One heck of a speaker list combined with dynamic panels and an actively engaged crowd made the inaugural Silicon Valley Video Summit (SVVS) in Mountain View, CA an event to remember. Held at the Computer History Museum, the mission of the event was to provide “a vital exchange of Broadcast and Big Tech thought-leadership right in the heart of Silicon Valley.” With appearances by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and some of the top minds at Google, LinkedIn, Dolby, and Microsoft, the event delivered on that promise. It also proved a great venue for our team to connect in real life. ASG-ers from all over the west coast, and some from as far away as Texas, networked a lot and learned even more at SVVS.

Just one of the panels,“Virtual Production in the Real World,” led by ETC@USC’s head of virtual & adaptive production Erik Weaver is profiled here. Did you miss out? Have no fear! Sessions will be posted on demand on the Silicon Valley Video youtube channel.

ASG team members had a lot to say about the day’s high points. You’ll see why you need to be Bay Area-bound for next year’s SVVS. Read on and hear what made this first-ever event so successful.

Mikey Shaw, ASG@Google Senior Technical Director and SVVS Panelist on the “Digital First” Transforms Live Event Technology session on the value of panels and the show’s relevance:

“The SVVG panel discussions were huge! The ability to collaborate and explore different perspectives from industry experts ‘living’ in the new norms of production was eye opening. All panelists were engaging, and left the attendees informed and armed with valuable insights going forward.

“It had the overall vibe of a mini NAB. Being an industry enthusiast and professional, it was welcomed to be a part of a gathering that addressed the questions and concerns we all have about our transitioning industry. It was true therapy to be a part of a gathering where everyone got it. Kudos SVVS!”

Andrew Bridgewater, ASG Account Manager, on the value of in-person events:

“I really enjoyed connecting with people and vendors I haven’t seen in a couple of years. It was good re-establishing our relationships and where we are these days. It was great pitching managed services, our flex workforce and just getting ASG’s name out there in front of potential new clients. Highlights of course were the keynote by Wozniak, but also seeing John Shike and Claudia Souza on stage representing our company.”

Claudia Souza, ASG Chief Cloud Officer and Moderator of the SVVS Panel,  “Making the Cloud Work On-Prem” session, on continuing the cloud conversation:

“How do we address this new hybrid world we live in? We have some workers coming back to an office, while some stay remote. For events and productions, some audience members don’t want to attend in person but still want to feel engaged. So now it’s not just how do we make technology work in a hybrid model, which we’re already doing, but how do we, as an industry, leverage technology to support hybrid events that engage all audiences regardless of location?

”We are now living in this new hybrid era. Our kids have mastered the art of cultivating friendships regardless of location. They hang out with their friends in person, and they connect with their friends online, and both are equally important. We now need to use the knowledge we’ve gained about how to provide live productions in the cloud and on prem to ensure we’re connecting with our audiences in equally meaningful ways regardless of our location or theirs. This is a topic I’d love to continue to explore in depth at the next SVVS.”

Tom Menrath, ASG Audio Team Leader and Key Accounts Manager on the genesis of SVVS:

“The SVV group started about three years ago. Marty Porter [Executive Director, Sports Video Group] said he was doing some events in Silicon Valley. B&H was involved and Marty asked if we wanted to be involved as well. That was a no brainer. We ended up getting together and calling the venture Silicon Valley Video since it was specifically focused on corporate video for Silicon Valley and founded it as a partnership between Sports Video Group, B&H and ASG. We started planning an in-person event at LinkedIn headquarters because they’d just built a new ST 2110 (a suite of standards from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers – SMPTE) infrastructure, and it was a highly interesting build to show off. We had about 150 to 200 RSVP’s right when COVID hit. Suddenly in-person events were not practical. So we shelved the LinkedIn event. For the next couple years, we did virtual events at least every six weeks. They usually featured a technology discussion. We had probably 10 or 12 of those that were extremely well attended. People were deeply engaged, asking all kinds of great questions. We all did a good job keeping the organization going during the Covid lockdown.  

“That brings us to last month when we were actually able to do the very first in-person event, which we called the Silicon Valley Video Summit. Between Marty, B&H and ASG, we ended up putting together a really compelling agenda. We got a lot of excellent speakers, and the attendance was phenomenal. We had over 400 industry people at the Computer History Museum with another 40+ students, which is remarkable for a first event. All the panels were outstanding and educational. To me, it was a Grand Slam win for an inaugural event and we’re looking forward to doing it even bigger and better next year!”

John Shike, ASG Key Accounts Manager, lists his show highlights:

“I truly enjoyed Dave Van Hoy’s presentation that described the history of the Silicon Valley Video group, from its beginnings with Google. The NVIDIA generative AI presentation was fascinating and really stood out for me. In addition to the panels, having an exhibit hall there was a little taste of NAB before NAB. 

“Another highlight for me was listening to Steve Wozniak talk about his early work with Steve Jobs, and getting the opportunity to have Steve Wozniak talk with students directly. About 40 students attended from various schools in the Bay Area, but especially with De Anza College, which is Steve’s alma mater. That was just fantastic.

“I’d sincerely like to thank Marty Porter for putting this together. And many thanks to Pat Griffis, SMPTE Past President and VP Technology, Dolby for his efforts in bringing Steve Wozniak to the event. Also, thanks to the entire SMPTE team for all their support for the summit. Lastly, I’m grateful to Amy Lounsbury at ASG for all of her support with pre-event logistics, promotions, and information sessions leading up to the show.” 

John Shike was acknowledged, along with Pat Griffis, by the SMPTE organization as an integral SVVS team member in their recent blog on the success of the event. 

The full day of SVVS sessions are now available online, if you weren’t able to attend or would like to re-watch a particular session. Silicon Valley Video will also hold a weekly series of virtual Q&A sessions with moderators and panelists from the Summit, starting March 2nd at 12:30 PST. 

The SVVS audience included broadcast and video engineers, producers and technologists working in corporate video production. It was produced by SVG in partnership with the SMPTE SF Chapter, and FMC Training. ASG and B&H were title sponsors of the event.