See you this Tuesday?

Are you going to the Media Production Show at Olympia this week?  Gareth, Sam and I will all be there, as we see the opportunity to see so many customers, suppliers, and friends (these aren’t mutually exclusive by the way) in one place is too good to miss.

I’m curious why you are going?

  • To look at new kit? Certainly there will be an opportunity to see the latest equipment. But couldn’t you do that just as well on-line? Well, no, probably. What better way to learn about something than to actually touch it, and talk to people who know the product inside out and can tell you the things that the glossy pdf’s don’t.
  • To discover a new piece of kit ? It’s pretty tough to google-search a thing that you don’t know about. However, there are well over 100 exhibitors vying for your attention, and you’d think that at least one of them will have a “thing” that you’ve not seen before and might make your business better.
  • To listen to experts?  Frustratingly, I have an appointment on Tuesday morning as I was really looking forward to listening to Doug Allan. He was excellent on Desert Island Discs, and has some great tales of filming killer whales wave-washing seals off of ice-bergs (yes, that was him). His 7 Emmy’s and 4 BAFTA’s isn’t a bad haul for a jobbing cameraman. You might feel that this has little to do with equipment finance, so why would I be bothered. I’d argue that having a broad outlook on our industry keeps it interesting, and there are lots of speakers covering lots of topics. It’s actually what trade shows do very well.
  • To exhibit? It’s the shortest of the current merry-go-round of trade shows, which must be a relief for those who have not learnt how to say “I really shouldn’t” when a colleague offers you the next drink on a Show night.

The chances of closing a deal from scratch is remote for any of the exhibitors, but the opportunity to build networks, develop friendships and to engage on a personal level is something that a big trade show does best. And because the cost of exhibiting at this show is so much less than others, there is a good exhibitor list.

Global brands Panasonic, Fuji, Canon, AVID and Cooke will all have stands, which is interesting as none of these were at BVE. Post production is well covered too with lots of manufacturers (Editshare, AVID, GB Labs to name a few) as well as some of their major resellers (Jigsaw, Tyrell, XTFX, Altered Images).

Add in a few trade show stalwarts like JVC, Holdan and Ikegami, new entrant Sharp which has some interesting kit developments, and a small US business called Netflix, and it should add up to time well spent.

I look forward to seeing some of you there. If I’m still in the local bar after 11pm on Tuesday night, feel free to quote the “I really shouldn’t” line back to me.

Suggested Search Terms:
Freelance, Outside Broadcast, Post Production, Audio Visual, Studio, NAB, IBC, MPS, MPTS, BSC, ISE, Trade Show, CBILS, Sony, Canon, Arri

Recent Posts

Let’s continue to make a drama out of a crisis
January 15, 2024
Staying Ahead in Media Financing – Insights from Our Recent Industry Events
November 21, 2023
Deal or No Deal
November 17, 2023
Venetian islands in Amsterdam, and a striking end – IBC 2023
September 26, 2023
MPTS 2023 – Job well done
May 17, 2023
Boring Las Vegas – NAB 2023 review
April 27, 2023
BSC – The place to be?
March 1, 2023

Archives