The Hollywood Section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®), the organization whose standards work has supported a century of technological advances in entertainment technology, announced that the increasingly popular practice of “phoneography” will be the topic of its September meeting. Phoneography is the use of smartphones as image capture devices in film and television productions. The event is slated for Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) Pickford Center for Motion Study’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles. It will include special presentations on unique tools and approaches for creative success in using smartphones, tablets, and similar consumer devices to capture professional-caliber imagery.

“The smartphone has become an integral part of our ecosystem, and it’s now a viable tool for creating content,” said Marty Meyer, chair of the SMPTE Hollywood Section. “Forget big budgets and big iron; this is no-budget, in-your-pocket tech that is ideally suited for social media offerings. ‘Phoneography’ — yes, it’s a word — is becoming a ‘thing.’”

Beastgrip Chief Executive Officer Vadym Chalenko will present his company’s new mounting platform for iPhone and iPad devices. He will discuss his success in using crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter, to fund the development of the product and demonstrate the capabilities of these new tools.

Director and producer Sven Dreesbak will join Sean Lawrence, vice president of business development at Beastgrip, to demonstrate the use and application of new lenses and mounting platforms for phoneography. They will provide advice for achieving professional results with these emerging tools for image capture.

Tony Orcena, editor of the Emmy® Award-winning ABC sitcom “Modern Family,” will discuss how phoneography was used in the production series. One episode from the show’s 2015 season was captured entirely using smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Orcena will describe the impact the devices had on production time, color correction, and workflow, as well as the adjustments that were necessary to the mobile operating system templates to accommodate resolution and framing.

What: SMPTE Hollywood Section, Monthly Meeting

Topic: “Unique Tools & Creative Success With Phoneography”

When: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, (6 p.m. Reception - 7:15 p.m. Presentations)

Where: Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) Pickford Center

Linwood Dunn Theater
1313 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Price: Free for SMPTE Members and non-members

Info: www.smpte.org/hollywood

About the SMPTE® Hollywood Section
The Hollywood Section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®) was originally organized as the West Coast Section in 1928. Today, it encompasses more than 1,200 SMPTE Members in the Greater Los Angeles area with a common interest in motion-imaging technology and is its own SMPTE Region. The Hollywood Section offers free meetings on a monthly basis that are open to SMPTE Members and non-members alike. Information about meetings is posted on the Section website at www.smpte.org/hollywood.

About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®)
For the past 100 years, the people of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE, pronounced "simp-tee") have sorted out the details of many significant advances in entertainment technology, from the introduction of "talkies" and color television to HD and UHD (4K, 8K) TV. Since its founding in 1916, the Society has earned an Oscar® and multiple Emmy® Awards for its work in advancing moving-imagery education and engineering across the communications, technology, media, and entertainment industries. The Society has developed thousands of standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, more than 800 of which are currently in force.

SMPTE's global membership today includes 7,000 members, who are motion-imaging executives, engineers, creative and technology professionals, researchers, scientists, educators, and students. A partnership with the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA®) connects SMPTE and its membership with the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide the expertise, support, tools, and infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television programs, commercials, digital media, and other dynamic media content. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join.  

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