Super Nintendo Tripod Mount Makes the Game Boy Camera Even Cooler
Musician, director, and video-game enthusiast Chris Graue of the 8-bit ska punk band Lo(u)ser filmed an amazing music video in late 2021 using a Nintendo Game Boy Camera. He has now created a tool that would’ve made the project much more convenient — a tripod mount.
Graue emailed PetaPixel about his new project, the 3D-printable Super Nintendo Tripod Mount. The mount allows creators to attach a Super Nintendo console — complete with the Game Boy Camera and Super Game Boy SNES cartridge — directly to a proper tripod.
The Game Boy Camera is the gift that keeps on giving. Launched in 1998 and manufactured until 2002, the Game Boy Camera remains a popular way for modern photographers to capture retro-styled, blocky images.
Creators have taken the camera out of the Game Boy, hacked it with telephoto camera lenses, and even shrunk the chunky Game Boy Camera into a standard-sized Game Boy cartridge.
To film the music video for Lo(u)ser’s track, “Things are Getting Worse” featuring Suburban Legends, Graue and the rest of Lo(u)ser used the Game Boy Camera alongside the Super Game Boy cartridge for the Super Nintendo, which is one of the easiest ways to get video out from the Game Boy Camera. Graue released a short tutorial about how to do this on TikTok, writing, “Be a nuisance and take all your meetings using a Game Boy camera as your webcam.” A longer tutorial is available on YouTube thanks to Retro Game Couch.
While the SNES and Game Boy Camera proved a capable and useful combination for creating the music video, it is tedious to balance the console in the right place to record footage. While Graue went with music stands and boxes when making the video, he knew the workflow could be better, so he teamed up with his friend and 3D printing expert Drew Van Oort to create the Super Nintendo Tripod Mount.
The Super Nintendo Tripod Mount files are free to download from Printables. For even more great Lo(u)ser music, head to Chris Graue’s website. The band has upcoming shows in the southeast United States for the rest of February, including in Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami. Lo(u)ser’s full upcoming schedule is available here.
Available to download for free, the 3D-printable file enables users to attach the Super Nintendo Tripod Mount directly to a tripod using a standard ΒΌ-20 tripod thread. The Super Nintendo Console then snaps onto the mount, and voila, Game Boy Camera goodness.
Graue also makes music videos for other bands, including NOFX, Fishbone, Bite Me Bambi, Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Suburban Legends, and many more. Graue has nearly 100 directing credits to his name.
Image credits: Photos courtesy of Chris Graue
