In psychological terms, a sense of closure is supposed to be welcome and somewhat comforting. But the closure of the national office of the Association of Imaging Technology and Sound (ITS) on Aug. 15 is neither (SHOOT, 8/24, p. 1).
The strange irony of the situation hasn’t been lost on Leon Silverman, executive VP of Hollywood-headquartered Laser-Pacific Media Corp., who observed: "The industry is at a critical point in transition economically and technologically. The national organization is closing at a time when there’s more reason than ever for post facilities to band together, share information with one another and have a collective voice."
But Silverman and his Los Angeles colleagues are looking to keep the ITS vision alive by continuing to operate its Southern California chapter. Silverman remains ITS/Southern California president. He noted that Greater Los Angeles has had a formal organization of postproduction professionals for more than 20 years, predating the existence of ITS. "It’s necessary to have a core group of professionals who understand, even though they are competitors, that they need a collective voice to address issues and attain goals that benefit the entire industry. That’s what we have in Southern California and we intend to keep that intact."
Eileen Kramer, Pacific Region director of the ITS, said that the Southern California chapter is "committed to the industry—and committed to providing a voice for the industry. What form this exactly will take is currently being explored."
"We are going to continue our organization locally—and at the same time, we will look beyond our region and state electronically," said Silverman. The latter reference is to the Southern California’s decision to host the ITS’ international e-mail lists and maintain the national organization’s Web presence.
Silverman said that the chapter will also explore ways to maintain educational events such as the annual Technology Retreat, which was organized by the national ITS. He noted that the Southern California chapter has some resident talent that can help in this regard, including Ron Burdett, CEO of Sunset Digital Studios, Glendale, Calif., who organized informative post symposia in Montreaux. Silverman himself chairs the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers’ education committee.
"We have people in place who can put on successful, smaller scale industry conferences and events," related Silverman, who added that Southern California could represent as much as half of the post facility business in the U.S., making the chapter’s voice significant.
At the same time, Silverman acknowledged that the chapter has its work cut out for itself, especially without the support of a national infrastructure. "[ITS president] Terry Rainey and the national board did everything in their power to create a viable national organization," contended Silverman. "But for whatever reason or reasons, the national organization didn’t have the same fervent support we have locally."
Former national ITS board chairman David Case, CEO/ president of Pittsburgh-based post facility Production Masters Inc., conjectured that perhaps local/ regional organizations have become more relevant, especially in a tight business climate affected by a sluggish economy. "Facilities throughout the country are dealing with the slowdown—but each market is affected differently. Some are hurting more than others. To have local/regional chapters addressing their own markets might generate more involvement and support than the national organization did."
Case opined that regional chapters can do much to sustain the spirit of the national ITS. "They can achieve a great deal within their geographic markets," he said. "A lot of what the ITS has stood for and valued can be accomplished at the chapter level."
