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Christmas Gift Ideas for the Editor – 2020 Edition

Scott Simmons

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Editor – 2020 Edition 1

Here we are once again coming into the holiday season in the year that many would like to forget. 2020 has been full of ups and downs all over the world but especially for those of us in the US. I won’t get into all that, only to say that many will be glad to leave 2020 behind. Here’s hoping 2021 will be a new beginning.

This Christmas Gift Ideas for the Editor column is now in its 11th year. As I say most every year it’s often imated and I guess copying an idea is the sincerest form of flattery. You can dig back through the last decade of this column and always get a lot of ideas but many of those items from years past are out of date or. no longer available. But many are. It’s a fun way to kill a few minutes to go back through them.

But onto this year! Some of these ideas I’ve had in my head for awhile but I also asked editing friends on Twitter about any ideas they might have for edits. Many of those are noted below.

Part of the fun of Christmas is getting a gift you might not otherwise buy for yourself. It might be something you don’t think you need to something that is a bit too expensive.

TourBox

I reviewed the TourBox earlier this year and liked it a lot more than I thought I would. At $169 it isn’t a bank breaker to buy it yourself but it’s a great gift idea from a close loved one that would spend a bit of cash on you. They’ve started to add deeper Adobe Premiere Pro integration so you’re not just emulating key presses.

SMTPE Color Bars face mask

How could we have a 2020 Christmas Gift list and not have a face covering. And a color bar face covering at that! There are lots of places to get face masks these days so here are a few offering color bar designs or other television related designs.

Zazzle has a nice looking one for $13. There is a glitchy color bar version from Redbubble for $10. Teepublic has a few different designs for $10 – $12. I like the offline one! Threadless has got you covered as well for a bit more around $20 with their bars test pattern mask.

UV Phone Sanitizer

If you’re a germaphobe or if you have people into your edit suite then having a UV phone sanitizer around might not be the worst idea in the world. Some clients might appreciate being able to plop their phone into one while you watch a cut. Even if these things don’t kill the coronavirus that can probably keep your disgusting phone a bit cleaner when it comes to lots of other bacteria.

Who knows which one is best as there are tons of them on Amazon including wands and boxes you can put lots of stuff in bigger than your phone. PhoneSoap was on Shark Tank and looks as good as any of them. The medical community even has a $2,000 self sanitizing keyboard that you could probably just plug right into your editing station but it’s currently unavailable.

Infrared Radiant Panel Heater

This was a good one from Twitter that, despite having a dog, I would have never thought about! A lower power heating pad for your furry friend to enjoy at your feet. This one from Target is $100. It’s like you buying a Christmas present for your pet!

Grovemade leather desk pad

If you want to add a bit of elegance to your edit suite how about one of these leather desk pads. They come in several different sizes depending on your keyboard size and whether you might want them to cover the entirety of your desk elements or not. The prices range from $80 – $280. I had not heard of this site Grovemade until it was suggested on Twitter. They have some really nice things including monitor and laptop stands and what I think is going on my Christmas list right now: a wall-mounted catch-all.

Mighty Mug

For the coffee or tea lover then how about a mug that claims to be untippable! The $25 Mighty Mug claims to be just that and untippable is good around keyboards and electronic equipment. If course there are Yeti’s and all the rip offs but I like this Mighty Mug sent via Twitter. Oh, and Jesse had a nice pair of headphones on his list as well. That’s always a good gift idea.

Logitech G915 keyboard

A new keyboard can be a popular gift idea and I’ve seen this Logitech G915 keyboard pop up in conversation here and there. At $295 it’s a premium keyboard for sure. My nephew has one and it is nice. There are extra buttons for media control and a volume wheel which makes me wonder if it could be programmed to an editing control of some sort. It reminds me a bit of the Logitech Craft keyboard I reviewed a couple years ago.

Elgato Stream Deck

I’m shocked the Stream Deck has never made it on this list. This is the year. Imagine a bunch of tiny screens that can be buttons and macros and lots of other stuff and you have an idea of the Stream Deck. It comes in the Mini, regular you see above and the 32 button XL. Prices are$80,  $150 and $250 respectively. I wish I had the XL instead of the 15 button regular. Every editor could use a Stream Deck!

MediaLight

There are a few things in here that might spruce up your edit suite and make the lighting a bit more suitable for not just color grading but long hours in general. Several different MediaLight options from Bias Lighting can do everything from properly back lighting your calibrated display to giving you a nice dimmable desk lamp to providing SMPTE standard color temperatures for bulbs in your room. Prices aren’t too bad, from $30 for the bulbs to $100 for the desk lamp.

Logitech MX ERGO

For $100 you can get a nice trackball in the Logitech MX ERGO. While Logitech is making a strong showing on this list there are a lot of affordable trackballs that would make great gifts. I have used a Kensington Export Mouse trackball for years and love it.

Masterclass

By now everyone has heard of Masterclass. It’s$15 per month online classes from “The world’s greatest in Sports & Gaming, Arts & Entertainment, Music, Community & Government, Business, Food, Home & Lifestyl, eWriting, Design & Style, Science & Tech, & Wellness.” Learn filmmaking from Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Ken Burns among others? Yes please. And you can give an annual membership or ask someone to give one to you! There isn’t a specific editing masterclass just yet but it’s probably only a matter of time.

This is quite a gift list for 2020! Thanks to all the Twitter suggestions. A few of those are below that are either self-explanatory or they are just … a big list that any editor would be happy to get anything from! Happy Holidays from the Editblog and here’s to a new day in 2021.

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