There’s never a better time to map out your upcoming content production plan than the beginning of a new year, when you’re feeling the most inspired and re-energized. We’re committed to providing you with the assistance to make it happen, and when you’re not out there creating, you can also set your compass toward the nearest creative meetup or industry event.
Canvassing Your Community
Whether you’re new to a city or have your roots firmly planted in the scene where you are, it’s always a great idea to find a local group (or groups) with members who share similar creative interests. If you plan on traveling, here are a few recommendations of events that I’ve attended and have discovered to be extremely valuable and well worth the time.
Pond5 is a co-sponsor of LACPUG, a creative pro user group based in Los Angeles that meets up on the last Wednesday of every month. The members — close to 100 professional filmmakers — follow an itinerary that features guest speakers offering insights into their creative processes while demonstrating the latest production software and camera gear. A LACPUG Hollywood meet-up is exactly the kind of event where you can spend an intimate evening with the editorial team of Stranger Things.
Stranger Things editors Kevin D. Ross ACE, Nat Fuller, Katheryn Naranjo, and Casey Cichocki
Pond5 is also very familiar with the folks who created Shorts on Tap, London’s leading short-film community. For the past four years, they have screened hundreds of short films and documentaries at their sold-out events across the capital, becoming the place to be for London’s independent filmmakers.
A Shorts on Tap Screening at London’s Prince Charles Cinema
Besides running Shorts on Tap, creators Michele Fiascaris and Filippo Polesel are outstanding filmmakers in their own right. They are the co-owners of Yellow Pill, a video production company in London. Most recently, their film Rain Catcher started making its rounds in the festival circuit.
Meanwhile, when I lived in New York, I often went to screenings and events at Mono No Aware, which presents monthly artist-in-person screenings, organizes affordable analogue filmmaking workshops, facilitates equipment rentals, operates a film distribution initiative, plans cinema field trips, and hosts an annual exhibition for contemporary artists and international filmmakers whose work incorporates Super 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, or altered light projections as part of a live performance or installation.
Media Events in 2019
One of the year’s first events, the 2019 NAMM Show in Orange County, California is already behind us, but don’t let that discourage you if you missed it — Summer NAMM Nashville takes place in July. NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) always makes its events a hub for global music products and pro audio, as well as a great place to network with music producers, engineers, and musicians.
Attendees and exhibitors at the NAMM Show
If you want to meet the Pond5 team in person, there’s no better place than NAB 2019, which takes place in Las Vegas beginning April 6. The annual NAB Show attracts a wide variety of global attendees, including many of Pond5’s contributing artists. On the UK side of things, I’ve also been fortunate enough to attend and represent Pond5 at a couple of BVE events over the years. Similar to NAB, the British Video Expo is the UK’s leading broadcast, production, and media tech event, which brings in a large base of European attendees.
Finally, Cine Gear Expo and Adobe Max in Los Angeles are both outstanding annual events where you can meet like-minded creative folks, as well as getting introduced to new tools, software, and camera technologies.
Your Feedback Is Crucial
From all indications, I expect 2019 to be extremely busy for Pond5 artists in all media types. During the holiday, I received quite a few emails and texts from artists with creative ideas that they’re planning to produce in the new year. Feedback like that is always important to us, so please let us know what you’re creating and what events or festivals we should be aware of in your region in the comments below, and feel free to contact me directly at robert@pond5.com.
Top image: Hiker Looking for Direction with a Magnetic Compass by yanik88