The Necessary Mundane… Go To Team equipment upgrades on the fly.

Go To Team crews are always on here talking about all the cool shoots our crews get to go out on.  But what are we doing on the days when we’re not shooting?  Days off are a rare occasion, but we make use of them as well!  We’re always working on our gear and trying to make it better for the next shoot.  Here’s a great example, and a hint for anyone using Kino-Flo’s Barfly instruments.  Go To Team’s Charlotte based Skip Clark runs with two 200 Barfly and two 100 Barfly instruments, and they all had the same problem.  The lamps would never stay in the clips when he flew (which is a lot!) and would shatter as they rattled around in the fixture.  We already have Kino-Flo Divas at Go To Team and when we travel with those we lay towels or bubble-wrap between the grid and the lamps to protect them.  But because of the way the Barfly fixtures are designed, towels or bubble-wrap won’t work (the fixtures are smaller and there’s no room for a layer of padding).  So the fix was as simple as a bungee cord!  Skip pulled the white reflector out of the fixture, stretched a bungee cord across the bottom and through the vents, and then tied it off at each end.  After replacing the reflector and the lamps, the bungee cord holds the lamps tightly in place, better than the original clips!  The fluorescent lamps never get that hot so the cord is safe and when it’s time to change lamps (it happens a lot when you’re adjusting for color temperature), just pull the bungee cord out of the way!  A special thanks goes out to Skip’s friend and fellow DP Dave Svenson for the brainstorm session!