In my case, it'd be the 5th generation iPod, which I'm currently using to construct a reference database of several animated shows from multiple sources. For the first time, it's become possible for me to instantly access a specific scene, pose or expression of any given character in any show in a matter of seconds to examine several properties, such as character flow within a scene over time.
In the past, this would have been a very cumbersome process, even with technological advancements like DVDs and Tivo, due to the artificial constraints imposed upon them. Also, storage size has gone from a massive collection the size of an entire room, weighing in at nearly twice my body weight... to a device that only weighs a few ounces. (Not to mention the relief of not have to manually locate and swap tapes or discs anymore.)
Other unusual items may later include the use of multiple consumer level video cameras to create a crude motion capture device and using an LCD projector in tandem with a digital camera to project a series of thick lines onto a real world object (such as a human head) as a means of creating a Z-elevation map of the object surface from a single view, by measuring the distortions in the line width and it's displacement, which could be used to create a quick and dirty 3D model extruded from the viewpoint (kind of like the "3D" home movies seen in Minority Report).
However, much of that is probably some time away and is only a rough outline of ideas I'm working with.
Anyone else got some odd animation tool stories to share?
