This year I attended my first NAB show.  I set aside three days to attend this event and to go to related events.

A lot of people were saying that this year’s show was smaller than it has been but to me it was gigantic!  Attendance was also down and both of these this I think are rightly attributed to the economy.  While I was there for three days, it definitely wasn’t enough to take it all in.

The NAB show is so large that they have a daily magazine covering all of the goings on.   In addition to this they had (more than) daily podcasts covering different interesting aspects of the show.

There were big names there, Mary Tyler Moore for one.  And lots of book signings.  One of the big draws to this trade show is all of the technology, mostly new, that is on display, showing the future of broadcasting.

While NAB stand for National Association of Broadcasting, the show covers all aspects of film and digital video as well as internet and even gaming.  They understand that merging technologies have made all of these telecommunications areas a part of “broadcasting”.

I am currently taking a telecommunications class and recently learned the following things about NAB: “The first professional code for broadcasters was developed by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1929″ and “On the industry side, lobbyists represent the interests of those involved in the business of telecommunications.  One of the most influential of these is the National Association of Broadcasters.  Organizations such as NAB can influence the decisions of legislators by providing them with information about how certain issues or pending legislation will affect the industry”.

I certainly got sore feet walking the thousands of square feet of the exhibition floors, yes I said floors.  I should also mention that this expo covered multiple buildings.  I saw so much and honestly, there were whole floors that were just beyond me.  I could only imagine that these exhibits were for some very elite public.

The shear massiveness was completely overwhelming to me.  So much so that it has taken me month to gather my thoughts enough to even begin to write about the event.  I know that I’m not alone in this, as there are other publications and writers that have stalled this long as well.

There were a lot of “cool” things to see, even for an independent digital editor and filmmaker like myself.  I spent a lot of time watching demonstrations at the FCPUG (Final Cut Pro Users Groups) “Superbooth” as well as at some other locations.

I attended some classes and seminars and other external events.  More on these later.

Before I went, I heard one of the executives of NAB talk about why going to NAB was important.  He echoed why the LAFCPUG leader says people should attend events, to get in touch with people and meet them face to face.  I have to thoroughly agree with them.  The most valuable experience for me was meeting and talking to so many people, especially the people that I have meet on line and even done business with bt had never, until NAB, met face to face.

Being active in attending events, especially in the post production arena, I have met some great people and it is always so cool to run into familiar faces.  The more I am active in meeting people, the  more opportunities open up for me.  In fact, it is because I attended NAB this year, that I had a common point to share with an interviewer and got an upcoming assistant editing job.

My original purpose for going to Las Vegas that week was to attend one external event, the FCPUG SuperMeet.  This is an annual event where Final Cut Pro user groups from around the country get together and it’s a fantastic event.  With all of my new social networking ties, through Twitter, etc.  I learned of a few other external events that I attended as well.  Then NAB gave out free exhibit passes, so I, of course wanted to “check it out”.

I learned so much and made so many great contacts at NAB this year, that I have decided already to set aside a whole week for next year’s event!

Stay tuned for more reviews on other industry events and I’m sure, more from NAB.

Nuke Workshop

Friday, June 19, 2009 – Sunday, June 21, 2009
Deadline: Thursday, June 18, 2009

Airtel Plaza Hotel
7277 Valjean Ave
Van Nuys, CA United States

Steve Wright

Airtel Plaza Hotel
7277 Valjean Ave
Van Nuys, CA United States
http://weynand.com/courses/nuke-class/

lafcpug meetings are sponsored by

Next lafcpug meeting will be Wednesday, May 27, 2009 beginning at 6:45PM – till we drop at the Gallery Theatre.

Get out of the house and into lafcpug.

Join us as we welcome Shane Ross who will demo the very cool color correction tool from Red Giant Software, Magic Bullet Colorista. Also Patrick Woodward from DigitalFilm Tree will show off FCP workflow and footage with the Canon EOS 5D. Michael Weis and Sam Crutsinger will be reviewing the RED workflow they used shooting the indie road feature “Carried Away.” The duo will bring Confidence Bay, their mobile HD edit bay, for tours in the parking lot. Plus Stump the Gurus, Show and Tells, World Famous Raffle, and MUCH more.

Meetings are open to public. Come one come all. Doors open at 6:00PM

A $5.00 donation will be requested at the door.

How to get to the Gallery Theater at Barnsdall Art Park

Click here for Google Map

Click HERE to download a PDF(300K) of the grounds that points out the parking areas and includes other helpful hints.

The Gallery Theater at Barnsdall Art Park
4800 Hollywood Boulevard
(between Vermont and Normandie)
Hollywood, CA 90027
Phone: 323.644.6272

Enter through the gate on Hollywood Blvd just West of Berendo. The theater is at the top of the hill, adjacent to the art gallery.

From US 101 (heading South),
take the Hollywood Boulevard exit.
Turn left at the end of the exit ramp onto Hollywood Boulevard.
Turn right into the entrance to Barnsdall Art Park at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard. (you will only see a parking lot. Drive to top of hill to find the Gallery Theater)
The Gallery Theater is in the center of the park.

From US 101 (heading North),
take the Vermont Avenue exit.
Turn right at the end of the exit ramp onto Vermont Avenue.
Turn left onto Hollywood Boulevard.
Turn left into the entrance to Barnsdall Art Park at 4800 Hollywood Boulevard. (you will only see a parking lot. Drive to top of hill to find the Gallery Theater)
The Gallery Theater is in the center of the park.

Metro Red Line
Yes, Los Angeles has a subway and if possible you ought to use it. Riders are dropped of at Sunset and Vermont, one long block from the Art Park. More info on the Red Line can be found here.

Note on Parking: Parking is FREE. There is ample parking on top of hill near the Art Park. Parking extends around the perimeter of the Park. NOTE: Please park your car diagonally even though the spaces are not marked that way. If there are no spaces to park at top, then use parking lot at bottom of hill near Hollywood Blvd. Click HERE to download a PDF(300K) of the grounds that points out the parking areas and includes other helpful hints.

Wheelchair access: Park in the lot next to the Hollyhock house (you will see a handicap parking sign), come into the theatre entrance, and take the elevator down. There will be space in the front of the theatre for wheelchairs.

Before or after the meeting, there is a fine restaurant row on Vermont between Hollywood and Franklin (just around the corner from the park). There are also a number of funky ethic eateries along Hollywood Blvd.

digital projection made possible through the generous sponsorship of
Apple Computer and the Pixel Corps

with additional support from Adobe Systems, AJA, ProMax Systems,
BIAS, Inc. DigitalFilm Tree, and Gefen Inc.

lafcpug meetings are presented in association with the
Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, a facility of the City of Los Angeles
Department of Cultural Affairs

Below is a copy of an email I got from boxee:

the new boxee API enables developers to build and publish apps for boxee users. while people are working on a variety of boxee apps, we thought it would be a good idea to provide some extra incentive for the developers.

the boxee dev challenge will have 3 categories: Video, Music and Photos. in each category we will have a People’s Choice award and a Judge’s Choice award:

People’s Choice Award: Drobo, http://bit.ly/boxeedevchallenge-peopleschoice
Judge’s Choice Award: Sony Bravia XBR9 46″, http://bit.ly/boxeedevchallenge-judgeschoice

the deadline for submitting your application is June 14th at 11:59pm PT, but we encourage you to submit early and often as we’ll be talking up cool applications as they come in.

voting will take place between June 15th – June 22nd.

on June 23rd will have a boxee event in San Francisco (RSVP @ http://bit.ly/boxeedevchallenge-rsvp) announcing the People’s Choice and our esteemed judges will choose a winner from the 10 most popular apps in each category.

the judges at the event will be:
Veronica Belmont – Tekzilla, Qore (http://twitter.com/veronica)
Ryan Block – GDGT, former EIC Engadget (http://twitter.com/ryanblock)
Avner Ronen – boxee founder and CEO (http://twitter.com/boxee)
couple more judges (we are interviewing prospects: Obama, Oprah, AplusK)

planning to participate in the challenge? fill http://bit.ly/boxeedevchallenge

looking for more info on how to develop boxee apps: check out http://developer.boxee.tv and take a look at the sample app at http://developer.boxee.tv/2009/04/14/building-your-first-boxee-app (we will publish additional sample apps). please submit your app to dev_challenge@boxee.tv.

whether you’re a developer or just a boxee fan, we look forward to seeing you at the event. RSVP @ http://bit.ly/boxeedevchallenge-rsvp.

see you in SF,
avner
http://twitter.com/boxee

* the challenge is open to residents of the milky-way galaxy except for employees of boxee, and any other organizations involved in sponsoring the contest, as well as their parent, subsidiary, affiliated and successor companies, and those employees. immediate family and household members. exceptions extend also to those who think they might become a boxee employee, or an employee of the aforementioned parent, subsidiary, affiliated, or succesor companies in the future. .Immediate family members. of employees shall mean their parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, pets and spouses. .Household members. of employees shall mean people who share the employee.s residence at least three months a year sleeping on a couch or a bed (blow up mattresses do not ap.)

DIGITAL MEDIA ARTISTS \ Los Angeles (DMA\LA)
*** Next Meeting ***
Tuesday, May 19
Gallery Theatre at http://www.laparks.com/dos/historic/barsndall.htm
Barnsdall Art Park
Hollywood, CA
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
(theater seating @ 6:30 p.m.)
Cover charge: FREE
courtesy of Adobe Systems

We’ll be around with another meeting on TUESDAY MAY 19!

What’s in store this meeting:

• TIPS & TRICKS: More Tips and Tricks from the gurus: Warren is going to show you how to make a smarter After Effects workflow with some other software you might already have lying around.

• NEWS FROM NAB: There is a bunch of local talent I met at NAB, and news from the show as well.

* SHINE STUDIOS : Deconstructing Design. Notes from the frontlines of making movie titles (feat. Kung Fu Panda, Taking Chance, Grey Gardens)
Shine is a creative design and production studio specializing in film and television main titles, feature film marketing, network branding, and commercial design. With its roots in Hollywood, the Shine team leverages its conceptual thinking and deep experience to help some of the biggest names in the entertainment and advertising worlds communicate their message. The company mission is to fuse smart conceptual ideas with the cutting edge crafts of full-motion electronic media in an effort to distinguish brands, identities, stories and experience.

Hey – we’re on Twitter too – are you? We’ll follow you. Don’t worry about us clogging your feed. I’ll only post during the days around meeting week; unless something really tweetworthy comes along. Tweetworthy? Is that a word? Ugh.http://www.twitter.com/dmala

NEWSLETTER NEWSY NEWS:

(Are you at NAB? I’ll put you in the http://www.twitter.com/dmala feed)

*Check out some new sponsors for this meeting!

! AHARON RABINOWITZ: RedGiantTV.com now features tutorials from Aharon.  You probably already know him, but if you want to get familiar with him and his work again – check out his website @ http://allbetsareoff.com/

DMALA MEMBER SPECIALS!

STASH DVD -GET STARTED (http://www.stashmedia.tv)
Plus get special offers, discounts on multiple issues and deals when you contact them directly. When you call or email Christine or April, be sure you tell them you’re part of the DMA Los Angeles Group.
April Harvey: +1 778 737 2123 ah @ stashmedia.tv
Christine Stead +1 778 737 2100 cs @ stashmedia.tv

Some of our awesome door prize sponsors:

* Ballistic Books (http://www.ballisticpublishing.com)
The finest international collection of Digital Art Celebrate the World’s finest new digital art. Exposé 6 is our latest Digital Art Yearbook featuring ‘the best of the best’. With 334 inspiring images prepared by 257 artists from 43 countries, you will discover the very best work across 20 different categories. We’ll have a special book from Ballistic Publishing for you to check out!

* Artbeats: Footage you can use: Your Choice of a clip or package (see me) (http://www.artbeats.com)

* STASH DVD(http://www.stashmedia.tv)
Sit back, open your cranium and let Stash take you on a high-altitude tour of the planet’s most innovative and outstanding animation, VFX and motion design companies and projects.

* DigiEffects Damage (http://www.digieffects.com)
Digieffects Damage harnesses the destructive power of lame rabbit ears, bad BNC cables, tree branch-obstructed satellite dishes, poorly tracking VHS machines, scratched DVDs, low fidelity security cameras, micro-datarate cel phones…the list goes on

* Focal Press: Steve Wright’s Compositing (http://www.focalpress.com)
…leads the reader through the entire process and techniques used to create blockbuster effects, but makes the journey easy for the layperson. This is a MUST-HAVE book for anyone who wants to know the magic that digital compositing is. – Jeffrey Jasper, VFX Compositor, New Deal Studio (The Good Shepherd, X-Men 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3)

* Video CoPilot Pro Training (http://www.videocopilot.net)
DUDE – It’s Andrew Kramer. Okay, if you’re new to After Effects, may need to tell you that Andrew has a ton of great tutorials for VFX artists on his videocopilot website. He also makes DVDs of some of his most popular design elements. EVOLUTION may have been the first he created; it’s surely the first we’ll give away at DMA. If you don’t win, you can purchase or download it at his site.

* GoMedia Hooladanders (http://www.gomedia.us)
Hooladanders • Hoo-la-dan-ders. Say it with me. Check out the new vector art and more clip art from GoMedia at their website. Also, be sure to follow JEFF on Twitter – he has some great graphics links and tutorial tips just about daily:http://twitter.com/jeff_finley

* Red Giant Software’s Knoll Training DVD (http://www.redgiantsoftware.com)
There are several different QuickTime training lessons on Red Giant’s site. But if you really want to learn how to master Knoll’s Light Factory, the best way is to go straight through Falcon’s Maze. The DVD training doesn’t have the KLF Pro plugin, but if you’re a pro user, you already have it in your arsenal. Here’s how to use wield it like a master.

* Harry Frank’s Expression Lessons from Toolfarm (http://www.toolfarm.com)
Harry Frank has just released the second Expression Series lesson pack. You’ll have to let me know whether you think you can handle the second set of lessons, or you want to start out with the beginner lessons.

* DigiEffects Delirium (http://www.digieffects.com)
Delirium contains 40 visual effects. It also contains tools for creating particle-based fire, smoke and bubbles. These particle effects enhanced with built-in turbulence processing to create realistic imagery without resorting to complex 3D programs. Everyone uses COPBLUR and MUZZLEFLASH from this one.

* PixelCorps: 6-month membership to the PixelCorps Guild (http://www.pixelcorps.com)
The Pixel Corps is a guild for the next generation of craftsmen… digital craftsmen. We are dedicated to delivering much of what was provided to traditional guild members hundreds of years ago, all of which is needed now.

* Joel Holland’s Footage Firm (http://www.footagefirm.com) Another great CD Clip of DV footage! http://dvprofessionals.comand is giving away footage clips to members there and at dmala! Thanks Joel.

* Ribbit Films: Greenscreen Stock Footage (http://www.ribbitfilms.com)
Skateboarding, BMX, Surfing, Snowboarding, Ski, Judo and Karate Greenscreen footage. This is the motion graphics sports greenscreen DVD you’ve been waiting for.

* Working on MORE, but you’ll have to show up to find out.

CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR MORE – - AND DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS TOO!

* This meeting is presented in association with the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs *

Warren, Ko, Tony, Tom & Ed

-Ko
http://www.twitter.com/dmala
http://www.twitter.com/ninjacrayon
http://www.ninjacrayon.com

More info: http://dmala.org/

STREAMING MEDIA EAST EXPO GUIDE

Register online for a FREE expo pass
($25 onsite)

The Expo Hall

Streaming Media East brings together all the components of the rich media value chain, including application developers, hardware providers, and network providers—and executives and decision-makers who are implementing rich media within their organizations. Come visit the exhibit hall and see the leaders in the Streaming Media Industry! Register now!

Below is the complete floor plan for the Streaming Media East Exhibit Hall.

NOTE: The new Internet TV Pavilion will occupy Booth #223 on the map below.

Exhibitor/Sponsor Booth No. Accordent Technologies, Inc. 107 Adap.tv (Gold Sponsor) 202 Adobe Systems (Gold Sponsor) 226 Arqiva (Gold Sponsor) 119 AT&T (Gold Sponsor) 003 Atex 231 AudioVideoWeb.com LLC 111 Brightcove 234 CDNetworks (Gold Sponsor) 215 Craze Productions TT8 Datmedia Limited ITV PAVILION DCA, Inc. 210 Delve Networks 325 Digital Rapids 205 Discover Video 311/313 EdgeCast Networks (Gold Sponsor) 001 Fiberlight, LLC (Gold Sponsor) 214 Focal Press 131 HaiVision Network Video 005 Ignite Technologies (Gold Sponsor) 220 Internap Network Services Corporation (Platinum Sponsor) 101 Ipera Technology TT7 IVT 216 JB&A Distribution, Inc. TT2 Kaltura (Gold Sponsor) 502 Kontiki 323 Level 3 Communications, LLC (Gold Sponsor) 319/321 Limelight Networks (Gold Sponsor) 400 LiveU Ltd. 317 Microsoft (Platinum Sponsor) 217 Mogulus 206 Move Networks (Gold Sponsor) 403 Mzima Networks, Inc. (Gold Sponsor) 115 New Tek/ Varto Technologies 327 Octoshapes Aps 114 On2 Technologies 113 Origin Digital ITV PAVILION Polycom 201 PowerStream 311/313 Qumu, Inc. (Gold Sponsor) 125 Skytide 213 Sonic Foundry 401 Streamingmedia.com 207 StreamtheWorld ITV PAVILION TalkPoint 301 Telestream, Inc. TT9 TVWorldwide.com, Inc. 303/305 Twofour Digital ITV PAVILION VBrick Systems ITV PAVILION Verari Systems TT1 ViewCast TT2 V4X ITV PAVILION VMIX ITV PAVILION Wowza Media Systems 500

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Official PR Agency

NOTICE: Recipients of the Streaming Media Xtra e-newsletter will occasionally receive information on certain products and services.

To subscribe to Streaming Media magazine, go to:
http://www.streamingmedia.com/magazine/