The Grip Guide

The Grip Guide, produced by Pixel Corps TV, is a video podcast that covers essential information you'd need to work on a film set. Shows so far have covered lights, cables, clips, clamps, and stands.

Adam Wilt on Lithium Batteries on planes

Tech Thoughts and Boing-Boing both have good coverage of the new ban on lithium batteries on planes.

Adam Wilt, who apparently has a plane obsession, had some additional comments on over on the SF Cutters list:

>> Between several professional and consumer camcorders, MacbookPro, digital still cameras and a little hand-held micro-cassette audio "note-taker" I have quite a few batteries that travel by air on occasion. I'm wondering whether I'd be Lithium "overlimit" if I packed it all for a shoot!>>

Depends.

- You can carry on or check as many Li-ion batteries as you want IF they are installed in/on the powered equipment.

- You can't check ANY spare Li-ion batteries.

- Unlimited numbers of small Li-ion batteries may be carried on as spares, but only 2 spares above 8 grams Li content (about 100 watt-hour capacity) may be carried, the total amount not to exceed 25g (about 300 watt-hours). Most pro-level batteries are rated in watt-hours, but prosumer camcorder batteries are rated in amp-hours (Ah) or milliamp-hours (mAh).

Conversion factors:
- Watt-hours = battery voltage x amp-hour rating
- Watt-hours = battery voltage x milliamp-hours x 1000

For example, a Specialized Communications high-capacity Li-ion battery for an HVX200 is rated at 7.2v, 6000mAh. That translates to 43.2 Wh. The stock Sony BP-U30 battery for a PMW-EX1 is 14.4v, 1.95Ah, or 28.8 Wh (the “U30” being a battery with a nominal 30 Wh rating, apparently), while the high-capacity BP-U60 is twice as much.

It’s unlikely that any of the Li-ion prosumer batteries pack more than 100 Wh, so you’re safe carrying on a whole mess of them--but be sure to cover their terminals to prevent short-circuits. I put a bit of gaffer tape over the terminals, or pack each battery in its own plastic bag. Lithium metal batteries (non-rechargeable, like the lithium button cells used for clock backup batteries) face higher restrictions if they have more than 2G of Li metal, but these larger batteries aren't common in A/V gear to the best of my knowledge.

Santa voice over session

Some, like The Church Lady, may suppose that Santa deserves to work for producers, given his past. For more see Santa’s Crimes Against Humanity by Robert Anton Wilson, The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus, Santa is a Wildman!, and Is Christmas From Christianity? a video lecture by Abdullah Hakim Quick.

Update: due the uncertainty around Santa, Mr Spock was called in for a mind-meld (starring Mickey Hart and Jerry Garcia).