postPerspective has announced the winners of our Impact Awards from NAB 2019. Seeking to recognize debut products with real-world applications, the postPerspective Impact Awards are voted on by an anonymous judging body made up of respected industry artists and pros (to whom we are very grateful). It’s working pros who are going to be using these new tools — so we let them make the call.
It was fun watching the user ballots come in and discovering which products most impressed our panel of post and production pros. There are no entrance fees for our awards. All that is needed is the ability to impress our voters with products that have the potential to make their workdays easier and their turnarounds faster.
We are grateful for our panel of judges, which grew even larger this year. NAB is exhausting for all, so their willingness to share their product picks and takeaways from the show isn’t taken for granted. These men and women truly care about our industry and sharing information that helps their fellow pros succeed.
To be successful, you can’t operate in a vacuum. We have found that companies who listen to their users, and make changes/additions accordingly, are the ones who get the respect and business of working pros. They aren’t providing tools they think are needed; they are actively asking for feedback. So, congratulations to our winners and keep listening to what your users are telling you — good or bad — because it makes a difference.
The Impact Award winners from NAB 2019 are:
• Adobe for Creative Cloud and After Effects
• Arraiy for DeepTrack with The Future Group’s Pixotope
• ARRI for the Alexa Mini LF
• Avid for Media Composer
• Blackmagic Design for DaVinci Resolve 16
• Frame.io
• HP for the Z6/Z8 workstations
• OpenDrives for Apex, Summit, Ridgeview and Atlas
(All winning products reflect the latest version of the product, as shown at NAB.)
Our judges also provided quotes on specific projects and trends that they expect will have an impact on their workflows.
Said one, “I was struck by the predicted impact of 5G. Verizon is planning to have 5G in 30 cities by end of year. The improved performance could reach 20x speeds. This will enable more leverage using cloud technology.
“Also, AI/ML is said to be the single most transformative technology in our lifetime. Impact will be felt across the board, from personal assistants, medical technology, eliminating repetitive tasks, etc. We already employ AI technology in our post production workflow, which has saved tens of thousands of dollars in the last six months alone.”
Another echoed those thoughts on AI and the cloud as well: “AI is growing up faster than anyone can reasonably productize. It will likely be able to do more than first thought. Post in the cloud may actually start to take hold this year.”
We hope that postPerspective’s Impact Awards give those who weren’t at the show, or who were unable to see it all, a starting point for their research into new gear that might be right for their workflows. Another way to catch up? Watch our extensive video coverage of NAB.
