Trade shows have always played a big role in the production and postproduction industries.   Pre Internet, outside of going to visit a company or reseller directly, a trade show was the only way to get valuable information about products, workflows, and in general, where the industry was headed. In the 1980s through the early 2000s shows like the National Association Of Broadcasters (NAB) or the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) were hosts to hundreds of thousands.   Equally as important as visiting the show floor were the plethora of networking events, parties, and hangouts - some of which are still whispered about in convention center hallways for how epic they were! In this episode of The Offset Podcast, we discuss what shows like NAB mean to us as colorists, educators, and technology-driving guys and why even post-pandemic where the crowds and investments from exhibitors are smaller, trade shows still play a vital role - even if that role is just networking and seeing colleagues you only know virtually or see at trade shows!    While we're a bit heavy on NAB in this episode -  as it's the show we know the best and the one we've gone to the most. The things we discuss in this episode apply to other big trade shows like IBC, BIRTV, Interbee, CabSat, Broadcast India, and others In this show some of the things we'll discuss including: Getting time in with software developers of your favorite tools to suggest features, workflows, and bugs.Face time with peers and colleagues that you might not see or speak to regularlyRubbing elbows with industry heroesLeveraging educational sub-conferences and presentationsSurvival tips & techniquesBuilding a contact database and following up post-trade showCost saving tips Enjoy the episode!