Welcome to the New Year!

As you read this, the new year is already well underway - in fact, the HPA Tech Retreat will be kicking things off in just a few more weeks. All signs point to another spectacular week that will bring on a full slate of content - including breakfast roundtables, a Supersession, three days of stimulating content and a full and engaging Innovation Zone. The Women in Post committee will be hosting its 5th Tech Retreat luncheon. All of this plus the usual networking opportunities abound. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

If you are a regular to the Tech Retreat, you will see that this year's Tech Retreat has a new addition, namely the TR-X sessions taking place on Monday. TR-X literally translates into Tech Retreat eXtra, added value sessions that complement the rest of the week's content. These include an ATSC update session on the latest 3.0 developments, and a session focused on new and emerging trends in media. This year's emerging trends topic is VR/AR, and we are very excited to have VR gurus Lucas Wilson and Marcie Jastrow co-chair this inaugural session. While this may not be the first--or last--VR session you attend, we promise it will be different. Our session will speak to workflow applications and the integration of VR into your production stream. We think it's an important part of the discussion and something that you haven't seen before. I hope you'll plan on arriving on Monday morning to take advantage of this special session that kicks off at 1 PM. You can learn more about the program here.

The Tech Retreat continues its global footprint, and returns bigger than ever to the UK, same place and nearly same time - Oxfordshire, July 12-13. Preliminary programming for this exciting second event will be announced at the Tech Retreat in Palm Springs.

The 2017 calendar is chock full of events, connections, and opportunities for engagement, planned by HPA committees. These include the new Young Entertainment Professionals (YEP) group, relaunched social events, and a reinvigorated SCRG group under the new moniker NET. And, of course, the 2017 HPA Awards program plan is already underway, so get your nominations ready! The Awards show will take place on 16 November at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

While you don't have to be a member of the HPA to participate in these activities, we do hope you will join to help support this organization that does so much to advance the art, science and business of the media and entertainment industry. Your support enables HPA to hold these important events and ensures that every year we meet the industry's challenges with fresh ideas.

I look forward to meeting you in the desert, in Oxfordshire in the summertime, and all around LA throughout this year.

LINK:	http://www.hollywoodprofessionalassociation.com/?p=153450...
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