Sam Claitor is the Head of Production at the Baton Rouge branch of Crafty Apes. He is a visual artist, a Louisiana swamp creature, and a movie lover like the rest of us. Some of Sam’s recent projects include work on Where the Crawdads Sing, Mayfair Witches, and the upcoming Steve Zahn and Judy Greer comedy-drama, Gringa. 

Sam sat down with us to dive into the tools that he feels any VFX artist – professional or an aspiring bedroom filmmaker with a Macbook – should never leave home without.

Lowepro Camera Bag

I like a camera backpack with thick skin and a lot of pockets. The backpack’s secondary purpose is mobility – I can walk into locations without having to crawl around like a Smeagol. Its third function, which also doubles as protection – is organization. I like the Lowepro because of its generous space for a thirteen-inch laptop and an entire folded tripod.

Camp Stool

Seems underappreciated, right? On-set or scouting locations, those are long days and at some point you’ll want to sit down. A camp stool is invaluable. Tree stumps, craft services tables, and the backs of your friends also make viable seats.

Tripod

Your standard tripod – it’s a three-pronged camera stand with two levels of extension and a swiveling head that allows for 360 degrees of movement. One of the tools that is fine to splurge on so your camera doesn’t faceplant. A high-end model like the Manfrotto 055 has a safety payload of almost 20 pounds, so you can safely mount a camera in any environment that offers a flat surface.

Laser Measurer

I like the Leica Distance Measure. You can place marks accurately from a distance without having to run on set with a physical tape measure. Get a model with a mute feature so your laser measure isn’t sounding off like a wounded C3P0. Higher end ones (like the Leica) are accurate between say, 330 and 600 feet. Should be rugged, fit in your pocket, and do what you want in any temperature.

Tape Measure

The OG measuring tool. I sometimes prefer to use this just to feel like I’m making visual effects in 1956.

Color-code Labels

A prepared on-set VFX person should look like a human traffic light when necessary. Carry a well-stocked supply of visual markers in a variety of colors – these are a necessity for placing tracking markers for shots where camera tracking is needed. Camera department will carry markers for actor marks, “pulling focus” as a first assistant cameraperson, and placing dolly marks, which are marked locations on a dolly that help keep a camera in focus. So don’t get your tracking markers confused with the camera department’s marks. Also a helpful accessory in the art of lining up matching shots for shot retakes. Your choice of tape, label, or something custom, is a personal preference.

Insta360 Camera

The Insta360 is a petite, portable pocket camera designed to take impressive action shots from a 360-degree realm of view. It’s got four-mic 360-degree audio, AI editing, and I have not tried drowning my Insta360, but supposedly it’s waterproof. The image stabilization is great for hang gliding or mountain biking – any of those typical activities at the office. You can rotate the camera in any direction and the horizontal will stay level, basically letting you film cinematically hanging upside down in a jungle tree if you want. I use it mainly for reference photography but the bracketing function could be used for 3D lighting reference in a pinch.

Insta360 Batteries

The ONE X2 battery is the more rugged Insta360 battery. It’s good to go in extreme temps, so unless you’re shooting in the Sahara or winter in Alberta, Canada (a possibility), you should be fine. The battery has a run time of about 80 minutes at room temperature.

GoPro

The GoPro Hero series is still the standard for rugged amateur cinematography and underwater capture. It’s head-mountable and captures 1080p60 video, or high-clarity photos at 30 frames per second. The Hero 4 Silver has built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and is waterproof up to 40 meters, AKA a favorite toy of many a deep-sea diver. The GoPro often serves as a compliment to a handheld digital camera – you can capture what’s in front from the head mount while training the DSLR in another direction.

GoPro Batteries

Of course, with great power comes…batteries. That’s the quote, right? The GoPro has a rechargeable battery called the Enduro. You can find generic lithium-ion batteries at any battery outlet, as well. The GoPro Enduro battery will film in 1080p30 for about two hours before needing a recharge.

Sharpies

It’s surprising how quickly one burns through a pile of Sharpies by marking measurements on tape or simply using as backup writing implements. Buy packs of these, plural. 

Color Grid

A color grid is a palette of colors and tones ranging from dark to light that serves as a reference tool for color correction in RAW or Adobe Lighthouse. I use the Spydercheckr – it’s common for a reason because it’s solid. It’s kind of like carrying a makeup kit with 48 degrees of skin tone. You take a reference photo of the Spydercheckr, then the Spydercheckr software analyzes the photo and creates a color correction preset. During edits, you’ll have a calibration of color temperature that is consistent and visually optimal. Works well with whatever compositing software you might be using such as Nuke or AfterEffects.

Microfiber Cloth

Toilet paper, your shirt, human tears – many things will get the dust off your camera – doesn’t mean you should use them. Many digital camera bundles will now come with a few pieces of microfiber cloth to get you started. You want a soft, non-abrasive cleaning tool that can brush dust gently from a lens and clean micro-debris clinging to your camera body. Store the microfiber cloth in a sealable bag to keep your dust cloth undusty.

Multitool

A good LEATHERMAN multitool is the alpha of camera-bag all-purpose tools. You’ll pay $70 for it but never worry about being miles from civilization and without a functional pair of pliers, scissors, or a knife. From a VFX standpoint, you can cut tape, primp wires, remove splinters, and open a bottle of cold beer at the end of a long set day.

Sony a7S Mirrorless Digital Camera

The Sony a7S has a sensor optimized for shooting 4K. Sony claims the a7S is the world’s lightest and smallest full-frame camera with an interchangeable lens. The a7S has an extra-large 35MM sensor and a BIONZ X image processor, and an amazing ISO that allows the lens to absorb crisp detail in the middle of the night. This is like the camera they would use to reshoot The Blair Witch Project. 

Lens Options

I like the Sony FE 24-105mm – it’s durable and reliable like any good tool should be in VFX. It’s a wide-range mid-telephoto zoom lens that captures anything from a human portrait to a panorama of soldiers creeping across a ridge. 

A VR lens like the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR or Canon Sigman 18-35mm lens is good for the wide-angle and zoom shots but with a hyper-bright max aperture for shooting in dim light. A wide-angle or ultra wide-angle power zoom lens is good for say, filming a vast tundra or a city skyline.

Insta 360 Selfie Stick

The niche benefit of the Insta 360 Selfie Stick is for the bullet time slow-motion shot. And of course, taking 150 selfies and sending them to all your friends. 

The selfie kit comes with a “bullet time bundle” that includes a handheld miniature tripod stand. The selfie stick extends out to four feet and looks like a toilet paper holder when condensed. You attach the Insta360 to one end of the selfie stick, and the other end to the swiveling tripod piece. You can then swing the Insta360 camera over your head at a full 360 degrees for a bullet time shot, or again, just wander around set taking selfies. It’s also useful when taking bracketed photos with the Insta360 for CG work or when trying to take a reference photo from a high angle.

Charging Cube

Most everything listed in this kit is charged via USB port. This makes an old-fashioned Apple charging cube a must-have. You’ll need one for portable batteries, phones, and card readers. If you have limited outlets and an overwhelming array of devices, time to level up. You might want the…

Anker Powercore

The Anker Powercore is a tank. Pretty sure they used these to charge the Ghostbusters guns. 

It’s meant to charge as many of your devices as quickly as possible. The Anker is compatible only with Apple phone and tablet products but you can find generic power banks with similar capacity for Androids. Recharge the Powercore with a regular phone charger. The initial battery pack charge can take up to a full day.

Anything else?

Snacks. And hydration. But mostly snacks. And two extra shirts for 90-degree shoots. 

Thank you to Sam Claitor for taking the time to provide his insight on what belongs in any artist’s core VFX kit.