NAB Exhibits Day 3 and Closing

Ahhh. That’s the word for today. After a long week of sessions and speakers and cameras and 3D and 3D and 3D, I’ve finally arrived back in Oxford. It was a great week and I tried to learn as much as I could but it’s nice to be back and I’m excited about getting back to work.

   The final day of the exhibits for me was definitely not a letdown. I spent the whole day looking through the gargantuan South Exhibit hall that was barely big enough to hold everything in the Post Production category. There were software people everywhere showing off their products and enhancements and drives and storage solutions. You really get to the point at the NAB show that you have to stare at a blank wall for a few minutes just to reset your brain. I was most interested in what other companies were doing for storage solutions. Almost everything we do is tapeless and the need for reliable storage is a must. I definately saw a lot of shocked expressions when I said our primary storage was single hardrives. It was the kind of look you see in movies when you know a character is about to die. At any rate, it was a nice way to wrap up the week and I got a look at some really great software that’s coming out soon.

Some of the product highlights that stuck out to me included this slick super-widescreen monitor.

   Check out this virtual camera system that could project 3D graphics onto a card. Not sure what we would this but very cool nonetheless. I also was excited to see this small cyclorama screen. After talking to rep, it really made me think we could achieve a similar look in our own studio. More on that later.

 

 I’ve always wanted a tripod head with the wheel controls for smooth tilts and pans and LOVED the feel of this one from GearNex.

 

 Along the same lines was the remote pan and tilt system from a company named Scorpio. It was smooth as silk and would be a fantastic head on a crane or dolly.

  And of course I couldn’t look at film equipment without a stop by Steadicam’s booth. Pictured here is their new prototype rig for the RED One. For some reason, I’ve always been so attracted to steadicams. After trying one out, I’m definately sold. Now if only I could scrape up 20K.

So as I end this week I’m still excited about the opportunity to see the crazy new products in film and television production, and the sessions that I attended were really really helpful. I thinks it’s important to always be learning new things and methods in production and how people tell stories. But again, the most important thing is the story. Everything at NAB is simply a solution to tell better stories but content is king. As I walk past literately hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment and software I can almost here the laughter of guys like Oren Peli, the director of Paranormal Activity, who spent $8,000 dollars and a camera from Best-Buy and made a movie that grossed over 100 million. I’m glad I went but I’m glad to be home and I’m really excited to get to work on some of my upcoming projects.

Thanks again for reading and I’ll see you soon!

-Matthew