As many of you already know NAB just wrapped up this past week in Las Vegas. NAB, or the National Association of Broadcasters, is a yearly convention where the biggest names in video related software come together in Las Vegas to show off their new products.

Every year I walk away from NAB with a feeling of excitement while reflecting upon the products I believe will change the fields we work in. This year, I can think of 3 products that really stood out above the rest.

  1. Drones/UAVs

I was blown away at the amount of drones I saw while walking the floor this year. It seemed that every company has jumped on board and now want to get involved in what they have to offer. The role that drones play in the video broadcasting industry is huge, giving us the ability to capture footage that would have otherwise cost thousands of dollars. I firmly believe that drones are the way of the future in the video industry and we are just scratching the surface of what they are capable of. Read more about the rise of the personal drone here.

  1. Video Editing

Although Apple didn’t have a booth at NAB I think it is important to mention the release of the new version of Final Cut Pro X. With improvements on masking, slow-motion and not to mention fixing the bugs from past versions in focus version 10.2 seems to be the best version of the software so far.

Adobe also announced the next version of their Premiere software but didn’t give us an exact release date. They let us know that improvements on things like color correction and ProRes support but what really stood out was the new Character Animator feature that is able to generate cartoons based on your own motions.

  1. Black Magics Mini URSA Camera

Black Magics new camera is awesome! It has similar features as their bigger cameras but they were able to make it into a much smaller design. Starting at $3000 it makes for the perfect camera for an independent filmmaker.