A week in the desert. With Gear. Lots of gear.

From April 14th – 19th, The National Association of Broadcasters hosts one of the biggest events of the year; NAB 2012. Aimed at professionals in the film, TV, video, audio and communications industries, NAB sets down in Las Vegas for five days of panels, exhibits, workshops, trade-shows, luncheons and all kinds of opportunities to further your career. We thought we’d give you a quick run down of what to expect, alongside some useful links and tips.

2012 Schedule

From an array of new product announcements, to the Career Day, to the Country Music Concert and a whole lot more, NAB is already huge, and growing every year. A selection of what’s new in 2012…

‘Focus On’ Workshops
Aimed at content creators who want to learn new software or hardware, or delve into new techniques that will help them master their craft, the ‘Focus On’ series are there to teach tools that can be taken away and applied to your next project. Taught by a combination of certified instructors and industry experts, these classes include half-day boot camps, in-depth sessions, workshops covering documentary editing, Color correction, sound design and more.

DSLR Time-Lapse Video Workshop & Field Trip
A very cool two-part workshop which starts with a classroom session on time lapse video techniques and panoramic photography tips, then takes you out to a National Conservation Area where you can put the newly learned tips into action, capturing the park in a beautiful sunset surrounding. Dont forget your hiking boots, sunscreen and tripods!

StartUp Loft
Designed to be the place to pitch the “next big thing” to a core end-user audience, the StartUp Loft is a lobby attraction where participating companies will feature new products and services that have recently hit the market.

View the full 2012 schedule here: nabshow.com/2012/about/event_schedule.asp

NAB 2012 Tips and Advice

Download the App
You already bank, shop and email on your phone, and now you can organize your convention and limit the amount of print-outs you need to lug around. Get the myNAB app from your phone’s app store and sync it with any planning you have already made online at myNAB Show Planner, then enjoy schedule sharing, direct messaging, GPS locator feature and more. Info: here.

Take the Shuttle
Want to save on overpriced taxis whilst also resting your tired feet? Walter Biscardi recommends taking the free shuttle buses that serve many of the Vegas hotels, on and near The Strip. “Whether you stay in one of these hotels or not, as an attendee, you have access to these buses. So look at the NAB Bus Schedule and pick a hotel nearby to pick up the shuttle, be sure to have your convention badge on you as you generally have to show it to the bus driver to get on.”

Essentials
Those lovely English people over at Quantel have put together a full-blown Survival guide, listing necessary but often overlooked items and habits. Our essential picks: hydration; comfortable shoes; lip balm. Download the full guide here.

Go To The Sessions
With 22 previous visits to NAB shows, Debra Kaufman over at Creative Cow knows a thing or two about planning your week. She says, “Why would you want to spend every waking minute on the show floor when you can sit down, be comfortable and actually learn something? [...] Cool session topics range from converting Titanic from 2D to 3D and creating cross-platform content to cloud computing and mobile TV.”

Carve Out Some Alone Time
Chris Potter at Screenlight has a solid piece of advice here. His chosen downtime solo activity is mountain biking, but you can apply his idea to anything to treat yourselve to a much-needed mini R&R mid-NAB. Go for a swim, get a massage, treat yourself to a nice lunch away from the crowds, go shoot some guns in the desert… whatever floats your boat and makes you come back refreshed after an hour or two away. “After a couple solid days of events, it’s easy to get rundown. I tend to recharge best, when I do something that I love. [...] Take comfort knowing that somewhere in Vegas, you can probably find the thing that recharges you.”

Gear ‘To-do’ List.
With so many innovative filmmaking tools being released in 2012, the show can be a little overwhelming on the gear front. Casey and Danielle of Mindcastle have suggested a gear list including some of the things they are most excited to check out. “If you ever get stuck in one of those “what should I check out next” moments, you can have a good solid list here as reference of gear to check out [...] I added the appropriate booth number as well so you can located it on the map.”

There you have it! If you are off to NAB, have a great trip and feel free to comment on our blog or forum about anything NAB related!

NAB 2012 – Conferences April 14 – 19, 2012 / Exhibits April 16 – 19
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada USA

by Lee Jarvis.

The Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo is billed as “a five-star event that brings everyone in show business together under one roof.” Having been involved in the entertainment industry here in Southern California for almost thirty-five years (twenty-four of them as President of my own company, The Research Department), I had been a fairly regular attendee of this event when it was held annually in Los Angeles up to 2002. Since 2003, Producer Zachary Lezberg had been producing the twice-annual Film, Stage and ShowBiz Expo events only in New York City so I was excited to learn about his plans to “relaunch” the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 17, 2009.

Personally, I find the benefit of these events to be highly relational to an individual’s needs. In a nutshell, the day pretty much becomes what you make it. I always pack plenty of business cards, brochures and a notepad. Don’t worry if you forget your pen, you could have at least a half-dozen by the time you clear the first row of exhibitors. More importantly, I bring along a broadly optimistic attitude that goes something like this: if I make a new friend or business connection or reconnect with one old friend plus maybe learn a few new things then I figure it was worth my time.

For the full article, please head over to http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2330344/review_showbiz_expo_returns_to_los.html?singlepage=true&cat=2

Article by Christopher Darryn

The next Los Angeles ShowBiz Expo is scheduled for April 24th and 25th in 2010.