Are you shopping for a video editor? Maybe you’re reading just to see what’s on the list for you to buy for yourself. No matter the reason you are here I hope to give you some ideas for gifts a video editor would enjoy receiving this holiday season.
The following are ideas, not reviews, since many of these products are on my own wish list and I haven’t had a chance to try them out yet. The post is broken down into four sections: Software, Hardware, Education and Rejuvenation. At the bottom of the post leave your own ideas in the comments section.
Software
Plugins
Take your software even further with third-party plugins. Check out Colorista II ($199), Trapcode Particular ($399) and Magic Bullet Looks ($399) by Red Giant. The last two offer 30-day trials.
Apple Gift Cards
You know the drill. Apple gift cards are great for apps, music, TV shows, software and so much more. Too bad they don't have denominations in the $5000 range so that you could pick up the New Mac Pro. Guess you'll need a lot of friends and a lot of gift cards to get one.
Hardware
Headphones
This is at the top of my holiday gift wish list this year (hint, hint!). There are headphones from Beats, Bose, Sony, Sennheiser and many more. Do your research, read the reviews and, if possible, try them out at your local electronics store.
Terabytes
Storage never goes out of style. Grab a 2TB G-Force USB 3.0 / eSATA Aluminum External Hard Drive by MicroNet for about $125.
Drawing Tablet
My favorite item that I bought this year has been my Wacom Drawing Tablet. I’ve been creating how-to videos by drawing on a fake chalkboard in Photoshop. I can remove the mouse in post using my screen capturing software and it looks like I’m drawing on a digital chalkboard. It’s also great for touching up photos. Grab one for about $100.
Editing Keyboard
If you want to be taken seriously by your non-editor coworkers, you have to get a colorful editing keyboard. Besides it’s main function, helping you edit faster, it’s always an attention grabber when someone sees it for the first time. At B&H, skins and full keyboards range from $30-150.
Education
I use Lynda.com to keep up and learn new software all the time (I’m learning HTML and beefing up my After Effects skills at the moment). The site also makes it really simple to gift a membership starting as low as $25.
Passes to Local Conferences
Each year there are a handful of local conferences that I desperately want to go to that my company won’t always spring for. A 1-day pass to a conference would be an amazing gift for someone looking to network, learn and keep up with industry trends.
If you want some more great ideas, check out Scott Simmons over at Pro Video Coalition, as he has also put together a great holiday gift idea list.
Rejuvenate
Sleep
When I crowdsourced some ideas for this article I got a lot of humorous responses about editors wanting more sleep. Check out the new Up Band by Jaw Bone. It tracks your sleep (and much, much more). It wirelessly connects to your phone for simple tracking. It starts for around $130.
Awake
If sleep isn’t your thing how about staying awake? Coffee, Starbucks gift cards and travel mugs will always be needed.
Your List
What’s on your wish list? Leave your gift ideas for video editors below.
