Traveling to Kenya with DIT gear.

[Arthur Chad Calcagno]

I just got booked on a film shooting in Kenya for 30 days. My question is just any tips for working in tropical climates with computers and harddrives. I will be using a macbook pro retina with a red rocket, usb3 readers and 56TB of Thunderbolt Graids.

 

[Michael Romano]

In Hawaii, I use a lot of the same stuff and haven't had any real issues. I would suggest regularly blowing out the RAIDs with compressed air as dust settles and absorbs moisture, causing corrosion. We use nitrogen as it isn't dangerous. Test the valves first to make sure you don't get a jet of moisture at the head.

We have the added pleasantry of sea salt air which means often wipe downs of gear even if not directly exposed. I use distilled water and microfiber cloths. The distilled water leaves no residue or minerals behind.

I also seriously recommend getting silica packs for your pelican cases to prevent mold. Get the bake kind so you can re-use them and don't forget to bake 'em often!

When your gear lives on a truck overnight, install a de-humidifier to be emptied every morning. Beware of the amount of heat those things can produce on their own all night, I've opened up camera trucks in the morning and found nearly 110º temperatures due to improper ventilation.

At all costs, try to keep computer equipment out of direct sunlight to prevent overheating. If you're processing dailes, have them done in a proper air conditioned room instead of on the truck. The ventilation is just woefully inadequate for heavy lifting computers and they can overheat.

I would also consider installing some kind of water resistant material on the bottom of your cart. I've been looking at rhino-lining to protect the wood from swelling. Your cart may be all metal so just keep it dry.

Best luck in Kenya!

 

[Alex Hirzel]

At all costs, try to keep computer equipment out of direct sunlight to prevent overheating. If you're processing dailes, have them done in a proper air conditioned room instead of on the truck. The ventilation is just woefully inadequate for heavy lifting computers and they can overheat.

Just wanted to second that. The rMBPs do a good job with cooling, but if you are doing transcoding in sunlight, it's going to bake... If air conditioning isn't an option, at least keep to the shade.

Safe travels!

 

[Ivan Agerton]

Hey Arthur,

Give me a call and I can talk to you about my experience shooting in Kenya. I was on my own shooting for a little bit.. Happy to share my experience.. Send me a PM and Ill give you my digits

Ivan