Crystal Award Winners Highlight Day 2 Of NAB Show

2016 Crystal Award Winners

NAB Show, the world’s largest annual conference and expo for media and entertainment professionals, Tuesday featured the debut of new cinematography and virtual reality camera technologies, conversations with Academy Award-winning editors of “The Big Short” and “The Revenant,” and examinations on the future of over-the-top (OTT) and high dynamic range (HDR) content delivery.

This year’s NAB Show runs through Thursday, April 21.

The day began with “FOX’s ‘Empire’: Inside the Megahit Broadcast Series.” Michael Schneider, executive editor at Indiewire and editor-at-large at Variety, led a lively, candid discussion between Gary Newman and Dana Walden, longtime chairmen and CEOs of FOX Television Group; Ilene Chaiken, executive producer and showrunner; and Bryshere “Yazz” Gray, who plays Hakeem Lyon on “Empire.” The group talked about casting the show, its impact on the television landscape, and how music informs the trajectory of the series.

At the Radio Luncheon, ten local radio stations were named recipients of Crystal Radio Awards, which have recognized radio stations for their outstanding year-round commitment to community service since 1987. WTMX-FM, Chicago, IL was honored with the esteemed NAB Crystal Heritage Award for having won a total of five Crystal Radio Awards. NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith inducted renowned radio personalities Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, co-hosts of the weekday “Mike and Mike in the Morning” radio show, into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Kim Komando, host of “The Kim Komando Show,” delivered the luncheon’s keynote address, highlighting her views on radio broadcasting, Web publishing and technology.

Kim Komando

Crystal Radio Awards Winners:

• KNDE-FM College Station, TX
• WBAB-FM Long Island, NY*
• KNX-AM Los Angeles, CA
• WCCO-AM Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
• KPRS-FM Kansas City, MO
• WJBR-FM Wilmington, DE*
• KRLC-AM Lewiston, ID
• WRLT-FM Nashville, TN*
• KTAR-FM Phoenix, AZ
• WWJ-AM Detroit, MI

* First Time Winners



The second day of the Online Video Conference featured Michael Paull, VP of digital video at Amazon in conversation with Will Richmond, editor and publisher of VideoNuze. The pair discussed the future of OTT content as it relates to both Amazon and the content ecosystem. They also covered the windfall of content available in today’s “Golden Age” of television – which, Paull expressed, will only benefit consumers as better tools and finer data enable more customized content delivery.

During “Lytro Cinema and the Future of Filmmaking,” attendees were shown the short film “Life,” produced by Academy Award winners Robert Stromberg, DGA and David Stump, ASC, in association with the Virtual Reality Company (VRC). The film was shot with Lytro Cinema, the world’s first professional Light Field cinematography solution. Jon Karafin, head of Light Field video and Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro then provided attendees with a technical deep-dive into the making of “Life,” their revolutionary platform, and how Light Field technology will change cinematography as we know it.

During “Being There – Virtual Reality News and Documentaries,” Niko Chauls, director of applied technology at USA TODAY Network; Aaron Luber, head of partnerships at Google VR; Richard Nockles, VR creative director at Sky; Danfung Dennis, CEO and founder of Condition One; and Bryn Mooser, co-founder of Ryot spoke with moderator David Cohen, senior editor, Features at Variety. During the panel, Condition One announced the release of a new camera – nicknamed "Bison" – that features 16 gunlock synchronized cameras and captures 360-degree video in stereoscopic 3D. The session discussed the complexities of capturing real-world VR footage along with the tools and technology needed for this medium to succeed in the realm of news and documentary storytelling.

In “’Deadpool:’ Leveraging Technology to Create a Stunning Superhero Film,” the post-production team behind the surprise smash hit -- Vashi Nedomansky, post-production workflow and editorial consultant; Joan Bierman, post supervisor; Jonathan Rothbart, VFX supervisor; and Matt Carson, first assistant editor – delved into the processes they used to bring the unconventional comic book antihero to the big screen.

“The Path to the Statues – ‘The Big Short’ and ‘The Revenant’,” featured Hank Corwin, ACE, and Stephen Mirrione, ACE, in conversation with Norman Hollyn, inaugural chairholder of the Michael Kahn Endowed Chair and professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, conversing about the influences shaping their editing work. The panelists analyzed what went into their decision-making processes for key scenes in those two critical and commercial hits of 2015.

“Catnapped! Key and Peele’s ‘Keanu’,” produced in partnership with International Cinematographers Guild (ICG), featured the film’s director, Peter Atencio and Director of Photography Jas Shelton taking attendees behind the scenes of comedy duo Key and Peele’s cinematic debut, which hits theaters on April 29, 2016.

During Super Session “4K, UHD, HDR, and More – The Future of Video,” James DeFilippis, CGO of TMS Consulting; Mark Schubin, CIS of ShubinCafe.com; Matthew Goldman, SVP technology, TV and media strategy; and Robert Seidel, SMPTE president discussed the future of HDR as it relates to 4K content. The group debated the merits of transmitting 4K versus using televisions to increase resolution locally, as well as the challenges the industry will face in preparing an HDR content standard.