Welcome to FilmMakerGifts
FilmMakerGifts.com has a variety of gift suggestions for the filmmaker/s in your life! Everything from professional tools of the filmmaking trade to some of the best movies made about filmmaking of all time. So when a gift card to the local cinema won't suffice, we've compiled a list of various items that will tell your filmmaker that you know your stuff. Price ranges and level of expertise vary so take a look at our suggestions and then give the perfect gift!
2010 FILMMAKER GIFT LIST! - Give a Gift that will make a Hit!
Apple iPad
Filmmakers are visual people. iPads are great for visual thinkers and filmmakers are just that....so this mobile computing lets them view movies and surf the internet wherever they are working or vacationing between making films. Apple inspires filmmakers through their design and ease of use. The iPad takes that design to a new level. Your filmmaker will certainly appreciate the touch technology and the portability. Price range : $$$
Who would like this: Any aspiring creative. Macs are the choice of many filmmakers.
StoryBoard Quick 6
storyboard software
Before your favorite filmmaker even thinks about setting foot on the set, make sure they have a plan in hand!
StoryBoard Quick 6 storyboard software helps filmmakers visualize, brainstorm and organize their story ideas before shooting a single shot...even if they can't draw! Storyboards are the blueprint for their movie. This program is a powerful time, money and resource saver for your filmmaker and it's fun to use! Maybe you have a story idea mulling around too. Available for Mac addicts and Win users alike. Price range : $$
Who would like this: Professional and amatuers use this industry leading tool to create and organize shots, pitch ideas and communicate to crew members.
Purchase StoryBoard Quick from Amazon!
Red Digital Camera
Since the recession is over (?) and money is no object (!), the PERFECT surprise gift you can give to the filmmaker who has almost everything, is the RED One. "The Red One camera gives moviemakers the best of both worlds. It delivers the ease of use and editing flexibility provided by digital cinema cameras. At the same time, the Red's resolution and color fidelity rival that of 35-millimeter film, and it allows the same kind of control over focus." - Wired Magazine.
If that didn't say it all then, check out the red.com site, and you can learn what your filmmaker really, really wants...a digital workflow that practically makes the movie itself.
Price range : $$$$
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere
software
In the world of digital filmmaking and producing a final product to show there's the essential step of editing. In today's world it's all done right on your desktop or laptop. For the Mac user in your life nothing is more wanted than Final Cut Pro - the powerful, professional desktop editor. If your giftee is on Windows you have much more in terms of choice, but we recommend Adobe's revamped Premiere. It too has a powerful feature set but works great with After Effects and other 3rd party plug-ins making sure that your filmmaker will be able to tell their story their way and put just the right finishing touch on it before it's unveiled. Price range : $$$
Who would like this: Blockbusters have been edited on both FCP and Premiere. While these are a little more complicated to mastere eventually any hands on director will want to make their own "Director's Cut".
* Purchase Apple Final Cut Studio (Mac) from Amazon!
Purchase Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 from Amazon!
Looking for something for a writer or director to give them inspiration?! Hollywood has made a number of great movies (now on DVD or download available) about how movies are made. Here's a list of some of our favorites, all of them excellent, and all of them about the business of making movies. Check out these great titles and buy one on Amazon. We've linked to them for you. All you have to do is click. :
- Adaptation
- Nic Cage stars in this writer's fantasy
- Bowfinger
- Steve Martin & Eddie Murphy make stealth movies
- Barton Fink
- John Tuturo wraps his mind around a script idea
- The Stunt Man
- Peter O' Toole stars in this 70's classic
- Get Shorty
- Humerous Hitman makes a movie
- The Player
- Fear and Loathing in Corporate Hollywood
- Project Greenlight 2
- See Shia LeBouf's early star rising
- Entourage
- HBO's fun and fast look at the life of a movie star
Price range : $
Who would like this: You and everyone you know! Especially those filmmakers in your life.
Glidecam Pro 4000
Steady tracking shots can be hard to come by, especailly when following the action. The Glidecam Pro 4000 s a camera stabilizer let's you shoot hectic action with a steady hand. Perfect for the director who shoots everything handheld, the Glidecam makes amazingly smooth shots on any terrain. Get professional results even in the most demanding locations. Camera not included! Price range : $$ - $$$
Who would like this: Probably not a necessary first step for a budding director but this fun tool is perfect for outdoor action and creating sweeping shots - all done handheld style!
Purchase GlideCam Pro 400 from Alan Gordon Enterprises!
Cinematic Storytelling
If you're looking for a gift for an auteur, or the writer who is turning all-in-one filmmaker, then Jennifer Van Sijll's Cinematic Storytelling teaches the language of cinema which goes beyond dialog. It's great for anyone interested in truly mastering cinematic storytelling and moving beyond YouTube clipmaking. Price range : $
Who would like this: Anyone who has a script and wants to make it more cinematic or has a script and wants to make the movie tell the story visually!
Purchase Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know from Amazon!
Red Head Digital Light
Lights! Camera! Action! You've heard the catch phrase...but you probably focused on the "Action." Before there can be Action, you need Lights. And they need to be just right. For the indie director in your family help them get professional lighting in a portable Digital Light package. Depending on how careful you are you can save a little money on your Case Options. Price Range: $$
Who would like this: The do it yourself Director who's setting up a static location.
Purchase Red Head Light from Amazon
Final Draft AV
screenwriting software
So your filmmaker wants to write a SCRIPT! Turn those notepads and Word Docs into a bona fide Hollywood Screenplay with the help of Final Draft. This screenplay formatting tool organizes ideas and makes script revisions easy. The AV version helps keep two column script formatted. That's useful for documentaries, corporate videos and commercials or the standard FD is good too.
Price: $$
Who would like this: Screenwriters and wordsmiths of any professional level.
Purchase Final Draft from Amazon!
Gitzo Boom Pole
Check one...check one, two. The underappreciated soundman will stand out when wielding a Aluminum Boom Pole from Gitzo. He's the guy off to the side, arms in the air, holding a mic over the action. With your arms up for so long trying to capture the best sound, it's best if you are holding something light and durable. Known for it's longevity and strength, the Gitzo Boom Pole will help you capture clear dialoge for the final edit. Price range : $$
Who would like this: Soundmen, audio techs and do-it-yourself'ers who have trouble capturing perfect sound.
Purchase Gitzo Aluminum Boom Pole from B&H Photo
Spectra Professional Light Meter
While aspiring filmmakers can only dream of being overexposed, they certainly don't want their film or video to be - when it comes to lighting. Having the right light means having the right end result for your shots and nothing will help you determine that better than the Spectra Professional Light Meter. Compact, accurate and now available in a whole host of fun colors. So you can get a reading on the light while being color coordinated. Price range : $$
Who would like this: Directors and cinematorgraphers who demand perfection when shooting to film.
Purchase Sprectra Professional Light Meter from B&H Photo
