Wesley Scoggins
Indy Mogul
Wesley's Weekly HOW TO: Basic Weatherproofing
We can't control what the weather does, that is an unfortunate reality of filmmaking that has derailed many a production schedule. While we've covered basic rainproofing before, I thought I would cover another method that is a little bit simpler. Hopefully my advice will help you avoid missing a shooting day, and help you keep your productions on schedule.
First, if at all possible, remove the strap from your camera, you want to make it as narrow as you can. If it doesn't come off (like my cameras strap unfortunately) don't worry to much about it, just squeeze it close to the body and possibly tape it in place if you have to.
Now get a recloseable plastic sandwich bag that is about the same size of your camera (you don't want one that is to small, but you don't want one that is to big either because your camera will bounce around inside of it, you want something that fits it kind of closely). For larger cameras you'll mostly likely have to go with a much larger bag, thankfully that offer them all the way up to gallon sizes, so hopefully you can find one that fits your rig.
Put your camera inside of it and squeeze it closely around it before closing the bag. Now, pull the plastic around the lens area tightly.
Then cut the plastic away very carefully, you don't want to poke the lens with your knife and possibly leave scratches thus ruining your camera glass. Cut a hold smaller than the lens, then pull it down so it forms tightly around the edges.
Now, get some rubber bands and fasten them around the edges of the plastic to form an even tighter barrier. You could also go ahead and cover the edges here with electrical tape if you want, up to you depending on what you're doing.
And there you go, the bag is elastic enough that you can easily still control the record switch and many of the controls, and also still look through the viewfinder.
For your boommics (this plastic tube standing in for mine, as it is currently unavailable), remove the windscreen, and stretch some plastic wrap over it and use rubber bands around the base (you'll want to attach them on the cable section below where it hooks into the mic to protect the wire connections as well). Unlubricated latex condoms also works here. Be warned though, that it'll cause the mic to lose a little sensitivity so you'll want to do some tests and possibly boost the gain on your mic before you start shooting.
There you go, hope this basic weatherproofing advice assists you the next time you have to shoot in less than ideal conditions.
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