Hey Kids... this thread is for you guys who want to make the most of your productions... but you just don't have the cash for all the overpriced goodies that many of us use and love...

Today's subject... as per the thread title... Boom Pole Holder... TWO for $12... CLICK (http://www.gettreel.com/The%20Cheapest%20Boom%20Cradle.wmv)

We'll see how my bandwidth does once I get a bunch of these "cheap solutions" things going... but I've got a bunch of 'em in the works.

It's possible that this subject may cause some minor debate since all the experienced guys know that pro-gear is often times worth the price... IF you can afford it... well as I said, these ideas are NOT for that shooter. I've accumulated mostly "good" gear, but it sure would have been nice to have a little help over the years before now...

Also feel free to say an idea is crap or suggest a better modification of something. I'm not doing this for any benefit of my own (including ego) so if you post a reply with an improvement to an idea... or a BETTER idea of your own... then this will just help "the little guy" that much more.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your input.

Okay, I was hesitant to put this next one up because I don't want to hurt the sales of a reputable AV supplier who I feel carries some VERY fine products.

This particular seller offers perhaps the most popular boom pole holder out there. B&H even sells this competing company's boom pole holder and includes the name of that company as part of the item's title in their online catalog!

The "real" version of this boom holder includes neoprene pads inside the cradle portion of the holder so that there's no chance of a rub mark or scratch on your (possibly high-end) pole, plus the pads increase "rotational stability", which I didn't find to be a problem anyway. The bare cradle supports a pole almost perfectly, even without pads... but you could EASILY glue some neoprene pads cut from a $1 "cool-cup" found in any department store. I'm using this holder with a graphite K-Tek and so far I don't know if I'll install pads or not... I sanded all of the sharp edges from inside the cradle (which were minor anyway)... so that not even casting "nubs" would touch my pole.

With the PRO version of this cradle you get a double ball mount AND a standard 5/8" spud to grab a standard 5/8" stud... so for the normal selling price of that item I don't think the manufacturer is making all that much on it anyway...

I just think that for a guy who ran out of cash this will be a surprisingly effective alternative for 1/3 of the price... including the optional neoprene.

My favorite "cheap" boom holder... CLICK (http://www.gettreel.com/My%20Favorite%20Cheap%20Boom%20Holder.wmv)

Way to go Matt, way to go. Good for you/us.

Matt, excellent!!

Just curious, but would you be into showing this piece on my television show "Lights, Camera...Action!" (L.C.A.)? I'm putting together a show that's about "Independent Films and Filmmakers". We plan to do a "Tips and Tricks" type segment in the show. This clip was definately along the lines of what I wanted to do.

If you'd be interested I'd love to talk with you. We did a pilot for the show "L.C.A." two years ago and we're re-visiting it again. This time we're ready to try and market it locally in New England and also look for cable network distribution. (IFC ideally) The goal is to get sponsorships locally and have donuts for national sponsors soon after.

It would be pretty easy to do - we'd need NTSC quality footage of the clip(s). I've got a place to upload the footage or we could workout a system for sending us mini-DV tapes? The easiest would be uploading the clips....raw footage would be best if you wouldn't mind. We could workout the details of what the format should be. (intro, content, info on getting pieces, closing etc.)

We're in pre-production right now, so it's a work in progess.....

Matt! You are TOO good! Thanks from London UK!

I'm in the process of aquiring a mic boom pole. Telescopic?

Grazie

Thanks for all the support guys. I have a lot of non-video stuff going on in my life right now (controlling my free time), but I'm gonna' show you everything I know eventually... including cranes, dollies, and well... EVERYTHING. There's always an affordable way to do anything in AV production... and I'm kind of OCD about finding non-video items that cross over perfectly for video use... Probably the only store I can go into and shut off this compulsion is a grocery store... everywhere else I go I'm always looking at shapes and the construction/design of things.

Christopher... yeah I'd love to help you out with that... I can offer you more then just video too... I've got a bevy of sound beds and effects that you may find helpful in your show... not to mention REALLY good titling and other video effects... If you wanted to give me some small credit the use of that stuff would be legal (as far as licensing goes)... but if the credit/licensing stuff turns you off in any way then I'll be happy to simply supply some footage... let me know what you want.

Graham... I used an all-aluminum painter's pole before I got my first real boom pole. It was $18 at Home Depot. The end of the painter's pole has a plastic nub on it with outside threads... where a roller handle would normally attach. You can drill a hole which is BARELY SMALLER then the narrowest part of the stud... (just smaller then the valley of the threads) for a 3/8" COARSE threaded stud... for the first 1/8" (i.e. BARELEY) of the hole drill it the same full-diameter of the metal stud. You may even want to do this manually so the plastic doesn't grab your bit and FORCE a full-bore drilling. Also be sure to choose a stud between 2"-2.5" long so that plenty of plastic and stud are anchored together. You don't want the hole too big... that's for sure... but you'll also notice that the stud will be hard to get screwed in... that's GOOD. They make studs that take a hex-key at one end and that makes this WAY easier.

Now you've got a sub-$20 boom pole that will get the job done. I've heard people talk of sounds coming from the joint, but with the all-aluminum pole I never had a problem... plus it was really light... and I've suspended a stereo pair of Oktavas over a swamp... inside of Rycote Blimps/Furrys with this pole... so I was confident in it's reliability.

One thing I will say about boom poles though... unless you really are on a nothing budget there are some damn good poles available that I think are total bargains. Including the Aluminum version of the K-Tek that I bought (Avalon)... plus the Gitzo 7680c in Carbon Fiber... Each of them is available for $235 or less... and after a few shoots you'll start to appreciate everything you get with a professional pole... After I bought my first real pole I couldn't believe I waited so long...

But then again this thread IS about AVAILABLE CASH... so if you're tight right now then the $20 pole DOES work.

Matt, don't you ever say I am not lending a hand here: (kidding!)
I am not a "sound man" but fooling with mics, I had to overcome the same challenge faced by all trying to isolate the mic itself from the handling of it; I experimented successfully with the best material (known to me) for the job. It is some sort of a semisolid gel found in $ stores; (sticky hands or balls...)....yeah...., I know...., kids stuff but it does a PERFECT job. Hardly ANY noise is transmitted to the mic, way better than any rubber bands or elastics or any of those...
A bit difficult to "shape out" but not a must.
Hope this helps.

Matt, right now the "Tips and Tricks" video would be great. We've already for sounds and effects in the can, but I would be interested in at least checking out what you have available. If it blows away what we've already done then things can change.

Oh, and credit for sure on anything you do!

Can you itemize in a list the different topics you've done or would be interested in doing? I like the "Boom Pole" topic..anything similar would be great. Ideally, each show would have a topic quite different than the week before. It's ok to have a "Part 1" and "Part 2" also, so people would learn the basics on the topic the first week and then maybe an "Advanced" version? The main thing we want to do is educated on a shoe string, and stay away from copyright issues etc. So, if you have anything that's going to be on there that's identifiable we need to source it....like something you got at "Home Depot" would have to be explained etc. You know the basics on that, but I'm just mentioning it.

Also, do you have a high speed internet connection? If so, we can setup a FTP site and you can upload your videos. It'll help with keeping costs down.

If we sell the show and/or at least get sponsorships we'll compensate you accordingly. We plan to take any and all sponsorship money and dump it back into the show and use it for distribution costs. After a certain point we'll send you some cash - hopefully, sooner rather than later. :)

This is all in the planning stages right now. I plan to make "donut" versions of this, so anyone out there that wants to run the show locally with local sponsors can do it. We have local commercial television stations and even public access stations that'll play it. (commercial television stations will take commercials in the show, but access stations will only accept "sponsorships" like on PBS.)

More info to come soon......