This year I have put together quite a few upgrades to both Camera Department and G&E Equipment. Moving into the DMX world with Blackout 2.0 and lots of new CRMX Nanlux Lights and a few extra MT Pros, I am excited to create some more creative lighting setups and effects!
I have been going on a lot of locations this year and have found it difficult to constantly have to set up the rock and roller and unload and reload my camera cart every time I want to move it in and out of the van. I purchased an easier to set up 8-foot ramp instead of the heave 10-foot ramp I used to have and tested it out earlier this year. The ramp worked out really well, but c-stands were still just a pain to figure out how to store since the van was slightly too low of a ceiling to stand them up. I did a lot of research on carts and did not find on that would fit and also still allow me to store the same amount of equipment in the van.
That all changed when I attended an event at the J.L. Fischer factory in Burbank where I met Alden at Studio Carts. He showed me his new model cart made specifically for smaller vans like mine. It was the little Duz All Cart: https://studiocarts.com/product/lil-duz-all-cart/
I was very intrigued with the idea, but a little scared of the price. After a few more shoots, I quickly realized how much of an upgrade this could be, provided that it still fit the equipment I had in mind and was not too heavy or tall to load into the van using my new ramp. I decided I needed to drive the van out to Burbank to try it out.
During the weekend of June 5-7, 2026, I drove the van out to Burbank to meet with Studio Carts and get a cart package put together that fit in the small roof van, yet solved my issue with C-stands always getting stuck and grip equipment taking long to stage and move into sets. I am so excited that I can fit the 600C with Fresnel, 150C with Fresnel, 4 MT-Pros, all of my Grip Hardware, Stinger Crate, Miscellaneous crate, C-Stands, Aputure 60x, Spotlight Mount, 4 Low Boys, a Ladder, and my 2×3 and 40×40 flags. I also have 2 additional junior receivers to mount lights to once its out of the van. I am very excited to show my crew since I believe it will help them keep everything organized while I am focused on camera department. Moving locations and loading/unloading should become much more efficient.
After purchasing the cart when confirmed it worked for what I needed it to do, Alden was kind enough to give me a pass to visit Cinegear, which was a wonderful experience. I met so many people and got the chance to explore the Universal Studios Backlot. I also then got invited to a film premiere at the Fox studios lot and did some exploring on my own over there.
Elliot, Isaac, and Trevor then drove out that night and we rented out an airbnb together. We had some fun in Burbank and were even able to scrap together some pretty cool shots in the 5-6 hours we had to film with Bri and Cat. Hopefully we can cut together some kind of edit from what we got.
