» Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

20Mar Gear Tie, a nice cable management option

As a filmmaker, you know that cables end up on everything and the more cables you add to your rig the more of a rat’s nest it becomes. You can try to twist cables around the frame or use tie wraps, but maybe there is a better way, which is where Gear Tie comes in. […]

23Feb Movo SMM2 Zoom H1 shock mount

It has been almost a year since I moved to Portland and in that time, I haven’t had the room or the time to make or sell any of the somewhat infamous “NOOB Zoom H1 shock mounts”. With that in mind, I thought it might be helpful to check out one of the low price […]

03Jun Xeon E3 1231 Save on your next NLE build, basically an i7-4770

While glancing around I came across the Xeon E3 1231 cpu. After doing a bit of research, it turns out that this little server processor is basically an i7-4770 minus the onboard GPU. Since most editing system builds will need a decent GPU budgeted in, the lack of onboard graphics isn’t really much of a problem. Priced […]

04Mar Smallrig Sony a7s custom camera cage

I’ve been looking for a small mounting frame for the Sony a7s and a few of you recommended I check out Smallrig’s offering. Smallrig sells a lot of bits and pieces so it can be a little confusing when you are trying to figure out what parts you need/want for a rig. It took me a little […]

11Feb Amazon’s offering $10k for creators if selected

This is something kind of interesting I came across and talked about on the Podcast. Amazon is offering free storyboarding software as well as script writing software for people looking to develope their story. If you submit a story idea or concept and it’s selected by Amazon studios, they are also offering up to $10,000 to start development. […]

08Feb More Monoprice 2.4Ghz wireless audio testing with the GH4

So here’s a quick test of the Monoprice 2.4Ghz lav system recorded directly into the Panasonic GH4. There’s no indication to tell you what the output level is on the Monoprice receiver, but I had to turn it down quite a bit before it stopped peaking out the camera inputs. I also turned off two of the […]

07Feb Riser plate for camera sliders

I was on a shoot a few months ago where we were using the ifootage Shark S1 slider to slide the camera back from a subject to reveal an object off to the side that was out of frame at the beginning of the shot. If you’ve ever tried to use a slider in this manner […]

26Jan Monoprice 2.4Ghz Wireless system Audio tests & the Aspen Lav

I had a little bit of time to test the Monoprice 2.4Ghz wireless system this weekend and it works. The design choices, connector types, and labels aren’t exactly straight forward, and it seems as though the volume controls only affect the headphone output, but for a price of $89, it works. One of the major […]

29Dec Varavon Armor Panasonic GH4 Cage – Review

I’ve been using the Varavon Armor GH4 Cage with the Panasonic GH4 for the last 5 months. When I first saw it at NAB last year I thought it looked like an interesting design and a pretty decent little unit for both mounting and protecting the GH4. Five months is a long time to work with a […]

26Dec iRig PRE DSLR XLR audio adapter mounting mod

I currently use Velcro to mount the iRig pre to my DSLR cage when needed but Dave sent in these handy mounting mod for the hacked iRig Pre XLR (Audio hack guide video here) audio adapter. Velcro isn’t the most secure option and this looks like it could be a decent improvement. Dave sent in this correction: I drilled and […]