How To: Protect cameras & stay organized while shooting video

Kipkay's ingenuity is enough to amaze us all, especially all of you indie filmmakers. These five tips for aspiring filmmakers will help you keep your sanity and avoid frustrating times. Have you ever got stuck in the rain while shooting? Have your recorder tapes ever gotten disorganized? Is your camera's display getting scratched up more than you want? Kipkay answers all of these questions with his five ingenious video tips.

1. Protect your video camera's LCD display with PDA screen protectors from your office supply store.
2. Never get caught shooting in the rain again by packing a small beach chair umbrella that has a clamp, then when it starts pouring, simply clamp the umbrella onto your camera's tripod for sturdy weatherproof protection.
3. Stop creating a disorganized mess of your miniDV tapes by reusing them, then rewriting on the paper inserts. Simply pick up some China markers or some grease pencils and write directly on the outside plastic case.
4. Squinting is problematic and annoying at times when looking through your camera's viewfinder. But there's an easy solution: an eyepatch. Never squint again. Cinematographers love this!
5. Stop throwing away all of those plastic tabs that are on your bread products. Save them and use them as tags for cabling or other equipment. They're real easy to mark!