Hollywood Post Alliance Group Renames, Hoping to Expand Reach

There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that keeps the film and television industries moving. And a trade group focused on postproduction work now wants to represent more “industry professionals working and serving across a much broader collaborative media ecosystem.”

Last week, the Hollywood Post Alliance announced it was changing its name to the Hollywood Professional Alliance  (opens in a new tab) to reflect the large number of entertainment industry innovations in recent years, in areas from visual effects to new camera technologies.

“We believe that ‘professional’ is more inclusive and more accurately encompasses the creative talent, content holders, global infrastructure of services, as well as new and emerging platforms and processes that stretch from idea to display,” HPA President Leon Silverman said in a news release. “The time has come to acknowledge the evolution of ‘post,’ and to focus on the professional community creating and executing the vision from a broad base of expertise.”

The name change comes at a challenging time for film industry associations. For example, the Association of Digital Artists, Professionals, and Technicians shut down last month because of insufficient funding. ADAPT had banded together only months earlier to lobby against subsidies that encourage filmmakers to have visual effects done abroad.

And last year, the American Humane Association’s longstanding role as the protector of animals on set was challenged by the launch of a new organization, Movie Animals Protected, Inc. The move came after a Hollywood Reporter exposé raised questions about AHA’s investigation into deaths of horses during the filming of HBO’s Luck.

By expanding its reach, HPA could support interests of smaller industry sectors that haven’t been well served by their own industry groups.

What’s Bugging Hollywood?

HPA will likely focus on technological improvements in the entertainment industry. Among the issues that arose at a recent HPA technology retreat were on-set standards for drones  (opens in a new tab) and the improved quality of digital film.

The latter issue is bigger than you might think: Some filmmakers say digital resolution is now so good that it diminishes the artistic effect of the film, and actors may not want super-high-resolution film to reveal their imperfections.

“With these new tools, it’s going to be essential that the director and director of photography are involved in postproduction,” International Cinematographers Guild President Steven Poster said at the retreat, according to The Hollywood Reporter  (opens in a new tab). “There are so many choices, the initial concept of the cinematographer needs to be followed through.”

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