Dates/Schedule Released For 2018 Hollywood Professional Association Retreat

The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the schedule for the 2018 HPA Tech Retreat®, set for 19-23 February 2017. The Tech Retreat is an incomparable opportunity to meet and engage with well-known and emerging leaders in engineering, technology, creativity and business. The HPA Tech Retreat takes place in the Palm Springs area over the course of a week. Participants confer on future trends and technologies of the media and entertainment ecosystem while tackling issues of the present from fresh perspectives. The Tech Retreat offers unparalleled access to a wide range of in-depth information, facilitating a nuanced and informed view of industry trajectories. The Tech Retreat heads to a new venue this year, the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA.

The retreat features five days of scheduled sessions, demonstrations and events including the separately ticketed HPA Tech Retreat eXtra (TR-X), to deliver a forward-looking perspective on an industry continuing a dynamic and rapid evolution. Over the course of the carefully curated week, important aspects of production, broadcast, post production, distribution and related endeavors for the media and entertainment landscape are explored. The sessions are decidedly non-commercial in nature; marketing submissions are not considered. From breakfast roundtables and sessions to dinners and fire-pit conversations, the schedule creates an environment conducive to the exchange of knowledge and information.

Mark Schubin, the Program Maestro of the HPA Tech Retreat, commented, "This year's program might be the best ever, covering everything from "fake news" to direct-view screens in movie theaters.  And that's not counting live VR, eSports, Pixar's approach to worldwide cultural differences -- everything from cinematographers to consumer electronics."

Seth Hallen, president of the HPA, noted, “The HPA Tech Retreat is the de facto standard for in-depth exploration and thought provoking discussion for the technologies and trends impacting the media landscape. Once again, the program committee for the Super Session, the TR-X committee and our resident genius Mark Schubin have outdone themselves. It is at the HPA Tech Retreat that we meet and understand the rapidly changing world in which we live and work.”

TR-X (Tech Retreat eXtra) returns for its second year, focusing on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in a separately ticketed half day session Monday, 20 February. The Tuesday Supersession, moderated by HPA past president Leon Silverman and HPA board member Jerry Pierce, kicks off the official Tech Retreat. Wednesday through Friday begin back-to-back sessions and panels, under the direction of program maestro Schubin. A diverse array of breakfast roundtable discussions, led by key industry experts, start the day on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. The Innovation Zone returns Tuesday through Thursday, presenting the opportunity to explore emerging and innovating technologies from nearly 60 companies at the vanguard of the industry, with a special focus on VR/AR.

The 2018 HPA Tech Retreat is a limited attendance event, strictly capped at 600 guests, and is expected to sell out. Registration is open, and both day passes and full conference passes are available. Because this event will sell out, onsite registration is not allowed. Registration includes conference sessions, breakfast roundtables, demo room, some meals, and social events. TR-X is an additional registration and fee. More information about the HPA Tech Retreat, including program details, is available at www.hpatechretreat.com.