LOS ANGELES – The 2nd Annual Film Information Technology Conference to focus on the convergence of technology and the business of filmmaking (FilmIT) announced today that conference will take place on October 18 & 19, 2001, and will move to the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
Over 1,200 senior level technology and film professionals attended last year’s inaugural conference (held on October 26 & 27, 2000, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, Los Angeles), which
included insights from keynote speakers Robert M. Cooper, CEO of Landmark Entertainment, and Will Poole, V.P. of Microsoft’s Digital Media Division, as well as top-level executive panelists from major studios and IT companies.
FilmIT will continue to focus on the convergence of technology, the Internet, and the business of filmmaking. “In 2001, the studio system and film community will grapple with digital production & distribution advances, Internet marketing challenges, copyright protection concerns, a potentially
volatile stock market, mega-media mergers, and Guild & labor issues. And FilmIT will be there to address them all — as the Film Industry’s only targeted technology conference,” asserts John Aymar, Vice President, Show Director of ISG INC, FilmIT Show Management. In addition to the program’s focus, FilmIT will remain an intimate and exclusive business platform. Aymar
continues, “Because the conference will offer business solutions no matter which direction the film industry takes, the need for FilmIT is greater than ever. However, FilmIT will remain limited in conference seating, speaker positions, and exhibit space in order for film professionals to have access to
top level speakers, and leading IT companies, as well as providing networking opportunities among a refined and qualified audience.”
FilmIT received support from leading industry organizations like The
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), American Film Market
Association, Women in Film, and the Virtual International Community (VIC). “I
thought the show was well organized and had a variety of interesting topics
and exhibitors. It was small enough to provide attendees with ‘quality time’
with exhibitors to discuss their products and services,” states Brad Hunt,
Chief Technology Officer, MPAA. Content rich programs attracted leaders from
both the IT and film marketplaces, including executives from: Microsoft, IBM,
Apple, Creative Artists Agency, Dream Theater, Paramount Pictures, Kushner
Locke, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, Filmtrust, Intel, Lucent
Technologies, RightsLine, Sonic Foundry, Convera, LucasFilm, Sony Pictures,
Warner Brothers, Cisco Systems, Walt Disney, Informix, New Line, Texas
Instruments, Shooting Gallery, Digital Domain, Eastman Kodak, Creative Planet,
SGI, Panavision, Panasonic, Sony Electronics, Harvey Entertainment, Sun
Microsystems, Hearst Entertainment, and Industrial Light & Magic.
Highlights from FilmIT 2000 included Keynote Presenter Robert M. Cooper, a
seasoned Hollywood executive and creator of content, and Keynote Presenter
Will Poole, Microsoft’s Vice President, Digital Media Division, who offered
his perspective of convergence as an IT executive. Cooper and Poole kicked
off the 2000 conference program, in which 90 executive level speakers
addressed content creation, marketing, asset management, content distribution,
Major and Independent Studio strategy, and the Internet within 25 in-depth
sessions. Conference Speakers included: Paul Jacques, CIO-American Film
Institute; Jerry Pierce, SVP of Technology-Universal Pictures; Garret Chau,
Agent, New Media Division-United Talent Agency; Ira Rubenstein, VP-Sony
Pictures Digital Entertainment; Brad Hunt, CTO-MPAA; Stephanie Allen, SVP New
Media-20th Century Fox Searchlight; Scott Ross, CEO-Digital Domain; Mark
Litwak, Chairman-Reelplay.com; Jonathan Taplin, President & CEO-Intertainer;
Peggy Miles, President & CEO-Intervox Communications; Jeremy Bernard, CEO-
Hypnotic; Ken Williams, CEO-Stan Lee Media; and Lance Trebesch, GM-Viant/LA.
The intimate exhibit space sold out and provided a highly targeted
marketing opportunity for vendors, and a wealth of knowledge and business
contacts for attendees. Exhibits included Internet based production
solutions, distribution hardware, website design, streaming media solutions,
asset management systems, production hardware and software, on-line film
portals, broadband service providers and security technologies. Sonic
Foundry, Lucent Technologies, Convera and Informix have already committed to
return as FilmIT Corporate Sponsors in 2001.
Special events played a key factor in FilmIT’s business focus and in
demonstrating technology’s impact on the film business. Millimeter Magazine
and SKYY Vodka sponsored the Opening Night Cocktail Party preceding Lucent
Technologies’ e-Cinema Screening and Dinner. Karen G. Noble, Director of
Marketing at Lucent Digital Video explains, “Sponsoring the dinner gave us a
chance to demonstrate Lucent’s leading-edge solution for digitally
distributing content across regional and backbone networks. Distributing
movies as digital assets is dramatically changing the film business, and this
show gave us the opportunity to learn and share information with many in the
areas that will be affected first.”
FilmIT is a production of Instinct Services Group, Inc. (ISG INC), an
Information Technology (IT) services company that produces and manages IT
focused conferences and expositions, including the Interactive Music Xpo (IMX)
and the Sports Information Technology Conference & Expo (SITEX).
