Growing List Of Donors To SMPTE The Next Century Fund

As it marks its 100th anniversary, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the media, entertainment, and technology industries, also celebrates the addition of YouTube, Fotokem, Netflix, and Bud Mayo to the list of The Next Century Fund donors.

The fund, which has raised more than $1.7 million in committed gifts toward a $4 million goal, will support SMPTE's advance of its standards, membership, and education initiatives into the Society's second century. The campaign's success is among the highlights of the SMPTE 2016 centennial, which is showcased on a new microsite dedicated to the SMPTE's yearlong celebration.

"Our centennial celebration is exciting because it's an opportunity for SMPTE to showcase the many amazing achievements of the Society over the years, as well as the ongoing value and importance the Society brings to the motion-imaging industry's continuing evolution," said SMPTE Executive Director Barbara Lange. "So much has changed over the past century, from the details of standards and workflows to the stunning creative and technical contributions to the moving pictures and sound experience, and SMPTE's work has been instrumental to this progress."

Inventor C. Francis Jenkins led the creation of SMPTE in 1916, and it has since responded to industry innovations by developing numerous standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, with more than 800 standards documents in force today.

Each year, SMPTE now generates an average of 50 new standards documents focused on cinema, broadcast, IP, and over-the-top (OTT) video, audio, and associated metadata. The value of SMPTE's standards development work has been recognized with eight Emmy awards and an Oscar statuette. Within the past year, both the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have recognized SMPTE for its landmark standards work.

The Next Century Fund is bolstering enhancements to SMPTE's standards-development process and will soon support new membership recruitment efforts by enabling educational opportunities and attracting young talent from around the world. The fund has grown through the generous support of corporate contributors including The Walt Disney Company, Panasonic, Dolby, Technicolor, Fotokem, Netflix, Ross Video, YouTube, Aspera, and individual donors Bud Mayo, Michelle Munson and Serban Simu, Leon Silverman, Wendy Aylsworth, Peter Wharton, Bill Miller, Ellen Sontag-Miller, and Andy Setos.

"YouTube is proud to recognize SMPTE's centennial, and we hope SMPTE will continue to set the standard in motion imaging for another 100 years," said Anil Kokaram, tech lead/manager at YouTube, of the company's recent commitment to The Next Century Fund.

This centennial year also will include fresh takes on SMPTE's popular conferences, including a bigger and better annual technical conference and events produced in partnership with the NAB Show and the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA). The 2016 centennial celebration will culminate with the Centennial Gala, which will take place on Oct. 28 in the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood, California.

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