LOS ANGELES—The 2025 Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) Tech Retreat, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, has released the first program details for the retreat set for Feb. 16-20, 2025, at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, California.
Programming at the event takes on areas of crucial interest to the industry, HPA said, including TR-X on Monday, Feb. 17, which will focus on Affordable Production. The complete schedule is available here.
The HPA Tech Retreat consistently sells out well in advance and registration is expected to reach capacity quickly, HPA said. Attendance is strictly capped to foster an atmosphere that promotes discussion, debate and connection, the group said.
“There are topics that make us pace the floor. As they always do, things in our industry are changing, and there’s concern and interest in that change,” said Mark Schubin, who has been guiding HPA Tech Retreat programming for more than 20 years. “We got more submissions than ever this year and the committee was impressed with not just the number, but the sheer quality of those submissions. Of course, AI is a consistent thread, but there is so much more, voices from the music industry and live events, sports, pure explorations of storytelling, business cases and cloud workflows all showed up. There was an abundance of riches. Reading these proposals is an honest behind-the-curtain view of what is happening in our industry and from those, we’ve come up with what I think is a bang-up program.”
HPA Tech Retreat programming opens on Monday morning, Feb. 17, when doors open for the Innovation Zone and the Welcome Brunch. TR-X follows in the afternoon. Details for the HPA Supersession, set for Tuesday, Feb. 18, will be announced shortly.
Sessions for Wednesday and Thursday’s program include the following:
Wednesday, February 19
What CES 2025 Means for the Media Industry
Speaker: Mark Harrison, DPP
What do CTOs really think? Key findings from the DPP Media CTO Survey
Speakers: Mark Harrison and Rowan de Pomerai, DPP
Deploying an UltraHD Broadcast Experience Through HDR and SDR Infrastructures
Moderator: Michael Zink, LG Electronics and the Ultra HD Forum
Panelists: Bill Baggelaar, UHD Alliance; Annie Chang, Universal Pictures
Joshua Pines Opines
Speaker: Josh Pines, Picture Shop
Is the industry sitting on an AI goldmine or a ticking time bomb?
Speaker: Rich Welsh, Deluxe
How entrepreneurs can successfully launch, fund, and grow a start-up tech company in the M&E sector utilizing advanced technologies including AI
Moderator: Ethan Jacks, MediaBridge Capital Advisors
Behind the Screens: Pushing the Boundaries of Live Entertainment at Sphere
Moderator: Jonathan Martin, WEKA
Live Event Tech: Tours, Festivals & Residencies—IMAG to Streaming
Moderator: Mark Chiolis, Mobile TV Group
Panelists: Jim Toten; Jeff Carman
Olympics Open and Coverage 2024: Advancing Live Production Technology
Speaker: Renard Jenkins, I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs
AI in Live Sports Production: IBM and Wimbledon’s Sustainable Tech Revolution
Speaker: Barbara Lange, Kibo121
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s Journey in Adopting Video Foundation Models for Content Creation
Speaker: Ryan Khurana, MLSE; Travis Couture, Twelve Labs
Harnessing Gen AI to Elevate Accessibility, Inclusivity, and Compliance in Media, Entertainment, and Sports
Speaker: Carin Forman, AWS
Rethinking Fast Turnaround Workflows for the Cloud
Speaker: Chris Swan, AWS U.K.
Transforming Archives Into Active Content Libraries: Unlocking the Potential of Legacy Media
Moderator: Soyoung Lee, Twelve Labs
Panelist: Heidi Shakespeare, Memnon Archive Services
Thursday, Feb. 20
Navigating the New Normal: Production Trends and Industry Shifts in TV and Film
Speaker: Alex LoVerde, ProdPro
AI Was Not the Great Disrupter
Moderator: John Footen, Deloitte Consulting
Panelists: Jason Williamson, Deloitte Consulting; Seth Hallen
Love Hurts—But It Doesn’t Have to in the Cloud!
Moderator: Annie Chang, Universal Pictures
Harmonizing Virtual Production and Visual Effects
Speaker: Mathieu Mazerolle, Foundry
Understanding the Threat Landscape of AI Workflows in Localization, Digital Film, and Dubbing
Mathew Gilliat-Smith, ConvergentDS
Panelists: Ben Stanbury, The Walt Disney Studios; Keith Ritlop, ConvergentDS (formerly Disney, NBCU, Fox)
Standards, SMPTE, and ISO
Sally-Ann D’Amato, SMPTE
Panelists: Thomas Bause Mason, SMPTE; Renard Jenkins, I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs; Andy Maltz, General Intelligence
From Stone Age to Screen Age: The Epic Tale of Visual Storytelling
Speakers: Seth Hallen and Alan Lasky
AI Applications in Media Workflows
Moderator: Thomas True, NVIDIA
Bridging the Uncanny Valley: Artificial Individual Intelligence (Aii)
Speaker: Dave Ginsberg and Jerry Rees, Artificial Individual Intelligence
Shaping Stories with Media Intelligence: From Search to Storytelling
Speaker: Morgan Prygrocki, Adobe
How Do I Deal With All These Live Streams?
Speaker: Chris Lennon, Ross Video
Media Cyber Security and Trust
Speaker: Hans Hoffmann, European Broadcasting Union
Vid2Vec: The First AI-Driven “Narrative Grammar” for Film & TV
Speaker: Yves Bergquist, Entertainment Technology Center—USC Cinematic Arts
Creative Flow or Friction? Exploring Artists’ Emotional and Cognitive Responses to AI in Media Production
Renard Jenkins, Clayton Moser, I2A2 Technologies, Studios & Labs
Panelist: Holly Beavon, Fielding Graduate University
Post-Retreat Treat: The “Ghost Army” That Fooled Hitler
Speakers: Anne Brooker-Grogan and Ed Grogan
TR-X Affordable Production (Feb. 17)
This year, the popular TR-X session will focus on behind-the-scenes insights from affordable productions. The afternoon includes case studies, panel discussions and keynotes that feature leading creatives and technologists who share experiences and expertise. Panels and speakers will bring their real-world experiences of bringing high-end, sports and lower-budget productions to outstanding results with limited resources. Current panelists include a keynote from Michael Cioni, and discussions with Kathryn Brillhart, Lori H. Schwartz, Angela Victor, Julian Higgins, Christopher Nichols, Alex LoCasale, Renard Jenkins, Erik Weaver, Jason Dachman, Brandin Grams, David Shapiro, Nick Busto, Tahira Foy, Starry H. Focus, Brian Tran, Lina Sanchez, Kiera Williams and more. Full details of the day are forthcoming.
BREAKFAST ROUNDTABLES (Feb. 18, 19 and 20)
The perennially popular HPA Tech Retreat Breakfast Roundtables take place before programming starts, Tuesday through Thursday. On those mornings, expert-led thought tables cover a wide variety of topics of interest to a vibrant group of attendees. With more than 75 tables currently booked and more added daily, the Breakfast Roundtables present an incredible bench of expertise, connection and dialogue. For a list of roundtables, visit HPATechRetreat.com.
INNOVATION ZONE (February 17, 18 and 19)
Registered attendees can explore the latest technologies in The Innovation Zone, the Retreat’s remarkable demo area where more than 60 curated technology companies demonstrate and discuss the most groundbreaking tech available today. For companies interested in exhibiting their tech, limited space remains; contact jcataldo@hpaonline.com for details.
NETWORKING (Every day from Feb. 16-20)
The 2025 HPA Tech Retreat takes place thanks to the generosity of The Studio-B&H, Sohonet, Dell Technologies, Adobe, Signiant, Dolby, and Tech Align Group. For information on sponsoring the 2025 HPA Tech Retreat, contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com.
For more information about the HPA Tech Retreat, visit www.hpaonline.com.
