5 Perfect presents for the Filmmaker in your life

It’s the holiday season, and if you’re anything like us you spend far, far too much time agonizing over the perfect present. Agonize no longer! We’ve got you covered with our gift guide for the filmmaker in your life. Five tried and tested gifts that will bring a genuine smile to your loved one’s face, not that ‘you got me socks again’ grimace.

1. Books. Books are great. A well chosen book can be a companion and a teacher for a lifetime. Here’s three books we consider essential reading for filmmakers of any level: 
   • In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch. The classic on editing from the editor of The Godfather Trilogy and Apocalypse Now. More musing than manual, this will change how you look at editing forever. We promise.
                                                              
   • The Filmmaker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age (2013 Edition) by Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus. A staple updated for the digital age. Widely acknowledged as the ‘bible’ for film and video production, this covers absolutely everything you need to know. If you need to start somewhere, start here.
                                
   • How to Shoot a Feature Film for Under $10,000 (And Not Go to Jail) by Bret Stern. The happy-go-lucky maverick to the Handbook’s straight A student, we love this book for its no-nonsense approach to problem solving in the real world.
     
2. SD Card. Filmmakers get through memory cards like normal people get through socks. Seriously, where do they all go? So while it might not be the most spectacular gift you can be sure it’s always a welcome one. Plus they are a snap to wrap, which is handy. We’d recommend something in the 8-16GB range at speed class 10 (though if money is an issue, you could drop down to class 6).  
3. Adobe Premiere Keyboard. If you feel like treating the filmmaker in your life, look no further. These things are great. Adobe Premiere is an intricate piece of software with a legion of shortcuts that every filmmaker will use. This keyboard has colour-coded and marked keys, so all the information is right there in front of you. Perfect!
                 
4. Lens Pen. The lens of a camera is constantly exposed to the elements, and breathing on it and rubbing with your t-shirt is a quick way to damage your optics. Don’t do that. Please. The answer is the humble lens pen. With it you can quickly clean your gear and get back to the next shot. The Lens pen NLP-1 is hard to beat for quality and price
5. Storyboarding App. The wonderful thing about tablets and phones is their versatility. Turned up to a shoot and found out that your scene just won’t work? You don’t want to storyboard a new one on napkins, and with an app like Cinemek Storyboard Composer HD you don’t have to. Take photos, drop in characters and add directions, wherever you are. Simple.
   
6. We can count. No really, we can! Bear with us as we leave you with one final thought. Filmstro provides no-nonsense, customisable royalty-free music, removing one of the biggest headaches of small-budget filmmaking. We’re a little biased, but we think Filmstro makes the perfect gift.