Video Production Storage Best Practices: How to Properly Store Professional Video Production Equipment

Keeping Your Video Production Equipment Safe

Video production equipment includes a whole range of different types of items, from small devices used to clean equipment to sensitive HD cameras and external video monitors. This range goes from type to price, quality to durability, and small to large in terms of general size. What this means is that video production storage ends up being something that has to be approached on a case by case basis, and there are going to be different storage needs for different types of video production equipment. Here is a look at what should be done for storing video production equipment and tips for doing it effectively.

Equipment Specific Storage

The storage of your video production equipment usually implies that it will not be used for a period of time, which means that during that storage period it must be safe. To determine how to properly care for video production equipment you have to look at the equipment itself to see what could harm it. For example, if sensitive camera equipment is exposed to water, extreme temperatures, or physical trauma, it could permanently damage it. If you are talking about storing apple boxes, sandbags, c-stands, and grip equipment, then you are not really going to have to worry about this.

If you have the room to store all of your video production equipment together than this is best, but you have to make sure that the location is adequate for the most sensitive and expensive pieces of video production equipment in the lot. For your video production equipment storage you should usually choose an area that has climate control of some type, so external storage units are not a good idea. Essentially you will have to make sure that the video production equipment will be in the same working order as when you put it in storage.

Organized Storage

You are likely not going to allow the equipment to stay in video production storage indefinitely and instead will want to be taking it in and out of storage as it needs to be used. To do this you will have to remain organized and catalogued, so your location must allow for this as much as possible. Part of this will require you to create documents for your own records, such as video production equipment lists and detailed information on what is in each equipment package. From here you will also want a storage location that has storage furniture, so that you can put cases into shelved areas so they are not just in an inaccessible mass of objects. This may allow you to place portable light kits in one place, all sensitive microphones in another, and various grip and electrical equipment on one side. If you are looking at creating a larger video equipment storage facility then you should try to model it on a video production rental house where there is a larger storage location that is broken down into areas by equipment, often alligning itself with a records system so the video production equipment is well tracked.

The Video Production Storage Facility Itself

Unless you have a large video production house you may have to contract out the storage facility. This means you will have to find a location that actually meets your needs, and this is not going to be easy. First, you have to make sure that we are talking about secure and climate controlled storage areas that will keep your equipment safe. Second, they have to be readily accessible so you can move the video production equipment in and out easily. This means that it has to be easy to move your vehicle right up to it for loading and unloading. If you are looking for one you should try to contact production houses to see what they use to store their video production equipment, but also see if there are storage services that have high quality storage units in an open setting that allows for transportation.

This is not going to be optimum in any way, and instead it is best to own your video production storage location and to keep it at a location where you conduct at least part of your video production management business. If you can convert a room in an existing location then this is going to be a great option, but you can also build an external building on a piece of property for less than it would take to actually remodel most rooms.