NAB, or the National Association of Broadcasters, has become an international affair with people coming from every corner of the globe to talk about everything from lighting and cinematography to sound design and cyber safety, all in beautiful Las Vegas.
I have been attending the NAB show for nearly two decades now and I have watched it go from hardcore lighting, broadcast switchers, and satellite gear to what it is today. Now it shows off anything involving recording and sharing the senses. Over the years, astronauts have transmitted to the show from space and, this year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was heavily represented! I learned about the the sound and video techniques of filming Jessica Jones and Black Panther while on another day of the show it was all about cyber attacks and their repercussions. There was even a session that went behind the scenes on the Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
But it wasn’t all about the sessions – Google was on-hand trying to figure out how best to help their customers while giving out fidget spinners and there were whole countries getting space to represent their smaller, local companies at this gigantic show. In contrast to all the square footage that the likes of SONY took up, there were dozens of smaller startups present just trying to get their name out there.
If you have ever been curious about the technology that goes into television and film production, you should check out NAB sometime, it is free to attend and an interesting few days every year!
