Sliverstein said the idea for a pro video show had been germinating at Vistek over the past couple of years, after VP Kevin Parker and other members of the management team attended NAB conventions in the U.S. "We thought it would be good for these manufacturers to talk to our customers," Sliverstein said, "but there is no venue for this." Six months ago, Vistek began early preparatory work on the project, and intensive work began about four months ago.

The intent of the show was to showcase pro video equipment, including DSLRs with HD video capability. Photo and video heavyweights with exhibits on the show floor included Canon, JVC, Nikon, Panasonic and Sony. In addition there were many manufacturers and distributors of sound, lighting and editing equipment, and many accessory suppliers as well.

"The video side of the industry is really where the ecitement is," Silverstein stated. "It doesn't take $400,000 worth of equipment to do a 30-second commercial anymore. Now you can do it for $12,000. It's now much more democratic. There are many more avenues into production, plus more channels of distribution."

In addition to the floor exhibits, ProFusion had a strong seminar schedule, including presentations by cinematographer and SLR video guru Philip Bloom, courses on shooting video on DSLR by Rodney Charters, director of photography for the FOX-TV series 24, and a primer on 3D production by 3D shooter Tim Dashwood. Silverstein said more than 800 people registered for seminars.

By 11 on Friday morning, an hour after the show had opened, attendance had passed the 500 mark. By the close of the show on Saturday afternoon, 2,000 attendees had passed through. "Before the show, my main goal was the we would draw enough people that our suppliers would be happy," Silverstein said, adding that he was "thrilled with the traffic."

Suppliers seemed thrilled as well, when Marketnews visited the show on Friday afternoon. Jim Eyre, the sales rep for Nikon Canada Inc. who manages the Vistek account, said Vistek approached Nikon about four months about ProFusion. "We wondered how relevant it would be to Nikon," he said after the show. "We didn't know what the reaction of the consumer would be. We took a booth, and went in with a let's-see attitude."

The results were "better than expected," Eyre said. "People wanted to see our lenses and to know what they can expect to see from Nikon in the future." Video on DSLRs used to be a niche, he observed. "Now it's much more mainstream. Even if people are interested only in stills, they still want HD capability. And there are also people mainly interested in the HD capabilities of the camera."

Eyre says Nikon will be part of future ProFusion shows, and will participate in the seminar schedule next time around.

Silverstein said there will be a 2011 ProFusion, and that this year's exhibitors have asked for larger booths. Vistek is considering expanding the schedule to three days for next year to accommodate increased traffic and a more extensive seminar schedule. The company is also considering adding professional still photography to next year's event.

Article Tags:  Vistek, ProFusion, Silverstein, Philip Bloom, Rodney Charters, Tim Dashwood, Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, JVC