As storms start to flare up around this time of year, you may find that you are shooting an exterior scene as a storm approaches.

Now, when you think of storms, you may think of rain and lightning as the main things to guard against. In fact, productions may take the most precaution against those two factors when shooting in advance of the arrival of a storm. You may hear that if lightning is seen, production will stop and any crew in high positions will come down. In the event of rain, actors and stand-ins may be directed to seek cover not just to avoid getting wet, but in some cases to avoid paying stand-ins wet pay.

But one surprising danger in storms is invisible: wind. As a storm approaches, the rain may be visible at a distance, but what’s not visible is the wind. Wind has the capability of throwing dirt and dust up into eyes — causing temporary blindness — and throwing around equipment like trash cans, chairs, and tents — sometimes even making them airborne. In other words, equipment can suddenly become projectiles hurdling toward you.

Wind can also arrive before the rain and lightning of a storm do. This happened recently on a production: Wind suddenly blew down garbage cans and nearly threw around tents that weren’t tied down well enough when it arrived before the rest of the storm did. It seemed as if production had preparations in case of rain and lightning so it kept on shooting, but it seemed ill-prepared for the sudden, invisible introduction of wind in advance of the oncoming storm. Crew members scurried to hold down the tents that didn’t have enough sandbags to protect them from the wind.

When you are standing in as a storm approaches, keep in mind the dangers of wind. If you are standing on a mark and production is not preparing for the event of sudden wind gusts, you may find yourself vulnerable. Here are some pointers when standing in in the event of wind.

Know Your Immediate Surroundings

When you are standing in, you might not be as aware of your surroundings as another person because you are fixed in a specific direction while cameras and lights are set up around you. Equipment might be set up around you after you arrive at your mark, and you might not have seen it arrive.

In the event of a sudden gust of wind in advance of an oncoming storm, it is possible that this equipment could be blown in your direction, and its hitting you could be a complete surprise.

So, if you are standing in in advance of an oncoming storm, keep checking your surroundings for what might possibly blow around or fall down in the event of wind. Your safety is important, and you should break focus and look around in the event of advancing stormy weather when you are standing in.

You should not simply fear lightning or rain. You should also fear wind and what it might do to surrounding equipment.

Protect Your Eyes and Head

If winds suddenly start to kick up, you may have to seek cover by walking in the direction of equipment. This could be very dangerous, especially if the wind throws equipment in your direction as you are trying to exit. This could be made even more dangerous if dirt or dust gets blown into your eyes, making it hard for you to leave and see what’s around you.

In a split second, a gust of wind can throw equipment at you. So hurry to seek cover rather than presume you are safe. You can’t see when a wind gust will arrive, and you may not be able to react fast enough when the leg of a tent is blown into your head.

So, protect your eyes and your head when wind arrives on a set. Doing so should mean you can see a path off set and are less vulnerable should something fall down or fly into you as you exit.

Decide Where You’ll Go in the Event of Wind Gusts

As a storm approaches, if production is not sharing a battle plan for handling the arrival of wind to set, decide for yourself — and even better, decide for the rest of second team — what you will do and when. You may have better knowledge of the issues wind can create than production.

Decide what direction you should head for cover — not just from rain and lightning but also from projectiles. If you shooting in an open space, figure out if there is a heavy vehicle or other such cover for you so you can go directly to it.

Furthermore, if you feel unsafe because of the threat of wind, make that known to an AD. Because you are fixed on a mark in one direction when you are standing in, you are made vulnerable to be hit by something more than some other crew who have the luxury of looking around.

If you feel unsafe because of what wind might do to you when you are standing in, stop working until it is safe.

Summary

Just remember: Storms are more than rain and lightning. Sometimes there is powerful wind, and when powerful wind meets equipment that is not tied down on set, it can become airborne and fly into you. And as a stand-in, you may be more vulnerable than most because you are focused in one direction that might be away from the advancing storm. While production should have a plan for dealing with the weather, oftentimes plans for wind are not made — so have a plan for yourself. Better safe standing in than sorry!

Have you had to deal with sudden wind gusts when you were standing in? Have you ever been hurt by equipment when a storm arrived on set? What other tips do you have for standing in in advance of a storm? Share your experience below!