Getting your workstation up fast isn’t about rushing. It’s about prioritizing what matters first and having everything pre-organized so you’re not thinking on set — you’re just executing.
Get Tethered First
My goal on every shoot is to be tethered and ready for first shot within 10 minutes of walking in. Everything else can wait.
The sequence: power the cart, pull the rack case covers off, connect power to the accessory rack and Thunderbolt to the computer, plug in the monitor loom for the cart display, turn on the keyboard and mouse. That’s it. The photographer and first assistant can start testing while I continue building out the rest of my setup.
The next 30 minutes are mine to work at a comfortable pace — testing every component, styling the cart the way I want it, making sure everything is dialed in. But the critical thing is that the team isn’t waiting on me. They’re shooting tests while I’m finishing setup. That’s the difference between a tech who holds up the day and a tech who disappears into the workflow.
Pre-Build Everything
The reason that 10-minute tether is possible is because nothing on my cart needs to be assembled from scratch. The rack is pre-built. The cable looms are pre-routed and connected at the dock end, the thunderbolt hub for data also has a loom, and power systems are already connected and ready to be plugged into house power or an Ecoflow battery. I’m not building a workstation on set, I’m just connecting pre-built modules.
Organize by Use Case, Not by Item Type
I use the LVNA MAP system in my Pelican for cables and small accessories, but the real organizational system is use-case-based milk crates.
Instead of one big bag with “all my stuff,” I have separate bins organized by what they solve:
- Wireless + batteries: Transmitters, receivers, battery plates, V-mount and NP-F batteries.
- Accessories: Adapters, card readers, dongles, cleaning supplies.
- Cart build parts: Keyboard, mouse, Stream Deck, label maker.
- Camera support: Fuji and Canon batteries and chargers, ready to go in case of emergency.
That last one matters more than you’d think. Photographers forget batteries at home. Rental bodies show up without chargers. Having backup batteries and chargers for the two most common systems I encounter means I can solve that problem in 30 seconds instead of sending a PA on a run.
Breakdown With the Same System
Breakdown is just setup in reverse, and it goes fast when everything has a designated spot. Gear goes back into the same bin it came from. Cable looms stay bundled. The rack cases stack the same way every time.
The goal is that packing up is automatic — you’re not making decisions about where things go, you’re just putting them back.
Plan, Test, Refine
Run through your setup at home or in the studio before a big job. Time yourself. Find the bottlenecks. Is it the monitor loom that takes too long to connect? Re-route it. Is it the power cable that’s buried under everything else? Move it to the top.
Every time something slows you down on set, fix it in your kit when you get home. Over time, the friction drops to near zero and setup becomes muscle memory.