On Saturday September 13th, the group woke, met at the Bonn Hauptbahnhof and boarded an early train to Amsterdam - all in the name of film.
While this city is known as the party capital of Europe, our group had much more important intentions. We were there to see, “the essential global meeting place for everyone engaged in creating, managing and delivering the future of electronic media and entertainment technology and content,” or the IBC.
This quote, taken directly from the International Broadcasting Convention website is the best way to compass the tradeshow that IBC is. Companies, businessmen, students, and technology lovers from all over the world flock to the RAI convention center to showcase and learn about the latest and greatest technology, and we were a part of the crowd! Specializing in technology ranging from cameras, to video chat services, to software, to projections, to satellites and everything in between, the IBC is extremely popular and brings very well known companies like GoPro, Cannon, Red, Sony, Adobe and many, many more together. This was an absolute heaven for us film lovers and industry aspirers.
At the convention we were able to attend seminars on things like the latest editing software, learn from the company’s representatives themselves in detail about the technology, and hands on try out and experiment with all of the products!
The last aspect was probably the most exciting part about the entire visit. We were able to explore the tradeshow, find exhibits of some of our favorite technologies and then actually use them. We got to try on steady cams, operate drones, and even practice on Red and ARRI cameras that movies like The Social Network, Gravity, and Gone Girl have all been shot on.
One of the most memorable experiences was after the ARRI presentation, we ran into guest speaker Phedon Papamichael. Now to many people, a name like “Papamichael” sounds like a fictional character; however, to us he is very, a very important person! Papamichael is an incredibly talented and renowned cinematographer known for films like “The Pursuit of Happiness” and “Sideways.” This was the cherry on top of an already amazing experience! We were completely starstruck when we got to meet him, but he was a really awesome guy and took some time to talk to us about his methods for lighting, setting up shots and his opinions on cinematography related topics. We even got some pictures with him, too!
Attending the IBC was a once in a lifetime experience and it really let all of us “nerd out” about the equipment that makes our passions come to life. We came back to Bonn the next evening with so much experience and knowledge about the industry, the products, and the direction the future of technology is heading; also with a great story of meeting one of the top cinematographers of our time.
Not only did we have an unforgettable experience that made us realize how incredibly lucky we are, but it made us very excited for our futures in the film field.
By Jocelyn Cooper
