Boompole suggestions . . .

[Matt Newcomb]

Originally Posted by Cole McDonald

This:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...056&lpage=none

Plus this:

male 3/8" flare to female 1/2" pipe fitting adaptor
also from lowes or homedepot

Covered with flat black spray paint.

Total price, ~$40 Works like a champ!

For 40 bucks you are probably much better off with the $109 pole. You will go through more than 3 of those things by the time you go through one of the nicer poles. I used the painter's pole thing when I didn't have a choice, but it caused more trouble than it was worth and didn't end up lasting very long.

[Cole McDonald]

Mine's lasted for 2 years. That's pretty good ROI :) 7 productions, plus test shoots.

[Bill Davis]

Cole,

That's great. Clearly you made a good decision.

But let's imagine that at some date in the future, your work gets so good that you're commanding serious budgets rather than the no/budget/low/budget position that your sig indicates today.

As some point, you're going to re-think this.

Precisely because while $50 verses say, $1000 is a BIG deal for you today - I bet that someday it won't be.

You'll look back and realize that the last seven jobs you did yeilded ample profit such as to make the difference between spending $50 and $1000 on a piece of gear designed to comfortably take you from job #7 to job #100 a no-brainer.

That's the dynamic that drives quality gear.

[Cole McDonald]

won't need to rethink at all...if I'm in that position, I'll gladly puchase a pro one...or hire a sound recordist who's got his/her own. My position has always been time=money, choose between which one you have more of (given the technical aptitude to make what you need) and purchase accordingly.

The question posed at the top of the thread though was

"Would like to get some quick opinions on boompoles for small sized independent productions (I'm talking a crew of like 2-3 guys max)....Since we're talking independent we're also talking budget. Any poles that are good bang for the buck?"

I responded to those points of the questions. While the common answer always uses the addage "why reinvent the wheel", sometimes, making your own wheels fits into your budget better. If I could find a comparable boom pole, wind diffusing blimp and suspension system to fit my budget, I'd be all over it...but it doesn't exist yet...perhaps I should start manufacturing and selling my own DIY ones ;)

[Cole McDonald]

and Bill, I'd love for you to tell me that my work right now warrants a larger budget, but I don't think that's the case...unless you're willing to invest...I've got some scripts I'm working on that could sell huge :)

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by Cole McDonald

and Bill, I'd love for you to tell me that my work right now warrants a larger budget, but I don't think that's the case...unless you're willing to invest...I've got some scripts I'm working on that could sell huge :)

First thought. Your work likely DOES warrant more than your getting - and I can say this pretty confidently even tho I've never seen it.

I base that estimate on the fact that you're clearly both passionate about dedicated about your moviemaking. If that doesn't result in your budgets getting progressively larger, somethings WRONG.

Second thought. (Bear with me, this one is hard to hear and HUGE in the overall scheme of things)

I suspect that the only one telling you that you don't deserve bigger projects and or larger budgets is YOU. That idea is embedded in your signature. It's a message you appear to have you've decided to send out in all your interactions "I'm the LOW BUDGET guy" "Hire me if you need "low budget."

I think you should stop that.

Get over what you can't (or haven't yet) done. WALLOW in what you CAN do. Focus on it. Improve it. Tell EVERYONE about it. And try to ignore as much as possibe focusing on LIMITATIONS. Everyone has them. The people who "make it" are always the ones who ignore what they can't do and celebrate what they can.

Re-define yourself from the "low budget" guy - to the guy who will out work, out hustle, out perform and flat out out moviemake everyone out there.

Convince yourself of THAT and your future is unlimited. Convince yourself that you're just the "low budget guy" and it's pretty certain that will come true.

We're talking about boom poles - so stop waisting your time and effort celebrating your LIMITATION - that perfect home/made painters pole/boom - and start imagining yourself so good at moviemaking that nobody even BOTHERS you with the line-item cost of something as insignificant as boom poles anymore.

At the risk of sounding like a two-bit motivational speaker - that old formula is usually spot on. Conceive it - believe it - achieve it. You leave out ANY of those steps and you'll likely never get to the last one.

For what it's worth.

[Steve House]

Bill, your post reminds me of an engraved card I saw in the display window of a high-end men's clothing store in San Francisco many ywars ago, the only text in the display. It was next to a manequin dressed with an Armani suit, Bally shoes, Vuitton briefcase, etc and it read ...

"To get to where you want to be, you need to look like you're already there."

In the many years since then, I've yet to see a situation where that didn't hold true.

[Cole McDonald]

hehe. I'm not limiting my self by thinking low-budget. When I go budget, I have to be able to hit the ground running and make enough to support my family, mortgage and other associated costs...while quitting my day job. So when I hit budget productions, I need to be able to acheive what I'm selling. Being passionate in dramatic moviemaking, doesn't equate to having learned the craft of moviemaking. I'm working on that part right now. I have several key targets for myself before I move past the "Low Budget Guy" thing. I can make consistently good looking productions now. My shots are still static, so next I'm on to camera blocking and talent blocking to get past the standard indie "talking heads" setup. I'm also working on my directing chops by getting different actors involved in my productions, not just people I know.

The lack of budget is pointedly self imposed...specifically as a learning tool. Not having money to spend on a production forces me to think of creative solutions. That way, once I'm on a set and stuck beyond all recognition on a "need a solution NOW!" problem, I'll be able to ask for a stick of gum, some gaffers' tape and a tin can lid from the craft services folks and make my own doohicky whatzit on the spot. All my low budget solutions solve the problems that spending tons of money would do, without spending the money. I'm not selling my self short, I absolutely intend to make a career out of this, but I don't learn that way...programmer/computer geek...I have to build the whole thing from beginning to end from little parts to fully "get it". I don't need you to understand or approve and I'll keep sharing my knowledge as I go on...but I will get to the point where I can say "I need a 5k up there and over there, without worrying about the cost of that"

Budgetting is a pieced on my list of things to learn, at that point, I'll hit the funding path and figure out how to do that part as well. This is a learning process...process is the key word. I don't have access to the time or resources to afford being on set to learn this stuff, I've done 6 years of research on the 'net, reading books and making short films which have gotten progressively better with experience.

Don't sell me short because you can't see my path please. I'll hang out with you in hollywood someday ;) I'll just get where I'm going on my own terms, because I can't afford to fail, my wife and kids are too important to just jump in head first to this industry that is notorious for letting people languish in poverty while they perfect their craft and make a name for themselves.

Until then "Hey! I'm the low budget guy". Need low budget advice...ask for it, I'll tell you how to make high-end gaffing equipment using parts you can find at the hardware store...just like the guys who first put them together on the set of some random hollywood feature.

[Anmol Mishra]

I live in Australia and am trying to attach something to the end of a painter pole as well.. Any idea what this (a 3/8" to 1/2" plumbing adapter) translates to in metric.
I converted this to mm, but could see nothing of this in the plumbing section, is there a name for this adapter, a brand I could ask for ??

[Bob Grant]

Originally Posted by Anmol Mishra

I live in Australia and am trying to attach something to the end of a painter pole as well.. Any idea what this (a 3/8" to 1/2" plumbing adapter) translates to in metric.
I converted this to mm, but could see nothing of this in the plumbing section, is there a name for this adapter, a brand I could ask for ??

Hi Anmol,
another Sydneysider here. All the painters poles I've used have a vary large, coarse square cut thread on the end, I doubt you'll get anything apart from a painting thing that'll screw onto it. However you could probably just drill and tap a short length of 1/4" or 3/8" Whitworth brooker rod into the cast bit and then use any of the normal audio adaptors.

Having said that the biggest problem with painters poles is they rattle!

We have 5 Rode boom poles, they're good value for they money but given these are rented out it's perhaps not surprising that 4 of the 5 have jammed. Fixed for nix by Rode and I wouldn't say it's a design problem just clumsy users.

The best poles I've looked at are from Loon, anything but cheap but those guys have put a lot of thought into their poles.

[Cole McDonald]

just cross thread the painter's pole (they're cheap and it'll hold really well ;) , then take your microphone mount and match it in the store...that's how I found the right size.

[Ben Winter]

Easy does it people. My tone was light and humorous. I know people get touchy when they think someone is trying to suggest they've wasted $200+, but that was not my intention. Obviously a painter's pole won't impress clients, and doesn't have the same features as a full-fledged carbon-fibre boom. I don't know what kind of experience you guys've had with the $20 telescoping rods, but I've had three productions worth, and they're light, they don't "creak" and are easy to adapt to a 1/4" mic thread. Putting a cable through one isn't so hard either, if you're willing to splice it.

Clearly no pro is going to buy a pole from a hardware store. But this guy is looking for a cheap, budget solution to a simple problem, and with my experience with a rod from Home depot, I would never invest in its $300 big brother, at least not right now.

[Jim Michael]

Perhaps spraying some expanding foam insulation into the painter pole would help with the rattles.