By Debra Kaufman
One month into 2023, HPA is already fully engaged in evolving its programs and initiatives to meet the community's interests and needs. President Seth Hallen points to unprecedented growth in 2022 as foundational to HPA's current dynamism. Last year's growth would have been hard to predict in 2021 when the world was in the grip of COVID-19 and most face-to-face activity was on hold. We looked for a way to keep the HPA community together in a dark time and the community responded with tremendous support for what we were trying to do, says Hallen. In retrospect, one of the most important things we did was to create and deliver the virtual Tech Retreat Event in 2021. It really kept the community together during a time when that was most needed.
That led to last year, when the HPA community's pent-up demand to meet in person resulted in the biggest attendance ever at the Tech Retreat and the 17th HPA Awards. We didn't spare any effort, money or energy to make sure that people were going to be as safe as possible at these events, Hallen says. At the HPA Tech Retreat, we created the bubble to make sure everyone was tested and masked. At the Awards, testing and masking was mandatory. Secondly, we wanted to make sure that people felt safe. We recognized those two factors had to work together. The result, he adds, was no known COVID exposures at either event. Growth at the 2022 HPA Awards also included the number of submissions. In previous years, we would typically receive about 300 submissions, and in 2022, we broke 400 for the first time, says Hallen. We had the most engineering excellence and creative submissions, ever. That's a testament to the value of this award.
Throughout 2022, HPA programs Women in Post (WIP), Networking Education Technology (NET) and the Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) were busy. There was a slate of events that included NET conversations with the post teams from Ted Lasso and a joint WIP-SMPTE event featuring the Woman King cinematographer Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC and its director, Gina Prince-Bythewood. The events were all very successful, says Hallen. The committees behind these initiatives are active and passionate and they bring incomparable value to our audience. He added that there is still conversation on the balance of in-person and remote events and what best serves the HPA community going forward.
HPA Tech Retreat 2023 is set to be another groundbreaking event. The 500 rooms at the Westin sold out months before we normally do, says Hallen. We had more submissions for Mark Schubin's main program than ever before. Mark called it an embarrassment of riches. We're thrilled that the community understands the value in the event. He hints that more exciting announcements are coming.
Hallen reveals that the NET program in 2023 is also on track to be powerful. Pointing to the 2022 case study on popular Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso, he adds that, we're going to continue to do these case study luncheons that focus on unique and interesting workflows.
HPA's Young Entertainment Professional identifies, nurtures and supports a talented group of the up and coming professionals. YEP is about to unveil its 2023 class. We're heartened by the caliber of every group of new YEPs, says Hallen. This year, there's another group of truly impressive future leaders. He noted that the YEP program leadership, which started off in the hands of board members, has now shifted to graduates of the YEP program. It's been taken over by the people it's intended for, he says. And they are full of great ideas.
HPA is intent on deepening the value of the organization to its members with highly engaging events, non-marketing-centric education (which is a very rare commodity) and mentorship, says Hallen. The HPA Board has always been deeply involved in the vision for HPA and, in 2023, new members will be added. Most recently announced is new Board member Bettina Fisher, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' senior director of early career talent development.
HPA will always be focused on powerful networking, Hallen says. The Board and HPA staff are reviewing every committee, event and membership offering to make sure we are powering value. Another focus in 2023 will be strengthening the committees and the dedicated group of active volunteers. We continue to enroll volunteer leaders, says Hallen. It's always been run by people with terrible cases of volunteer-itis. He jokes that, Leon [Silverman] infected me years ago, and stressed that, we still need new, fresh and diverse voices with numerous interests in our community. HPA participation is not exclusive at all, he added. You don't have to be invited to participate - just raise your hand and join.
Hallen continues, with regard to diversity, there will also be more to come from HPA in 2023, and that focus will be woven into everything we do. Our board members are focused on continuing to foster and support diversity, equity and inclusion across the organization, its events and its community, he says.
The overall goal for the new year, says Hallen is, continuing to remain relevant and focusing on what the community needs.
As the industry and HPA continues to evolve so rapidly, we're examining how HPA can continue to play a leading role in bringing value to the community, he concludes. We want to make sure everyone has a seat at the table.
Most recent headlines
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
15/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the loss of federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and operational changes, the statewide pub...
15/12/2025
BOULDER, Colo. Public Media Venture Group (PMVG), Venture Technologies Group (VTG), and WQED have completed a multipart agreement that they say will significant...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
How Rivian s Design Puts Drivers First-And Why That Matters Published on Dec 15, 2025 Categories: Business Solutions
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Sha...
15/12/2025
Space42 and Cobham Satcom completed the full range of advanced terminals for the...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
NVIDIA today announced it has acquired SchedMD - the leading developer of Slurm, an open-source workload management system for high-performance computing (HPC) ...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
15/12/2025
Modern workflows showcase the endless possibilities of generative and agentic AI on PCs.
Of many, some examples include tuning a chatbot to handle product-supp...
13/12/2025
Powering Client Growth: Horizon Deepens Nielsen Partnership, Enabling More Effic...
13/12/2025
In a move that will help it offer more flexible and less costly programming options, YouTube TV has announced that it will be launching YouTube TV Plans with mo...
13/12/2025
SINGAPORE Magna Systems has designed, built and completed what is believed to be the first full UHD and IP-based OB truck in Southeast Asia for a Singapore medi...
12/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Everything You Need to Know for Next Week's Big Sho...
12/12/2025
Hailey Gates at the Atropia premiere (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
CONWAY, Ark. In a notable example of how the elimination of Federal federal funding is forcing public stations to make massive cuts and changes in the way they...
12/12/2025
Wisycom and DPA Microphones announce the appointment of Ren Moerch as Group Product Director, Wireless, a strategic leadership role that will guide the combine...
12/12/2025
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, in conjuncture with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Entertainment Technolog...
12/12/2025
Keepit, the vendor-independent, cloud-native data protection provider, today announced a strategic go-to-market relationship in Poland with Ingram Micro, a lead...
12/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking Open Gate 48P RAW recording w...
12/12/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) once again played a critical role in delivering flawless wireless coordination and support at the 2025 Latin Grammy Awards a...
12/12/2025
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), together with the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broadc...
12/12/2025
DHD audio will demonstrate the latest additions to its range of digital audio production solutions on Booth 321 in Hall B6 at Hamburg Open 2026. The show will b...
12/12/2025
Chaos today announces the release of V-Ray for Blender, update 2, bringing its award-winning rendering technology to even more Blender users by adding support f...
12/12/2025
Lighting specialist UltraLEDs has launched Precision LED Tape, a high-CRI lighting solution designed specifically for professional film, TV, and studio use.
P...
By Debra Kaufman
