The Hollywood Professional Association is a Southern California based trade association founded in 2002 by seasoned professionals and studio executives from major post facilities and manufacturers with a mission to serve the post-production community. HPA produces educational conferences and seminars, provides networking opportunities for its members, acts as a "larger voice" for the industry on common issues and topics, and provides a platform for other industry-related functions. Membership is open to any individual or organization with interest in the subject matter. HPA's major activities include the annual HPA Tech Retreat and HPA Awards, SCRG Luncheons every two months, several networking events throughout the year, the J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship Fund, and the HPA Post Pit with the National Association of Broadcasters at the NAB Show. The latest addition to HPA is the Women in Post group, which began in 2013 and has partnered with SMPTE.
HPA Tech Retreat
The HPA Tech Retreat is an annual informal gathering held in the Palm Springs area. Attended by the top industry-engineering, technical, and creative talent, as well as strategic business leaders focused on technology, from all aspects of digital-cinema, post-production, film, television, video, and related technologies for the exchange of information.
Awards program
The HPA presents awards to individuals and organizations to recognize the achievement of post production talent.
Engineering Excellence Award
The Engineering Excellence Award is specifically intended to acknowledge product or technology application offerings that help move the post production industry forward. Previous winners include MTI Film, Cine-Tal, Arnold + Richter Cine Technik, Dolby, IBM, Lightcraft, as well as two time winners, Sony, Digital Vision, FastSoft, Panasonic, S.Two Corporation, Signiant, DVS Digital Video Systems, and Quantel, who is the only three time winner to date.
This award is in recognition of notable individuals or groups who's creative or technical innovation may not fit into another category or meet their eligibility requirements. Winners could include unique movies or other types of media content, workflows, hardware or software or other achievements that help advance post production.
Charles S. Swartz Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Post Production
The Charles S. Swartz Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Post Production is an award for an individual, group, company or technology that has made a major artistic, technological, business or educational impact on Post Production. The award is in honor of Charles S. Swartz, who died in 2007 and was a well respected figure in the post production industry. The Charles S. Swartz Award recognizes a wide range of contributions that have advanced and/or provided some unique purpose to the field of Post Production with the first winner announced during the 3rd annual HPA Awards in 2008.
The purpose of the Lifetime Achievement Award is to give recognition to individuals who have dedicated their careers to the betterment of the post production industry through their service and commitment. It was originally called the "Outstanding Contribution to Advancing Post Production Award" during the inaugural 2006 HPA Awards but later established in 2007 during the 2nd annual HPA Awards as the "Lifetime Achievement Award". The winners to date are:
The SCRG group was started by HPA in 2008 specifically for the sales and marketing professionals within the post production community. This group provides a forum of support and resources primarily through a series of Luncheons that are usually held every two months. These luncheons include hand picked panelists that discuss the different topics chosen for each event.
Women in Post (WiP)
HPA's Women in Post group was started in 2013 to provide leadership and visibility opportunities for women working in the post production industry. It is a community for mentoring, networking, learning and sharing information and ideas.
J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship Fund
was a founding member of the HPA and an award-winning producer/director working in documentary and educational production. He served as vice present of strategic business development with Panasonic for 16 years and as a leading figure in Hollywood’s broadcast and post production communities, Michael often helped others understand technology in the service of the creative endeavor. In 2003, Michael Brinkman died and the J. Michael Brinkman Scholarship and Mentoring Fund was established in honor of him. HPA provides diversified educational opportunities and industry access to bring the educational experience beyond the classroom, in addition to financial scholarships, in order to continue Michael's legacy to the industry and the people who choose to make it their career.
