Dear Santa: What the DV Rebellion can beg, borrow, and steal.

So, what exactly does the DV Rebel ask for this holiday season? Well...


Cheap Stuff:

Clothes Pins. Great for lights and holding gels.

Door stops. Why? These hold doors open, shim-up tables and chairs, level stuff, etc. Five or six in your bag will help.

"Bubbles". You know, those things little gals hold their ponytails with. These hold cables very well. The sillier they look (Hello Kitty brand rocks!) the less likely you are to get them stolen.

Gloves. The cheap three-pack work gloves you can get at Lowes or Home Depot work just fine.

Ponchos. Target has these. The little $1.50 ones are great for covering cameras when it rains. The more expensive ones are great for covering yourself or large amounts of stuff.

Bungee cords. Lowes and Home Depot have these in variety tubes for $5.99 to $27.00. These can hold LOTS of stuff in place...and strap things to cars.

First Aid Kit. Get a good one and go big!

Dry Erase Boards. Get 'em cheap and small enough to put in your bag. These are great as cheap slates, script boards, long-range communication tools, etc.

Sharpie Markers. Get 'em in bulk.

Dry Erase Markers. Again...lots of 'em!

Tape. NO DUCT!!! Get the real stuff. One roll of real gaffer's tape is good. Also, get spike tape. Spike is smaller and comes in pretty, bright colors. Spike is good for marking actor positions, where stuff was located, etc.


Medium Cost:

Bags. The Army/Navy Surplus over on Prince Street (next to the Peruvian restaurant...which is yummy, BTW) has great, inexpensive bags with lots of pockets that hold tapes, depth-of-field charts, insert slates, tape logs, etc.

Tool boxes. These range from cheap to kinda pricey (but those have wheels and locks on 'em!) Check Lowes and Sears.

Fish Tank. Am I kidding? No. Find one and submerge it in a pool or bathtub, then check for leaks. If it doesn't leak, you can place a camera inside the tank, and voila...cheap underwater camera. No, you can't go below the waterline, but it ain't bad.

Bulk DV Tapes. Sites like tapeandmedia.com offer DV Tapes in bulk. You can also buy cleaning tapes, DV cases, and tape rewinders there.

Battery Tester. Go to Radio Shack and buy a tester for AA, AAA, 9V, etc. batteries. You can also get one that tests camera batteries on the B & H Photo Site (ALL HAIL B&H!!!!)

Leatherman Tool. Yes, get one! Why would you not want something with screwdrivers, pliers, cutting tools, etc? These can be inexpensive or up to $120. Your choice.

Flashlight. Get one that is durable and easy to carry. DON'T GET A SHAKELIGHT!!! These can screw-up tapes! Keep one of those in your car.

USB Keys. You can actually get these in BULK!!! The smaller capacity models (128mb) are amazingly cheap these days. 1GB models at the bookstore are $19.99. Some 4GB models are around $29.99. Check the internet and Office Max & Staples for sales.

Large Drives. For USB Models, check Office Max, Staples, or Best Buy. For Firewire, Mac Mall on the web, or the Lacie site.

DVD. Which one? The "GOOD EATS" DVD on how to make a good cup of coffee...trust us.

Cheap Walkie-Talkies. Ebay and amazon have PLENTY of these!



Steal (No, we are not endorsing actual stealing! But if you see one of these lying around, take one):

Large Rubber Bands. As in big...like the big, blue ones around broccolli. Keep it around your wrist. These come in handy to flick a would-be theif in the eye, or to use for creating a smoother pan....it's true. Stay tuned for more information on that.


So...what to ask Mom & Dad and relatives for Xmas? Well...

- A Gift Card to Lowes or Home Depot

- A Gift Card to Target

- A Gift Certificate to B&H Photo

- A Gift Certificate to MacMall, or TapeandMedia.com, or the Lacie site

- A Gas Card...the DV Rebel drives...a lot.


Next time, how to set-up a killer clap-slate that will help you with Color Correction.