On a construction filming job, I’m often on site for around 12 hours, switching between flying the drone, filming on the ground and managing footage.
When you’re one person covering several roles, being organised makes a considerable difference. Without it, you can spend more time looking for something than getting on with the job.
This is my usual construction filming setup, built around an adicam MAX+ media cart. It’s something I wish I’d bought much earlier in my media career.
A mobile workstation for the day
The cart gives me a working base on site, with the cameras, laptop, cases and smaller accessories together.
It serves a purpose throughout the day. I can move between drone work, ground filming and data management without treating each as a completely separate setup.
Having somewhere to work is particularly useful on a long shoot. The cart carries the equipment, but it also gives me a workstation for the jobs that happen between filming.
Keeping camera accessories within reach
The larger equipment is easy to spot. It’s the smaller things—cables, card readers, audio accessories, filters and tools—that can disappear inside bags and cases.
I keep my Whitetail camera accessory pouches around the back of the cart, clipped securely in place and within easy reach.
Each pouch has a job. Separating and labelling the contents means I know where to look, whether I need something for a camera change, the drone or copying footage.
Keeping them on the outside of the cart also makes them accessible without having to open larger cases to find a small accessory.
From flying to filming to managing footage
The equipment I need changes as I move through the day. Flying the drone, operating a ground camera and dealing with recorded media all involve different accessories.
The pouches help keep those smaller groups of equipment organised while the cart brings the whole setup together.
That matters when I’m working alone. There isn’t someone else finding a cable or reader while I carry on with another task—I’m doing both.
A take-off surface on rough ground
The photograph also shows the Whitetail weighted drone take-off mat in use beside the cart.
On this site, the ground was covered in loose stone. The mat provided a separate surface for taking off and landing, helping keep debris kicked up by prop wash away from the drone. Its weighted design helps it stay in place.
It’s another part of setting up a practical working area, alongside having the cameras ready and the smaller accessories accessible.
Less searching, more time working
For me, the value is in how the setup works over a full day.
The cart provides the mobile workstation, the accessory pouches keep the smaller kit organised, and the take-off mat provides a surface for the drone when working on rough ground.
Together, they make it easier to move between the different parts of a construction filming job. Knowing where everything belongs leaves me more time to concentrate on filming.