By Debra Kaufman
At last year's HPA Tech Retreat, the Supersession was all about The Lost Lederhosen, a daylong filmmaking experiment focusing on cloud-based technologies, ultimately resulting in an 11-minute short film. Joachim JZ Zell, who developed the concept, wrote the script, gathered the team and produced it, is back for another Supersession at this year's HPA Tech Retreat. In concert with co-producer Mark Chiolis, Zell is producing The Found Lederhosen (working title), which builds on the premise of last year's endeavor of using cloud-based technologies for as many tasks as possible - and even brings back actors Barbara Wilder (as Heidi) and John Baumgaertner (as Festmeister Hans).
But that's where the similarities end. It's a different starting point, says Zell. Last year, the locations were all in Palm Springs and Hollywood. This year, we have filmmakers on different continents, each telling different stories with different actors and different cultural aspects. For this production, the cutting-edge cloud technologies will enable productions on four continents: North America (Hollywood and Mexico City); Europe (London and Vilnius, Lithuania); Australia (Brisbane) and Asia (Dubai and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia). Each filmmaker in each location will create a script of how artists survive the global COVID-19 lockdown, explains Zell. Each location will have different cultural aspects, but global trade, amazingly, helps everyone get their hands on the latest, greatest technology.
Zell and Chiolis first found supervisors for core studio functions, bringing on board Sony/Audio's Adam Levin as audio supervisor and Arjun Ramamurthy as VFX supervisor. Zell took on the role of post production supervisor. After contacting filmmakers around the world, teams from the various locations firmed up. The only guideline was to implement local COVID restrictions and create a story where global COVID lockdown is somehow part of it. Although all the regional films are still in production, Zell drops hints of how different they will all be. In Dubai, the story will be set among the Bedouin; in London, the story focuses on a painter, a singer and a dancer and how they stay motivated. In Mexico City, we see skateboarders navigating the city's empty streets. In addition to these stories, Origin Point, which grew out of RED's in-house production company, will be making a behind-the-scenes documentary with footage from around the globe.
For the Supersession, Zell and Chiolis will highlight different aspects of each production We'll pick the most impressive technology for each site and focus on that, to keep it exciting, says Zell. If a specific product was used on all the productions, it will only be showcased in one of the productions. For each short production, attendees will see a two-minute clip, paired with the documentary footage. But for audience members that want to take a deeper dive, says Zell, each production will have links to see, for example, how every production was edited or handled with VFX. There is an unlimited stream of information we'll make available, he notes.
Each region will create its own cloud-based workflows within the overall framework, but they'll have lots of participating technology vendors to choose from. The winners and honorable mentions of this year's HPA Engineering Awards were invited to participate, which brought EIZO, Eluvio, Moxion, Frame.io, Teradek and Sohonet on board. Other technologies that will be involved in the making of the productions include Blackmagic Design Ursa, RED Komodo, ARRI Alexa, Sony Venice, Evercast, Panavision, Samara, Resolve, Nuke, Colorfront, and Baselight. HPA is about technology, says Zell. All these companies are strong partners and the cloud makes it available to everyone.
For streaming, the productions rely on Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Editing solutions are both Avid and Adobe. Teradici and BeBop help interface two machines in the cloud, and Frame.io and Teradek are showing management of remote streaming data, with 5th Kind configuring the streaming workflow in Mexico City. Brisbane used Moxion and QTake to monitor content and process instant dailies.
Working behind the scenes will be local editors, colorists and sound and VFX professionals, with some of them available for remote work for other productions. In Australia, Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS will be the consulting cinematographer as will Steve Yedlin, ASC for Hollywood. Colorist Greg Fisher at Company 3 in London is also involved, as well as Skywalker Sound.
The Supersession itself will be interactive, with attendees able to attend virtual breakfast roundtables and convene in breakout rooms. In referring to the HPA Awards ceremony as a model for how the Supersession will run, Zell notes, the HPA core team does an amazing job to bring us the correct platform to create the most interactive solution possible. He adds that this year's Supersession isn't simply about showing off cloud and remote technologies. In 10 years, hopefully, this period we're going through will be history, he says. But let's document what the situation is that we're in now - how artists survived and how technology made it possible.
The HPA Tech Retreat Supersession will be presented on February 23 and February 24 from 10 am to 1 pm.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
By Debra Kaufman
