The Hollywood Professional Association has issued the call for proposals for the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat, the consistently sold-out annual gathering of professionals from around the world who work at the intersection of technology and creative media. The main conference, the most extensive portion of the HPA Tech Retreat, is determined by the proposals submitted during this process.
The HPA Tech Retreat is comprised of Tech Retreat Extra (TR-X), the Supersession, breakfast roundtables, an Innovation Zone, and the main conference. Also open now are submissions for the breakfast roundtables.
Now in its 24year, the event in Palm Springs attracts a wide array of distinguished attendees and speakers and engages leaders from every facet of the content ecosystem. The 2019 HPA Tech Retreat will take place February 11-15, 2019 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA (Palm Springs area).
Call for Proposals: Main Program
The main program presentations are set for Wednesday, February 13 through Friday, February 15, 2019. These presentations are strictly reserved for marketing-free content. Mark Schubin, who has programmed the Tech Retreat since its inception, notes that main program sessions can include a wide range of content. “We are looking for the most interesting, thought provoking, challenging and important ideas, diving into almost anything that is related to moving images and associated sounds. That includes, but is not limited to: alternative content for cinema, AR, broadcast in the age of broadband, content protection, dynamic range, enhanced cinema, frame rate, global mastering, higher immersion, international law, joke generation, kernel control, loss recovery, media management, night vision, optical advances, plug-‘n’-play, queasiness in VR, robo-post, surround imagery, terabyte thumb drives, UHD II, verification, wilderness production, x-band internet access, yield strength of lighting trusses, and zoological holography.” It is a far-ranging and creative call to the most innovative thinkers exploring the most interesting ideas and work. He concludes with his annual salvo, “Anything from scene to seen and gear to ear is fair game. So are haptic/tactile, olfactory, and gustatory applications.”
Proposals, which are informal in nature and can be as short as a few sentences in length, must be submitted by the would-be presenter. Submitters will be contacted if the topic is of interest. Presentations in the main program are typically of half-hour duration, including set-up and Q&A. The deadline to submit main program proposals is end of day, Friday, October 26, 2018. Submissions should be sent to tvmark@earthlink.net.
Call for Proposals: Breakfast Roundtables
Breakfast roundtables take place Wednesday to Friday, beginning at 7:30 AM. Unlike the main program, moderator-led breakfast roundtables can include marketing information. Schubin comments, “Table moderators are free to teach, preach, inquire, ask, call-to-task, sell, or do anything else that keeps conversation flowing for an hour.”
There is no vetting process for breakfast roundtables. All breakfast roundtable moderators must be registered for the retreat and there is no retreat registration discount conveyed by moderating a breakfast roundtable. Proposals for breakfast roundtables must be submitted by their proposed moderators and once the maximum number of tables is reached (32 per day), no more can be accepted.
In reflecting upon the call, Seth Hallen, President of HPA said “The HPA Tech Retreat main conference, under the brilliant leadership of Mark Schubin, is simply the must-attend event for anyone who works inside this complex world of media production and post production technology. It is a big picture event with an emphasis on the real-world application of the technology that supports the creative process. The authenticity, relevance and passion that comes through in the presentations and discussions is what has always made the HPA Tech Retreat program so unique and special. As we are every year, we are all excited to see the proposals that come in for this year’s program. If you have ideas that you are passionate about and that you would like to share with this community, I encourage you to submit.”
Further details for the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat will be announced in the coming weeks, including TR-X focus, supersession topics, and Innovation Zone details, as well as seminars and meetings held in advance of the Tech Retreat.
The HPA Tech Retreat is a perennially sold out event, and the programming, breakfast roundtables, Innovation Zone slots fill quickly.
For more information about the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat, visit http://www.hpaonline.com.
