LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood Section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®), the organization whose standards work has supported a century of technological advances in entertainment technology, has announced the results of its 2017 Section Elections.
Newly elected to one-year terms as Hollywood Section officers are Jim DeFilippis as Section chair and Steve Wong as secretary/treasurer. Ramon Breton, Tom Mikkelsen, and Erik Weaver have been elected to 2-year terms as Section managers. They join current Section Managers Allan Schollnick, Brian Gaffney, and Joachim Zell.
The Hollywood Section’s new leadership plans to continue developing its program of monthly meetings, which recently has included expert panels on subjects ranging from silent-era sound technology to virtual reality, and increase industry outreach to grow its membership.
“Our role is to promote standards development, education, and professional fraternity,” DeFilippis said. “I look forward to working with my fellow officers and managers in moving the Hollywood Section forward.”
DeFilippis is an engineer and technologist who heads a Los Angeles consulting practice. His background includes positions with Fox, ABC, host broadcasters for several international sports events, and the Advanced Television Test Center (ATTC) HDTV test facility. DeFilippis has previously served as a manager of the SMPTE Hollywood Section and co-chaired the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition. In 2012, DeFilippis was honored by SMPTE with the David Sarnoff Medal for his innovative work in television technology.
Wong is director of business development for Hewlett Packard Enterprises’ Media & Entertainment Group. His background includes senior positions with Siemens, Intrity, Teranex, and LEITCH. Wong is a member of the Interactive Media Peer Group of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, an executive academy member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of two Technology and Engineering Emmy® Awards.
Bretón is chief technology officer at 3rd i QC, where he has been involved in the development of quality assurance systems for VR, high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging, 4K/UHD, and UHD Blu-ray media. Bretón began his career as an audio mastering engineer.
Mikkelsen is a principal with National TeleConsultants, which offers technology guidance for IPTV, cable, broadcast, and entertainment companies. He previously served in leadership roles with Encompass Digital Media, Qualcomm, and Starz.
Weaver is global director of media and entertainment market development at HGST. He previously led Project Cloud at the University of Southern California (USC) Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). Weaver is also the former CEO of Digital Ribbon, a pioneer in cloud-based computing.
About the SMPTE® Hollywood Section
The Hollywood Section of SMPTE® was originally organized as the West Coast Section in 1928. Today, as its own SMPTE Region, it encompasses more than 1,200 SMPTE Members with a common interest in motion-imaging technology in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Hollywood Section offers free meetings monthly that are open to SMPTE Members and non-members alike. Information about meetings is posted on the Section website at www.smpte.org/hollywood.
About SMPTE®
For more than a century, the people of SMPTE (pronounced “simp-tee”) have sorted out the details of many significant advances in media and entertainment technology, from the introduction of “talkies” and color television to HD and UHD (4K, 8K) TV. Since its founding in 1916, SMPTE has received an Oscar® and multiple Emmy® Awards for its work in advancing moving-imagery engineering across the industry. SMPTE has developed thousands of standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, more than 800 of which are currently in force today. SMPTE Time Code™ and the ubiquitous SMPTE Color Bars™ are just two examples of SMPTE’s notable work. As it enters its second century, SMPTE is shaping the next generation of standards and providing education for the industry to ensure interoperability as the industry evolves further into IT- and IP-based workflows.
SMPTE’s global membership today includes more than 7,000 members: motion-imaging executives, creatives, technologists, researchers, and students who volunteer their time and expertise to SMPTE’s standards development and educational initiatives. A partnership with the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) connects SMPTE and its membership with the businesses and individuals who support the creation and finishing of media content. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join.
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