Fan Mail Binder
It’s a simple three-inch binder from Staples, but what it holds is so much more. I do a series called “You Sent It In” where people send in fan mail and packages. I store all the letters and fan art I receive in it. The letters come from all over the world from a variety of people, cultures, and ages. Whenever I feel discouraged or burnt out, I reach for this binder and it brightens my day.
OMGcraft Set
OMGcraft is one of my projects I am most proud of. I always have a little bit of pride telling people the set is real and it’s not a green screen. In February 2013, I spent hours pasting vinyl sign material onto cardboard boxes to make the set look the way it does. Two and a half years later, OMGcraft is still going strong as the audience continues to grow every single day. I think any child would love to have a piece of Minecraft in real life.
Low Poly Art by Timothy J. Reynolds
I was browsing reddit one day when I stumbled upon /r/low_poly. I fell in love with the art style. I browsed around until I found an artist I liked who also sold their art. I found Timothy J. Reynolds and shared it with some of my friends. For my birthday, a good friend bought me some of his art pieces. I later found out Timothy J. Reynolds works as a 3D illustrator at Twitch. I have a strong relationship with Twitch and had seen his art around for a while — I just didn’t realize it.
One Summer: America, 1927
One Summer is a hidden treasure. Bill Bryson, the author, has the amazing talent of making anything interesting. Seriously, one of his book is about houses, and why houses are the way they are…it’s very interesting. In this book, he takes a look at a single summer in the year 1927. He takes, what could be described as a history lesson in American culture, into a thrilling story of Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, and Al Capone. He does a fantastic job of tying the timelines together.
Buy Now$11.86Heil PR 40
Audio is one of the most important things in any production. The most amazing video is awful with bad audio. The Heil PR 40 is my favorite broadcast microphone. It has amazing off axis rejection of noise and I’m always confident I will sound good using it. In my previous job as a producer, our company only used PR 40s. I too have fallen in love. It’s not cheap, but for me it’s an essential part of my career. Bob Heil, the creator, is a man I trust when it comes to audio.
Adesso Atlas 1 Light Floor Lamp
I first saw this giant lamp on the desk of an employee at Pixel Corps. It was bent over like a huge Pixar lamp and very comical. I liked it’s style and had to have one. Luckily, it was on Amazon so I ordered it right away. It looks cool almost anywhere I put it and people always ask me about it when they come over.
Buy Now$182iPad Teleprompter R810-10
For OMGcraft, I needed a teleprompter and was looking for a cheap and simple solution to this. A good teleprompter needs true beam-splitter glass. It’s what allows the text to bounce back to your eyes without causing darkness and discoloration to the camera lens. Using this inexpensive teleprompter with Teleprompt+ 3 for iOS, it creates an elegant, one-man solution.
Special Effects Hair Dye
Back in 2011, I spontaneously dyed my hair a bright shade of red at my friend’s house. I chose the color Nuclear Red because it was the only bottle there. The process starts with me bleaching the hair, then applying the dye, and letting that sit in my hair for 7 hours before washing. Four years later, the red hair is a part of my brand. Instead of just nuclear red, I started mixing it with blood red to get the perfect shade. Other hair dyes wash out, but Special Effects stays vibrant for longer.
Buy Now$13.95
