Chloe

Aputure MC LED Light Review: The BEST mini light for film, YouTube, Twitch, and content creators!

Leave a Comment / Film Equipment, Reviews / By /

Whether you’re a filmmaker, content creator, or simply someone that needs a solid portable bright light, I highly recommend the Aputure MC (currently available directly from Aputure’s site for $90). I was initially suggested this light when I asked a faculty member at my film school about light recommendations for starting out in cinematography, and I’m beyond happy with my purchase.

I love this little light and I’m so glad I bought it. I’m a filmmaker and I recently graduated from college with a degree in film so I originally bought it as a film light to use in short films, music videos, and other projects, but shortly after buying it I realized it could be so much more than that, and it’s now the main light I use for Twitch streams, TikToks and YouTube videos.

The Basics

The Apurture MC is a wireless multicolor LED light which means it can be virtually any color you want, at any brightness level. The color and brightness can be controlled on the light itself or by connecting it to the Sidus Link app on your phone via Bluetooth to be controlled wirelessly, which was relatively easy to do. It also has light modes where it changes colors/brightness to emulate fire, a party, a cop car, lightning, or anything else you might want.

This light is SMALL but bright. In most filming circumstances it probably won’t or can’t be your key light, but it does give off a fair amount of light. To get an idea of the size, it’s about the size of a credit card.

It’s pocket size unless you’re a woman because they make our clothing with ridiculously small pockets most of the time.

It can work while plugged in and charged, or be operated wirelessly. The Aputure MC has a decent battery life of about 2 hours at max brightness and about 15 hours at the lowest brightness, which I found to be accurate in my usage. I streamed with this once without plugging it in and it ran for almost exactly 2 hours at max brightness before running out.

You can also use the Aputure MC continuously plugged in, using a usb-c charging cable and a power adapter or power bank – I use my MacBook USB charging cord and an iPhone charger wall plug, which most people probably already have. Check here to see if your AC adapter and charging cable are compatible for use.

In the box

Beyond the light itself, the Aputure MC also comes with a silicone diffusion cover, which I’ve always used when using the light. It also includes a case, a usb-c charging cord (no wall adapter though), a manual, and two 3M Velcro strips to mount it. As far as mounting options, there’s two strong magnets on the back and a ¼ screw mount, which is a common mount and probably what you tripod or light stand already uses.

Using the light

To get an idea of the brightness level, here’s what it looks like in a completely dark room at different distances. It’s bright, but not enough to light up an entire room because it’s small. In most scenarios this will be an accent light or a light for inserts/close-ups.

Why do I love this light? I can use it in so many different projects and it’s become my go-to for content creation in filmmaking.

To get an idea of how I’ve used it in films, here’s some example clips from music videos that I directed and did the cinematography for!

In some of these shots, I used the Apurture MC for a fill/accent light, to create some dimension to the lighting. It’s great because since its both wireless, small, and magnetic, you can easily hide it within a scene.

Here’s a link to the full music video for Bubby and the full music video for David Arvisu.

I can see myself filming more with this in the future, and I was grateful to have this light on set.

Beyond film, I’ve been using this light in all my livestreams on Twitch since I purchased it. I used to use a cheap $30 ring light, and I wish I would’ve bought the Aputure MC a lot sooner. It’s small, doesn’t hurt my eyes to look at in max brightness, and doesn’t cause any flickering on camera like some LED lights. To get an idea of how effective this light is, here’s a clip of what my stream looked like with the light, and without it.

I also have used this as my main light in my last few YouTube videos! While I also use a ring light on the side as a fill light and some natural sunlight from a window, the primary lighting is from the Aputure MC.

Since I’ve bought this light, I’ve used this whenever I record TikTok videos on my phone and it works great as well for that. I typically don’t use it at full brightness for those, but it makes my videos look more professional and better-lit.

Beyond just videos, I also love to use this for photography, especially portraits. Here’s an example of the difference this light makes, even when combined with natural sunlight!

Final verdict

I love this light a lot. I’ve even used it as a light for doing my makeup, and because of the size, it could also be an emergency flashlight even, which might sound silly but it’s a practical use! The Aputure MC might seem a little pricey since it retails at $90 USD, and even I was skeptical of the price tag, but if you do any kind of content creation or filmmaking, it’s a must-have. I bought this around April and I feel like I’ve already gotten my money’s worth out of it. The light is also available in a pack of 4 or 12 lights with a wireless charging case.

Since I’ve purchased this light, Aputure has released an upgraded version, the MC Pro, which is 4x as bright and a little more expensive at $200 USD – however whenever I’m looking to buy new equipment, I plan to check that out because I really loved this light. Whenever I buy the MC Pro, I will do a review and comparison video because I’m excited to see the changes Aputure made.

If you’re a YouTuber, filmmaker, streamer, or any kind of content creator looking for a versatile light consider the Aputure MC. The high price tag might scare some people away, but I feel like it’s worth it for a solid piece of equipment that will last you for a while be as multipurpose as this.

Thank you for reading this review! If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact me or comment and I’ll do my best to answer.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc – Spoiler-Free Review (PC)

Leave a Comment / Games, Reviews, Video Games / By /

After being recommended the game by many others, I have finally finished Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and I’m excited to review and share my thoughts because I really enjoyed this game! You’ve probably heard of it by this point since it originally came out in 2010 (on the Playstation Portable) and is now on almost every modern platform, including mobile, PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Playstation. I played it on PC. I had a lot of fun and once I really got into the game (after about a few hours), I couldn’t put it down.

Steam probably words it better, but here’s the general premise:  You play as Makoto, a student attending a prestigious academy, which actually turns out to be a battle royale type scenario where all the students are stuck in the school until one of them kills another and gets away with it after a class trial. There’s also this really annoying bear named Monokuma that’s forcing them to do this. It’s a mix of visual novels, mystery/adventure games, and dating sims/RPGs at some parts. Danganronpa really stands in a category of its own, but there are some similar aspects to the Persona, Zero Escape, and Ace Attorney game series.

 

Gameplay

The gameplay is primarily like a visual novel – you mostly walk around, talk to people, and investigate areas. During the class trials, you put together the evidence you found, and then present this to the other students, primarily through minigame segments.

I really enjoyed the visual novel/investigation segments – I personally like VNs/mystery games, so I was expecting this. Dialogue was tedious sometimes, but you can easily skip through it if it’s annoying or repetitive (for example: There were a lot of times you got every character’s reactions to something that adds little to the story). There is some voice acting during important cutscenes or story moments and the class trials, but it is not fully voiced. The voice acting that was there was done really well though and wasn’t annoying – I listened to the English dub but there is an option for the Japanese dub with English subtitles as well.

Overall, I found the gameplay enjoyable and worked well for the game’s structure. The class trials and minigames I did find kind of annoying at times — like it felt unnecessarily hard and a little frustrating at some moments. A lot of times I knew what the final answer was or what point the game wanted to get at, but I was two steps ahead of where the game thought I should be thinking, so I got unnecessarily confused. However, this didn’t really impact my overall enjoyment of the game.

 

Story

The story was easily the best part of the game for me. I had actually been spoiled unintentionally about a few things, and I still found myself surprised along the way and engaged in the mystery and not knowing where things would go. So if you’ve been spoiled for a few plot points, don’t let that deter you from playing the game, because it wont take away from the experience and there’s a lot of plot twists and depth to the story that a few spoilers won’t ruin. This was the main reason I kept playing – I really wanted to know what would happen next, and even if some things did feel a little predictable, there was enough intrigue to keep me playing.

As a note, the story is linear, which I honestly found kind of disappointing. I don’t know why but I expected a nonlinear story (i.e. with branching choices, where your decisions matter), but that’s not the case – which is okay, but don’t go in thinking what I did.

While Danganronpa does not present a deep, soul searching, thought provoking story, its a fun and engaging one, like a good blockbuster film.

 

Characters

The characters are honestly one of the best/worst things about the game. There’s a big cast of unique characters who you get to interact with – however, given the length of the game, at times it felt too big. You only really care about a few of the characters throughout the game, and most are shallow and one-sided with little to no depth or brief backstories. Except for a few, they do not feel like real people. Most of the character designs and concepts are cool and unique, which explains why so many people cosplay them, but beyond this, I was disappointed by the lack of depth for most characters.

As you can guess by the premise, characters die. But for the vast majority of these deaths, there is no emotional impact and I simply did not care. I can only think of one character I felt sad when they died, and it was mostly after their death that I felt this way because we got more backstory that led me to care about them.

My favorite characters were easily Chihiro and Kyoko! Monokuma really annoyed me, but I think that’s kinda the point.

 

Graphics

Danganronpa originally came out in 2010 and the PC version has been upscaled from the original, so it looks nice, but it’s still obviously not perfect given the age. I love the unique art style and the environments are really cool and stylized. The mix 2D and 3D elements helped the game still look good despite the age (but I’m not picky with graphics). I loved how each room came to life like a pop-up book almost, and the character sprites look really clean.

 

Overall impression

Overall, Danganronpa is a fun game. Despite the dark theme/story set up, it doesn’t get too serious or gory, and it’s mostly dark comedic and melodramatic. It’s not trying to be serious or philosophical and sometimes that’s okay – some games and media deserve to just be fun and a little goofy.

If you played Danganronpa or like the sound of the game, but want something more serious with (in my opinion) better characters/story, please play Your Turn to Die! I may be biased because I played YTTD first but it’s really great and it’s free (played in browser) or you can buy it on Steam. Definitely look up trigger warnings for the game first though, since this is a little darker than Danganronpa.

If you like Ace Attorney, Zero Escape, Persona, mysteries or visual novels, definitely play Dangonronpa! I had a lot of fun and barely put it down in the time I played it. If you want to see what the gameplay or structure is like, I have two Lets Plays of the first couple hours. Here are links to the first and second Let’s Play videos.

Some final notes: I spent about 30 hours total on the game and there’s still some extra (and optional) content I have not fully explored. I also played with a mix of keyboard and mouse and controller on PC, and it’s natively compatible with an Xbox One controller. I also played the game on my non-gaming laptop thats about 5-years old now.

If you have any questions about the game or want to let me know your thoughts on the game, please comment below! I hope you enjoyed this review and I’ll be writing again soon!

May update + what I’ve been up to

1 Comment / Blog, Updates / By /

Hi! I know it has been a very long while since I’ve been active online, and I apologize for that! Since it’s been a while, I want to do a little catch-up on what I’ve been up to and information on what’s to come (in the form of a blog post because I am mentally stuck in 2007).

I graduated from college, with two majors in Film and English, and a minor in Religious Studies! This is a huge chapter from my life that’s finally closed, and I’m excited to see where everything goes from here.

While part of me is sad to be done since I love learning and my classes, and I’m also a little relieved to finally have a solid break. Managing my last two (busier) years of school when classes moved back in-person (along with managing my mental health) has been the primary reason I have not been as active online, and now that school’s over, I want to change that. Streaming, YouTube, cosplay, and my friends + community online have brought me a lot of joy! ♥

As part of my film major, I’ve been working on a lot of exciting film projects! I finished my first short film, The Love Hack, in December 2022, and I currently am in post-production for another short film and two music videos.

Here’s a trailer for The Love Hack:

Unfortunately, it will be about a year until I’m able to post the short film publicly on YouTube (but I will, I promise)! I am in the process of submitting to film festivals, and many film festivals do not allow short films to be submitted if its already publicly online.

So, what’s next from here?

I’m going to aim to be more active on Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and everywhere else online. I’m not sure what that looks like right now as I’m still figuring out things for myself and I’ll see what works best – but I will be active, that’s a promise. I have a few ideas for YouTube in the works and may shift to creating more content and videos focused on film (i.e. film reviews, short films, equipment reviews, tutorials), but I’ll still balance it with gaming and other “fun” content. Expect an update about either a new YouTube video and/or a stream in the next week (which I’ll give a heads up about on Discord and Twitter)!

In the meantime: I’m always listening to music, so if anyone wants to see what I’ve had on repeat for the last month, here’s my monthly playlist:

P.S. My Spotify is BoopCreate if you want to follow me on there and see more insufferable and potentially bad music recommendations.

I’m a little worn out from writing (I had to write two ten-page research papers for my university classes recently…) but I missed Twitch and everyone online here <3 I promise I won’t be gone again for that long (unless I’m doing an insanely cool project like directing a feature film)!

Epic Cosplay Wig Review

Leave a Comment / Cosplay, Reviews, Wigs / By /

Do you have a part of cosplaying that is a necessity, yet you absolutely dread every time it comes up?

I do. For me, it is wigs. For some reason, I just struggle making my wigs agree with me and actually look like the characters I’m cosplaying and not tangle in the process. >__<

That is why I was really excited to discover Epic Cosplay Wigs a few years ago! Their wigs are (somewhat) tangle-free, thick, silky, have fast (free) shipping, and come in a wide variety of colors and styles. I’ve been buying wigs from them exclusively for the past several years because of these reasons. In today’s post, I’m going to be reviewing every wig I’ve bought from them.

If you’d like to see the wigs on and watch this review in video form, check out the YouTube video below or here! My video displays all of the wigs in a mix of natural lighting and an LED ring light.

Aura in Black:

I initially bought this wig for Ruby Rose from RWBY, but I may end up reusing it again soon for other characters (like Mikasa from Attack on Titan, which I’m watching right now).

Like most Epic Cosplay wigs, the cap is larger (about 23”), and it’s noticeably thick, silky, and shiny. If the wig seems too shiny for you, it can easily be fixed by combing dry shampoo or baby powder through the wig.

When I wore this wig, I did a small amount of trimming on the bangs and pinned them aside because they are very long. The bangs are almost as long as the wig itself! The bangs are also very thick. In the future, I’d like to trim and possibly thin-out the bangs to make them easier to manage. 

The hair flips out a little on the sides, which I personally don’t love for most characters. This can easily be fixed with a straightener or streamer though, since all of Epic Cosplay’s wig are heat-safe.

Overall, this is a good wig to use as a base to style into however you want. Out of the bag, it definitely needs some styling (like trimming/pinning the bangs at least), to be worn. The thickness allows for more styling freedom, which is nice.

Daphne in Caramel Blonde:

Good lord, this wig is THICK and CURLY. I used this wig for Dolores from Westworld. I actually emailed Epic Cosplay for suggestions on what wig to use for the character and this is one of the options they recommended. 

This is not a lacefront, but it makes a good replacement if you do not want to deal with a lacefront or one is outside your budget. It lays pretty flat and looks somewhat realistic at the hairline, though I might suggest using lacefront tape to keep the front as flat as possible.

The color is a nice darker blonde with some orange/yellow tones. This would be a nice wig/color if you want a more realistic hair color for Princess Zelda! 

As I said at the beginning, the wig is very thick, curly, and long. The bottom is a little longer than the front, though that could be adjusted with trimming if you want. It is also heavy due to the thickness and length. I wore this wig for about a few hours (one day at a convention), and it only really tangled in the back. I was able to easily detangle it later with a wide-tooth comb.

None of the Epic Cosplay wigs I own (except the Asteria, which is a lacefront), have sewn-in combs to keep the wig in place. I feel like this wig could really benefit from that due to the weight. However, you can easily use some bobby pins to keep it in place just fine.

The Daphne is a heavy (albeit beautiful wig) that feels very high-quality.

Astraea in Platinum Blonde:

I love this wig! I used this for Daenerys Targaryen and it is perfect. I have a similar wig from Arda Wigs (Matilda in Titanium Blonde), and I prefer this wig because the fibers are softer/smoother and the color has less yellow undertones. 

This is my first lacefront from Epic Cosplay and I was honestly impressed. The wig is smaller than their other ones (20.5” inches in circumference vs the normal 23” inch wig size), but that worked out well for me because my head is more around that size. It has combs sewn in the front and back to keep the wig on easily. The curls are beautiful but will fall slightly after extended wear. The lace is a light tan/beige color and is very soft.

Despite wearing this wig frequently (including in windy weather!), the tangles have been minimal. My only complaint is that the hair in the lacefront portions is not as dense as I’d like, which makes it difficult to cover my own hairline. 

After wearing this wig, I am genuinely impressed and would love to try other Epic Cosplay lacefront wigs.

Theia in Dark Brown:

I bought this wig in my most recent Epic Cosplay order and I plan on using it for Alice from Alice: Madness Returns. 

The dark brown has pretty red undertones, but still remains dark. The wig was longer than I expected (hitting about chest-length), so I could easily wear this for multiple characters. The fibers felt a little silkier and softer than other wigs I’ve purchased, however, it could just be the color/style. I also noticed this wig was slightly thinner than my other Epic Cosplay wigs, which I prefer, since it looks more realistic and is easier to manage.

The bangs were very thick and about ear-length on me. When I style this, I may attempt to thin the bangs and also part them in the middle. They definitely need to be trimmed or styled out of the bag.

While this was slightly different from my other wigs, I could easily see myself using the Theia for various cosplays in the future due to its versatility!

Hestia in Light Brown:

I initially bought this wig for a Hermione Granger cosplay… However, the color is slightly different than I anticipated so now I have no idea what to do with it. The wig is darker and much more red-toned in person than I was anticipating. I don’t blame this on Epic Cosplay Wigs though – they do a really great job photographing their wigs, providing customer pictures, and showing their colors in various lighting. Sometimes it is just difficult to get a true idea of what something looks like until you have it in front of you. (This is a reminder to everyone else and myself: If you can, buy a color sample before purchasing an expensive wig!!)

Now let’s talk about the wig: Like the Theia, it is soft and the curls fall nicely. It is thick, but not overwhelmingly thick, and still looks natural. The bangs are slightly shorter and thicker than I expected, but could be styled to be side-swept or trimmed.

I wish Epic Cosplay would rename Light Brown to maybe Copper-Brown or something similar, because the name is not very accurate to the color.

While the Hestia is beautiful, I have no idea what to use it for! So, if you have any character or cosplay suggestions for this wig, let me know!

Clip-In Bangs in Caramel Blonde:

I bought these so I could potentially reuse my Daphne wig for other cosplays. These bangs are very thick and long, so they definitely require some trimming or styling! I also noticed the fibers seemed slightly softer than my Daphne wig (which I bought a few years ago), which makes me wonder if Epic Cosplay made a change to their wig material since I last purchased from them.

Final Thoughts:

If you want high quality (and low maintenance) cosplay wigs then definitely check out Epic Cosplay Wigs. I love that they offer a wide variety of options for colors and styles, so they will have a wig that works for almost every cosplay. 

My review is not sponsored, but if you enjoyed this review and want to try Epic Cosplay Wigs, you can use my code for $10 off your next purchase of $50!

If you have tried Epic Cosplay Wigs before, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I can also answer any questions about the wigs I own from them.

As I said before, I’m mildly clueless with wigs in general, so if you have a favorite wig store for your cosplay wigs, comment below and let me know. 

Steelseries Arctis 1 Wireless Headset Review

Leave a Comment / Reviews / By /

I have been on the hunt for a solid (yet affordable) wireless gaming headset and I think I have finally found the one!

I’ll be reviewing the Xbox edition of the Steelseries Arctis 1 – despite the name, this is compatible with every console. It works wirelessly with the Switch, PS4, PC, and it has a 3.5 mm headphone jack, so it works with anything that uses that.

Even if you do not own an Xbox, I’d recommend this version because it comes with 1 month of Xbox Game Pass ultimate, which gives you access to a variety of games of PC, mobile, and Xbox games. If you would not use this, then at least you can give it to a friend – or make a new one!

Here’s what you get in the box:

  • Wireless receiver
  • USB dongle/adapter for wireless receiver
  • 5 mm headphone cord (which was flimsier than expected)
  • Detachable microphone
  • Micro USB charging cord
  • Instructions and Game Pass code

The only thing I feel like its missing is some kind of carrying case or even a pouch since this is a lot of stuff.

The headset design is very simple, and does not stand out if you want to wear this in public (unlike other gaming headsets). It’s made of plastic and reinforced steel, with a faux leather padding on the top. I feel like you could honestly rage throw this and it would not break (don’t try to do that though). In the months I’ve used this, my only complaint is that the leather padding on the top of the headset has detached slightly.

…

Steelseries Arctis 1 Wireless Headset ReviewRead More »

Scroll to Top