kamp grizzly NAB

After seeing Flavor Flav at the Las Vegas airport and getting a “YAAAAY Boi!!!” and another interesting flight on Spirit airlines. We made it back to PDX in one piece. NAB was a lot of fun. We got to check out some awesome new products from the leaders and the little guys in our industry. Autodesk Smoke, PHANTOM MIRO 320, GoPro Wifi, and Webster stole the show for me. It’s good to see some companies are still trying push forward and change the game. Thanks for everyone who read this live blog, until next years NAB.

- Yogi

“I write this alone in vegas”-pusha t. Thats not true at all yogi is sitting on the other side of  the room, but if i have even a remote possibility to use a PUSHA quote I will. Another great day at NAB with some truly inspirational products. The overall vibe was a little better today. The straight up suits looking down on us and telling us kids to essentially scram was at a fever pitch. I’m going to try something different tonight and keep this recap a little more BASED and go all out positivity. There are a few bright lights out there really trying to get great products to enable the creative community and this year they came from the most unlikely sources.

ZEISS, AUTODESK, VISION RESEARCH. Three really big heavy weights in the production industry that have unparalleled products and have been proven for years. These companies have nothing to lose by staying stingy and expensive. They could keep selling some of the best products at prices so astronomical that the majority of creatives won’t ever get to own or even use their product. They have that clout. It’s not like Sony who sells subpar and not even close to industry leading products at crazy prices. These companies produce cutting edge products at the highest of quality.This year they all decided to embrace the future and either completely redo the way they do business (SMOKE) or invest money in products specifically for shops and creatives that don’t have millions to spend. These companies get it, the best way to sell a product is show the best stuff being made with your product.The easiest way to get the best stuff made with your product is put it in the hands of as many creatives as possible.

I hope this is the trend of the future for all companies. Embracing the now and making products that keep the highest standards while being accessible and innovative. Innovative and accessible is nothing new. Apple has been doing it for years, when they released COLOR it was a game changer that we still feel the effects of today. There are countless little guys working crazy hours making products that are cutting edge for minimal cost. JAG35 and SMALLHD are few examples from today of companies who put in work for creative people. I don’t want to belittle their efforts, but this is nothing new. The small guy has always had to work harder and be smarter. While the big boys stay dumb and stingy. What’s new and exciting is the big boys being innovative and accessible. When Apple (a production outcast form the beginning) takes a 30k color program and bundles it for free in their studio suite its awesome, but also a bit understandable (video production was not their only income). Now when AUTODESK takes 300k worth of software and bundles it into one app for 3.5K thats amazing. Maybe these big companies don’t want to end up like KODAK. The billion Facebook paid for instagram could of saved KODAK from bankruptcy 12 times over. The irony is amazing and fitting. I hold no sympathy for KODAK and only wish their death was sooner. I should be living in a world where the greatest film company also produces the greatest digital sensors. I don’t live in that world because a collective of short sided idiots forgot what they were really about.

I think the digital shift enabling more and more creative people and the wonderful demise of KODAK has caught the eyes of the big boys. They either hold tight and even get more ridiculous CANON! (literally by the numbers every single one of their cinema products is a joke. They make them to get more money that’s it). You go back to your roots remember what you’re about and do something new. It’s a new day in production and seeing these big companies get behind true innovation is really inspiring. 

MIRO is going to show us shit in slow-motion we never thought possible. A handheld Phantom that’s affordable. This camera will have the biggest impact on the movies and videos you watch since the RED ONE. ZEISS taking their most affordable lenses ever and redoing them to match their most sought after lenses ever is amazing. AUTODESK revamping their whole software model, while innovating a whole new way to work. If embraced it will push us all to make the illest content. The video world is still ever changing and it’s nice to know some of the muscle is on your side. So fuck it, let’s create the sickest shit with the dopiest companies big and small. No excuses while striving for authenticity and innovation. STAY HUNGRY HOMIES!!!!!!

PROPS:

- SEE ABOVE

- UNDEFEATED and STUSSY sometimes you just need a reminder that no matter what Canon says you’re not a piece of shit.

- anyone reading this nonsense it means a lot 

- the sd slot in the macbook air. soooo tight boi!

- STILL Webster!

SLOPS:

- CANON straight up. you didn’t even want the 5d to be what it is you lucky bastards.

- Again no wifi at NAB is just insane.

- feeling too BASED to post more then 2 slops

- X @xbitterblossomx

We needed to cleanse our palates our of all the suits at NAB. X and I hit up Undefeated and Stussy Las Vegas to get back to our roots. Eddie Cruz has cultivated an amazing culture and environment for all his stores. You walk-in to a super well designed space with helpful people that work there. It’s sad that a 20 something selling me a crew neck gives me better service than someone who we’ve purchased $10,000 of equipment from at Kamp. 

- Yogi

Dope set at the Canon booth

Crazy 3d set up by 3ality at the Canon booth, that there rep refused to give me info about.

Wall of GoPro, I think we have been through that many:)

Better than a roof rack

@ChemistrsyOfCool always pays attention when the Gorilla is talking.

The most sought after lenses in the flesh.

Let just go ahead and throw one a a F65

Scope box works fine for getting color levels right on @ChemistryOfCool

Holy shit yes please! The super speeds are back, this time in CP2 form. All these lenses have interchangeable mounts. The CP2 super speeds come in 35, 50, 85 and in my opinion the perfect trinity of prime lenses. It’s really cool to see a company as big as ZIESS put out products they know there customers want. The original CP2’s were an amazing idea, but they were just way to slow. I’m sure ziess knows everyone on the secondary market is trying to gobble up SUPER SPEEDS. That’s why Ziess is releasing their latest technology lens with the features there customers want. The CP2 super speeds stand in a class of there own and are a perfect investment for people looking to get into real cinema glass. THANK YOU ZIESS BASED GOD

- X @xbitterblossomx

They have everything at NAB! It’s crazy C-Stand, tape, cables, and semi-trucks.

- Yogi

Camera jib weighted by 4 liters of Coke!?! All I’m saying is don’t leave your jib by me on set or I’m going to drink your weights. On the real though, cool idea.

Paper 3d glasses booth.

Que-Ball decorative 360 degree cameras… this booth wasn’t very busy.

Taking ghetto bird to the next level with this GoPro set up. 

The clock booth was one of my favorite little gems at NAB. Clocks of all sizes and shapes.

All booth no heart! Honestly SONY you are on the last thread of even being in this industry. Hopefully by the time my generation is making the decisions you will be back making mini disk players and Beta SP decks.

- X @xbitterblossomx

PHANTOM went hard this year at NAB. The new MIRO is nothing short of amazing and easily my camera of the show. You get all the best parts of the PHANTOM and non of the stuff you hate about shooting superslow motion. First its much cheaper. You can get a complete setup all tricked out for 60k. Running your PHANTOM off a PC on set is now a thing of the past. Its all controlled through a really small LCD touch screen. There is also no more separate rental for a huge cinemag for your files. The MIRO shoots on proprietary SSD drives similar to the RED. The camera itself is also very small, about the size of a SCARLET, but a little longer and shorter. The MIRO will shoot 1920 at 1400fps and 3000fps at 720. This is a truly impressive feat. I can not wait to see all the new handheld slow-motion people will be producing with this cam. You better believe KAMP GRIZZLY will be on our SLO MO grind with the MIRO 320 soon.

- X @xbitterblossomx

Yogi helped out at the PHANTOM booth today!

SmallHD makes portable HD monitor solutions at a amazing price point. The 4/6 inch monitors are beautiful and pack a ton of features. Focus assist, false color,peaking and a bunch of other features. What got me super stoked was the EVF mount for their little 4inch screen. Being able to have a true eyepiece on your SCARLET is amazing and sometimes essential (sunny day LCD screen shooting anyone?). SMALLHD EVF view finder for Scarlet goes for only $600 dollars for the whole kit (RED’s is 3500). Not only will you have a sweet eye pice, but a extra 4inch monitor to do stuff the RED lcd touch can’t do. You know like FLIP YOUR IMAGE!!! (really RED? really?). No worries though, SMALLHD gots your back. MORE INFO HERE

- X @xbitterblossomx

JAG3d makes really cool high quality focus and rigging systems for 5d/scarlet form factor bodies. The dudes at the booth were incredibly nice, showing off their sweet gear. They have a super portable follow focus system for under 1300 dollars. I was also stoked on their ringless focus system. It’s a focus system that uses friction from a little wheel that can be used on any lens. The JAG35 dudes know what they’re doing and demoed the “friction” focus system on the canon 85mm 1.2. If you’ve ever used that lens you know its almost unusable for video because its focus ring is sooooo loose. The 85mm handles like a dream with the JAG35 friction focus. MORE INFO HERE

- X @xbitterblossomx

Super OMG!!!! GOPRO has literally taken over the camera floor. Last year they had a little booth in the back with not very many people hitting it up. The only thing they had to show last year was a 3d rig. This year they have a huge booth right up front full of people. It’s like a rock concert there packed full of people and they have bunch of cool new stuff. This year they brought more then two pieces of plastic, GOPRO stepped their game up. They were demoing their new wifi module and it’s insane! It can control 50 cameras from one remote (hard remote or iPad app remote). The standby time on the wifi is 2.5days, so you can keep the GOPRO off and turn it on via wifi whenever you need. They were also showing their new technicolor COLOR profile. You can now shoot GOPRO in silky smooth LOG making it so much easier to match color with higher end cameras. Wow GOPRO wow!

- X @xbitterblossomx

Canon was showing off all their 8 bit wonder machines. It’s still crazy to me that they have all these awesome cameras with great features and form factor, but they still all shoot 8-bit. That’s the same bits as nitendo!!! To be fair the new c-500 , will shoot 10-bit raw or 12bit RGB with separate recorders. Yeah all their actual cameras by themselves shoot 8bit. Their booth is amazing though. so thats something.

- X @xbitterblossomx

Today its all about the hardware, lenses, tripods, camera rigs, lights, and who know what else cool little gadgets we my come across. Hopefully wifi won’t be as big of a issue today in the other conference hall. We’re still going try to bring you all the cool and drool worthy items we come across.

- X @xbitterblossomx

Wrapping up day one at NAB, obviously the big winner was Autodesk Smoke. It truly impressed me and with software that doesn’t happen very often. With software it’s usually more of the same but a little better. Smoke has made me stoked to be this amped on a piece of software. Black magic turned heads and essentially killed the 5d market with their new camera. Yogi and I got mistaken for actual media and got legit blogging digs. Sometimes it pays off to look like a weirdo and have laptop. NAB is still NAB, so many suits its truly unbelievable. I think someday it will change to more of a youth culture. It’s funny when you go to a gathering of people all doing the same thing and you get that rare birds eye view of how everyone looks as a group. You go to COMICON, SXSW or MAGIC convention and you get that cool “whoa this is what we all look like.”

When you take that snapshot of video pros it’s a sad affair. Professional audio and video is still generally run by the same old, same old, salesmen dudes. They have the best selling skills to tell this producer to buy this and this producer to do that, you end up with a bunch of shit. Of course there are the few bright lights like RED. RED couldn’t give a shit about that stuff and just want the best product.

I’m gonna go big here for a sec so hold tight. It’s late. I love NAB.  It’s so cool to see all the new gear up close and personal and of course pretending i can write and keeping everyone up to date is hella fun to. The one thing that does suck is you can’t really say “I got to see all the new shit and meet so many cool people”. It just doesn’t have the vibe if you’re under 47 and don’t have your suit game tight. The reflection it gives on our industry to me is very sobering. For as long as there is a NAB I feel there will always be the short sided client who thinks things have to be done a certain way. A producer who will pass up the passionate and truly talented for expected and bland. As long as there is a NAB there will always be cumbersome work flows propagated by old timey standards. As long as there is NAB, clients will waste money on the wrong form of traditional media, instead of investing in truly impactful avenues. (did i just surmise all that based on suits? Yes but only because I’m a bad writer the sentiment is very true)

I’m very fortunate to work for a company and collective of clients that truly believe in what we do. At KAMP these roadblocks are definitely the exception and not the rule. I have a boss with integrity that could of easily taken any of the previously mentioned uninspired ways of doing business. Instead we keep it all family and strive for authenticity through our creativity. Making cool shit with dope people. VIVA KAMP GRIZZLY PROPS AND SLOPS!!!!! NOW!!! 

- X @xbitterblossomx

PROPS:

- Webster yup that is all

- Vat of cheese in the cafeteria philly cheese steak counter

- The rad dudes in the media area that let us chill and blog on the couches. 

- Micheal Koerner and crew for a wonderful night of drinks and conversation.

- Auto Desk. Keep up the good fight. And way to go from the biggest bully to the one liberator.

- BLACK MAGIC wow you just made a amazing camera out of nowhere. Congrats

SLOPS:

-Booth babes that are relentless at scanning your badge so you can get awesome spam for the rest of your life.

- Food court with 7 choices - 3 of which are burgers.

- ADOBE zero interaction booth. No i don’t want to see and demo your new software. i would much rather hear some idiot talk about his directing skills.

- NO WIFI ON THE FLOOR OF NAB ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- The monorail costing as much or more than a taxi

Smoke went ahead and made what people are already calling the SUPER APP. To be honest they’re one of the only companies that can. A lot of the big companies provide full service post production software through SUITES. Like FInalcut Studio (back when Apple was relevant) and Adobe Creative Suite. These were bundles of software to take you through post production. One app for editing, one for effects, one for color, ect ect. Smoke has decided to put all those thing together in one App, Smoke 2013. Usually when a company has a software that says it does it all. That usually means it does a lot of things pretty average, but most companies aren’t AUTODESK. Lets time travel for a sec.

In the olden days of digital post production most of the highest end tools were made by AUTODESK (or whoever owned it at the time). Flame (high end compositing), Lustre (high end color correction), and Smoke (high end online editor and conform) were the most sought after post production tools. You still might run across a few LA snobs who only swear by Flame or Lustre or old smoke as the only way to do things. They were called “high end” because they past the test of being able to handle any task from tv to feature films, and they each cost anywhere from 200k-400k depending on your setup. So thats SMOKE 2013’s pedigree.

Now AUTODESK is telling us they have rolled all that into the new SMOKE! This is amazing. You have a app that is a one stop shop. From a company that’s software has made feature films through the whole post production pipeline. AUTODESK has made it very accessible to the masses pricing it at 3.5k. This truly is a game changer and very exciting. Being able to use real pro color correction tools, amazing node based 2d/3d composting, and super solid media management and editing all in one app. This def gives Modern day editors (modern editors know a little of everything, old timey editors know how to …well edit) a lot of tools at their disposal.

(Both images above are the same Smoke App)

Whats super exciting to me is not just that I could work in a app that literally gives me the ability to do anything. That’s really cool, but we can’t all be @filmbot and kill it all the way through. At Kamp we work on a lot of high end videos and every step has to be as pro as possible. We often have people do the stuff they are sick at, different person for compositing, coloring, and animation. The dream of SMOKE for me is not getting rid of specialist, but getting rid of all the diff apps. Imagine your whole post production team doing their thing all in the same app seamlessly passing files back and forth. That is a super exciting prospect for sure.

Anyway, Click here and watch the videos a lot of good info. Great job smoke!

- X @xbitterblossomx

Stopped by the WACOM booth for a sec and got to demo their new tablets. They have done a really good job with a tablet that’s also a multi-touch device. It also has some pretty impressive HUD software to go along with the tablet. Wacom is the only people doing this for a reason, they kill it! 

- X @xbitterblossomx

Not a demo, just a random dude doing work!

Always great to see fellow Oregonians on the road. Lacie has a nice booth, showing off their normal hard drive solutions with a emphasis on thunderbolt. The product that is truly going to be a game changer for KAMP is there new thunderbolt to e-sata hub. A world were you can take a macbook air to set and have a full e-sata workflow is now a reality! I really am going to miss getting 2-4 hours of sleep a night backing data up on shoots.

- X @xbitterblossomx

Surprise surprise, Avid was underwhelming. They were claiming tons of new stuff, but all i saw was the same stuff as before. To be fair is near impossible to see anything in that booth its packed wall to wall with suits making big deals. It’s funny Avid does a great job of always making me feel like a stupid idot that doesn’t belong. THX and I mean THX AVID!

- X @xbitterblossomx

RED is throwing out all kinds of amazing epic and scarlet hardware solutions. I will have a more detailed post on this later. For right now enjoy the eye candy.

- X @xbitterblossomx

X and I got in to the media area to blog and all of the dudes in there were loving us. They even asked us if we wanted to get interviewed live on NBA’s live show. As we were leaving to go check out the Avid stuff Emmanuel “Webster” Lewis walked in. 

- Yogi