By Randi Altman
In a short time, many in our industry will be making the pilgrimage to Las Vegas for NAB. They will come (if they are smart) with their comfy shoes, Chapstick and the NAB Show app and plot a course for the most efficient way to see all they need to see.
NAB is a big show that spans a large footprint, and typically companies showing their wares need to pick a hall — Central, South Lower, South Upper or North. This year, however, The Studio-B&H made some pros’ lives a bit easier by adding a booth in South Lower in addition to their usual presence in Central Hall.
B&H’s business and services have grown, so it made perfect sense to Michel Suissa, managing director at The Studio-B&H, to grow their NAB presence to include many of the digital workflows the company has been servicing.
We reached out to Suissa to find out more.
This year B&H and its Studio division are in the South Lower. Why was it important for you guys to have a presence in both the Central and South Halls this year?
The Central Hall has been our home for a long time and it remains our home with our largest footprint, but we felt we needed to have a presence in South Hall as well.
Production and post workflows merge and converge constantly and we need to be knowledgeable in both. The simple fact is that we serve all segments of our industry, not just image acquisition and camera equipment. Our presence in image and data centric workflows has grown leaps and bounds.
This world is a familiar one for you personally.
That’s true. The post and VFX worlds are very dear to me. I was an editor, Flame artist and colorist for 25 years. This background certainly plays a role in expanding our reach and services to these communities. The Studio-B&H team is part of a company-wide effort to grow our presence in these markets. From a business standpoint, the South Hall attendees are also our customers, and we needed to show we are here to assist and support them.
What kind of workflows should people expect to see at both your NAB locations?
At the South Hall, we will show a whole range of solutions to show the breadth and diversity of what we have to offer. That includes VR post workflow, color grading, animation and VFX, editing and high-performance Flash storage.
In addition to the new booth in South Hall, we have two in Central. One is for B&H’s main product offerings, including our camera shootout, which is a pillar of our NAB presence.
This Studio-B&H booth features a digital cinema and broadcast acquisition technology showcase, including hybrid SDI/IP switching, 4K studio cameras, a gyro-stabilized camera car, the most recent full-frame cinema cameras, and our lightweight cable cam, the DynamiCam.
Our other Central Hall location is where our corporate team can discuss all business opportunities with new and existing B2B customers
How has The Studio-B&H changed along with the industry over the past year or two?
We have changed quite a bit. With our services and tools, we have re-invented our image from equipment providers to solution providers.
Our services now range from system design to installation and deployment. One of the more notable recent examples is our recent collaboration with HBO Sports on World Championship Boxing. The Studio-B&H team was instrumental in deploying our DynamiCam system to cover several live fights in different venues and integrating with NEP’s mobile production team. This is part of an entirely new type of service — something the company had never offered its customers before. It is a true game-changer for our presence in the media and entertainment industry.
What do you expect the “big thing” to be at NAB this year?
That’s hard to say. Markets are in transition with a number of new technology advancements: machine learning and AI, cloud-based environments, momentum for the IP transition, AR/VR, etc.
On the acquisition side, full frame/large sensor cameras have captured a lot of attention. And, of course, HDR will be everywhere. It’s almost not a novelty anymore. If you’re not taking advantage of HDR, you are living in the past.
