The Apple Box That Doubles As a Hi-Hat
You might be familiar with mounting a Hi Hat to an apple box, but what about mounting the tripod head directly to the apple? News Shooter was in Japan at this year's Inter Bee to check out a product that does exactly that, with 100mm and 150mm bowls built right in:
This may very well exist somewhere else and I just haven't seen it or heard of it, but part of me actually likes this idea. It's a neater way to store and transport the Hi Hat, as you don't have this weirdly shaped piece of wood and the metal mount that's difficult to stack anything on top of. I should probably reiterate that Hi Hats work perfectly fine as they are, and you can certainly attach one to an apple for easier stacking, but having it all in one is definitely an interesting concept. These will come with either 100mm, 150mm, or both on the same apple.
News Shooter says these will run from $250 up to around $450, so either "expensive" or "right where it should be" depending on which side of the filmmaking fence you happen to land on. Unfortunately, the company that makes these, Metal Toys, does not have a website, but you might at some point be able to get them from a distributor like System 5. Maybe we'll see a similar concept in the US (unless, again, someone already makes something like this).
Source: News Shooter