The 2018 Cine Gear Expo was held at Paramount Studios from May 31 – June 3, 2018 in Hollywood, CA. Cine Gear Expo is the premier event for technology, entertainment, and the media industry. The Expo attracted over 16,000 industry professionals from more than 60 countries. The sponsors included Blackmagic Design, SONY Professional, Canon, Carl Zeiss Inc., LaCie, Panasonic, RED Digital, VER, Adorama, ARRI Rental, Core SWX, DJI, NFP/Insurance West Corp, Monster, and the Studios at Paramount Pictures. The industry partners linked were the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS), American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), Cinec, Digital Cinema Society, International Cinematographers Guild (ICG), IATSE Local 728, IATSE Local 600, ICG Magazine, IMAGO, Los Angeles Post Production Group, New Media Film Festival, NewFilmmakers LA, Society of Camera Operators (SOC), Camera Operator Magazine, and the Visual Effects Society. This annual conference comprised of Exhibits, Film Festival Competition, Screenings, Seminars and Master Classes, and Industry Reception and Awards.
The exhibitors totaled nearly 300 vendors from a variety of media companies.
The Expo opened with Film Competition Screening on Thursday, May 31 at the Sherry Lansing Theater. The categories were split into the Independent Short, Music Video/Commercial, and Student Short Film. They were judged by ASC members Amy Vincent, Nancy Schreiber, and Steven Fierberg. The finalists for the Student Short Film category embraced 9 films, the Independent Shorts with 6 movies, and the Music Video/Commercial with 8 projects.
Other screenings featured the film Annihilation at the Paramount Theater followed by a Q&A with cinematographer Rob Hardy, BSC. LaCie and Filmtools presented the Next Generation Filmmaker Series with exclusive screenings from top creative professionals Jake Davis, Andrew Rurik, Jacob Scoville, Justin Riley, Alyse Kano, and Tristan Pelletier.
The seminars branched off into Premier Seminars and Master Classes. The Premier Seminars detailed product demonstration from Apple ProRes Raw, Band Pro, DJI, Blackmagic, Panasonic, Canon, RED, Adorama, Zeiss, SONY, ARRI Rental, Digital Cinema Society, Society of Camera Operators, IATSE Local 600, American Society of Cinematographers, Global Cinematography Institute, and NFP. The Master Class Lighting Workshop was moderated by Oscar-winning cinematographer Russel Carpenter, ASC who hosted a panel of talented cinematographers to discuss the inner workings of the craft of light.
The Reception and Awards portion was divided into the Technical Lifetime Achievement Award, Pioneering Women in Cinematography Award, and Technical Awards. The 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Carl Zeiss. Joerg Schmitz, ZEISS Vice President Consumer Products Division and Michael Schiehlen, ZEISS Senior Director Consumer Products Division accepted the award on behalf of Zeiss, Inc. The Pioneering Women in Cinematography Award honored the current ASC affiliates in Ellen M. Kuras, Reed Morano, Nancy Schreiber, Amy Vincent, Mandy Walker, and Cynthia Pusheck for their outstanding contributions in cinematography. The Technical Awards comprised of Best Camera Technology, Best Lighting Technology, Best Support Technology, Best Post Production Technology, and with Judge’s Honorary Mentions.
For the complete list of the 2018 schedule and exhibitors.