Archive for the tag 'Hardware'

Stargate: Found!

Penguin January 22nd, 2008

Make:

Un-freakin’-believable… and there was a pair of ‘em! Both sides of a mold made specifically to crank out weensy little StarGates about 9″ across. Personally, I’d always thought Richard Dean Anderson was taller than that, but whatever…

That is crazy awesome! To stumble into a junkyard and find THE Stargate!


Aside from the whole Stargate aspect, I found this really interesting:

If you embrace the philosophy of improvisational fabrication , a scrapyard is the best possible place to fritter away an afternoon looking for…whatever. ‘Whatever’ can manifest itself in unexpected ways, provided you a) pay attention, b) avoid over-focusing and c) recognize opportunities.

What if we applied this philosophy to film-making? Yesterday, I posted about how I was just too focused. If we looked around and paid attention to opportunities that arise, we could make some truly amazing films. Not just noticing shots, but also noticing characters, scenes, snippets of dialogue, or entire stories.

And sometimes, we’ll stumble on something wonderful, like a Stargate!

-Penguin

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Canon HV20

Penguin January 3rd, 2008

I’m going to be a proud new owner of a Canon HV20. Here’s a rundown on the key features: shoots in HD, shoots in 24P, has microphone in (mini-jack), has a headphone out, all for under 1000$. Ninja has been really generous and got it for me for Christmas. I’ll post a review once I have it in my hands. I’m just really excited!

-Penguin

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Domo-kun flash drives

Ninja September 19th, 2007

Ninja says

To say, “I like Domo-kun” would be an understatement. I even have a Domo-kun hat (read: I stole Penguin’s Domo-kun hat)! ^__^

Cuteness, portability, + flash drives come together!

Size capacities are 1 and 4GB. They cost $49.95 and $109.95, respectively. These lil’ guys will be available in early November.

You can get your own at Domonation + mimobot

via geek sugar

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Gripper 3025

Penguin August 9th, 2007

Penguin says

The Gripper is a massive pump suction cup that can adhere to almost any surface.  It also includes a 3 axis swivel head so you can point the camera in any direction.  The system looks pretty good if you don’t have a tripod.  But the beauty of this is that it can be put anywhere!  On your hood to get driving shots?  On the side of the car?  On ceilings?  Wherever!  Brilliant!

You can pick one up from www.filmtools.com for about $92.  I plan to get one in a month or two.  Once I do, I’ll write a review of it.

-Penguin

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Poorman’s Steadycam

Penguin July 20th, 2007

Penguin says

I ordered a poorman’s steadycam yesterday. A bit of an impulse buy, but I REALLY need it. I can’t do long pans or other moving shots because it ends up being way too choppy.

If you’re cheap and have the tools, you can build it yourself.

I’ll let you all know how it works once i get it :)

-Penguin

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Which Mini DV Tape is Best?

Penguin July 10th, 2007

Penguin says

On Friday, I found that one of my mini DV tapes was broken.  The little plastic flap under the tape came out of its slot.  Since I only had two tapes left, for 2 hours of SP shooting or 3 hours of LP shooting,  I figured it was time to buy some more tape.

I swung by Worst Buy because I thought I might shoot on Sunday.  Looking at the variety of tapes, it quickly dawned on me that I had no idea what I should buy.  I guess this is the problem of most blank media.  What kind of CDs do you buy?  What kind of DVD-Rs do you buy?  And now, I can add miniDV to that mix.

I don’t know if it’s just the marketing, but I was drawn to a set of Panasonic Professional 80 min tapes.  In the corner, it declared that it was made for 3ccd cameras.  I was using a 3ccd camera, it makes sens that I would use this tape, right?  This is one of the cases where the “Professional” held me back.  Was it the marketing department trying to sell to an unknowing consumer the prospects of being pro?  Or was this really designed for “professional” applications?  Whatever that means.

I ended up picking them up.  My reasoning was, these were the only 80 min tapes on the shelves.  And, I believed the 3ccd hype.

This morning, I did a little bit of research and found that there really is a difference between professional and consumer tapes.  It has to do with how they create the magnetism on the tapes.  In the consumer grade tapes, they use ME, or “metal evaporate” which are less reusable.  The professional tapes use MP, or “metal particle” which is more durable and has fewer dropouts.

In my research, I also read something about not mixing different brands of tapes.  There seems to be an issue, especially with older tapes, where the lubricant will rub off onto the heads.  When the different lubricants mix, they tend to gum up the heads.

Happy filming!

-Penguin

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My First Clapper

Penguin July 6th, 2007

Penguin says

I received my new clapper yesterday!

After opening it, I realized I probably should’ve spent a little more money for the acrylic one. The clapper itself feels a little flimsy and when I open it, it’s like it’s going to break at the hinge.  But for what we’re going to be doing, it’ll be sufficient.

What I love about it is the whiteboard aspect.  I LOVE whiteboards.  Something about them makes me feel so creative and fun!

So, if you have a need for a clapper, spend the extra 20$ and get the acrylic version.

-Penguin

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