a normal screwdriver, is that it allows ACs to turn screws with more torque and have more leverage to really tighten screws, or untighten difficult to turn screws.

The security of this connection is especially important for certain rigs, such as on an arm car, where lots of violent vibrations may loosen the connection over time if the screws aren’t secured tightly.    

3 - MULTI-TOOL

Most grips, sparks or ACs will carry around some form of multi-tool on their gear belt.

The advantage of a multi-tool is that it’s easy to access and fast - and on a film set saving time with technical fixes is the name of the game.

There are many things that these tools can be used for: from having a quickly accessible star and a flat screwdriver for adjustmenting screws on the camera, to using the knife for cutting lighting gels, or using the pliers to loosen a stubborn, overly tightened piece of gear.

4 - BONGO TIES

Bongo ties are part fashion accessory for camera assistants to wear around their wrists and part consumable. These all purpose ties are made of rubber which can wrap around something, with a bamboo button end that the rubber latches onto.

This makes it easy to tie and release things, such as binding cables together for better management, wrapping a waterproof cover around a mattebox, or tethering a video cable to a dolly.

These ties usually last quite a while until the rubber eventually snaps, or until, more often than not, they end up in someone else's kit at the end of the day.  

5 - DUST OFF

Cleaning filters or lenses is an important procedure which needs to be done with special care - since this glass is very pricey and can’t afford to be scratched. 

The first step in this process, before you apply any lens cleaner or wipe it, is to blow pressurised air at the lens to remove any specs of dust or dirt which may cause scratches if wiped with a cloth.

Dust-off is also used by the camera department for cleaning little sand particles which get lodged in difficult to reach crevices on the camera. This dust collects when shooting in an exterior location such as a farm or a beach. Pressurised air can also be used to spray off water droplets that collect on the filter or lens when shooting in the rain.

Dust-off comes in a can. A burst of pressurised air is released by pushing down on a nozzle. They come in two varieties: one with a fixed valve, and another, which is usually more popular in the film industry, has a removable nozzle which can be re-used with multiple cans of compressed air.

6 - LENS CLEANER

Once the lens or filter is clear of dust particles the next step is to wipe away any smudges. To do this, filmmakers use a lens fluid and a lens cloth. The most common lens fluid is called Panchro, which is basically a rubbing alcohol, which you can spray on to remove smudges, grease or dirt from glass.

Once this is applied you then need to clean it with a lens cloth. This could be something like a selvyt or a microfibre cloth - which can be washed and re-used after cleaning. Some also like to use lens tissue or cleaning paper, which is a consumable that can only be used once. 

7 - ALLEN KEYS

Along with the T-bar, another common tool used by the camera department for building and breaking down cameras are allen keys. Many camera cages and components have hexagonal screws in mounting points that need to be locked or unlocked with allen keys. For example, when derigging the cage on an Alexa Mini and attaching a top and bottom sliding plate for a gimbal. 

Camera assistants will carry around a full set of these tools in case they run into any odd sized screw, however, the two most common and standardised thread sizes for camera components are either 3/16th or 5/32 inch variations.

Many assistants like to carry T handle versions of these 2 sizes as they are quicker and easier to work with and offer more torque to release tightly secured screws. 

8 - DUAL LOCK

To make camera builds nice and compact, assistants will try to attach the accessories as close to the body as possible - which may mean trying to get rid of too many bulky magic arms.

A solution to sticking smaller objects, such as a tiny timecode sync tentacle, directly to the camera’s cage or body is to use dual lock.

This has one sticky side which can strongly bind to a surface, such as a camera cage or a tentacle, and another side with a sort of grooved, interlocking velcro. When these two interlocking sides are pushed together they provide durable and reliable fastening - while also being able to release or connect together multiple times.

9 - CROC CLIPS

If gaffer tape is the most used consumable on set, probably the second most used one, at least by the lighting department, are croc clips. Croc, or crocodile, clips are metallic pegs which are primarily designed to attach lighting gels to barn doors - without melting or slipping, even when exposed to the high temperatures created by these large lights.

Most sparks will also carry around a few of these croc clips on their person for any minor rigging tweaks to gels or textiles, like clamping a wrapped duvetyne around a stand or clipping diffusion gel onto a window frame.

The camera department may also carry some of these useful clips and use them for any clamping that needs to be done. Such as clipping a black and white protective cover over the camera when it’s not being used.

10 - RAIN COVER 

Although some shoots may take place indoors, entirely under the safety of a roof, for other shoots that involve shooting outdoors it’s good practice to have some kind of rain bag at the ready just in case the heavens decide to open up. 

This could take the form of a reusable backpack cover, which can be clipped over the camera to protect it, while shooting in a very light drizzle. Or, if there is more heavy rain a plastic rain bag will be used to protect the camera.

This translucent plastic bag is a consumable, which will be placed over the camera, with the opening facing the ground. The team will then tightly secure the bag around the mattebox, usually with one of those bongo ties that we mentioned, and then cut a hole so that only the lens opening side of the mattebox is exposed to the elements.

This will keep the camera nice and dry, and the electronics safe from harm.