A very long time ago I did some video production work. I wrote, shot, and edited commercials for a local business. I also shot and edited some commercials for some physicians in California. I was an extra in some indie film productions in Utah. I shopped some screenplays, treatments, and pitches in Los Angeles.
As part of that process I also attended the NAB Show. This is an annual trade show in Las Vegas. The NAB is a trade organization for people who are employed by television and radio stations in the USA. You can also be a member if you're studying various broadcast technologies, acting, drama or theater. Then there are advertising agencies and other support industries, camera and equipment manufacturers and distributors.
But this show was pretty much open to the public. Anyone with $75 could get in and have total access to the trade show floor. As well, you had access to a variety of training sessions (editing software, camera techniques, sound mixing, etc) and several lectures by professionals of stature in the industry. For only a hundred dollars more you could get access to several other training sessions as part of different certification tracks. To actually get the certification of course cost quite a bit more. But the education and access alone were well worth that pittance of a price.
I just checked and the prices have doubled in the past 10 years, but it's still a bargain, and there's no requirement that you are a member of NAB, though you get a good discount if you are, or are a student. Not sure if it's still true, but several of the larger vendors also handed out trade show passes like candy. A large camera store in NYC was always sending me free passes, as was a large software manufacturer. I was a registered client of both who spent money.
When I attended the show over the course of 5 years, I talked to hundreds of the vendor reps about hundreds of different things. Software. Cameras. Mics. Portable sound recorders. Batteries and power supplies. I bought a lot of stuff over those years, and valued the information and association with the reps. They never once were rude to me in any way, and I was treated the same as if I were a Line Producer at a metro area network affiliate TV station.
This is very good business sense, actually. You never know by looking at a person, or even at their badges, who they are or what they do. The TV industry is tech driven, so a lot of the people who are responsible for spending money and buying, or at least recommend purchases, look a lot like the Comic Book Guy on Simpsons.
Even for the manufacturers it makes good sense. You never know when someone will end up buying a really nice camera worth $1200 or more based on a 5 minute discussion with a manufacturer rep. If you pre-qualify all your sales by appearance, or name badge, or any other limiting factor, you could do yourself as well as your company a grave disservice.
As part of that process I also attended the NAB Show. This is an annual trade show in Las Vegas. The NAB is a trade organization for people who are employed by television and radio stations in the USA. You can also be a member if you're studying various broadcast technologies, acting, drama or theater. Then there are advertising agencies and other support industries, camera and equipment manufacturers and distributors.
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| Boom camera and jumbo screen at Psicobloc Utah 2013 |
I just checked and the prices have doubled in the past 10 years, but it's still a bargain, and there's no requirement that you are a member of NAB, though you get a good discount if you are, or are a student. Not sure if it's still true, but several of the larger vendors also handed out trade show passes like candy. A large camera store in NYC was always sending me free passes, as was a large software manufacturer. I was a registered client of both who spent money.
When I attended the show over the course of 5 years, I talked to hundreds of the vendor reps about hundreds of different things. Software. Cameras. Mics. Portable sound recorders. Batteries and power supplies. I bought a lot of stuff over those years, and valued the information and association with the reps. They never once were rude to me in any way, and I was treated the same as if I were a Line Producer at a metro area network affiliate TV station.
This is very good business sense, actually. You never know by looking at a person, or even at their badges, who they are or what they do. The TV industry is tech driven, so a lot of the people who are responsible for spending money and buying, or at least recommend purchases, look a lot like the Comic Book Guy on Simpsons.
Even for the manufacturers it makes good sense. You never know when someone will end up buying a really nice camera worth $1200 or more based on a 5 minute discussion with a manufacturer rep. If you pre-qualify all your sales by appearance, or name badge, or any other limiting factor, you could do yourself as well as your company a grave disservice.
"Every time you talk to anyone, imagine they could be responsible for earning you a million dollars, and you'll treat them right." -- Brian Tracy
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