The Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) has announced its 2005 J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship & Mentoring Fund Award winners. The program–named after the late, longtime VP of strategic business development for Panasonic Broadcast and Television Systems–looks to nurture new promising postproduction talent, providing financial scholarships, internships, mentoring opportunities, HPA educational events and other diverse learning experiences.
The range of applicants includes students and those already working in the post community. The HPA Scholarship Committee selected the following award recipients:
Biola University student/assistant editor Henry Alconz; apprentice film editor Lara Grant; Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN), student/personal assistant Guy Handelman; project engineer Brian Kahrs; editor Noemi Morales; CSUN student/vault librarian Fernando Ramirez;and University of California, San Diego, student/composer Stephan Vankov.
Each winner will receive one of the following: a scholarship award of up to $1,000; an Avid Xpress Pro film and video editing system; Sony Vegas 6 desktop editing software; Smartsound Sonicfire Pro soundtrack creation software; registration to the 2006 HPA Technology Retreat; or registration to HPA Summer School.
While this is a proud accomplishment for the winners, the occasion for me represents a chance to reflect on Brinkman who I first met in 2002, a year before his death at the age of 54. That initial meeting underscored his commitment to the overall industry. He wanted to discuss the recent formation of the HPA. Indeed Brinkman wore many industry hats. A mainstay 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 the 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.
Brinkman talked about the need for post artisans and executives to band together, share information, address issues and have a collective voice. He also envisioned the HPA as being inclusive of all those who make their livelihoods in post, including creative artists (colorists, visual effects artists, post/effects supervisors, editors, audio mixer, et al) and people in operations, marketing and sales.
Appropriately enough, Brinkman’s day-to-day role at Panasonic also involved bringing people together. A 16-year Panasonic employee, Brinkman was a top exec working with other industry companies to develop partnerships.
Now it’s most fitting that the J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship and Mentoring Fund program, in its second year, extends a helping hand to bring new blood into the business. And compared to the program’s inaugural year, there’s been a significant increase in interest, applications and donor participation. “We are pleased to acknowledge this year’s winners and are indebted to the generosity of HPA’s members and supporters for providing such an outstanding group of awards,” stated Kathleen Milnes, chair of the HPA Scholarship Committee and president/CEO of The Entertainment Economy Institute.
HPA president Leon Silverman, who also serves as president of Laser Pacific Media Corp., related, “In the tradition of Michael Brinkman himself, we are honored that we have the ability to recognize, reward and help further the careers of the next generation of our postproduction industry.”
