Yet another holiday season is upon us. What do you get for the editor in your life who may or may not have everything? Here’s a few suggestions that just might help a loved one create a shopping list so send them a link to this blog post. You could also forward them last year’s gift ideas for the editor post as well. It’s only a few weeks until Christmas so get that shopping done. Some of these links are affiliate links to Amazon which is always great on quick shipping if the item is in stock. Some go to Cafepress type of websites so the mileage may vary in terms of service and shipping. Happy holidays!
GoPro HD HERO2
I recently borrowed a GoPro from a fellow editor and it was one of the more fun experiences I’ve had with a camera in quite a while. Put it anywhere, capture anything. Yes we’re editors but most of us do some of our own shooting as well. With the new GoPro HD HERO2
Solid State Hard Drive
A speedy solid state hard drive is high on my list to replace the spinning one in my Mac Pro. Everyone who uses one says the performance gains for things like boot time, application launching and general os operation is amazing. They’re not cheap but saving time is saving money.
Two options I’ve had recommended to me are the Crucial SSD
Pretty much any hard drive
The truth about hard drives today are that any hard drive might make a good gift since recent flooding in Thailand is causing hard drive prices to rise. Most any editor would probably be grateful for a nice 2 TB hard drive.
T-shirts and other swag
One thing that editors and post-production people don’t get a lot of is cool t-shirt swag with lots of gear names and logos on it. But fear not as some enterprising post-production fashionistas have taken to some of the print-on-demand internet sites to produce some t-shirts, mouse pads and mugs with various editing icons and phrases.
The Metaedit Product at Cafepress has a number of fun designs including one that says “drop frames not bombs.”
The Wear It In Post website has been around for a few years and has quite a few Avid based designs. Final Cut Pro people can check out the Rendering Shirt.
If you just want to be able to tell time in your edit suite in an old school analog way then how about a color bars clock! And maybe a color bars mouse pad to round out the room.
2012 Editor’s Retreat
Now a real treat would be a fully paid registration to the 2012 Editor’s Retreat, this year in Austin, TX from February 1st to the 5th. At around $3,000 it isn’t cheap but several editors I know who have attended past Editor’s Retreats swear by it. You have to apply to attend so if you want to send the editor in your life to the Editor’s Retreat then get to registering.
Mac App Store Gift Card
There’s always some little piece of software that the Mac-based editor might be able to use. iTunes gift cards are redeemable in the Mac App Store while Apple retail gift cards are not so why not buy the editor a nice iTunes Gift Card. If you get $300 worth iTunes gift cards then he/she could even try out Final Cut Pro X!
The Great Outdoors?
If you want to make an editor feel like they really can see the outside world every once and a while then a nice outdoor poster might be in order to decorate the wall and remind the editor there is sunlight and blue sky behind that wall. Just don’t be offended if the editor doesn’t actually hang the thing up.
Travel Toothbrush Kit
This might seem like a strange recommendation but a nice, small travel toothbrush kit
A Blu-ray player
Yes we have Netflix and we have Hulu streaming from the internet but Blu-ray discs still offer amazing picture quality and tons of extras that you just can’t equal with online streaming as of yet. Blu-ray players are cheaper than cheap these days and many come with Netflix built in. If the editor in your life doesn’t yet have a Blu-ray player then this could be the year to get them one. Here’s an LG Blu-ray player for less than $70.
