XMAS CHEERED

December 13 saw the SMPTE Australia Section host Christmas drinks at the Great Northern Hotel in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood. This was the first event promoted via the Society's online email database and was a fabulous success. The mailout worked and a great time was had by all those who responded to the short notice email invite. We'll be doing it again.

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SMPTE Australia Bridges Islands For 2003 Conference

Pasadena, CA (October 25, 2002) – On the occasion of the 144th SMPTE Technical Conference and Exhibition in Pasadena, the SMPTE Australia Section has launched the theme for its 2003 Conference and Exhibition to be held from July 1-4, 2003 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Bridging Between the Islands - Connecting Technologies/Merging Cultures will explore practical, real world ways of bringing together the traditional Moving Image world and that of Information Technology.

"The title refers to the broad cultural issue of how we connect a world of wires and servers and storage with a world of creators and programmers," said SMPTE Australia Section Chairman, John Maizels. "We’ve been talking about convergence for the last 15 years, but we’ve never faced up to its social implications. The fact is that everything has converged so rapidly people don’t realise it’s happened. We’re still trying to get to grips with the technologies and how best to apply them.

"We are now in a world where you can ingest once, use many. Raw material comes in, the still grabbed from a video can go on the web, the TV audio can go on radio and the radio story with a graphic goes on television. The impact is a tangible bringing together of those elements that everybody knows have to be brought together, but nobody talks enough about melding the relationship between traditional Engineering and the IT world with which it is colliding".

The Conference Chair for the 2003 event is post-production identity, Kathy-Anne McManus.

"I am extremely excited to be leading the team that’s bringing together for the first time, in an open forum, one of the most important discussions that broadcasters and motion picture professionals can have among themselves and with the technologists who are going to be their partners in the future," said McManus. "The Conference program is being assembled to ensure that we show the common linkages that now exist in our hitherto partitioned worlds."

A call for papers for the SMPTE Australia Section Conference will be launched during November following the appointment of Mike Seymour as Papers Chair. Seymour is Creative Director of Sydney post studio, Kotij, which has been a pioneer of high definition post-production in the Australian industry.

"The SMPTE conference in Australia is highly regarded globally, and its significance in the Asia Pacific Industry is extraordinary," said Seymour. "Historically, a great many papers and ideas presented at international conferences receive their first airing at the SMPTE Conference in Australia. We expect 40 percent of the speakers to be coming from overseas specifically to present first time papers. I am thrilled to take on the task of Papers Chair for SMPTE 2003."

"We have an absolutely stellar team running next year's Conference and Exhibition," continued Australia Section Chairman, John Maizels, "and there are initiatives we’ve undertaken in the past that will be significantly enhanced at SMPTE '03. We’re all looking forward to a first-rate event that will be extremely relevant, extremely appropriate and extremely good value to our members and the industry at large."

In announcing the theme of Bridging Between the Islands - Connecting Technologies/Merging Cultures, John Maizels also urged international participation in next year’s event from both organizations and individuals.

"We offer them an extremely interested, informed and attentive audience," he said. "The Australian industry has shown itself repeatedly to be a global technology leader in so many different areas. SMPTE '03 is a great forum at which to come and break messages to key decision makers.

"And then there's the weather and the fact that Australia is such a great place to visit."

The Australian SMPTE Conference & Exhibition will be held from July 1-4, 2003, at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia.

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SMPTE Honours Australia Section Members

A Fellow, a Presidential Proclamation and a Citation for Outstanding Service make up the list of honours announced for Australia Section members at SMPTE's 144th Technical Conference and Exhibition in Pasadena.

Geoffrey E. Healy has been made a Fellow of the Society. Geoffrey is currently principal consultant at Healy Associates. Prior to that, he headed the television program production division at Channel Seven Sydney for 20 years. Healy was responsible for the Olympics network television coverage for Australia at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, the first by a sole commercial broadcaster. He also worked as head of technical operations and engineering for the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation, host broadcaster of the 2000 Olympic Games. Healy also invented the Racecam in-car POV systems, for which he won an Emmy for sport television innovation from the US National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is currently designing the technical facilities for the coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece.

Gerald W. Brooks has been awarded a Citation for Outstanding Service to the Society. This award recognizes individuals for dedicated service to the Society over a sustained period of time. Particular emphasis is placed on service performed at the Section level, including but not limited to, services performed at Section meetings, special Section meetings, and national conferences.

Gerry Brooks, currently Training Manager with Rexel Australia Video Systems, has been recognised for his sustained and committed performance to SMPTE and the Australia Section over an extended period of time. Under his chairmanship and throughout his many years as Manager, the Section has grown steadily, and the SMPTE presence in Australia has attracted wide industry support and has demonstrated value to its members.

Dominic J. Case has been awarded with The Presidential Proclamation. This award is given to those individuals of established and outstanding status and reputation in the motion picture and television industries worldwide.

Holding the position of Manager, Group Technology & Services, Atlab Australia, Dominic is currently responsible for technology developments and quality control programs across the company's five laboratories. A SMPTE Fellow, Case has been an active participant in Society affairs, serving as a Manager, Section Chair, and International Governor. He is the author of two books on film processing and post-production and is a frequent presenter at SMPTE conferences, having had a number of papers published in the SMPTE Journal.

For the full list of Honours recipients, click here.

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ABC Southbank: SMPTE Section Meeting, Melbourne

By John Maizels

The 11th of June, 2002, saw SMPTE hold a Section Meeting at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Southbank facility in Melbourne. It was a cold Tuesday night, but almost 30 Melbourne-based members of SMPTE and their guests came out to see something truly cool: the newly combined Radio and Television operation of the ABC's Southbank campus.

John Maizels, Chair of Australia Section, welcomed the group on behalf of SMPTE. He stated that this was the first example of many initiatives which the Board had planned to add value to those members of the section who live outside Sydney.

Murray Green, State Director for the ABC in Victoria, introduced the evening on behalf of the ABC. He described the nature of the building, architected and designed to ensure constant cross-pollenation of different creative groups from all parts of the Broadcasting and Production operation, and gave us an overview of the ABC's impressive operation in Victoria.

The focus of the SMPTE group was on the just-finished introduction of Digital Television, in the form of Master Control, Victorian regional TV Presentation suite, and a state-of-the-art News/Current Affairs TV Studio. The new fitout has been merged seamlessly into the Radio and News operation which was present since the building's inception, with the space for the 100 sq m TV studio created by dismantling a group of radio news booths.

ABC Engineers Noel Currie, Des Madden and Paul Wolfram guided the group through the Digital TV Presentation Suite, Radio and TV Master Control and Switch Rooms. We also saw several of the Radio Studios, the recording studios and concert hall, and many of these facilities were in heavy use despite the late hour. The combined-media newsroom and the TV News/Current Affairs studio were highlights, showing the effectiveness of using server-based storage for acquisition and editing, and how a small space can be turned into a comfortable and creative facility. At the conclusion of the tour, the group returned for supper and a natter, and a chance to ask more questions of the ABC engineers.

There was universal acclamation for the achievements of the ABC team, and the evening was a great start to the Australia Section's efforts on behalf of Melbourne area members. The Section Meeting Committee has further Melbourne meetings in the pipeline between October and December. Watch our events page for details.

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