Filming on board aircraft

Post by **mik** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:41 pm

this summer airport security scanned my bag, then asked me to give them camera from the bag, asked "whats that?" , then they scanned camera on luggage scanner twice, then i was asked to show how it works, how its loaded with "tape", run it, allow to view thru viewfinder... that was in europe ... and that was 11 september.

my films were also scanned in luggage scanner and nothing happend to them. i asked security to not scan films, so they asked me for written permission from airports president... eee...

mik.

Post by **steve hyde** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:48 pm

...It's 4800ft. We didn't shoot all of it.... It let the tripod legs go in an unprotected bag and had the tripod head protected and padded. I used PVC to protect the mic and boom pole. I cleared US customs without a second glance. It was remarkably easy. Filmmakers travel; they see us come through all the time...

Steve

Post by **Angus** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:28 am

steve hyde wrote:... That is when you have the most noise and all the flight attendents are buckled down...

Steve

And therefore when people are most jumpy about you producing a piece of equipment from your carry-on baggage and pointing it at windows.....

Post by **cubdukat** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:37 pm

Actor wrote:I'll be traveling by air this Thanksgiving and would like to do some shooting out the window of the plane. Has anyone here in the U.S. had any experience with air line personnel letting you do that? Or will they even let you take the camera on the plane?

I figure there's no way that a wind-up Canon Zoom 8-3 is going to interfere with the avionics of the plane. There's only the light meter and it's a DC instrument; no RF. But the airline people may not see it that way. If I'm going to get any kind of hassle I'd rather just check the camera, or leave it at home.

I wouldn't advise it. They'll probably let you take it on the plane, but I'm almost certain they won't let you use it.

Not to mention that half of the TSA people still run your film through the X-rays even if you request a hand inspection. That's why I don't take anything faster than ISO 100 onboard with me. Anything I have to have, I just buy at my destination.

Mind you, that's just 35mm; I haven't taken the Super-8 cams on a plane yet. I'm sure I'm going to have to throw a shit-fit to get both of them on the plane

I suppose if I had to, I could leave the 514XL-S behind.

Post by **idrawthings** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:49 pm

To be fair, I've had nothing but positive experiences with TSA - I made a total of five flights in may and had super 8 carts and my nizo as my carry on. Not once was I denied a hand inspection of the carts and I think I only had to show the camera out of the bag once.

Of course, one man's experience isn't really indicative of any trend...

Post by **Angus** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:36 am

I wouldn't say I have had bad experiences as such with the TSA...I think they are OK people doing a job as prescribed by a paranoid administration who are trying to reassure a frightened public.

The things that worry them far more than mechanical cameras, which can be x-rayed quite easily, are electronic devices with NiMH or Li-Ion batteries....because these batteries can disguise certain explosives (or more accurately the explosives can be disguised as batteries)/

Also LCD screens seem to make them jumpy. I remember flying with my PDA and a portable DVD player a few years ago, I guess they weren't as common as they are today. The TSA people were *very* interested, made me demonstrate both items...apparently they'd never seen a PDA before.

But in all honesty they seem polite and are trying to help most of the time. It may depend on how patient a person you are. It annoys the hell out of my wife if she's asked to remove her shoes so they can x-ray them. This always seems to happen in the USA and never anywhere else....whereas I just accept it as "one of those things" because I understand they haven't yet got the archways that can scan at foot level...and we all know there was once this chap who had explosives in his heels...

I have never, ever, had any trouble filming or photographing on board an aeroplane. one time a member of cabin staff even advised me the views were better from the door by the toilet at the back of the plane.

Am flying to the states again in December, but may not take any cameras on board as for long flights we prefer to have the PDA and DVD player

Post by **johnnhud** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:35 pm

pre 9/11, I use to carry a pocket knife with a 4 inch blade. I had no trouble getting onto flights. Now I'm smart enough to leave that at home. I have video'd and shot digital stills out of the plane window while taking off and landing and no one ever even questioned it.

I'd say that as long as you look like you know what your doing and your using a camera that LOOKS like a camera, your probably safe. Some of these 8mm camera's look pretty funky though, so I'd be careful with that.

Post by **Angus** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:39 pm

Back in 1985 my father was prevented from taking has 3" penknife on a flight to China. They wanted to know what possible use anyone could have for such a knife...he explained that he always carries it around just in case he needs it...he's a practical sort who can fix and make things (rebuilt a car from scratch but wouldn't even consider a motion picture camera as its too complicated).

Anyway...even back then the airline confiscated the knife saying they'd post it back....yeah they did....four months later!!!!

Post by **johnnhud** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:03 pm

It's a sad world we live in when we have to assume the worst in everyone in order to just be safe. "What ever happened to the good old days?"

Post by **DriveIn** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:51 pm

Angus wrote:Anyway...even back then the airline confiscated the knife saying they'd post it back....yeah they did....four months later!!!!

They actually returned it? There is supposed to be an auction outlet for stuff from our local airport where they sell confiscated items by the crated pallet.

Post by **The Swede** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:33 pm

When I was in Venezuela I bought a hand made parrot in wood and when I was flying back to Maimi I had it in my carry on bag

When I entered the cabin one of the the fligth attendent saw the parrot sticking up from my bag
She directly talked to the steward who then told me that I could not take that in the cabin with me.

I asked him: Why not?

He said he the tail of the parrot was to sharp and therefore could be used as a weapon so I had to let them take care of the parrot while we where flying.
Once we had landed he returned the parrot to me.

This was in 1989

Post by **Evan Kubota** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:38 pm

Maybe they thought it was hollow and filled with cocaine - like in one episode of Miami Vice.

Post by **johnnhud** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:56 pm

Evan Kubota wrote:Maybe they thought it was hollow and filled with cocaine

It probably was. Did you notice if it was lighter when they gave it back to you? You were probably the patsy in some underground drug smuggeling ring and didn't even know it! This sort of this is very common and happens all the time. I should know because I sell insurance.

Post by **reedsturtevant** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:09 am

DriveIn wrote:They actually returned it? There is supposed to be an auction outlet for stuff from our local airport where they sell confiscated items by the crated pallet.

OT but Pennsylvania and other states sell airport items by the pound on eBay:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZpastatesurplusQQhtZ-1

"10 pounds assorted pocket knives"

Post by **Evan Kubota** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:22 am

Good way to dispose of a murder weapon, no? Mix it in with a variety of common knives, the box will be sold on eBay, and no one will be the wiser.

Filmshooting

Filming on board aircraft

Re: Filming on board aircraft