It’s obvious at this point that Coronavirus has swept any social gatherings such as NAB or Cine Gear under the Social Distancing rug. NAB waited until the last minute to cancel their show which left a lot of exhibitors in an extremely difficult position. Cine Gear Expo took a more aggressive approach and announced they were pushing their show date well enough in advance for exhibitors to coordinate properly.
A staple among motion picture gear enthusiasts, Cine Gear Expo was an opportunity for manufacturers and service providers from around the world to descend upon sunny Southern California in the heart of Hollywood at Paramount Studios once a year. My perspective on Cine Gear has always been positive. It’s like NAB… But without all the junk you don’t need to see. It’s humbling to see the juggernauts like Canon huddled under an easy-up attempting to stay in the shade like everyone else on the New York Street back lot. If you’ve attended Cine Gear, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t maybe this is the year for you to make the trek.
Cine Gear has certainly had their trials. If you’re a veteran, you’ll recall 2006 for two reasons. Some startup camera company claimed they could make a digital camera record 4K RAW (it’ll never happen), and you’ll recall the 100+ degree temperatures on the back lot of Universal Studios. On the second day of the show, bottled water ran short but the beer flowed. If you exhibited any gear, you definitely had to dedicate a few days to cleaning dust out of every nook and cranny post-show.
Fast-forward to 2019, it seemed nobody knew where the show was going to be held up until the last minute. The story is that there were scheduling conflicts between Paramount and Cine Gear. There were even printed, published ads promoting the show at different locations which led to some pretty widespread confusion.
The point of my trip down memory lane is that Cine Gear Expo is a fantastic gathering of industry professionals and enthusiasts and I’ll be happy to see you all there later this year when we (our industry) pull out of this COVID-19 mess. This also marks the 25th year of Cine Gear Expo! If you haven’t already, register today! More info below…
October 1 – 4, 2020
Expo Location: The Studios at Paramount, Hollywood, California, USA
October 1: Film Series at Cine Gear Expo
October 2/3: Exhibits + Seminars
October 4: Master classes at various locations
If you already registered for the original show dates, your registration will be transferred automatically. If you haven’t registered, I highly recommend doing so. It’s free until September 26th. After that, there’s a fee to enter. Duclos Lenses will be there with their usual crew of Lens Geeks. Make sure you stop by our booth and grab some swag!