My learnings from 3 days at the biggest film & video trade show (NAB 2025)

#1) The industry continues to innovate

I was a brand ambassador for Hollyland on this trip, so spent some extra time at their booth showing off their new products. 

Meanwhile, Toni roamed the floor and sat in on a talk from the editor of Gladiator 2 (jealous).

The most exciting Hollyland product to me was their upcoming Lark Max 2 wireless mic kit. It has most discreet transmitters I’ve seen yet that are capable of 32-bit float internal recording, timecode, and automatic gain control, to name a few…

But the biggest innovation is their wireless audio monitoring earbuds. With them you can listen to the audio coming through the wireless mics in real-time! This would give me a ton of re-assurance in small shoots without a dedicated sound mixer.

The only downside – the transmitters are too small to sport a 3.5mm jack for external lavs. They only have a USB C jack – but if they come out with a secure dongle that lets you attach any lav to the transmitter, sign me up.

Other new products that caught my eye:

BlackMagic Pyxis 12k

This updated Pyxis model offers double the resolution, and 3 stops more dynamic range in the same compact, riggable body – whoa!

This could be a good fit for our upcoming short film – we’ll have to lug our gear a couple miles into the wilderness to shoot, so lighter is better. We also have a couple of specific setups that require flexibility in the rigging, which would this this preferable over the Ursa Cine for example.

Adobe Premiere’s expanding AI features

I didn’t get to spend as much time at the Adobe booth as I would have liked, but I was very impressed by some of the new AI-powered features they’re putting out.

I usually don’t update to the latest version of Premiere until they work out most of the bugs, so I haven’t tested these out firsthand, but the demos at NAB were impressive.

Their “Media Intelligence” feature means all footage in a project can be searched through instantly using natural language, which could save hundreds of hours of manual logging and digging through footage, especially for big documentaries with tons of broll.

Instead, just type in “closeup of old man”, or “beer bottle”, and the right clips should magically appear in the search panel. Same with searching through auto-generated transcripts of dialogue.

If it actually works, I’ll use this all the time.

And their “Generative Extend” feature could be a lifesaver for those shots and sound effects that end just a little too soon. Just drag them out to the length you need and the AI will seamlessly create more of the video or audio you need.

#2) YouTube is going to keep growing

It seems like a lot of individuals involved in all sides of film & video are looking to either start or commit further to their own YouTube channels.

To be fair, the small sample I’m getting this from is heavily biased – the people who recognized and wanted to chat it up are more likely to be heavy Youtube users themselves.

Some don’t want to pursue it as a career path in and of itself, but more of a side-hustle to support & promote their work.

Either way, it’s cool to see YouTube’s growth in stature among film professionals. What once was a very real stigma in this industry, is now being recognized as a valuable way to grow a career in it. I believe that trend will only continue in the coming years.

#3) Y’all care!

To everyone who watches the channel and reads this newsletter that stopped and said hi the past few days – thanks so much for your support!

It’s easy to start thinking all the videos and emails are just going out into a black void, and that any comments they receive are just… comments, disassociated from a real person.

But shaking hands and hearing your stories of how it helped you face-to-face reminds me that all this has real value for real people, and lights a fire under me to keep doing more.

Especially with this newsletter! The Friday Film Notes readers I met at NAB have made me want to commit to returning to a strict weekly cadence. I think I will 🙂

#4) Creators in the video niche rock

What really made NAB special was the amazing people we met out there – especially my fellow creators – I was blown away at how inviting, friendly, fun, and open they were.

Living in LA, the film world can get a little stuffy and guarded. But at NAB I learned so much about how other creators from around the world are making it work, without any gatekeeping or ego.

I even met some Washington locals who offered to help out on our short film shoot up there.

Also, they know how to party. Here’s what my final morning in Vegas looked like.

Let’s make some movies.

-Kent