In For A World Of Rain
Autumn is here! Colourful trees, slippery leaves, waterproofs, umbrellas and hats at the ready! The rainy season begins… Although we all pray for those cushy, sheltered studio jobs, it’s essential to be prepared for the occasional outdoor rain-day location. As soon as it starts raining everything takes more time, effort and things become more chaotic, EVEN when prepared.
EVERYONE dreads filming in the rain. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than getting soaked head to toe, water dripping from your hood, your whole body cold and damp no matter if you're wearing quality waterproofs. Your team’s morale is hanging by a thread and moods potentially slowly drop. It becomes a real test of your teamwork and leadership. It’s easy to turn against each other when battling the difficult weather conditions. Instead, take a breath and help each other out. You are all in the same boat.
On a rainy day in October a couple years back, I showed up to set, nervous. ‘This is the first time I work in the rain’ I said to my focus puller. After he told me what to do, I slipped into my waterproofs and got to work. I prepped a ground sheet, polybags, fresh batteries, and off we went to tackle the day! Hands full of equipment, we climbed slippery hills and carefully swerved through trees. By the time we reached the location, we were drenched in sweat, shivering from the cold, mud up to our knees and in desperate need of a hot drink. The rain was relentless, but the team spirit was high! We were happy to be there, ploughing through the day, getting stunning footage.
So there we were, camera covers on, umbrella in one hand, blue roll in the other, dragging the ground sheet wherever we were stationing ourselves in the forest, getting more and more soaked, smashing through all the shots like a dream team. It’s not til 6PM that the rain finally stops. Replaced by a generous blood orange sunset, clear sky and mild breeze, the last hour of the day was nothing short of peaceful.
It doesn’t always go so swimmingly. The wind might become too strong to put up easy ups over monitors and magliners; you might have limited time to get ready; a lot of things can go wrong.
Be as ready as you possibly can. The amount of wet weather consumables you need depends on the scale of the shoot. The rule is always the same: the more equipment you have, the more consumables you’ll need. For a one-camera-only shoot with basic equipment, grab an umbrella and a dry bag. Inside, store a camera cover made out of glass tarp (heavy but great for windy weather as it won’t rattle) or polybag, a handful of shower caps, bongo ties, zip-ties, two pieces of leather shami, a couple folded blue rolls, camera friendly croc clips, and a magliner cover (if you have one). On a TV show you’ll have the budget to add multiple easy ups, big panavision umbrellas, tarps and more specialised covers such as clothes cover protector bags for Ronin rigs, Cap It covers - useful when you need to cover the camera in less than a minute - or a Rain-Ex bottle for underwater filming.
Check the state and amount of the consumables mentioned above: do we have enough umbrellas, are any of them broken, or have holes in them? Are there polybags attached to each stand? If you have one, get your waterproof clapperboard out and ready. Take yourself into consideration as well! Dry waterproof clothing and shoes need to be ready at all times. It’s all about making your life as easy and as comfortable as possible on set.
Once wrap is finally called, dry the equipment one last time before it goes back to the rental company or to the truck, down to the last cable, providing you have the time. Quick reminder: when taking down the easy-up after it’s been raining, push the water off it, or it will drip on all the equipment and people standing underneath.
After twelve exhausting hours of night work, the grip, the trainee, the focus puller and I came together to pack down the last piece of equipment. Adrenaline was still kicking in, determined to get home within the hour. In seconds, we each took a pole, grabbed hold of the release hook, lowered it hastily and… ‘AAAAHHH, COLD COLD COLD!’ Shocked, we all paused and turned our heads round to the noise. The grip was soaked! The water trapped in the easy-up fell straight onto him. What a way to end a long day! We checked that he was ok, then had a good laugh about it.
It all sounds pretty straightforward but these are hard conditions to work in. Find the fun in it, and learn as much as you can from each working day. Once you’ve set foot in your warm house, slipped into cosy pjs with a cuppa tea in hand, reflect and be proud of yourself for getting through this challenging day.
