Production Gear

First things first, I completely agree with Mike Curtis, that the MacBook Air isn’t for us.  Except that....

Excuse me while I hit the way-back machine and meander down memory lane to the days of yore, when if you wanted a great NLE machine, it made sense to make that machine, your only machine.  If you planned to do any business, script writing, Quickbooks, spreadsheets, well then you must have another machine my friend, as the NLE will likely crash if things aren’t just so.  Perhaps you remember those days?  Or perhaps you’re lucky enough to only live using a new MacBook Pro (or insert top of the line PC here), with the latest Office, Logic Pro, FCP Studio, After Effects, Photoshop, InDesign, etc.  I could go on and on, but you get the point.  Today’s top end PC or Mac could run a small country, and at the same time, slice bread, produce the next Grammy-winning album, er CD, er, MP3, oh - and concurrently output the next top grossing feature film.  Perhaps I want my ultra-portable computer to write scripts, handle my day to day email on the road and not have to worry about lugging around my editing machine, when maybe my next trip is finding the right client, not editing on the airplane.

Bear with me here....

A lot has been written about the MacBook Air.  For good reason too.  The laptop is clearly targeting folks who need connectivity above all else.  It’s also damn cool.

But the real news for video and creative folks is what wasn’t announced.  Penryn chips are on the loose, but not in MacBooks or MacBook Pros...yet. Also, have you noticed how long in the tooth the MacBook Pros really are.  I mean, yes the design may be timeless, but the time has come for an overhaul.  We all know it’s due, and yet nothing at MacWorld.  Mac Pros saw a nice bump during CES.  But remember what Steve said, it’s only been 2 weeks into the year so far and look what’s happened.  That sounds like a lot more stuff to come to me.

Here’s a forecast that will likely be wrong.  But I’ll go for it anyway. 

Yes this is way off the path knowing that this is an alarm clock, not a functioning clapboard.  However, as the holidays are upon us, and the fact that this is too cool, I have to post this.

The coolest part of course is that you clap the clapboard to silence the alarm.  I want one.  $36

via [Gizmodo]

Not sure that you’ve noticed, but tripod articles aren’t to plentiful out there.  When I was with DV magazine and then Studio Monthly, I spent a good deal of time trying to get the staff to write about tripods.  The first time I tried to push the subject, it was because I was personally looking for a tripod in the $1,500-$2,000 range.  I couldn’t find a lot of good info.

Fast forward to today and now I’ve decided that my focus on the PVC will be on Tripods, Lighting and all-around production accessories and gear.  Stay tuned…

It’s a shame the latest issue of StudioDaily.com misses the mark a little in my opinion for a cover story.  Yes it’s on Tripods, but it’s more of a discussion on how they’re built.  An interesting read mind you, but not so much as to why a $2,000 tripod is better than a $1,000 and why.  However, check out this issue, where Will Holloway talks a little bit about various accessories.

So in the end, we’re going to be review some tripods here.  Look at lighting, kits and stand-alone lights, and of course we’ll also look at gear, grip equipment and more.  I’m also looking for a writer to help me with this column.  If you’re interested email: