Welcome to FilmMakerGifts
FilmMakerGifts.com has the perfect solution for the filmmaker on your gift giving list! Everything from professional tools of the filmmaking trade to some of the best movies made about filmmaking of all time. If you need a gift for someone in the moviemaking business FilmMakerGifts.com has the answer. Price ranges and level of expertise vary so take a look and then give the perfect gift!
HOLIDAY LIST! - 10 (or more) Perfect Gifts This Holiday SEASON....
Filmmaking for Dummies!
There's lots of great books on filmmaking but for the beginner or enthusiast Filmmaking for Dummies is a great place to start. Comprehensive and easy to understand, this volume of the famous Dummies series does a great job of explaining concepts in all phases of production. Price range : $
Who would like this: Both young and old who are looking to jump in and tell their first story!
Purchase Filmmaking for Dummies from Amazon!
StoryBoard Quick
software
Before your filmmaker spends time on the set they better have a plan! StoryBoard Quick storyboarding software allows filmmakers to easily brainstorm a countless ideas before shooting a single shot! This program is a powerful time and money saver and it's actually fun to use! Hitchcock never filmed without storyboards and your filmmaker shouldn't either. Available for Mac addicts and Win users alike. Price range : $$
Who would like this: Professional and amatuers use this industry leading tool to easily create shots of their future masterpiece.
Purchase StoryBoard Quick from Amazon!
Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere
software
In the world of digital filmmaking and producing a final product to show there's the essential step of editing. In today's world it's all done right on your desktop or laptop. For the Mac user in your life nothing is more wanted than Final Cut Pro - the powerful, professional desktop editor. If your giftee is on Windows you have much more in terms of choice, but we recommend Adobe's revamped Premiere. It too has a powerful feature set but works great with After Effects and other 3rd party plug-ins making sure that your filmmaker will be able to tell their story their way and put just the right finishing touch on it before it's unveiled. Price range : $$$
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 2 (Mac) from Amazon!
Purchase Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 from Amazon!
Looking for something for a writer or director to give them inspiration! Hollywood's got a number of great movies (now on DVD) 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:
- 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!
TO GO 95 Light Kit
Lights! Camera! Action! You've heard the catch phrase..but did you probably have 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 TO GO 95 Light Kit package. Depending on how careful you are you can save a little money on your Case Options. Price Range: $$$
Who would like this: The do it yourself Director who's setting up a static location.
Purchase TO GO 95 Light Kit from B&H Photo
Final Draft
software
So your filmmaker has a story...now they need a SCRIPT! This software can turn those notepads and Word Docs into a bona fide Hollywood Screenplay with the help of Final Draft. This industry standard screenplay formatting tool organizes ideas and makes script revisions easy.
Price: $$
Who would like this: Screenwriters and wordsmiths of any professional level. But be careful they may already own it.
Purchase Final Draft 7 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
and of course every filmmaker needs one of these....
Canon XH A1
Yea, it's the big daddy purchase of any filmmaker -the camera itself. There's a ton to choose from, with a variety of features but we're going to recomment the Canon XH A1 based on its ease of use, its reasonable price and its track record of customer satisfaction. It's made by Canon, one of the best names in cameras, and will not disappoint. It's a pro quality High Definition Camera in a compact, lightweight package and is perfect for the filmmaker who's ready to go out and shoot! And it shoots in the professional formats your filmmaker needs to slide right into editing. If you want to be thanked for a long time to come, this is the gift for you! Price range : $$$$
Who would like this: The filmmaker who's ready to put down the family camcorder and step into something more professional feature oriented.
Purchase Canon XH A1 from Amazon!
