Every year, the National Association of Broadcasters puts on the NAB show, which serves as a meeting ground for filmmakers and industry professionals to come together in Las Vegas and view the latest and greatest in the world of production and technology. This year, OH set out on a road trip to learn about the future of content production, and to bring back ideas on how to take our work to the next level with our client partners.

When you arrive at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, it’s clear that this event cultivates an atmosphere that encourages forward-thinking and building experiences; not only do you get to explore the trends that are shaping the future of media and entertainment, but you also get to test drive the ground-breaking technology that makes it all work.

So, what did we take away from the NAB Show this year? Glad you asked.

Production gear evolves quickly, and you need to keep up with it to stay relevant.

Our team was immediately drawn to the new stabilization equipment and lighting that was put on display. We spent a great deal of time over at the DJI booth testing out the Ronin 2, a stabilizer capable of allowing the operator to carry heavy payloads and capture shots with virtually no shake – a game-changing advantage for anyone in content production.

With an emphasis on being agile and getting the best shots with the lightest setup, you could also find us learning everything we could from the smaller lighting technologies. Quasar Science is one of the leading companies in LED lighting for film production, and after spending time with them, we were completely hooked on their capabilities.

Quasar makes a tube-shaped light that can be powered by battery, making for not only an incredibly portable solution, but one that can be used for out-of-the-box applications. This product will give us the ability to scale our lighting packages for diverse productions as soon as we are ready, with zero time wasted.

Content creation is changing just as fast.

OH got to talking with one of our favorite music licensing companies, Musicbed. Combining the fact that the world of content creation is always changing with the demand for smaller productions rising, Musicbed was forced to adapt. Initially used for only larger productions due to the price tag on their custom tracks, the company is now moving to a subscription-based model to compete with other industry players.

What does this mean? Higher-quality custom tracks can now be used not only for bigger productions, but also social and digital videos – and we couldn’t be more excited about that possibility.

Collaboration is a must.

By traveling to a different office space for a few days, we were able to build connections with not only each other, but with industry professionals from over 160 countries during more than 200 collaborative sessions. Our partners aren’t just found in house or with our clients, but with talented vendors and specialists who allow for our capabilities to span even further. By tapping into these skillsets, we are able to stay relevant and creative, without sacrificing the bottom line.

The people we met were some of the world’s most inspiring and celebrated thought leaders, who came together to share their stories, solutions, techniques and personal journeys in content production – and it made us even hungrier to get back to OH and put what we learned into action.