By Seth Hallen
As we enter 2019, it's time to take stock of HPA's accomplishments over the last year and look forward to kicking off another great year with the 2019 Tech Retreat, one of the organization's tentpole events. All in all, 2018 was a gratifying year, as HPA has continued to push forward its current initiatives: the Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP), Leon Silverman Mentorship, Networking, Education and Technology (NET) and Women in Post (WIP) programs.
At the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference in October, we inaugurated the third YEP class, which is composed of another extremely talented, gifted group of young professionals. YEP participants were able to attend SMPTE for a full day, where they engaged with mentors, heard more information about SMPTE and HPA and were able to walk the exhibit floor. We also invited them to the HPA Awards, and during the 2019 HPA Tech Retreat they'll be able to attend the Monday TR-X session and the Tuesday Supersession. We're in the process of pairing them with mentors from the Leon Silverman Mentorship Program - and we're always looking for more mentors. I can't overstate how enthused we are about YEP. It's a valuable program for these young professionals and we're excited about the new class.
In 2018, we had three very successful NET events. Two of them were collaborative, round-table events and we had a moderator-led panel on blockchain that was so successful that we've had many requests for a Part 2. We like to look at current and forward-leaning topics at NET, and we've already addressed artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality and remote cloud collaboration. The NET committee has been co-chaired by Thinklogical Western Director of Sales Belinda Merritt and Microsoft account executive Eliott Sakhartov; Belinda is stepping down (thanks Belinda for all of the passion and dedication you brought to NET this past year!) and Netflix title project manager James Blevins will take her place. You can expect three more unique, stimulating events in 2019.
The HPA Awards Gala on November 15 was arguably one of the most successful - if not the most successful - of the 13 annual awards shows we've held. Attendance was robust and the show was really well received by HPA members and guests. Over the years, we continually see that the artists truly appreciate the honors. We launched the awards out of our passion to recognize the artists in our field who often don't get recognized enough in our industry. We are so happy that the awards hit the mark once again. Marvel Studios producer and Executive Vice President of Production Victoria Alonso was the recipient of one of our highest honors, the Charles S. Swartz Award. She made a spectacular acceptance speech that highlighted her uniquely powerful vision and the charisma and energy she puts into her work. By definition, the Charles S. Schwartz award acknowledges people or technologies that create an indelible impact on our industry, and she has certainly done that. I can't think of a better recipient.
Another highlight of the HPA Awards Gala was the Creativity and Innovation award, which acknowledged the #MeToo movement, and was presented by Universal Pictures Vice President of Creative Technologies Annie Chang. I'm proud that HPA did this. When I heard that the jury had decided upon this, it was one of those moments that reminded me why this organization never ceases to amaze me and how lucky I am to be a part of it.
Mark your calendars now if you are attending the Tech Retreat to register for the WIP luncheon. This lunch always sells out, and you don't want to miss it. WIP had a great 2018 - its summer lunch series, supervising the YEP applications, co presenting the Women in Technology Lunch at SMPTE, and guiding HPA toward the most important topics in supporting our entire community.
The 2018 HPA Tech Retreat was one of the biggest we've held and the content was engaging as always. As planning for 2019 is fully in swing, I am confident that this year will be another fantastic experience. As many past attendees know, the Tech Retreat is special - personal and intellectual camaraderie, exploration of processes, products and ideas and friendly debates - it's a thoroughly unique experience. And, there will be a lot to look forward to this year as always: TR-X, the SuperSession, the Main Program and all of the associated events of the HPA Tech Retreat. Based on the the way this year's program is shaping up, it has the makings of another incredible event. Registration is open, and you can see the entire program here. Last year, HPA Tech Retreat was at a new venue, the JW Marriott, and we will return there again this year.
Please note that in addition to our shiny new website, we have gotten very social. There is a lot more going on there than in the past few years, so we hope you will jump in! All of us hope to continue to grow our community and influence in these important times. Follow us, retweet, repost, and comment in our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
I sincerely appreciate the dedication and passion of the board of directors and, of course, the volunteer committee leaders and members. I also want to express profound appreciation for HPA's hardworking, dedicated staff. I can't say it enough, the amount of time these already very busy people spend helping bring more value and richer participation in their industry is just outstanding and never ceases to impress me and make me feel so proud to be a part of this organization.
Holiday greetings to all, and best wishes for a happy new year!
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
31/08/2025
Legrand | AV, a global specialist and industry leader in audiovisual solutions, returns to CEDIA Expo 2025, taking place Sept. 4-6 in Denver, with a powerful li...
31/08/2025
Global media technology company Backlight will unveil new capabilities in its Iconik, Wildmoka, and Zype product lines at IBC2025 (booth #1.D09), September 12 1...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
By Seth Hallen
