Since Thanksgiving is over here in the United States it must mean the holiday buying season is in full swing. That must also mean it’s time for the original, everywhere-duplicate Christmas Gift for Editors. This series is now in its 7th year and to be quite honest it’s getting to where there isn’t a ton of really new and original stuff that might make a great gift for Editors. A new computer is always nice. And you can never have enough hard drives. But I’ve found a few things below. As always dig into the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 or 2015 edition for TONS of other great ideas.
Tangent Ripple
At the top of the list has to be the Tangent Ripple. We’ve mentioned the Tangent Element before in the Xmas list but the Ripple is the $350 option that the occasional color grading editor needs. It’s small, easy to set up and affordable. Read all about it in my review. While you can order it from a lot of places why not support the good folks at Flanders Scientific as they sell it right in their store.
Macbook Pro with Touchbar
Let’s face it: there has been a lot of controversy about the newest MacBook Pro. But the truth is that if you’ve a Apple used and editor there is no way you would turn one down if Santa brought you one for Christmas. So the new MacBook Pro goes near the top of the list. I was going to next list a batch of Thunderbolt 3 peripherals you can use with this new MacBook Pro but since it’s currently such a confusing market of what will work and what won’t I’ll just leave that for another time.
Sony Rugged RAID
I was very surprised how useful it was to have a truly portable RAID in the edit suite while I was writing this review of the Sony PSZ-RA4T Rugged RAID. It is fast, rugged and easily portable with a rubber bumper-like casing and an integrated handle. It’s the kind of thing that most any editor could make use of. I’d recommend the 6 TB version as the more space the better when it comes to hard drives these days. You can buy them from PVC’s sister site Filmtools and support PVC along the way.
Speaker Isolation Stands
There are a lot of different options for speaker isolation stands/pads that get your studio monitors up off the desk. The ones I decided on and have been very happy with are IsoAcoustics. They make a number of different options but their adjustability and design are two reasons that I like them over just a formed foam pad. Search Amazon and there are a ton of options at a lot of different prices so you should be able to find some for most any budget.
Mini Fridge
Every edit suite needs access to a refrigerator to keeps drinks cool, water chilled or beer cold. Depending on what you might want to put in it there are several options that could be good for an edit suite. To cover all bases these Danby compact refrigerators come in a large variety of size, styles and prices. If you want another category of options then check out the Koolatron line on Amazon as there are lots of different types. Finally there’s the Han Solo Fridge for the ultimate conversation piece but according to the reviews on ThinkGeek it might not be the best at actually cooling the beverages.
Neon Video Sign
This one might be a bit extravagant but an editor who is trying out outfit an edit suite with some unique decor might love to have a neon video sign. A place like Everything Neon has a bunch of them. But they aren’t cheap with prices starting in the high $200s. It’s probably best to voice the XXX Video signs though.
GT Office Chair
Here’s another gift for the editor that has everything (and it’s probably best for the automotive fan): A GT Office Chair. This chair looks like the supportive bucket seats you see in many high end sports cars. It’s certainly stylish looking and would make a great conversation piece. But at $400 it isn’t cheap but then again good office chairs can cost twice that. I doubt that this chair has an adjustable pump-up lumber support though.
Whiskey accessories
I’m a fan of good Scotch and often like to imbibe a bit after a good editing day. If your editor is a whiskey drinker then there’s a few items that will make the experience a bit more pleasurable.
A good set of whiskey glasses are a must and the Glencairn glasses are a must. And at under $13 they are affordable. If you like the peaty variety then the Ardbeg tasting glass is a great choice to keep the smokey aroma in until you sip. I recently broke the leg to one of mine so I’m in the market for a replacement.
Don’t let the whiskey drinker water down their single malt with melting gobs of ice. Get them a nice set of whiskey stones to chill the beverage just a bit but not water it down.
And while you might not want to drink good whiskey out of them these two novelty items might make for a good pen holder and conversation piece. There’s the Good Day Bad Day glass as well as the Funny Mug.
Vintage Television or (Not so Vintage) Movie Art
If you’re decorating an edit suite then how about some vintage television art. What I like about this selection from Fine Art America is that isn’t not all tv shows in the art but some cool shots of old television sets and images that are a bit more abstract. But there’s your usual shows and tv star prints in there as well. If you want to take this idea a step further into some even cooler, more abstract images that are metal check out the tv and movies category at Displate. There’s some really nice stuff there.
Coffee (or tea) Mug Warmer
I don’t drink a lot of coffee but I do like tea. I like to drink slowly so a mug warmer is a nice thing to have around. I’m sure most any editor out there would appreciate one. There are a million of them and the click-bait ad sites even rank them! Here’s a list of 8 USB food gadgets of a coffee warmer isn’t your thing.
I hope those might be some helpful hints for the Christmas buying season. Some of these links go to the manufacturer site, some to retailers and a few are Amazon affiliate links as those are easier links to paste than the regular one. As always editor you can forward this link (or any of the previous years above) over to someone you love who doesn’t know what to buy you. Or just treat yourself! Happy Holidays from The Editblog.
