Help an editor get organized with plugs and accessories

December 14, 2008 7:43 AM

I am a Final Cut editor working on a first-class Mac Pro. But since I work at a shop with three other editors, I always seem to be hunting for various cords and cables (headphone splitters, rca to quarter-inch connectors, DV deck firewire cables, etc). I'd like to create something like a first-aid bag for myself, complete with all the accessories I seem to lose time searching for - like a CF card reader. My question is what would you put in the bag and what kind of small, manageable bag would you use. Links welcomed. Thanks.
posted by captainscared to computers & internet (4 answers total)

I'm a sound engineer by trade, and I have a similar kit that I take with me on freelance calls. I'm not sure if you would use the same sorts of gear that I do (I have adapters of all types- xlr, rca, quarter inch, mini stereo, mini mono, splitters, pads, testers, turnarounds...), but I highly recommend a good make-up bag for all your small, fiddly adapters and cords. You can usually find good ones near the cosmetics counter of any decent drug store -- and they come in black if you don't want a "girly" one. Mine has two large compartments that I keep the cables in, as well as several different internal pockets and elastic straps to hold the smaller adapters and keep them organized.
posted by kaudio at 9:17 AM on December 14, 2008

I used to work with a production secretary who for some reason had a kickass emergency cable kit. She had hers in a handyman's case, but I think a non-girly makeup bag would work well.

I don't have a definitive collection of my own, but right now I'd suggest you invest in a firewire 800 to 400 cable, as the new Macbook Pros no longer have Firewire 400 (why???? When we got our Apogee Duet which only has a firewire 400 input and cable, we cursed the name of Apple).

I used to label and tag all my cables and editor-type peripherals like an anal retentive freak, invested in velcro cable ties and had them all in a giant box with all my general "mobile editor" office kit, which was a giant plastic tub. I also had an inventory list of all the types of cables I had, so I could check them off when I left a job.
posted by mooza at 10:51 AM on December 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

nooza, do you still have that list of what you had in tha case?
posted by captainscared at 12:52 PM on December 14, 2008

One thing I'd suggest is one of those USB adapter kits. Mine, which lives in my laptop bag (which, as a programmer, is my equivalent to the kit you're building), has saved my bacon a dozen times.
posted by Netzapper at 5:23 PM on December 14, 2008