When I first learned about this new conference coming to NAB 2024, I thought, “interesting.” When I learned that Vidcon veteran Jim Louderback was organizing it, I thought, “VERY interesting!”
I’ve been going to NAB since 1999, and have watched it evolve and morph over the years. And honestly, as change, evolution and innovation slowed (and the mega conference landscape suffered a massive blow due to Covid), I began to wonder if NAB was fading. Slipping into irrelevancy. At the very least, it began to feel like maybe NAB should break up into smaller, more targeted shows. After all, I always quipped that the South Hall (mostly post production) could be its own show; and the same for Central Hall (cameras and production gear).
But this year feels different. There’s a different energy going into the show, which is also significant because I haven’t felt this level of excitement and activity around NAB in a long time. And I think one of the key contributors to this new energy is the introduction of The Creator Lab.
For me, the Creator Lab represents a couple of major indicators. The NAB, as an organization, is evolving, willing to reach out and expand into new – and perhaps uncomfortable – territory. Hey, if you’re not growing, you’re dying. So this is a very important move for the NAB.
And secondly, the NAB is finally recognizing that this Creator Community, or Creator Economy – whatever you want to call it – represents the next, new generation of production, post production, filmmaking and content creation. We’ve all witnessed the explosion of YouTube as an influential, powerful distribution platform, but the industry failed to recognize – or at least give credit to – the fact that this explosive trend was not driven by ‘traditional professionals.’ It was driven by a young, hungry and creative new generation of content creators who honed their skills with the gear they had available to them. And they created content at a rate that seemed inconceivable. Growing audiences, growing in influence, and growing as professionals. These people know their stuff. They’re accomplished shooters, editors, VFX artists….storytellers. And they’ve changed everything. They defined and created an entirely new category. That’s not easy to do.
So I’m excited for this NAB and I’m excited to be a part of the Creator Lab – I have a few clients exhibiting, giving talks and workshops. It’s going to be great! And congratulations to Jim Louderback and Robin Raskin for bringing this new movement to the NAB. It’s only going to grow from here.
If you’re heading to NAB, drop me a message. Id love to see you there.
Bourke PR 