Every now and then you come across an item that saves your life. It either cuts your effort during shooting in half, or makes your production so much cleaner or crisper or easier. What are the things that you love and swear by? Whether it's a certain design of tripod or certain carrying case, just the best products for shooting weddings.

For example, we've gotta say our wireless mics have been essential. That and the GPS! That investment saves us having having to remember to print out faulty Mapquest directions, or running out of paper, ink, etc. When you get lost, with printed out directions, you're up the creek. Plus having an ETA on there is great!

What items or products have been indispensable in contributing to your well-oiled wedding video-making machines?

What a great thread topic!

For me personally, I love all of my equipment, but if I had to pick some things I couldn't give up ...

- my Olympus DVR's
- my Merlin
- my Dr. Scholl's shoes

(my wife has a Garmin GPS, and that would be at the top of HER list) d;-)

Our Epson Stylus R380...for printing on the discs.

There may be a better one out there, but it's our first and after years of fussing with lining up the template with the adhesive precut DVD label stickers, I still think it's the bees knees!

Ace MiniDV printer labels (http://www.acelabel.com/catalog/proddetails.php?prod=59600B&allprods=59600B&group=Video)!

DirecTV Tivo unit...

My can't live without items are:

- GPS. You can get lost and still get to your destination!

- Nightshot. One time the bridal party started entering the dark reception without any warning and I didn't have my on-camera lights ready. I had to rush over there but it was so dark, I couldn't see anything on screen. Fortunately, my cam has Nightshot so I was able to get a usable picture. I wouldn't have got anything without it.

- Camera stabilizer. This device has vastly improved the look of my images more than any other equipment I own. I started with the Indicam Pilot (http://indicam.com) as it is the best value for a full stabilizer rig, in my opinion. I have recently purchased the Steadicam Pilot and am excited to put it to use!

- iRiver audio recording device. I have 4 of these to plant in various places to get several audio sources. On camera mics are a last resource and I don't want to worry about interference with wireless. iRivers are awesome! Too bad they don't make them like they used to anymore. The current ones don't have external mic inputs, just line-in inputs :(

Man, what a great thread...

- DVX100. Took me from shooting video, into real thoughts about cinematography. Raised the game to a completely new level, and suddenly I was doing "work" with camera.

- Firestore. FS-4. I was having to record 3-6 hour conferences with 3 dozen people. And with the DVX as great as it was, I had to stop the entire proceedings every hour to "change tape". I also had to tie up an entire day doing it when all that was needed was a wide shot. The Firestore completely changed that. I could roll all day without interruption.

- C-Stands. Yea, the lights were important, but these things are indispensable once you have lights. Again, changed me from being "A guy with some lights" to lighting design. Now I can shape light, bounce light, flag, etc. If you don't have C-Stands and you've got lights, you're just "A person with some lights".

There are others but these are the biggies.

There are a few things I wouldn't trade for the world.

-Steadicam Pilot

-GPS Navigatoin

-Blackberry

-XH-A1

It's funny, we're all saying basically the same thing, but I'll echo some of the comments.

GPS - damn you google maps.

Stedicam Merlin - added a dimension I was missing

Olympus DS30 - thanks Travis for telling everyone about these. Love mine. Now if only they'd make one that would sync properly.

My all time #1 best purchase:

Sony MZ-R55 Mini Disc Player/Recorder - yeah, it's old technology, and it's held together with electrical tape and love, but darn it, the thing still works 10 years after I bought it, has a mic and line input for pulling audio off just about anything and has paid for itself 20 times over. It's made out of freakin titanium and magnesium, it's a tank that weighs in at only a few ounces and has a very small footprint. It'll be a sad sad day when she finally dies. No, I'm not crying...

Worst purchase? 10 pounds of blue crinkle paper. Don't ask.

Aside from the obvious and necessary...

My Manfrotto 561B monopod. Great when I need to keep steady but also move from place-to-place a lot. I can also hold it above my head and get some nice overhead shots, and attempt to manuever it like a crane for some nice effect :)

-Century Optic .7x wide angle lens.
-A light case with wheels

I suppose I should've added Dreamweaver.

Which means I should also add "Dreamweaver for Dummies."

I suppose I should've added Dreamweaver.

Which means I should also add "Dreamweaver for Dummies."

You can have all the web and html you want. I'll gladly let someone else do that for me.

Cartoni Focus. Made a huge difference in trying to get smooth tilts and pans. About US$1,600, but so well worth it.

BTW... SatNav is great but whoever did the maps for my part of New Hampshire didn't get it right. Major roads are missing but they list footpaths and trails. Odd.

- C-Stands. Yea, the lights were important, but these things are indispensable once you have lights. Again, changed me from being "A guy with some lights" to lighting design. Now I can shape light, bounce light, flag, etc. If you don't have C-Stands and you've got lights, you're just "A person with some lights".

I know you're not talking about C-Stands for weddings, cause great as they are, they aren't easy to transport. Love me a C-Stand, but hate trying to get them out on location. They're much more suited for studio work.

Century Optic .7x wide angle lens
Lite Panels Mini
3 Sony Battery chargers
iPhone
Dr. Scholls comfort pads for my shoes!

You can have all the web and html you want. I'll gladly let someone else do that for me.

It's tempting to give it up! Especially days like today when I can't get my dad-gummed jpegs to load!

web is absolutely maddening. you couldn't pay me enough money to be become a web designer.

This is shameless self promotion, but I genuinely/honestly LOVE my Glidetrack. It takes up no space in my boot, and just gives me great shots really quickly. i.e.

Achaglachgach House in Argyll on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/2055255)

Only difference is. I will happily trade you one, but for less than the world!

And....with the pound having slumped, this is a great time to buy, as the exchange rates are in your favour.

SatNav

Glidetrack

Fisheye Lens + Glidecam

iPod Micromemo

Litepanels Micro

Business Cards

A spare set of car keys.

I'd hate to screw up a wedding (or break my window) just because I locked myself out of my car.

A spare set of car keys.

I'd hate to screw up a wedding (or break my window) just because I locked myself out of my car.


Well Said! I had a moment of panic on Sat until I remembered I had put them in my jacket pocket that I had taken off.

Dr Sholls AND gels
My Mac
Quick keys
RODE Mics
H2 Zooms for lav audio. Bye, bye wireless interference.
A contract that includes us being fed. ;o)

I've got the Glidetrack on my Christmas list.

-Something simple but by far my leather man tool
(I even used it once to straiten DVI pins that where bent, saved my a$$ that day)

-Olympus PVR

-My Steadicam

-The internet, this forum for one. Just imagine operating now day without the internet...

P.S. Good thread by the way.

High-end laptop for mobile editing (I rarely use my desktop computer these days).

Sennheiser G2 wireless microphones (much clearer than cheaper alternatives).

Taiyo Yuden "watershield" hub-printable DVDs.

Bogen monopod with the 678 "folding base" legs on the bottom.

Multi-cam editing tool.

Bescor 6V lighting kit to replace heavier 12V setup.

Sony FP970 batteries - shoot a whole wedding without recharging or swapping.

HD video cameras (even if you just use the widescreen SD mode).

Ditto on the GPS.

I thought it might be fun to bump this thread. It's less that two years since it started. Now, it Dec 2009/Jan 2010, what purchases would you not trade for the world?

I take a medium sized toolbox with me to every shoot that is full of lots of little odds and ends that have gotten me out of a number of jams... among these items you'll find numerous a/v adapters (1/4" to XLR, XLR to 1/4", RCA to 1/8", 1/8th" to 1/4", Gender Changers, etc... extra earphones, extra XLR cable, small tool set, extras batteries of every kind, duct tape, bottle of asprin, bandaids, a $20 bill, etc.) I spent about $50 bucks total and you wouldn't believe how many times something in there has saved my butt.... more often it has saved another vendor (usually the DJ) which has been a great way to leave other vendors with good impressions. Once at a wedding they where getting ready for the toast when they realized that no-one had a bottle opener to open the 20+ bottles... lucky for them I had a swiss army knife with one on it in my toolbox. You can believe the client was impressed AND grateful! Do yourself a favor and spend $25 at radioshack getting adapters and such and another $25 at the hardware store, it will be well worth it when you save a $3000 (for me at least) gig with a $5 dollar adapter because your Lav Mic took a dump and it's too late to grab another before the wedding ceremony starts!!!

I won't be creative and just say - GPS!!!

That little thing saved me (and whole bridal party) so many times. I cannot imagine how so many limo drivers still don't use one. Then they come to me crying for help.

Related question - my TomTom is 4 yrs old - time to upgrade. Any suggestions in mid-range market?

Most recently I'd have to say my Pluralize software, which has saved me HOURS of lining up 7D clips to my A1 timeline in FCP. Simply. Amazing. Software. For anyone who has multiple video and audio sources, it is a must. And no, I'm not a Pluralize rep, either! :)

Also I want to add my humble Canon HF20 videocam to this list. I bought it about a year or so ago (before I got into this crazy biz) to dip my toe into the waters of HD recording and editing. It was never meant to go with me on shoots. However, this little beast of a camera records some of the most beautiful outdoor footage - it's really just incredible. In low light, not so much. But for normal shooting I use it as a 3rd cam/backup cam and it always surprises me how fantastic it looks with no tweaking at all - and it's less than $1K. Love it!

I had a fun time reading this thread the first time around....

I would say that everything that I use on wedding day is priceless for the shoot. From the digital recorders, tripods, external lighting... If I was to forget one aspect of my gear I probably wouldn't be happy with the outcome of the product.

If I was to narrow it down to my two favorite pieces;

Zaza Slider - I just built this a few weeks ago and even-though I haven't used it for a wedding day yet. I can tell it's going to give me the results that I was desperately looking for. Cant wait to bust it out!

Remote lights - I actually built this following the same principles as the guy who developed the reception lighting. I have 2 50W lights on separate stands operated wirelessly. There not to bright and can put them out of the way.... The best thing about them is no more people telling me how bright my video light is and then turning away :-)

steve

I would have to say besides my GPS & Blackberry...

The H4n Zoom must be one of my best purchases to date. It's cheap, I didn't have to lose any sleep and it's so damn useful!

I had a fun time reading this thread the first time around....

Remote lights - I actually built this following the same principles as the guy who developed the reception lighting. I have 2 50W lights on separate stands operated wirelessly. There not to bright and can put them out of the way.... The best thing about them is no more people telling me how bright my video light is and then turning away :-)

steve

Steve - I'm thinking of building a reception light too. What did you use for the wireless remote? Ideally I'd like to be able power on and dim remotely. I saw a Hunter fan remote at Home Depot that might fit the bill but couldn't find the wattage rating.

Art

Art, I built lights with wireless switches which I got from a company called ClickOn (ClickOn Remote Control System for Wireless Home Automation, and Electronic Visitor and Resident Access Control for Estates (http://www.clickon.co.za)). Although this engineering company is based in South Africa I'm sure if you look around your area you will find something similar, they fall under home automation.

Hey art.

I picked my remotes off if eBay from a company for 15? They are small and work great.
The problem with the hunter controllers (I could be wrong) is that they work off of ac power (the receiver). Pm mr if you have any ?s

Steve