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Rip-Tie has a super strong alternative to gaffer tape with no sticky residue

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Wrapping cables is probably the biggest pain in the backside of any kind of shoot that requires them. For photographers, that often means strobe power cables or maybe sync cords if you’re not using wireless triggers. For filmmakers you’ve got power cords, audio cords, HDMI cables, and all kinds of things.

Often, we just use gaffer tape, which ends up getting thrown away and replaced on every job. Or, perhaps, we use velcro, which still needs to be replaced regularly as they usually get lost. Rip-Tie has a better way of doing things that ensures your wraps don’t get lost, and they’ll probably live longer than your cable! We stopped by the Rip-Tie stand at IBC 2019 to find out more.

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How to wind up your cables to keep them tangle-free

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Whether you’re a photographer or filmmaker, chances are you’ve got plenty of cables. Not everything is wireless yet. There are long USB tethering cables, microphone cables, power cables and all sorts. Many of them might need replacing fairly regularly if you just shovel them into your bag and don’t take care of them. At best, you’ll waste a lot of time untangling a mess of knotted cables.

The guys over on The Film Look have the perfect solution, and an explanation as to why wrapping your cables properly is important. For a start, it means less wasted time on set untangling them. But it also increases the longevity of those cables so that you don’t have to replace them as often.

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This is the best way to wrap cables and cords to keep them tangle free

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Keeping cables tangle-free can be a nightmare. As photographers we may have quite an array of cables. Long trigger release cables, flash head cables, USB extensions for shooting tethered, for example. If you shoot video as well, you might have to deal with XLR and other cables, too. And when it comes to cables, there’s nothing worse than turning up to shoot with a tangled mess.

Kinked and tangled cords don’t just make life difficult for you, though. They can also lead to reduced life of the cable, which means more cost as you replace them. This video from Oscar nominated director of photography, Mark Vargo, shows us how they do it in Hollywood. It makes production go more smoothly, and helps to make your cables last as long as possible.

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Quick Tip: Color code your cables when bundling them up

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If you, like me bundle up your USB and short power cables on travel, color coding them may be very helpful for getting them untangled quickly.

If the cable are color coded, and you did not make too much of a mess when bundling them with a cable tie, you should just be able to pull the two color coded ends and get one whole cable in your hands.

You can do this with color coded electrical tape, or if you have kids, you probably have some washy tape around the house.

Quick Tip: Learn How To Keep Your Cables From Breaking When Extending Them

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You know it happens! Your cables are not long enough and you have to connect two of them together to complete those last few centimeters.

If you want to secure the cable you are probably making a small knot where the cables connect to keep the cable connected if someone tugs it. If done wrong, this knot is stressing the weakest part of the cable – the plastic and metal parts, and it can be the end of your cable (and your shoot). This tip shows you how to both secure the cable against accidental tugging and keep your cable intact for future use.

The secret make a simple knot under the connection and this knot does not involve the weak part of the cable.

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