Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The IBC 2009 at Amsterdam

I think it's time to finally upload some of the photos that are sitting on my desktop in the folder called Blog.

I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but some time in September, Schrobbenmaster and I went to Amsterdam to attend the IBC 2009 (International Broadcasting Convention). It had nothing to do with me and graphic design, and everything to do with televisions, digital cameras, video cameras, broadcasting, satellites and the future of digital technology etc etc etc. But it was free and Schrobbenmaster had signed up to attend, even got it approved by his boss, saying it was for work purposes, so there you go.

Also, to end the day, there was a free screening of Ice Age 3 in 3D. So that was a nice bonus.




Me at the Philips booth. It was neither warm nor cold in there, so I kept having to wear my jacket, then take it off, lug it around, then put it on again, then take it off. Bleh.




This one was so Minority Report. They had probably one of the most expensive booths there. There would be a woman talking on the screen, and while she spoke, key words would appear scrolling across the arch behind at the same time. It was just really all so futuristic and cool!




Schrobbenmaster posing with some nice shadow background action. Amsterdam RAI has so many different halls, it was really tiring walking to all of them to check out all the exhibitors.




People sunlounging, although I don't know why they're doing that right in the grounds of a convention centre. Perhaps they also find it really tiring walking around. Honestly, I think they look pretty stupid.




Just thought the pattern in this lightbulb was cute. Oh wait a minute, is it called the filamen? Okay that's spelt in Malay and I can't be bothered to look up the English name.




This is the section for drinkers and people who can spend company money to buy expensive, overpriced food at the makeshift cafe/bar. There was music and it actually looked pretty good, if not for the puffed up men thinking they were cool drinking on a Monday afternoon in their office clothes and the women in pants and ugly shoes, all wearing IBC 2009 tags. Makes it worse knowing that most of them will be going back to some gloomy, pathetic airport hotel at the end of the day.




Because Schrobbenmaster and I were not there on company expense, we ventured out across the road to a cafe to have a quick dinner before Ice Age 3. I was craving for a burger, and I got something like it. At least it was hot.

I guess on the whole it was quite interesting to see all those futuristic things, even if it meant being around sad men who had been sent there from all across the world by their companies. It's not always the best thing to be sent to these kinds of conventions, although it might sound cool to your mates, like, "Hey I'm going to Amsterdam! Company paid trip. Hah (I'm so cool)!", and they're supposed to reply, "Wow, make sure you have lots of weed and go visit the prostitutes! Hergh hergh hergh!". But of course, the reality is that they fly to Amsterdam, stay really far from the weed and prostitutes, in some gloomy, lifeless hotel in the middle of nowhere, and don't have time to visit the city before they have to fly back.

You know what else was a waste of time over there? Companies from China and Taiwan who just paid for one square meter of booth space to save money, employing 2 bored girls and 1 timid man, placing one poster up with the name of their company, and then expecting people to want to drop by and say, "So what do you have for me?", when there are superb booths like Philips, that Minority Report booth that I can't remember the name of, and... other really high-tech companies which I know but can't remember now. And no kidding, there were at least 10 of those booths there, with absolutely no visitors.

Well, it takes money to earn money! That's my motto. That's why I spend so much.

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