The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) announced a number of new initiatives that include a global conference, a joint marketing agreement and an interactive online digital library.
For more information visit: www.smpte.org
Unedited press release follows:
SMPTE Launches Multiple Member-Driven Initiatives, Including New Emerging Technologies Forum, Strategic Alliances, Digital Library
Multi-faceted effort helps to expand scope and reach of Society’s offerings, bridge IT/AV gap
Highlights:
• New Forum on Emerging Media Technologies to be held in Geneva – 13 – 15 May 2012
• Strategic Relationship with NewBay Media for Co-Location of 3D Conference, DV Expo East
• Strategic Relationship with Stanford University’s HighWire Press for New Digital Library
SMPTE Forum on Emerging Media Technologies
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.–Following a comprehensive global survey to assess how it can best serve broadcast, broadband, and cinema professionals, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, and entertainment industries, today unveiled a comprehensive and multi-faceted expansion of the scope and reach of its offerings – one designed to bridge the gap in the motion-imaging workforce between audiovisual (AV) and information-technology (IT) professionals.
Key elements of today’s announcement include a new conference on emerging-media technologies to be held in Geneva 13-15 May of 2012 and co-produced by SMPTE and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU); a strategic relationship to co-locate the Society’s upcoming stereoscopic 3D conference with NewBay Media’s DV Expo East exposition in June in New York City; and the selection of Stanford University’s HighWire Press to create a SMPTE digital library.
“SMPTE is driven to support the needs of motion-imaging researchers, practitioners, and business decision makers,” said Society president Pete Ludé. “Today’s announcements reflect what our industry leaders and members say they need to thrive in the new digital media ecosystem.”
New Global Conference Gives Business-Decision Makers Early Look At Key Technologies
SMPTE survey respondents spoke repeatedly of a shift in the motion-imaging workforce from one dominated by AV experts with engineering degrees to one composed increasingly of professionals from the computer science, image processing, and IT sectors – and an industry landscape that is being remade by new IP-based content consumption, delivery devices, business models.
To help industry leaders keep pace with these changes, SMPTE will convene the SMPTE Forum on Emerging Media Technologies 13-15 May 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. Co-produced with the EBU, the gathering will bring together thought leaders and business decision makers to examine key emerging technologies – from those likely to come onto the market in three years to those whose commercialization is a decade away. More information is available at: http://www.smpte.org/events/TheForum/
Joint Marketing Agreement Drives Conference Efficiencies
Among the challenges voiced by executives in the SMPTE survey was being able to stretch their budgets to attend multiple industry events. To address this challenge, SMPTE struck a joint-marketing agreement with NewBay Media to co-locate the SMPTE 2nd Annual International Conference on Stereoscopic 3D for Media and Entertainment and the DV Expo East exposition. The SMPTE event will take place 21-22 June, 2011 (www.smpte.org/events/2nd_Annual_3D_Conference/); DV Expo East will take place 22 June (www.dvexpoeast.com). Both will be located in the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.
“This ability to reach the engineers, technical professionals, and CIOs and CTOs attending the SMPTE 3D conference and the directors, producers, videographers, cinematographers, editors, and post-production professionals attending DV Expo East is the kind of creative, value-driven approach that our advertisers and exhibitors are demanding,” said Eric Trabb, vice president/group publisher at NewBay Media.
Publishing Agreement Leads To New Digital Library
As the use of motion-imaging technologies moves into new applications in the military, healthcare, security, and other industries, SMPTE announced the upcoming deployment of an interactive online digital library. Targeted for an October 2011 release, it will include issues of the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal from 1916 forward, Society conference proceedings, and the full suite of SMPTE standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines. SMPTE has chosen HighWire Press of Stanford University to create this new repository which will be accessible to SMPTE members and non-members – as well as academic and corporate librarians – around the world.
“Providing desktop access to SMPTE resources – from standards and recommended practices to Journal articles and conference proceedings – will enable motion-imaging professionals worldwide to more quickly and effectively deliver the next generation of technology products and industry research,” said Barbara Lange, SMPTE executive director.
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About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
The Oscar® Award-winning and Emmy® Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. As an internationally recognized and accredited standards-setting body, SMPTE develops standards, recommended practices and guidelines, and spearheads educational activities to advance engineering and moving imagery. Since its founding in 1916, the Society has established close to 600 standards, including the physical dimensions of 35mm film and the SMPTE-time code. More recently, it crafted the Digital Cinema Standards, which paved the way for digital movie theaters.
Underscoring SMPTE’s leadership in technology and standards development, the Society received a prestigious technical Emmy® Award in January of 2009 for its work in the development of the MXF and GXF file formats. Headquartered in New York, SMPTE is comprised of engineers and other technical specialists, IT, and new media professionals, filmmakers, manufacturers, educators, and consultants in more than 65 countries. They are joined at SMPTE by more than 200 sponsoring corporations, principal players in content creation, production, and delivery for all platforms and in entertainment hardware and software. www.smpte.org