Watch, Make, Learn! This year, give the gift of documentaries. For once, we mean it literally!
Make!
For aspiring documentarians and pros alike, we’ve compiled this list of gadgets and gear to make 2012 a productive year.
Electronics
1. iPad 2
Despite its hefty price tag, Apple’s newest tablet is actually a practical addition to a documentary kit. If you’re looking for an excuse to buy one, on-board storage lets you play back and encode gigabytes of mp4 video, making it invaluable for rushes. For hosts and news types, you can also use it in the field as a budget teleprompter (don’t throw away the box!) with the Teleprompt+ app ($14.99) and mirror glass ($55.56)!
Price: $499 – $829
Buy It / More Info: Apple
Software
2. Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium
Your revolt against Final Cut Pro X won’t come cheap, but rest assured that Adobe’s Production Premium package — with Premiere, After Effects, Audition, Photoshop… — has everything you’d ever need. Work with native DSLR video, stabilize shaky video, clean up audio, composite special effects and more.
Price: $1,699
Buy It / More Info: Adobe
Cameras
3. Sony NEX-7 Digital Camera
This 24p camera is as pocket-sized as it gets. Eager gear heads may have to wait for delivery though — Shipping will be delayed because parts are coming from recently flooded Thailand.
Price: $1,399 (body and 18-55mm lens)
Buy It / More Info: Sony
Cameras
4. Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital Camera
A professional HD lover’s dream comes true in this compact Canon DSLR with a prosumer price.
Price: $712.95
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Accessories
5. Kogeto Dot Panoramic Accessory for iPhone 4
This pocket-friendly 360-degree panoramic video attachment lets you capture the world from the palm of your hand. We wrote about the Kogeto Dot on our blog earlier this year.
Price: $79
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Gear
6. Redrock RunningMan DSLR Nano Rig
Capturing a race or a galloping gazelle? This rig will keep your camera stable as you chase down your subject, or as your subject chases you!
Price: $467
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Accessories
7. Snowball USB Microphone by Blue Microphones
A versatile and budget-friendly mic for voiceovers and music. Plus, how many mics looks like orbs from the future?
Price: $58.07
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Accessories
8. DSLR Follow Focus
Let’s face it, digital camera focus was always tough to get just right in manual mode, and today’s larger sensors make it even tougher. With this tool, you can eliminate fuzzy video and awkward hand positioning with finely tuned focusing on the go.
Price: $59.95 – $89.95
Buy It / More Info: DSLR Solutions
Online Tools
9. Vimeo Plus Membership
No ads, unlimited HD uploading and complete access to tools offered by the shallow-focus extravaganza that is Vimeo.
Price: $59.95 (1 year)
Buy It / More Info: Vimeo
Gear
10. B&H Gift Card
From lighting equipment to underwater cameras, B&H is a great way to treat a New York-area filmmaker to high-quality gear (and a mesmerizing in-store conveyer-belt system) during the holidays.
Price: $20 – $1000
Buy It / More Info: B&H Photo Video
Watch!
This was a great year for watching docs, and can we be so bold as saying 2012 will be even better with a gift of a DVD or membership? Here are a few ways you can give (or get) a doc fix.
Gadgets
1. Kindle Fire
Amazon’s impressive 7″ device comes ready for watching docs (like the ones directly below) and reading about them (a little farther down). And at a price $300 below Apple’s iPad 2, it’s an easy choice for a first tablet.
Price: $199
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
DVD/Blu-Ray
2. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Who can resist that winning smile? Share it with loved ones for the holidays! (Did the venerable documentary institution POV just recommend buying a Justin Bieber Blu-Ray? Yes, it did.)
Price: $9.99
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
DVD
3. Tongues Untied
Tongues Untied captured the height of homophobia and racism in the 1980s with the emergence of AIDS. Stunning, provocative and powerful, the DVD includes newly released outtakes and a 1991 interview with director Marlon T. Riggs.
Price: $30.36
Buy It / More Info: Frameline
DVDs
4. Middletown
Inspired by Depression-era sociological studies, Academy Award-winning director Peter Davis (Hearts and Minds) produced this multi-documentary study of American life in Muncie, Indiana, in the early 1980s.
Price: $44.98
Buy It / More Info: Icarus Films
Blu-Ray
5. ESPN Films: 30 for 30 Limited Edition Collector Set
Some of the biggest names in documentary go behind the lens in this series of films spanning 30 years of extraordinary sports stories.
Price: $69.99
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
DVD
6. Kartemquin Films Collection Volumes 1, 2 & 3
Immerse yourself in the counterculture of 1960s-era Chicago with classic films from the non-profit documentary producer’s early days.
Price: $74.95 (Order by Dec. 19 for a whopping 50% discount!)
Buy It / More Info: Kartemquin
DVDs
7. The Alan Berliner Collection
Five films from Alan Berliner are now in a DVD box set. Fans of POV will remember The Sweetest Sound, Intimate Strangers, Nobody’s Business and The Family Album, which are all here.
Price: $89.99
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
DVD/Blu-Ray
8. Frederick Wiseman Custom Box Set
Build your documentary collection with your choice of Wiseman classics. How about… Titicut Follies, High School and La Danse on Blu-Ray?
Price: $94.37 – $139.80
Buy It / More Info: Zipporah Films
DVD/Blu-Ray
9. Netflix Gift Subscription
The gift that keeps on giving. Well, at least for a month. Let your recipient make the most difficult choice of 2012: Streaming or delivery?
Price: $7.99 – $95.88
Buy It / More Info: Netflix
DVD
10. Ironweed Films Club Membership
Who wouldn’t want to receive a DVD each month with two-to-four independent documentaries? Oh, and unlike Netflix, you get to keep them!
Price: $44.85 (3 months), $89.70 (6 months), $159.90 (1 year)
Buy It / More Info: Ironweed Films
Electronics
11. Apple TV
Watch Netflix, Vimeo or rummage through old photos from iCloud with this nifty device that connects to all of your other Apple toys.
Price: $99
Buy It / More Info: Apple
Electronics
12. Roku 2 XD
If you’re not tied to the iTunes store, or want to free yourself from it, consider the Roku 2 XD. The 1080p version is $20 cheaper than Apple TV and connects to the major streamers.
Price: $79
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Memberships (New York City)
13. Rooftop Films 2012 Membership
One of the best values out there for New York area documentary fans. Watch underground films with beautiful rooftop views, check out up-and-coming bands, and schmooze with emerging directors at stellar after parties.
Price: $35 – $50
Buy It / More Info: Rooftop Films
Memberships (New York City)
14. Film Society of Lincoln Center Membership
Check out film events and festivals and enjoy free weekday matinee screenings at this New York institution.
Price: $35 – $250
Buy It / More Info: Film Society of Lincoln Center
Memberships (New York City)
15. IFC Membership
This is a NYC-area membership worth its weight in popcorn, which is really good here, and free! Perks include preview screenings and discounts on the Stranger Than Fiction documentary series.
Price: $40 – $75
Buy It / More Info: IFC
Memberships (New York City)
16. Stranger Than Fiction Winter 2012 Pass
This New York City series is known for showing some of the best documentaries on a regular basis. Combine it with an IFC Center membership for a $20 discount.
Price: $100
Buy It / More Info: Stranger Than Fiction
Memberships
17. Membership to Your Local Film Society or Gift Certificate at Your Local Arthouse Theater
In Austin? Or Denver? Seek out your local film society and be a part of your documentary community, or gift tickets to an independent film theater near you!
Price: Varies
Buy It / More Info: Independent Lens Website
Learn!
Boost your favorite documentarian’s career with books, memberships and magazines to stay on top of industry developments.
Books
1. Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright
Was it right for us to reproduce the cover of American University’s Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi’s new book on copyright for our holiday gift guide? This book offers a framework for answering that question, along with practical tips for documentarians about the black, white and gray areas of copyright law.
Price: $11.56
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Books
2. Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction
This short primer covers everything you need to know about documentary styles, history, evolution and content.
Price: $8.75
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Books
3. A New History of Documentary Film
A comprehensive historical overview of the genre also documents new trends in the industry — great for a student of docs!
Price: $20.15
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Books
4. The Direct Cinema of David and Albert Maysles
For anyone who wants to know how the directors of Salesman and Gray Gardens forever changed documentary filmmaking.
Price: $29.95
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Books
5. The Teacher’s Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World
This practical textbook for teachers is co-written by the founding president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) and, more famously, a contributor to POV discussion guides.
Price: $41.95
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
Magazines/Memberships
6. International Documentary Association Membership
Documentary magazine, website benefits and a ballot for the IDA Awards? How could you go wrong?
Price: $55
Buy It / More Info: Documentary.org
Magazines
7. DOX Magazine Subscription
Hoping to be big in Belgium? Keep up with developments in all aspects of the European doc industry with this quarterly magazine.
Price: 28 € (about $37.50)
Buy It / More Info: European Documentary Network
Magazines
8. Filmmaker Magazine Subscription
Help your favorite filmmaker stay informed with director interviews and industry insights in this indie-focused magazine published by IFP.
Price: $9 (digital subscription)
Buy It / More Info: Filmmaker Magazine
Memberships
9. Join a Professional Organization of TV & Film Producers
Consider joining the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) or other member organizations of public media’s minority consortia starting at $10.
Price: $10-$35+
Fun Stuff!
Donations
1. Support a Documentarian on Kickstarter
Help ease the hardest part of making a documentary: fundraising! Donate to a documentarian and you might be treated with fun rewards like a private screening in outer space. Or I guess a DVD of the final film is pretty cool too.
Price: $1 – $10,000
Buy It / More Info: Kickstarter
Clothes
2. “Thriller Was a Documentary” T-Shirt
Express your love of zombies, Michael Jackson and documentaries without saying a word — unless the word is “Braaaaaaaaains…”
Price: $20
Buy It / More Info: Loops & Pluto
For Kids
3. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Camera
After getting this camera for your 6-plus-month-old budding filmmaker, you’ll be itching for sing-alongs in your HDSLR’s next firmware update.
Price: $9.54
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
More POV-Related Gift Ideas
DVDs, Books and More
The POV 20th Anniversary Set and other POV Docs-Related DVDs, Books and More
Rewatch the unforgettable, at times shocking and consistently beautiful documentaries from POV’s first 20 years, or pick up DVDs for more recent films such as the Emmy-winning Food, Inc. in POV’s Amazon affiliate store. Fans wanting to buy the United States of Documentaries map will be disappointed — For now, you can only win it in one of our online giveaways…
Price: Varies
Buy It / More Info: Amazon.com
What’s on your wish list? Share in the comments or let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
