We’ve all been there. You’re on a shoot, or doing something in post, and you don’t have a piece of equipment you need. Well it happened to me a few days ago. I was cutting some voice-over when I realized that I didn’t have a mic stand. So I did what everyone in video production does in this situation – I improvised. I looked around the office and turned a lonely looking 3 hole punch into a stand with a little help from Gaffer’s Tape.

Mic St and/3 Hole Punch

We’ve all done it. Gorilla video production. Production by the seat of your pants. Whatever you want to call it, it’s making do with what you’ve got. Maybe you’re missing a light stand…maybe you’re missing lights. A quick trip to a big box hardware store and you can get what you need for a stand or a light…or both!

Most seasoned video production folks have at least one story about how they made something work in a pinch. So let’s share some old “war” stories. What have YOU made do with? What did you have to make out of spare parts to get the shot and save the day? I’d love to see a picture too! This is your chance to show us just how ingenious you are!