Lights and camera action

The streets and stages of Los Angeles’ iconic Paramount lot prepare to welcome back Cine Gear Expo, with a must-see line-up of exhibitors, masterclasses and workshops.  

Like a lot of people, Los Angeles’ annual Cine Gear Expo did some wandering during the pandemic. For a couple of those years, the venerable showcase for filmmaking tools found itself in a wing of downtown LA’s Convention Centre, next door to where the Lakers, Kings and Clippers play, and last year, next to an international gathering featuring both President Biden and Vice President Harris, in the same facility, at the same time, along with delegates from across the globe, lending the area around the event, and its bars and restaurants, an even more cosmopolitan feel during after-hours drinks and dinner.

Now, however, Cine Gear returns from downtown to its longstanding and familiar digs on the Paramount lot, where it had been held almost continuously since its founding in 1998 by the late Karl Kresser and his business-and-life partner, Juliane Grosso, who were both working with storied rental house king Otto Nemenz at the time, to create the show.

But the June event, growing from a handful of exhibitors to over 300 now, has become, in Grosso’s words, “a truly dynamic educational and interactive event dedicated to the art and technology of filmmaking”, all of it taking place in an exhibit space which now encompasses five areas, including indoor locations on three different soundstages, with more being added, along with the outdoor exhibits that take place along the studio’s New York streets, and in the B Tank, former home to miniature oceans for seafaring films in the era before digitally rendered water. 

She expects that this year’s Cine Gear will not only match its pre-pandemic attendance, but exceed it: “We anticipate a greater turnout than ever before and have already seen an increase in the number of exhibitors,” she said, an increase that matches growth in the educational and festival aspects of the show, including masterclasses, new premier seminars, and a student film competition.

The programming covers a wide range of topics, from cutting-edge camera and lighting techniques to the business and legal challenges facing the industry, as well as the aforementioned masterclasses Grosso notes emphasise both “industry skills and current technological advancements”. One advancement in particular, she notes, is warranting its own addition to the programme: “As virtual production continues to rapidly evolve, filmmakers are discovering new ways to create cinematic virtual scenes with greater creative control and on-set collaboration. Given the significance of this emerging field of production, Cine Gear Expo has decided to introduce a new master class focused on virtual production, (which is) expected to generate significant interest and provide valuable insights into this exciting new area of filmmaking.”

And as the “virtual” gets increasingly fused with expanding AI technology, that interest is likely to increase exponentially – including in the weeks leading up to the current show.

But as for the analogue pleasures the expo will offer, “we are very excited to be back at our favourite location,” Grosso says, which is really the flagship locale for the event, which has also grown to include shows in Atlanta and New York.  Indeed, the return to “home base” completes the cycle of getting back to business after the depths of the pandemic, as the event continued their “annual show in Atlanta and most recently returned to New York with a successful show and great reviews. The festival side is certainly going to expand going forward, and thanks to our On-Air events we are looking to attract a completely different group of people from the production side; film buyers, executive producers, and production companies.”

Though in addition to growth in the range of interest from participants, Grosso is open to expanding beyond the current geographical parameters as well, noting that they’re “always open and look for opportunities around the world. Cine Gear Expo has grown to become one of the largest and most important events for film and video professionals and is known worldwide,” which is testified to by the attendance, also drawn from around the globe.

The event is, after all “about in-person networking, and reconnection with colleagues and friends from across the world. Invitees get hands-on training, gain knowledge and skills from world technology leaders, and network with peers all within a professional and comfortable studio environment with food and drinks at hand.”

Among the food available has traditionally been an In-N-Out burger truck, brought to the lot especially for the event, and a particular treat for anyone living out of the company’s West Coast territory. And if the storied Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe across the street on Melrose hasn’t finished its reopening by the time the show runs, there’s also Astro Burger down on the corner. Indeed, the Paramount location is a short walk or rideshare from much of Hollywood – literal, geographic Hollywood – which makes it even more of a draw for those working in “metaphoric” Hollywood around the globe.

As for the menu of vendors at the show itself, Grosso says that “as always, the show will feature a wide range of exhibits and demonstrations of the technology and equipment for cinematography, lighting and sound, including ARRI, Blackmagic Design, Canon, Sony, Cooke, Zeiss, Duclos, Brompton Technology, Planar, Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment, CineMoves, Astera, Aputure, Kino Flo, MBS, Warner Bros., Universal Studios and many more.”

Though the “many more” doesn’t actually apply to the still “compact team” they have to run the show, despite which, Grosso says, “we have managed to consistently make it larger and more impressive each year. We take care to preserve the show’s history and ambiance by paying attention to every detail, while also continually evolving and improving with each event.”

Even – or perhaps especially – when that evolutionary step involves returning home.