[caption id="attachment_1398" align="alignleft" width="249" caption="NAB... a trade show like no other."]
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So, we are back, somewhat unpacked and finally decompressed from the mad dash, frenzied marathon that is NAB.
All the prototypes are safely back in the “fab lab” and every sales rep safely nestled back in their offices. And it gives us just a bit to think about… actually, more than a bit. NAB is like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant… both during the actual show and after hours, with all the shooting and late-night carousing that went on. It’s an interesting phenomenon to watch at play… a wide variety of motives coming together with the driven purpose of the event to provide the perfect blend called community.
This gathering of like minds is a phenomenon that spans from niche to niche and is always fueled by passion, drive and encouragement. Are there disagreements and is there friendly, even perhaps fierce, competition? But, of course. Business is business, after all. Whether a blogger, a manufacturer or a filmmaker, there is always a sense of desiring to better oneself. That being said, it was immensely positive to see the vast majority of people enjoying the variety of events during and after the show.
All given, wasn’t there a mention of a wrap-up? ;-)
EXHIBITORS
ikan had an impressive line-up of new products, a booth the blew last year’s away and was a major stopping point for most press/media, as well as end-users. On a personal note, I was most excited by the introduction of baseplates and black aluminum thumb nuts to the Elements product line. Those two moves signal a new evolution for the camera support line and ikan should have some very interesting new pieces arriving shortly.
As for other offerings, ikan’s Production Manager software suite was of great interest to at least one leading blogger. Ryan Koo, of NoFilmSchool, stated, he was “excited to see one (tablet-based production software) coming to market soon.”
Zacuto and JAG35 each brought respectable new offerings to the table. The DFocus Mattebox from JAG35 came in at $299, for the basic lens-attached version, with an impressive build quality while the sleeper hit was the Scorpion rig from Zacuto, which has to be one of the nicest, strongest shoulder support units for DSLR shooting out there (ikan’s are pretty sweet, too 
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Teradek had the rockingest booth, with their live streaming entertainment, utilizing some of the biggest names in DSLR cinematography as hosts for a revolving talk-show format. It proved to be one of the main attractions for manufacturers, press/media and end-users in our niche.
Cinevate, OConnor, ECC (whose Binary rig was spectacular and spectacularly heavy) all had nice offerings as well.
In the post-production world, It was interesting to see Adobe’s answer to the new Apple Final Cut Pro environment, with the release of Adobe CS5.5. With as much conversation as there has been over the new Final Cut software, it would be unproductive to go into it all other than to say that I had purchased a ticket when I heard Kevin Smith would be there, but then ignored the event when he got canceled. Red Giant and Avid were also present, each with interesting new offerings.
From the point of view of the manufacturer, if I may state, the event is like no other. By the end of it, you are exhausted, hands down. My feet have never hurt (even on some of the harshest film sets) as bad as they do after NAB, especially this year with less than comfortable shoes. At the same time, when the show goes well, you are excited. For ikan, it was a great year. Sales out of the home office were up, there was a lot of positive buzz around the brand, our CEO was very happy with the results and all the new staffers who attended got a lot of food for thought.
BLOGOSPHERE
Having gotten to know several of the bloggers in our niche leading up to the show, it was interesting to meet them all in-person and watch how the show coverage shaped up as the week went on. A couple of standouts did emerge, though, and it is worth noting to delve into how they did what they did.
First off, it is a tremendous job to cover a show like NAB. It is huge. Two of ikan’s brightest new recruits were continually surprised at the sheer scale of the show and how it far outshone anything they had expected. During a brief few moments of down-time, they shared that neither had expected the show to be anywhere near the size it turned out to be. Even after having been briefed as to the size of it, they were still somewhat shocked.
CineDigital.tv, which ikan sponsors, was a rockstar in the method of coverage and the discipline it took to stay on-track. With a team of just one, Jose Tamez was able to keep up with the continuous coverage providers, like FreshDV.com and NextWaveDV.com, with each of those teams having 5 and 2 team members respectively.
That being said, NextWaveDV.com‘s coverage proved to be a solid, well-rounded experience for anyone watching. Tony Reale and the unsung VIP of the team, Sean Bowers, hit every booth imaginable, providing insightful, in-depth reporting that bodes well for their blog’s future.
Of course, it goes without saying that the FreshDV.com coverage, the WideOpenCamera.com coverage, the Planet5D.com coverage and the Cinema5D.com coverage (in addition to the host of others out there) would be outstanding.
IKAN’S COVERAGE
Make sure and check out the video from ikan, covering just a few points of interest, with Day 1 here and Day 2 here.
CONCLUSION
Again, it was an interesting mixture of personalities and events. Such a jam-packed mixture of different experiences and catching up with familiar faces. Of particular note, not mentioned elsewhere was the chance to catch up with Mike Chenoweth of Reel Classroom, Steve Roche of Digital Juice and TC Johnstone & Greg Kwedar of the Gratis 7 Media Group, the filmmakers behind “Rising from Ashes” who are now being featured in the ground-breaking new Zacuto Films web series, “bts.” (which is a hit, phenomenal series, right out of the gate – hats off to Steve & Jens for what they did with this one). And kudos again to the Zacuto Films bunch for this nice little heap of lovin’ they shared that was all about… “love.”
All-in-all, it was a solid year, with more than a fair share of exciting news. One can only imagine how the industry will continue to evolve and shape up in the coming months. Can’t wait to do it again next year (though it will be from a somewhat different perspective)!
