Stuff I Can't Live Without
These are a few of my favorite things...
by Perry Jenkins

As Digital Juice's Creative Director, Perry Jenkins has his hands on pretty much everything from DJTV to promotional pieces to product development. If it's happening at Juice's production studio, Perry's involved. Here's his list of stuff he can't live without.

DIET COKE

Before I place a single light or roll a single frame, I reach for a frosty cold Diet Coke. I don't drink coffee, so I depend on D.C. to give me the caffeine fix I need. The number of “sodees” that I go through may surprise you. I can easily knock back a six-pack before 10:00am. Is that good? I'm not sure. But I switched to the kind with Splenda for some crazy health reason.

MY HANDY-DANDY LEATHERMAN

I've carried this thing in my pocket for the better part of seven years, and I swear I've used it every single day. It's perfect for grabbing a hot scrim or tightening down a tripod plate. I've even fixed lights and a/v cables with the darned thing. I highly recommend picking one up. You'll be happy that you did. The uses are quite possibly endless.

MY MEASURING TAPE

Another handy item that's been in my pocket since Christmas of 2000 is a little tape measurer. It was a gift from my daughter, who was five at the time. I use it to measure my subject's distance to dial in the appropriate focus, and to measure the height of my camera and lights to refer back to at a later day. It's invaluable, and my daughter loves knowing I carry it with me everyday.

FOAM CORE

Foam core rocks! I love this stuff. I've been using it as long as I can remember. The white cards are perfect for white balancing a camera or bouncing in some fill light on talent or products. For small product shots, I've even used it as a surface to shoot on. Black foam core makes a great flag for controlling spill and you can cut it to make cookies for casting cool shadows for texture. Since it's rigid and durable, it can take a beating traveling from location to location in the trunk of your car.

MY HORSES

Sawhorses! Yessir. I think every studio should have a set. Couple a pair of sawhorses with an old desktop, a piece of Plexiglas, a sheet of steel or a hollow core door and you've got an instant surface to shoot a product on. I've even used an old glass shower door. The sawhorses are a perfect height to work on and they're way easier to move than a large desk or something like that. Granted, it's mainly for tabletop stuff, but I've used the same method to create fake office desks and production studios for a ton of productions. Sawhorses: They're not just for carpenters anymore!

Perry Jenkins is an Emmy Award Winning Producer and Cinematographer and is Digital Juice's Creative Director.