This past week I added a new word to my lexicon.. a word that I think will become part of my regular vocabulary as it really is quite useful. Now kids.. can you all say the word "MacGyver".. that's right.. once again.. all together.. "MacGyver". Good. Yes.. as in the 80's TV show.According to Urban Dictionary, the word has 3 meanings:
1. Someone who can jump-start a truck with a cactus.
2. the ability to use a dorito, some duct tape, and a paper clip to create a time machine.
or the definition that I am currently using:
3. a. To use ingenuity to fix or remedy a problem using only the tools available at hand. b. To jury-rig
The word came in quite handy and a hundred times a day as I spent the week down at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas. The NAB Show is one of the biggest conferences in Vegas each year with approximately 110,000 attendees. NAB stands for the National Association of Broadcasters, but in this day and age "broadcasting" doesn't just mean TV. It means any content that can be distributed. And thus the show has become the premier showcase for technology for all kinds of media production... TV, film, internet broadcasts, etc. Almost any company having anything to do with media production has a booth at the NAB show as it fills every last inch of the Las Vegas Convention Center, and even part of the Hilton Hotel. It takes literally days to walk the show.
And so Dean, our video producer, and I spent a nice 3 days on our feet, looking around and learning how to better our productions. For my main job I was scouting out better ways of distributing video content online for projects I am working on. For my own video production business I was researching out a new camera and DVD duplication gear for upcoming projects. (Fell in love with the Canon XH-Al, by the way... perfect camera for my needs, it's never leaving my side and is so fun to shoot with..)
What became fun was trying to figure out what we could "MacGyver". Obviously, video gear is insanely expensive stuff. So Dean and I would walk around the show, and when we'd find something that caught our attention, we'd carefully research it out, then go into brainstorming mode as to how we could MacGyver it. This could lead to some really strange conversations.
"I'll be we could MacGyver that with a garden hose, some duct tape and rollerblade wheels! It would be better than paying 3 grand!"
"Man, get some PVC, a steering wheel from the junk yard and a couple of q-tips, and we could totally MacGyver that..."
From the viewpoint of the uninitiated, we must have sounded like a pair of Richard Dean Anderson fanboys, constantly going off on our MacGyvering.
But in the grand scheme of things, I ended up with a new camera, and our department ended up with a new Tele-Prompter, Jib and lighting gear.. things that can't really be MacGyvered. That all costs money.. but the amount of money we potentially saved ourselves by carefully figuring out how to MacGyver all sorts of expensive gear.. that will save us thousands and go along ways to helping us to keep our creative edge.
So the question to ask: Do I buy new? Or do I MacGyver it? Fun things to think about.
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SIDE NOTE #1: After spending days walking the conference, we put our new skills and knowledge to the test as we spent a day filming one of our company owned properties in the Vegas area, getting some necessary footage for some future projects.
While running around the golf courses, tennis courts and through this crazy lush oasis in the middle of the Nevada desert, I just had to shake my head and count my blessings that even with the economy taking its hits, I still am blessed with the opportunity to work in a luxury industry. I never know how long it will last, so I just have to do the best I can and savor each of these fun opportunities.
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SIDE NOTE #2: One of the most bizarre things I saw in Vegas (and there are ALOT of bizarre things to see in this city!!) was this:
Yup... While I certainly am a proponent of our second amendment rights.. this just seemed a little too blatant in this day and age. I busted up laughing on the street corner before diving into my pocket for my camera. Of course, maybe that's what the company wants us to do... Genius advertising. Oh, and according to the ad in my hotel room magazine, the company also RENTS the guns on an hourly basis. I can go get myself an AK47 with ammo for an hour.. Lovely... That's just what we need!
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