Kits

Inventory

Computers

• 2007 MacBook Pro 2,2
  • Sold on 9/2015. Firewire ports starting acting buggy when recording (overheating issue), SSD compatibility was also limited
  • Specs
    • 15.4" Matte Screen
    • 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    • ATI Radeon X1600 128 MB
• 2012 MacBook Pro 9,1
  • This is the main workhorse and road warrior. Only limitation of this guy is the 1 thunderbolt port
  • Specs
    • 15.4" Matte Screen
    • 2.6 GHz Quad Core Intel Core i7
    • NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB - realized from the first MBP that GPU memory is well worth the investment
    • 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
    • 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
    • One Thunderbolt 2 port, 2 USB 3.0 ports
• 2014 MacBook Air 6,2
  • “Everything else” laptop, for checking YouTube streams, notes, etc.
  • Specs
    • 13.3" Screen
    • 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7
    • Intel HD Graphics 5000
    • (2) USB 3.0, (1) Thunderbolt, (1) SD Card, Headphone Out
• 2011 iMac 11,2
  • This machine is ideal for ProRes multicam editing and AE renders, but is far slower than the 2012 MBP for final H264 renders
  • Specs
    • 27" Screen
    • 2.7 Ghz Quad Core Intel Core i5
    • Two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 2.0 ports
    • AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
    • 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM (upgraded after)

Hardware

• Sony HDR-FX7 HDV 1080i camera
  • Really great for well lit venues, 20x optical zoom
  • 15’ Firewire cable to record to disk rather than MiniDV tapes
  • Still used for livestreaming and/or a zoomed out B cam shot, because the quality loss is less noticeable
  • Reds are a little dark
  • 3.6 lbs
• Sony FDR-AX100 4K camera
  • Large 1" sensor, fantastic quality color with great low light tolerance
  • 12x optical zoom, 18x “Clear Image Zoom” at 4K (but cannot do face detection then)
  • Unable to pipe 4K via HDMI while recording to SD card, so have to switch to HD when doing live stream + recording. Bandwidth issues I assume.
  • In 4K mode the camera doesn’t zoom in as far as in 1080 HD mode—it’s using the same sensor.
  • No built-in histogram viewer (feed HDMI to your own scopes, see below)
  • 1.7 lbs
• JuicedLink CX231
  • To feed mic/line level XLR inputs into the camera directly as a 3.5" mic stereo input
  • JuicedLink has since gone out of business, possible reasons
  • After about eigh years this has developed some noise floor problems, looking to replace
• Blackmagic UltraStudio Mini Recorder Thunderbolt
  • Used as HDMI input for live streams
  • Also used to check cameras for proper exposure, using ScopeBox
  • Thunderbolt endpoint, cannot daisy chain (maybe some technical bandwidth limitation)
• Blackmagic Intensity Pro Shuttle USB 3.0
  • Provides additional composite and component input for capturing from older VHS tapes, etc. for archiving footage
  • Can also be used as an additional HDMI input for live streams/scopes
  • Just wish it had a power LED
• Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod
  • I love how this fits inside one of my old Samsonite carry on suitcases
• Manfrotto 290 Tripod MT294A3
  • This newer model is slightly longer/taller than the 190XPROB and doesn’t fit inside a carry-on
• Manfrotto 701HDV Pro Mini Fluid Head
  • Smaller, lighter fluid head
  • 8.8 lbs capacity, fixed counter-balance spring @ 3.3 lbs
• Manfrotto MVH502AH Pro Fluid Head
  • Heavier fluid head
  • 15.4 lbs capacity, fixed counter-balance spring @ 8.8 lbs
  • Large plate that prevents camera from tipping when various shoes are attached
• (2) Manfrotto 519LV Telescoping Pan Handle
• (1) Manfrotto 502HLV Pan Bar
• PNY Elite Performance Class 10, 95 MB/s SD Cards: (2) 128 GB, (2) 64 GB (for XAVC-S video)
• Transcend 32 GB SD card (came with Sony AX100 but not fast enough for XAVC-S)
• Samson S-convert -10dBV to +4dBu Converter
  • Perfect for plugging laptop/iPhone sound into a mic send
• (4) Harrison FMOD 12dB Inline RCA Attenuator 900087
  • These RCA attenuators are vital for recording off prosumer -10dB REC/TAPE OUT feeds from a mixer into a portable audio recorder like the Zoom H1. Otherwise, transients in the 0-12dB range on the mixer will not have enough headroom to record
• X-Rite Color Checker Passport Video
• X-Rite Color Checker Classic
  • Comes with a nice large white balance card too
• VariZoom VZ-Rock
  • Absolute must for smooth zooms and pans
  • This connects directly in the Sony FX7 but requires additional adapters for the Sony AX100

Software

Current Rig

• Final Cut Pro X
• Compressor 4.4
• Adobe After Effects CC
• Motion 5
• ScopeBox
• EditReady
• Plugins
  • Color Finale 2
  • Neat Video
  • Lock and Load X
  • Frames and Instant 4K (Red Giant)
• CinePlay and Cut Notes (Digital Rebellion)
• Better Rename 9
• CopyQueue
• Play Memories Home
• Rclone

First Rig (circa 2010)

• Final Cut Pro 7
• Compressor 3
• DVD Studio Pro
• Motion 4
• ClipWrap
• MPEG Streamclip
• Pixelmator
• Disc Cover 3
• Wirecast 6