HPA to Host Symposium Leading Into SMPTE 2014 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition

'Making Do With More' Event at Hollywood's Historic El Capitan Theatre Will Explore the Impact of Enriched Pictures and Sound for Filmmakers and Content Creators

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- July 24, 2014 -- The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(R) (SMPTE(R)), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, entertainment, and technology industries, today announced that the SMPTE 2014 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (SMPTE 2014) will feature a pre-conference event -- the SMPTE 2014 Symposium, hosted by the Hollywood Post Alliance(R) (HPA(R)) and titled "Making Do With More." The daylong event is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 20 at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California.

"As we consider how technological advances will improve the entertainment experience, we must also address the workflow challenges that will arise," said Pat Griffis, SMPTE education vice president. "Each area of potential enhancement -- higher resolution, greater contrast and color, higher brightness, more frames, and more objects associated with sound -- brings with it new demands on workflow. Sessions within the SMPTE 2014 Symposium will address these and other next-generation workflow concerns from both a technical and creative standpoint."

The SMPTE 2014 Symposium is among the first joint efforts of SMPTE and HPA as they move forward with plans for full consolidation by May 2015, and it highlights the strengths of both organizations. HPA is known for facilitating dialog among all disciplines in the entertainment industry, and for its contributions to SMPTE educational events such as SMPTE 2014 that enrich and expand the larger conversation about key topics shaping the industry.

HPA is well-known for the annual HPA Tech Retreat(R), which brings technologists and filmmakers together to address many controversial topics influencing the industry. In developing the SMPTE 2014 Symposium as a "filmmaker's symposium," HPA is orchestrating sessions that take an in-depth look at advanced technologies that bring new tools to storytelling. The symposium will include creative sessions from renowned cinematographers, visual effects specialists, colorists, and other filmmakers discussing what they hope to do with enhanced pictures and frame rates.

Additional sessions will offer a look at immersive sound, its impact, and how it's being applied today; changing models for delivery of content to the consumer -- including theatrical, broadcast, physical media, and digital distribution -- across TV sets, computers, and mobile devices; and the standards and practices being developed to address the changing content life cycle.

"By connecting the creative community and its supporters with the technical community at the SMPTE 2014 Symposium, SMPTE and HPA are creating an opportunity for all participants to gain a richer and deeper understanding of technology's impact on the creative process," said Leon Silverman, HPA president. "The new displays and distribution approaches being proposed by technology companies need to be understood in the context of how the creative community will use this extended tool kit. It is also critical that we examine the standards and workflow approaches that will be necessary to deliver something more to consumers than a higher numbers of pixels."

SMPTE 2014 is the premier annual event for motion-imaging and media technology, production, operations, and the allied arts and sciences. Each year the event draws elite and world-renowned technology thought-leaders from motion picture studios, broadcast and distribution networks, production and postproduction communities, software companies, systems integrators, manufacturers, display technologies, distribution providers, over-the-top providers, and others leading the evolving motion-imaging industry.

Further information about SMPTE 2014 and the preconference symposium is available at www.smpte2014.org/.

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About the Hollywood Post Alliance(R)

Hollywood Post Alliance(R) (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools, and infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media, and other dynamic media content. The annual HPA Tech Retreat(R) draws top industry engineering, technical, and creative talent, as well as strategic business leaders focused on technology, from all aspects of digital cinema, postproduction, film, television, video, and related technologies together for an informal exchange of information. The 2015 HPA Tech Retreat is scheduled for Feb. 9-13 in Indian Wells, California. Further information is available at http://hollywoodpostalliance.org/?ai1ec_event=2013-hpa-tech-retreat&instance_id=293. Information on joining HPA is available at http://hollywoodpostalliance.org/.

About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(R) (SMPTE(R))

The Oscar(R) and Emmy(R) Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(R) (SMPTE(R)), a professional membership association, is the preeminent leader in the advancement of the art, science, and craft of the image, sound, and metadata ecosystem, worldwide. An internationally recognized and accredited organization, SMPTE advances moving-imagery education and engineering across the communications, technology, media, and entertainment industries. Since its founding in 1916, SMPTE has published the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal and developed more than 800 standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines.

The Society is sustained by more than 6,000 members -- motion-imaging executives, engineers, creative and technology professionals, researchers, scientists, educators, and students -- who meet in Sections throughout the world. Through the Society's partnership with the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA), this membership is complemented by the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools, and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media, and other dynamic media content. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join.

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