By David Kaminski
I never throw anything away, unless I have to, and I am deaf to the argument that something is too old to work. It either works, or it doesn’t. And either it can be fixed, or it can’t. It is useful, or it isn’t. In the end, maybe the old stuff can solve a few problems for free. And maybe old equipment can offer us new wisdom.
Some of the items I have picked up over the years have outlasted their original owners’ need for them. I use old gear at home and at work, and there is no shortage of gifts from people or of old gear of my own. If anything, I have to refuse old stuff since I already have a few of everything I ever needed. Here’s a list (in ascending order of cost) of some of those items, and how I make use of them.
Use an Old Cell Charger for a Battery Belt
My old cell phone stopped working, but I kept it and my charger. Lo and behold, when I couldn’t find the charger for the battery belt, I used the cell charger cord. Same size plug. Adequate juice. Certainly not recommended by the battery manufacturer, but it did work in a jam.
Free TV Tuners and Playback for Old Tapes
VCR’s and more VCR’s… The latest use last week was using one as a TV tuner for a projector. I ran coax from the cable company into the VCR, and took an RCA audio out to a mixer and an RCA video connection out and plugged it into the projector so an audience could watch a live television broadcast on a large screen. Easier than getting a cable box.
As for playback, I am still giving away VCR’s to desperate people who have VHS and VHS-C tapes piled in a corner somewhere.
Free Tape Stock
VHS tapes. They never seem to die. I even tried to crush one with my shoe in an angry fit a decade ago. I sprained my ankle, but was too ashamed to admit it. The tape still worked in a broadcast-quality VCR after I had hurt myself and gotten over my upset. Lately, the cases shatter more easily, and a strong person with a good grip can twist or snap the case until it explodes into smithereens. (Do not try this at home.) A current use for tapes? Some people still want a VHS tape copy for a legal record, or to mail to an old relative. Don’t throw out your blank tapes just yet.
Free Camera for Training with Your Jib
Nothing is better on the end of a jib than a camera that is already broken. Maybe it has a cracked display screen or a broken eyepiece, or maybe the headphone jack doesn’t work. All you need is a good video signal out to practice with your jib. Even a VHS camera will work. Using a broken camera is good for your confidence when you start, since you’ve got nothing to lose.
Free Client Monitors
TV’s… I once saw a dozen stacked in a community college TV control room. The person in charge of the facility explained that it reminded students that the signal looked different on every brand of TV. Despite the current belief that all TV is now HD, and it all is perfect, we’d all be smarter to take a cue from this wisdom. If only we could stack an LCD on top of a plasma on top of an OLED on top of a cell phone on top of a portable video player on top of a home theater screen – then, maybe we would know what our productions will look like to our audience. I still run finished work through old TV’s and computer CRT’s, as well as compress it and watch it on the web, view it on new LCD computer monitors, a new HD projector, and an HD reference monitor. Every picture is different.
Beware. Technology does not advance at a constant rate, or for all people at the same time. A few years ago I was sitting in a meeting with an advanced media group and there was a discussion about the latest technology, and the clarity of HDTV. An older gentleman who had worked with a company to develop high fidelity radio equipment noted that when he and other engineers invited the general public to personally adjust their newest system, all of them inevitably turned the knobs until it sounded like their car radios. The point? Consumers are often not interested in listening to or watching the very best that the engineers can offer. Their tastes evolve sometimes, and sometimes they do not. It may be that habit trumps technology, or that the convenience of downloading even a poor-quality video file from the internet will make people happier than the best HD that money can buy. The older man had accurately predicted the power of low-quality video over the web as a force to be reckoned with.
$1 Mic and Cord
I bought a good-quality vocal mic and a cord for one dollar at a garage sale. I’ve loaned it out for recording into a computer, for people needing it for rapping into their mixers, and I never worry. It was only $1.
Mic stands are another thing that are often discarded before they are entirely broken. Maybe the plating is flaking off, or it has rusted a bit, but many times you’ll need an extra. Last summer, I passed one up sitting beside a garbage can. I already have too many.
$5 for a Bag of Cords ($1 per pound, probably)
Guitar and amp cords, splitters, and barrels were a good purchase for $5. The guitarist was old and didn’t want to think about the tangle any more. Cords go bad, but more often than not, they just keep working. Some might be just fine to loan to your friends or to someone who loses things. Others you might keep for yourself.
For securing old cords, I use some twist-ties I bought from the dry cleaner down the street. It cost me $9 for 2000 extra-long twist-ties. I bought the box more than a decade ago, and I am only now running low. It is easy to hand one to a person who needs one for the 2 cents it cost me.
Occasionally, I’ll need a Velcro-style wrap. I like the kind that come free around a head of lettuce. No good tech person has ever been confused by the marking “Romaine” or “Red Leaf”.
$5 Tripods
Tripods for still cameras are fine for small digital video cameras. Even old 16mm film camera tripods are great. I’ve gotten both at garage sales. The older ones have steel, brass, and aluminum parts that have already withstood the test of time. They are good back-up gear, and you won’t feel bad if you need to use them in a place where they might get damaged.
My old sandbags, made with clean play sand, garbage bags, and a heavier woven mesh bag from the stone dealer have lasted for more than a decade. Funny how an old sandbag still works with tripods, stands, and to prop open a door.
$5+ Stand-up Moviola
Though I got mine for free, I’ll put this in the category over $5.
I have read that Steven Spielberg is still fond of using his stand-up Moviola, though perhaps that is no longer true. Whatever the case, if it is good enough for him, perhaps we ought to take notice.
I know someone who purchased one in mint condition for about $300. Not a bad discount considering that back in 1974 when mine was made, it cost as much as two brand-new cars. The distinctive metallic green they used to paint it reminds me of my father’s Pontiac built in the same year. His car cost $3,500 then, and the Moviola was about $7,000.
Go buy one, and try your hand at working with film. Maybe you’ll get a free 16mm film camera to go with it.
David Kaminski teaches TV Production/Media at Clarkstown HS North in New City, NY about 25 miles north of New York City. His students have earned five Telly Awards and over 50 national awards for their work. They also have screened their films more than 200 times in festivals across the country and internationally.
Featured in StudentFilmmakers Magazine, February 2009 Edition.
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