This past January I had an
assignment in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was
a quick little job, in and out, couple of interviews, b-roll and some scenics
for local flavor. It would take four
days to accomplish, two on the ground in Brazil and two travelling. It’s the type of assignment I get all the
time. It took four phone calls and a
couple of emails to set the production.
Two trips to New York to apply for and secure the visa from the
Brazilian consulate along with an obligatory stop at B&H. The travel arrangements took all of 10
minutes online. Since this was a run ’n
gun type of gig I needed to travel light.
I wanted to bring 2 gopros to rig on cars for city driving shots, a Canon
DSLR with lenses for B-roll and time-lapse, tripod with fluid head
and 2 axis time-lapse head, data kit and hard drives as well as three changes
of clothes, hiking boots and shaving kit.
I managed to get everything into a carry on backpack and one wheeled utility case
that weighed less than 50 pounds. Since
I was headed into 90+degree weather traveling on two crowded flights for over 12
hours I decided to wear and pack my Ex Officio summer clothing. I prefer the Bugsaway line as it seems to be
the lightest and provides the dual purpose of warding off insects while providing SPF 30 sun protection. The clothing also wicks moisture away from your skin and dries quickly. Let's face it when you work in tropical conditions you're going to get wet, with cotton you'll be wet all day, with this type of clothing you'll be wet and dry as conditions change and for some reason that I can't fathom they seem to keep the smell factor down to a tolerable level. So all packed and prepped for a quick little international gig what could go wrong?
It was 17 degrees when I parked at the Philadelphia airport at 6 AM. I dashed inside to get warm and went to the baggage counter to check my bag. I have been a tiered traveller for over 20 years, that status allows me to check in at the first class counter, gets me priority boarding and my bags fly for free. When I checked into the American Airlines counter I watched them put a Priority VIP tag on my case and saw them put it on the belt. I would not see that bag again until two days after I arrived back from Brazil. My flight left at 7:30 AM and arrived in Miami a few hours later. A quick walk to the international terminal and off to Brazil. Around 10:30 PM Sao Paulo time I landed at GRU made my way through immigration and waited at baggage claim for my case. It had a priority tag so it should be one of the first bags to hit the carousel. Two hours later after exhausting all local contingencies the American agent finally looked through the system to see where my case was. He could see it left Philadelphia but had no idea where in Americans system it could be. We exchanged numbers and I took a 55-minute taxi ride to my hotel. I got to my room after 1 AM with a 6:00 AM call the next morning. It was here that I truly appreciated the decision to wear the Ex Officio clothing. You can get a shaving kit from the front desk but you can’t order up fresh clothes. I took off my shoes and got in the shower, clothes and all and took a long soaking shower as I washed every article of clothing. I got out put them in the sink for a quick rinse and hung them up and grabbed a few hours of sleep. When I woke up I hit them with the hair dryer and gave them a quick press with the hotel room iron and was off for a 16-hour workday in hot, humid Sao Paulo. I had to do this two more times before I could put on fresh clothes when I arrived back home 3 days later. I had to scale back on my production plans due to missing gear but with some local rentals I was able to complete the gig while not offending the senses any of the local crew or my interview subjects. I’m sure other clothes makers have a travel line of clothing that will duplicate how my Ex Officio performed but after my venture in Brazil I won’t travel anywhere tropical without them. As mentioned before “there is no such thing as bad weather just poor clothing decisions”
It was 17 degrees when I parked at the Philadelphia airport at 6 AM. I dashed inside to get warm and went to the baggage counter to check my bag. I have been a tiered traveller for over 20 years, that status allows me to check in at the first class counter, gets me priority boarding and my bags fly for free. When I checked into the American Airlines counter I watched them put a Priority VIP tag on my case and saw them put it on the belt. I would not see that bag again until two days after I arrived back from Brazil. My flight left at 7:30 AM and arrived in Miami a few hours later. A quick walk to the international terminal and off to Brazil. Around 10:30 PM Sao Paulo time I landed at GRU made my way through immigration and waited at baggage claim for my case. It had a priority tag so it should be one of the first bags to hit the carousel. Two hours later after exhausting all local contingencies the American agent finally looked through the system to see where my case was. He could see it left Philadelphia but had no idea where in Americans system it could be. We exchanged numbers and I took a 55-minute taxi ride to my hotel. I got to my room after 1 AM with a 6:00 AM call the next morning. It was here that I truly appreciated the decision to wear the Ex Officio clothing. You can get a shaving kit from the front desk but you can’t order up fresh clothes. I took off my shoes and got in the shower, clothes and all and took a long soaking shower as I washed every article of clothing. I got out put them in the sink for a quick rinse and hung them up and grabbed a few hours of sleep. When I woke up I hit them with the hair dryer and gave them a quick press with the hotel room iron and was off for a 16-hour workday in hot, humid Sao Paulo. I had to do this two more times before I could put on fresh clothes when I arrived back home 3 days later. I had to scale back on my production plans due to missing gear but with some local rentals I was able to complete the gig while not offending the senses any of the local crew or my interview subjects. I’m sure other clothes makers have a travel line of clothing that will duplicate how my Ex Officio performed but after my venture in Brazil I won’t travel anywhere tropical without them. As mentioned before “there is no such thing as bad weather just poor clothing decisions”
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