From Austin to India

[Timothy Yip]

Hi, I've been lurking here for a while, trying to learn all that I can and it's definitely turning into a bigger task than I thought. I do video/film stuff mostly for a church here in Austin (everything from short films to visualizations for music). We're mostly college aged, MTV generation, postmodern types, I think.

My big project for this summer is going to India with a band and shooting a documentary, showing a good mix of live music as well as just their day to day interactions with each other and a big highlight on the people of India. I have a few questions that I can articulate and probably many more that I haven't even thought of yet.

Does anyone have any experience working in India? I've been there before, but I'm really unsure about international travel with lots of equipment. What do I do about customs? How do I fill out that form they pass around before you land?

Also, due to budget constraints, I think I'll wind up renting a lot of equipment here and bringing it over. Part of the package looks like it will be wireless (a samson uhf setup). Does anyone know if this will even work? I think it's possible for interference from other wireless equipment (for the band and such), our own FRS radios (if we decide to bring talkabouts for communication), and, of course, the environment, itself.

So there it is. My little hello and cry for help all rolled up in one. Thanks for the education that I've already recieved and I look forward to some great interaction with the community.

[John Locke]

Hi Timothy,

Good to see another Austinite on the boards.

The first thing to check on with wireless communications is whether you need permits for that particular country. Korea, for instance, is very paranoid about letting foreigners bring 2-way radios into the country. I doubt India is as strict, but it's good to check before going all that way.

[Noel Huang]

well basically i am from india and i know how the custom in india will handle this .as u knowindia ranks very high on corruption and with all the equipment that you are bringing in you will have to grease some palm.regarding the wireless setup ,i think you will have to get some clearance for any equipment if the range is beyond one kilometer

[Timothy Yip]

Thanks for your responses. Noel, where are you located? I'll be in Chennai.

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. There actually isn't THAT much equipment. All we have is one nice camera (VX2000), some microphones and a few small minidv cams (like the palm sized handhelds)--oh, and a couple of powerbooks. I think the goal is to go into the country not looking like a serious film crew (which, in all honesty, we're not) so much as just some tourists. Does this kind of stuff need to be declared?

Thanks for the info on the radio/wireless equipment. I guess we're in the clear with that. The realistic range of a talkabout in an urban environment is probably less than 1 km--and I haven't had trouble with these in the past.

[Timothy Yip]

thanks for the input. i got back and am slowly recovering from the jet lag.
just wanted to let y'all know that i didn't run into any major problems. tons of security check points in transit (they took my gaff tape at heathrow--why? i don't know), but actually shooting in chennai was pain free. the greatest obstacle was my incompetence/inexperience. one cultural observation: people aren't nearly as paranoid about cameras in other countries as america. i actually shot at a mall in chennai. a guard approached me and i thought he was going to bust me, but he just wanted to talk.

i think someone from the board emailed me while i was out there. but i'm not sure who it was--i checked my mail once really quickly in a cafe. but thanks for the email.

[John Locke]

Timothy,

Glad you had a good trip. I hope you'll post some footage, if you get a chance.