Mac Setups: Desk of a Film Pro & Craigslist Deal Hunter

May 17, 2014 - 5 Comments

MacBook Pro desk setup of a Film Professional built by Craigslist deal hunting

This weeks featured Mac setup comes to us from Jonathan G., a film professional who also happens to be an industrious and effective Craigslist deal hunter… not sure what that means? Well, read on to find out!

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you arrived at this Mac setup?

I am a film school grad / computer hobbyist / Craigslist addict and I have a Mac Set up to prove it. As a former college student I didn’t have the budget to afford a nice set up like the professionals, so I turned to Craigslist for all my Mac needs. Every part of my set up was not only purchased on Craigslist, but in total it cost me less than a brand new MacBook Pro.

What do you use your Apple gear for?

I use my set up to help me write, direct, produce, and edit videos for various small businesses, Kickstarter campaigns, as well as my own short films and projects. I like to use 3 screens so that I can edit, browse, and watch Netflix all at the same time.

What hardware is included in your current Mac setup?

The setup includes the following gear, also listed is the price paid for each item found by hunting out deals on Craigslist:

  • 13” MacBook Pro (mid 2010) with 8GB of RAM – $800
  • iPad Mini – $250
  • Auvio Bluetooth Speaker – $20
  • 20” Apple Cinema Display – $50
  • 30Gig iPod (2) – $30 each
  • Black leather office chair – $20

Last but not least, I scored all of the following for the unbelievable total price of $60:

Total cost of my entire setup: $1,260

As for the desk itself, it is actually a picnic table I got from Lowe’s for about $30. Hidden behind everything are several external HDDs (also from Craigslist) that I use to store my footage.

For those wondering, the cinema display isn’t broken, it’s showing a pixelated version of the famous painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

I recommend the Auvio bluetooth speaker. Its pretty loud and clear for is small size and minimal design as well as completely rechargeable. I don’t use this for sound when editing though.

Auvio speaker

What are some of the Mac and iOS apps you use most often?

For Mac, the following OS X apps are critical:

On my iPad, I use the following:

Any other great Craigslist finds?

What I like to buy most on Craigslist are broken computers that I repair in my free time. Recently I brought back to life an original 1984 Macintosh 128k and resorted it to a fully functional working condition. I bought it on Craigslist for $20!

Macintosh 128k opened and restored

Do you have an interesting Apple or Mac setup you want to share with OSXDaily? Answer some questions, take a few good pictures, and mail it all in to osxdailycom@gmail.com ! Or maybe for now you’re just looking to check out our past Mac setups instead? Have at it!

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Posted by: OSXDaily in Mac Setups

5 Comments

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  1. tom says:

    Cool setup! Love buying new stuff tho, will reconsider after seeing this setup…Wow.

    Great thread as always OSX Thanks!!

  2. mutedf8 says:

    hi,

    loved the setup.

    can you share the wallpaper used on the desktop

  3. Raymond Doran says:

    I love the setup. Instead of all the keyboards and trackpad/mice I use Synergy software KVM. It is an open source tool that allowance to share the keyboard and mouse/trackpad of one computer to many simply by moving the mouse to that screen.

  4. Dimitri Poquito says:

    I buy and sell stuff on Craigslist too, much easier than eBay. Cars, computers, you name it. Easy.

  5. Gus says:

    Great setup and I love the idea of buying used and building a workstation on the cheap. I bought a MacBook Air from Craigslist a while back for $700 (when they retailed for $1100) and it was a great deal, still use it constantly! It’s also a great place to find used cheap iPhone’s, why anyone would pay full price for an iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, or iPhone 5C amazes me when they can be found on Craigslist for $200-$450 in every major US city.

    For those new to the Craigslist deal searching, remember if you’re shopping be sure to always meet in a public place and check for frauds and fakes! Make sure the Mac or iPhone boots and works with a SIM card, check the registration number, etc. Lots of scammers, weirdos, and flakes, but also tons of great deals. It all comes with the territory, a lot like eBay without the feedback mechanism.

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