Having a great SMPTE community has certainly made 2020 a lot easier for me to digest. We are so lucky to be a part of an organization that is comprised of 6,000 #SMPTEPeople from around the globe.
This year you undoubtedly experienced challenges. We all did. And yet, there were so many things to celebrate about all of YOU. Here are just a few in no particular order:
- #SMPTEPeople worked with haste to move their companies’ workflows to the cloud as quickly as possible. Congratulations! Your expertise allowed media companies to continue their business, informing and educating during trying times. And you did it within SMPTE.
- Our Sections do so much to educate, train, and steer the technological and creative advancements specific to their region’s needs with little disruption. This year, with the virtual format, Section events were available to media professionals from around the globe.
- #SMPTEPeople “paid it forward” during the SMPTE 2020: Game On technical conference so that those in less optimal financial situations could still attend. And as a “remote conference experience", SMPTE 2020 welcomed 47% first-timers. I am so impressed by the content and roster of speakers we had. Congratulations on showing the best of SMPTE to new audiences this year!
- #SMPTEPeople involved in Standards development have been busy, too. They electronically published machine-readable metadata with our friends at MESA, developed the public Committee Draft that allows for comment before final publication, and formed a Study Group to focus on AI in media. They are also on track to produce the industry’s first media microservices.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion have a renewed focus as the committee by the same name is currently rolling out an action plan to make SMPTE even more inclusive.
- #SMPTEPeople worked closely with our Education team to develop more webcasts than ever before! Not only did the total number of webcasts break records, so did the number of attendees. Can you believe that nearly 10,000 people attended a SMPTE webcast this year? Congratulations and THANK YOU to all who continue to help us develop educational opportunities that drive our industry.
- SMPTE emerged as the home of Media Professionals, Technologists and Engineers, with a new logo and website launched in October. The reimagined SMPTE is here for all media professionals who want to find career success and a community.
- In a global entertainment industry built on ever-changing technology, #SMPTEPeople are better positioned than most to see these changes as an opportunity rather than a threat. I look forward to continuing on this journey together with you.
I wish you and your families continued good health during this holiday season, and all the best for a better New Year!
Barbara H. Lange
Executive Director
SMPTE