NAB is just two weeks away and I'm putting my plans together... Who am I going to meet? What do I need to see?

Ever been to NAB? If you're an NAB Virgin, I got some tips for you.

1. Wear comfortable shoes. I cannot stress this point enough! The Las Vegas Convention Center is freakin' huge. And crowded. Get plenty of rest and bring some water.
2. Don't bring anything heavy to carry around because you'll be hauling it around all day. You'll probably end up with lots of schwag by the end of the day anyway. I'm sure they have lockers there but they'll be so far away from where you are when you need your stuff.
   
   Think you need your laptop or PDA? Don't bother. Leave it at your hotel. If you're worried about missing something, they give you swipe cards and the vendor will contact YOU with information. Plus, you'll get lots of brochures along the way.
3. So what should you bring? Bring a notebook and pen to take notes during the Master Class sessions and demos. Those trainers throw out great little tips left and right. You'll most likely see big stars of the After Effects world, like Brian Maffitt, Trish and Chris Meyer.
   
   A bottle of water wouldn't hurt. Maybe a PowerBar, too. Business cards and floss. I always need floss when I don't have it.
4. Be a boy scout and plan ahead! I was just looking at the PDF Map of the South Hall Main Floor. This is the floor that I'm most interested in. This is where Adobe, Apple and all of our vendors hang out in the Plug-in Pavillion.
5. Make sure you water the horse at the hotel before you go to the convention. I'm not kidding. This only applies to men because the ratio of men to women is like 4000:1. Mens room = 10 minute wait and line out the door. Ladies room? Walk right in and do your thing. No waiting and plenty of toilet paper. How often does that happen?
6. Don't bring your spouse to the convention. They won't enjoy it and will only drive you crazy.
7. Want to go to a certain restaurant? You had better call for reservations. Vegas is absolutely packed with NAB go'ers and they're all waiting for tables at the restaurant you want to visit.
8. Speaking of hotels, get one close to the Strip and Convention Center. Public transportation in Vegas, in one word... sucks. I found Vegas really difficult to get around. Cabs are expensive and cab drivers are creepy or take you a completely roundabout way (most of them I encountered, anyway). The bus is slow and the monorail is inconveniently located in the back of huge hotels so that you have to walk through casinos.
   
   There are NAB shuttles from some hotels. Take them! I actually didn't take them last year at NAB. I'm not sure why I didn't. This year I certainly will take advantage.
   
   I've heard of some people renting a car and having better luck. The airport is not that far from the strip, so I can't give you any advice there.
9. Check Toolfarm.com for updates on the show. I'll be giving my daily download on everything from the best new products to who I saw and met at the Media Motion Ball. I'll upload photos and maybe an audio interview or two.
10. Speaking of the Media Motion Ball, Toolfarm is a platinum sponsor this year. Get your tickets now before the price goes up! There are thousands of dollars worth of prizes that they're giving away and it's all stuff you want and need. About half of the attendees appeared to win a prize last year. Not me. Maybe this year.
11. Grab lots of magazines on the way out of the convention so that you have something to read on the plane. If you're suddenly forced to be on standby for 4 hours, you have some good reading material.
12. Get to the airport 2 hours early. We got there late because of an accident on the highway and an insane cabdriver who gave us a backroads tour of Vegas. At the airport a "lobby situation" and were bumped to standby and left Las Vegas 4 hours later than we planned. NAB brings a lot of people and they all seemed to flyout on the same day. It was absolute chaos.
    
    When you obtain your boarding pass, take a close look at your boarding pass. If SSSS appears on your boarding pass, this is not a good thing, and you can expect to be searched. A random number of boarding passes have this SSSS code and if this appears you will be searched. I was pre-"selected" on the way to NAB and back. In other news, the terrorists have won.
    
    By the way, McCarran Airport in Las Vegas has free WIFI, so if you happen to be stranded there for 4 hours, use it!

If you have other tips, I'd love to hear your comments.

Bon Voyage, Michele

Labels: NAB