However, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for NAB 2010 in Las Vegas and the events surrounding it.

Although I have attended NAB for many years, I have always been the person asking the questions of the person in the booth. I was never the person in the booth. This year FORscene had a booth in the show, a pod featuring FORscene at the Chyron booth and another demo location set up at the BIM booth, all staffed by the creators of FORscene – our good colleagues from UK – based Forbidden Technologies plc; the two gentlemen on the ground in Los Angeles, California and our small contingent from here in Canada.

This was the first time I had met any of the people from the UK office and the first time both Lucy (La Grassa) and I met the California-based gentlemen. We all got along splendidly I am happy to say, which is good, because it was like a Monty Python adventure gone awry.

We had a small booth. How big a booth do you need to demo the world’s leading web-based video editing and management tool? All you need is a laptop, and an internet connection… maybe a big monitor so more than one person can watch at a time, right? We needed a bigger a booth! We were packed most of the time, usually with more than one demo and/or meeting going on at once. The second day we brought in more laptops. Word of mouth was spreading: if you want to “edit anywhere, anytime…now,” you had to see FORscene. I’m not complaining; it was wonderful!

Yes, it was wonderful being surrounded by all these heavily-accented fine gentlemen. Oddly, there were no two English accents alike. They were smart, they were funny, and they were very understanding. Day two of the show looked to be busier than day one. My first appointment of the day was at 9:30 am. There I sat with my laptop, proudly showing off what a powerful tool FORscene is when it hit. Hard, fast and violent. FOOD POISONING! Did I mention how understanding my colleagues were? By the time I left the show around 2:00 pm (never to return to NAB 2010) they had all pitched in, talking to people and covering appointments for me. Not one of them made me feel guilty for abandoning them so completely. When next I got to see them it was my last night in Vegas. They all came to our hotel for a farewell meal (did I mention how brave they were?) They had many tales from the remainder of the show to share with me and I appreciated every one of them. Most of all I appreciated my new FORscene family.

You probably have all heard about the nasty volcano in Iceland…and the nasty volcanic ash that grounded more than a few planes. Well, my little Monty Python troupe has yet to make it home. They were stranded for several days in Las Vegas. They are currently holed up in California. We don’t really know when they will make it home to the UK. That is up to Mother Nature and her motley crew. The Brits continue to work hard from their rooms with massive amounts of follow-up calls and emails and thanks to SKYPE I can talk to them when I need them.

Here’s the thing. All we need is a laptop and an internet connection and each other.

How was your NAB experience?

How My NAB 2010 Began

It’s the time of year when I hear “the call of the wild”. It’s coming from the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Convention in Las Vegas. And what could be wilder than Las Vegas? Thousands of Broadcast Professionals all converging in the same place at the same time ― that’s what.

I love Vegas.

I have been there during the months of November, December, March and April and as far as I am concerned, April is the most perfect month to be in Las Vegas. I have been attending NAB every year since 1998; sometimes on my own; and sometimes for whoever I worked for at the time. The weather is always perfect in April, and a funny thing happens every year. I watch my fellow Broadcast/Media professionals as they prepare for the trip. Everyone seems worn and tired. We file onto crowded planes and cram ourselves in too small seats. But as we approach Las Vegas, the energy level changes ever so slightly. There seems to be a little spark in everyone’s eye. The talk centers on what we are focusing on at the show. We step off the plane into the perfect weather and it can’t be helped … the sides of our mouths start to curve upward. By the time we hit the convention floor on Monday morning, you would barely recognize those weary travelers from the day before. The game is on. Let’s see what’s new, what’s improved and just how big the Sony booth is this year.

The past couple of years have been trying times for Broadcast/Media folk. We have said good–bye to long standing co-workers and some of us said good–bye to places we worked at for a decade or more. Of course there were cutbacks: things not purchased; trips not taken. As they say on Twitter … “fail”. If there is anything that can raise morale in a company, it would be to send the brightest and best somewhere, anywhere that they can get refreshed, energized, and learn. NAB affords an opportunity to learn and grow. To network. To see new technology. To touch new technology. To talk to experts. To ask questions … Yes, I could go on and on. On the trip home, when the same bedraggled people get back on the same overcrowded plane and sit in the same too small seat, they don’t even notice. They are talking to anyone and everyone. Did you get to talk to “Ted from Red” ? Did you catch David Basulto at the Post Magazine booth? Can you believe the size of that Sony booth? That all comes home with them and it’s contagious. They bring back a breath of fresh air for those who were left behind. But their enthusiasm spreads like wildfire. It was worth every cent.

This year, I hope some of the people attending NAB will go home talking about FORscene.

FORscene @ NAB

That’s right, FORscene will be there.

The booth (SL8305) will be manned by the creators of FORscene – the good people from UK-based Forbidden Technologies plc.
I’ll be there too, along with Lucy La Grassa the President of Formidable Technologies. We would love to talk to you. You can send me an email michelle@formidabletechnologies.com or tweet me @FormidableTech

There it is again…can you hear the call?

Talk soon,

M