The 1996 International Teleproduction Society Annual Forum, to be held in Chicago June 25-30, will be a place where post professionals, wired beyond the dreams of regular folk, can actually meet and go mano a mano with each other and with manufacturers on pressing industry issues. Or, says its president Ron Burdett, a place where the rubber meets the road.

The 9th annual its forum will feature over 25 seminars and numerous manufacturers’ exhibits and demonstrations, but many deem it a rational environment for principals of facilities and manufacturers to discuss the core issues of the teleproduction industry, an environment without the deafening cacophony of commerce that defines the nab conference.

The mantra of the its has been ‘ITS Means Business,’ and the underlying message of seminars on everything from compression to employee relations is keeping facilities profitable as well as creative.

Over the past few years, there has been a greater rate of convergence, in technology, and now among manufacturers, with the formation of strategic alliances like the ones between companies like Avid, Panasonic and Tektronix. The its forum is a means for facility owners to do some converging of their own, to discuss the future of the business with the people who make it.

‘We’re going through an incredible period of exponential change in our industry – changes in all the areas of technology and the very business model itself,’ says Burdett, who is also president of Sunset Post in Glendale, California.

This year’s forum, he says, is a culmination of two previous its events, the President’s Retreat and the Engineering Retreat, and will focus on the technical and business issues raised there.

As a starting point for discussion will be the assumption that facilities have made the great digital leap forward and seminars will explore the resultant opportunities for post shops.

‘We’ll be exploring the uses of servers and storage systems and issues of transporting data over interior and exterior networks,’ says Burdett. ‘These are the concerns members have expressed prior to the forum.’

The forum will also address the significant evolution of the business side of teleproduction. Burdett identifies a number of issues which have arisen in the industry and which will be discussed at the confab.

‘The basic, fundamental issue is that we are in a transition from a hardware-based to a software-based industry,’ says Burdett. ‘Another major issue is that we are dealing with intellectual property rights to a much larger degree than we have in the past. Who owns the stuff we create in these facilities; the artist who created it, the facility who hired him or the client who paid you to do it?’

Another pair of issues arise with the emergence of a software-based facility: the role of the engineer and financing methodology.

‘The engineer at a facility used to be the guy who could kick a machine and make it work. Well you can’t fix software, you can’t really put your finger on it,’ says Burdett.

It’s an issue which leads to changing realities of financing in an industry that is still indisputably capital-intensive. ‘When I go to my friendly banker now and I want to put in a million-dollar room, what I’m really buying is software. I only own the right to use the software and I’m asking the banker to loan me money; I can’t give him security interest in what I’ve purchased anymore.’

Tony Meerakker, vp engineering at Toronto’s Magnetic North and a member of an its panel entitled ‘Engineers: No Longer Tube Tappers,’ acknowledges the evolution of his kind. Meerakker says the engineer has to discern between hardware issues and software bugs, but also has had to doff the pocket protector and emerge from behind the scenes to become more of a client services expert.

Colin Minor, gm of Edmonton’s Studio Post and one of the forum’s organizers, will be moderating a seminar on change and says post facilities have to be mindful of the human change which accompanies technical advances. ‘It’s fine for general managers and presidents to bring in new equipment, but the operators have to deal with it,’ he says.

Richard Cormier, president of Montreal’s Buzz Image Group and a member of the its board of directors, says the organization’s name is becoming more apt with an increase in international members, a situation Cormier says is owed to the convergence of technology and markets. ‘The multimedia industry is changing the way we work, our customer base is becoming much different,’ he says.

Burdett says the changing business and technical realities have made one important thrust of the conference this year the Salute to Member Manufacturers.

‘A key focus this year is the subject of the relationship between facility owners and those who make the gear,’ says Burdett. ‘There have been times in the past when those have been adversarial relationships. More and more it has become necessary to establish a more meaningful working relationship and recognize the synergistic relationship that is needed for the success of manufacturers and facilities.’

In this context, Burdett says the its forum affords a unique opportunity to discuss the future in one-on-one situations. ‘There is a tremendous value in sitting down with people,’ he says. ‘With intranets and the Internet you can gateway to the world, but in my opinion nothing replaces the experience of sitting down face to face with someone I’m doing business with.’

Most members agree that it’s worth the trip to Chicago, particularly for the roundtables where frank discussion of concerns is encouraged and manufacturers can answer questions about equipment glitches as well as where their next big thing will leave the industry.

Don Thomson, president of Finale Post Production in Vancouver, calls the forum the most valuable industry gathering. Thomson points to the roundtable discussions as a rare chance to sit down with industry peers and exchange ideas on a wide range of topics without the sometimes stifling presence of your local competition.

Eyes Post vp of marketing Diane Cuthbert also points to the global nature of the meeting and its lip-loosening effects, often a missing element in local chapter meetings where members often play trade secrets closer to the chest.

Another forum highlight is the presentation of the ITS Financial Data Survey, released annually to coincide with the conference. The survey, which includes data from all its members, provides facilities a benchmark for comparison with the industry at large and, since figures are broken out regionally, allows a comparative look at geographically similar competitors.

The overall survey looks at revenue and cost, breaking down costs by labor and capital equipment acquisitions, and allows members to determine what percentage of every dollar is allocated to payroll expense and to equipment.

It also provides a comparison of employee benefits, profitability comparison and head count, i