SMPTE – The Next Century

The past year has been significant for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), as we have celebrated our 100th anniversary and a century of leadership in motion-imaging standards and education, writes Aimée Ricca, SMPTE Marketing and Communication.

In February, SMPTE was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) with a special award recognising 100 years of contributions to the motion picture industry. The plaque reads: "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."

We have continued to be instrumental in establishing some of the most iconic standards for high-quality content. SMPTE standards and recommended practices touch nearly every piece of motion-imaging content. These documents support the Society's primary mission of enabling worldwide interoperability. SMPTE generates an annual average of 50 new standards documents focused on all areas of the industry. In 2016 we produced the most standards ever published in one year.

Through this work, SMPTE supplies the industry with the tools to address the current abundance of media formats, enabling progress in delivering content to the big screen, broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) services. Over the past year, we have watched formats diversify, the consumer experience progress and the transition to Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure continue, requiring new standards for all aspects of delivery. SMPTE's standards continue to address media formats, methods of delivery and definitions of content consumption as they emerge.

The Society's expansion includes the launch of the Poland Section, which the SMPTE Board of Governors approved in October. Fourteen percent of our members worldwide are students, and we're building on this growth through a variety of mentoring programs, scholarships and educational initiatives. We also are collaborating with our partner, the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA), on projects such as the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival and the Young Entertainment Professional program.

SMPTE is uniquely positioned to engage the next generation of media professionals. We educate thousands of individuals each year through webcasts, our Virtual Classroom, local Section meetings and conferences held worldwide. In 2016 alone, we've offered 22 webcasts and have prepared our newest Virtual Classroom course, on IMF Essentials, for its premiere session this January.

In July, HPA and SMPTE collaborated to bring the HPA Tech Retreat to the UK for the first time. The Tech Retreat is a pivotal gathering of those supporting the creation, management and dissemination of content for the dynamic landscape of distribution environments. We featured two solid days of sessions focused on today's most relevant topics and timely projects, along with a curated Innovation Zone where organisations demonstrated their latest technologies. We are working with HPA to bring the Tech Retreat back to Oxfordshire this year.

The SMPTE 2016 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (SMPTE 2016) in October drew nearly 2,500 attendees, a substantial increase from the previous year. Filmmaker, innovator and entrepreneur Douglas Trumbull joined SMPTE's 2015-2016 president, Robert Seidel, who is also vice president of engineering and advanced technology at CBS, to present the opening keynote. Alternately addressing cinema and broadcast, the pair provided a remarkable testament to the progress our industry has made in a century and looked at the future of media and entertainment technology, as well as supporting standards work.

Over the course of SMPTE 2016 week, many of the motion-imaging industry's creative and technical innovators were honoured with SMPTE Honours & Awards. At the Centennial Gala following the conference and exhibition, the Society officially awarded Honorary Membership, the Society's highest honour, to 'Avatar' and 'Titanic' director James Cameron. The Society's most prestigious medal award, the Progress Medal, was presented to Trumbull, who spearheaded VFX in '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Blade Runner'.

The pioneering work of Cameron and Trumbull reflects how vital engineering is to the art and science of the motion-imaging field — and the progress of the broader media and entertainment industry. As Cameron said in his acceptance speech, 'To be here with a group of engineers, and to be acknowledged by engineers, is so much more meaningful to me, truthfully, than all the kind of glitz and glamour of the artistic side of Hollywood in a way, because at heart, you guys are my peeps. I love engineering.'

During this milestone year, local SMPTE Sections throughout the world held special meetings to commemorate the centennial. It was inspiring to see the generous spirit of the SMPTE members who keep our founder's vision alive by enabling a Society that sets standards while also bringing together like-minded individuals to share knowledge and experiences.

www.smpte.org

This article is also available to read at BFV online here, page 48.

(JP/LM)