The last time I saw J. Michael Brinkman, VP of strategic business development for Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems, was about a year ago in Los Angeles. We got together—along with Leon Silverman, executive VP of Laser-Pacific Media Corp., Hollywood, and Eileen Kramer, executive director of the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA)—to talk about the formation of the HPA.
Brinkman died last week in Santa Clarita, Calif., at the age of 54. I hearken back to our last meeting because it summed up his commitment to the industry. A long-time member of the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers and the now defunct International Teleproduction Society (ITS), Brinkman became a founding member of the HPA because he believed the demise of ITS created a void that needed to be filled. But that was only part of his motivation. He felt the HPA could do even more than ITS to better the industry and foster a much needed sense of community.
He and Silverman, who is HPA president, observed that the post/visual effects industry is at a historic point in transition economically, creatively and technologically. Profound change, related Brinkman, creates the need for people to connect and to somehow get a handle on their situation. He, Silverman and Kramer reasoned that the need for the post community to band together, share information, address issues and have a collective voice is greater than ever.
A key factor, said Brinkman, is to make the HPA inclusive of all those who make their livelihoods in post, including creative artisans (such as colorists, visual effects artists, post/effects supervisors, editors, audio mixers and sound designers) and people in operations, marketing and sales. These individuals could be staffers or freelancers, coming from a mix of entities ranging from post facilities to effects houses, sound studios to software makers, equipment manufacturers to new media companies. The focus is on those Southern California shops and people who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of features, TV programs, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content.
He and Silverman envisioned the HPA as being a place where artists could talk to each other, compare notes and bounce ideas off of one another. They also talked of the HPA providing a forum where differences of opinion on issues could be discussed and meaningfully addressed.
Clearly, the HPA has since made major strides toward these goals, which I’m sure must have been gratifying for Brinkman. Fittingly, his day-to-day role at Panasonic also involved building bridges between people. In a sense, the HPA was an extension of that. A 16-year Panasonic employee, Brinkman was a top executive working with other industry companies in developing partnerships. He directed, for example, Panasonic’s Technology Partnering Program, where he worked with more than 30 leading manufacturers, including Apple computer and Avid technology, to incorporate Panasonic’s digital compression technologies into their products and systems.
Brinkman also sat on the board of directors of groups as diverse as University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Center and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Prior to joining Panasonic, he was a producer/director working in the fields of documentary and education production.
"Michael Brinkman was a dedicated, talented executive, and the entire Panasonic community will miss the invaluable contributions he made in furthering the company’s initiatives in the broadcast and production industries," said John Baisley, president of Panasonic Broadcast. "Our heartfelt sorrow and prayers are with his wife and family during this difficult time."
Brinkman is survived by his wife, Deborah, daughters Tamara and Michann, son Andrew, grandson Ethan Dempsey, and sisters Cindy Hill and Nona Reimer.
