NAB 09 FCPUG SuperMeet fast approaching
By S Simmons. Filed in Blogs and links, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Studio |
The 2009 NAB SuperMeet is on April 21, just over a week away, so if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet then the time to buy it now. You don’t want to miss the show which includes presentations on both technology and the art of editing and filmmaking as well. Plus there’s the famous raffle that is up to $70,000 worth of prizes? JVC has announced “Something SuperSecret” for the raffle as well. Could it be one of their native QuickTime shooting cameras? No one knows for sure so you’ll just have to head to Vegas next week to find out.
I spoke with Michael Horton, the LAFCPUG guru and Digital Production Buzz co-host himself recently and asked him a number of questions about the SuperMeet:
How long has the LAFCPUP been hosting the SuperMeet at NAB?
Lafcpug doesn’t host the SuperMeet. Myself and Daniel Berube of the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group are co-producers of this event and part of a larger
network of FCP UGs from around the world that is called the Final Cut Pro User Group Network. Lafcpug is just a part of the SuperMeet experience like all other UGs. In no way does it host the event.
Is the SuperMeet an actual extension of the NAB conference or is just held in conjunction with the conference?
It is held in conjunction and in no way affiliated at all with NAB. Same thing when we do this event along side Macworld and IBC. We choose to do it this way because many FCS users are already there and SuperMeets serve as a social gathering spot as well as a place to go and learn.
How has the SuperMeet grown over the years?
This is the 8th year we have been doing it at NAB, Macworld and just last year, IBC in Amsterdam. We have gone from a tiny room at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas attracting about 200 people, to giant ballrooms attracting more than 1000 people. Our first meet in San Francisco was at a Dentists office.
Have you ever had participation from Apple and/or the Final Cut Pro engineering team for a SuperMeet?
Yes. They have supported us since the beginning at every show we have done. But now that they are no longer in the trade show business it remains to be seen what sort of support they might give us in the future.
In addition to the presentation and raffle, what are the other elements to a SuperMeet?
Networking. The social gathering aspect of the event is probably the most important element. SuperMeets are a chance to gather with about 1000 of your peers and hopefully meet someone much smarter than you who may change your life. Its a somewhat unique experience, a SuperMeet. You have the chance to hang with about 30 vendors in a more intimate setting than a giant trade show floor. Many of these vendors are not on the show floor. More importantly though you get a chance to hang with each other and help each other.
What are the SuperMeet’s plans for the future?
We want to take it Global. We have plans for London in June 2009 but as of this conversation we have yet to have found a suitable venue. We are determined to make it happen though. Just got to find the right spot. Then its back to Amsterdam in September, 2009. The dream however is to do SuperMeets not alongside trade shows but on our own. That remains to be seen.
The LAFCPUP has a booth on the NAB show floor….
Again, it’s not lafcpug. We are calling it the “FCPUG Network Community and SuperMeet” booth. For short we call it: “SuperBooth.” #SL10129 in the lower South Hall
Is this the first year for a booth?
Yeah. Boy are we learning. Having a booth at a trade show and also producing a giant event like the SuperMeet takes about 3 months of 18 hour days and a
lot of help from a lot of people. However this booth is going to be a lot of fun. The idea of this booth is to make it THE social gathering spot for all FCS and Digital moviemakers who find themselves in need of learning and connecting. Since Apple won’t be on the show floor we hope to fill part of that void.
The SuperBooth will have a different presentation almost every 20 minutes for all 4 days of the NAB Show. Presenters will include: Alex Lindsey, Mark Spencer, Steve Kanter, Scott Simmons, Rob Birnholz, Dan Berube, Philip Hodgetts, Larry Jordan, Arthur Smith, Gary Adcock, Cynthia Stein, John Flowers, Norman Hollyn, Joanne Dorgan and Kim Salyer, Richard Harrington, Jim Kanter, Anthony Artis. And more.
What is the purpose of having a presence on the busy NAB show floor for the entire week?
Like I said above, we hope to make this 20×20 space in the lower south hall a social gathering spot. A place to hang out and talk, learn and have some fun. It’s our first time with a booth so we got a lot to learn.
The SuperMeet raffle is legendary for the amount of prizes that are given away.
Incredibly generous sponsors. As of this conversation the value is over 63K and still counting. No recession at a SuperMeet.
Each ticket to the event includes 2 raffle tickets but you can you buy extra raffle tickets? Are there any limits on how many raffle tickets someone can buy?
Oh yeah. Plus you can win only ONE prize. If you are lucky enough to win more then you must choose to trade in or keep it.
How many vendors do you usually have donating prizes to the raffle?
Just about all of them and no we don’t force them too either. They see the value of getting their product in front of about 1000 people and love watching the reactions of the folks who win. The raffle is crazy nutty fun.
Any vendors that haven’t provided prizes over the years that you wish would participate?
Not really. All you need do is look at the current list we have. What’s missing? Man I wish I could win one of those prizes. That’s the lousy thing about producing these shows. I cant win anything.
What action is best when retrieving your ticket for a prize: screaming, running, stripping or all three?
Depends on how good of shape you are in, but stripping works for me. When you show a little appreciation, a a lot of joy and enthusiasm for the prize you win we give you more than the prize you just won. It’s great fun and its all about that, just fun. A good way to end the night.
