SMPTE 2016

By Louis Gabriele

During Oktoberfest and before Halloween
 

SMPTE, celebrating 100 years, staged their Conference and Exhibition    

 at the Loew's Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood and Highland

The Conference  

 One could not help running into someone you know like George Hamilton, Jim Keller,             Ron Becker, John Brooks, Richard Friedel and Jerry Isenhower..  

Three days of the conference was filled with different speakers reporting on subjects related to old and new technology like "Return Loss: What, Why, How, and Where".

Marc Walker spoke about how return loss was important in analog television systems over 45 years ago. It is still an important parameter in today's digital transmission systems.    

"Managing Motion Picture Data"

The Suitcase is a short 20 minute film created at USC by Abi Corbin as a test.    Joshua Kolden, Michael Malgeri and Nancy Silver spoke on how "today's" television and motion picture production workflows make it incredibly challenging to preserve and manage data throughout the production lifecycle. “The Suitcase,” is about a Logan Airport baggage handler who comes across one of the suitcases of a 9/11 hijacker. Joshua Kolden said, "The idea with ‘The Suitcase’ was to test whether we could create a technological pipeline that provides benefits to the production without negative impact that is also relatively invisible in the production process.”

 The Founder

The Society of Motion Picture Engineers (SMPE) was created in 1916 under the leadership of C. Francis Jenkins, an inventor from Washington, D.C. “T” was added in 1950.  SMPTE standards development work has been recognized by the Motion Picture and Television Academies often including this century milestone. AMPAS awarded SMPTE with a Special Awards Plague:  “For one hundred years, the Society’s members have nurtured technology, provided essential standards, and offered the expertise, support, tools and infrastructure for the creation and post-production of motion pictures."

The Exhibition

Sony

Storage

With the average age of SMPTE members increasing, the entertainment industry needs to attract and retain younger engineers to strengthen the ranks and the future. The Big Question: "Is the entertainment industry properly equipped to recruit, manage, mentor and retain the new generation?"  Join SMPTE today