SMPTE has announced a new logo and website as part of its mission to redefine the way it serve professionals, making the Society “more accessible and agile” in meeting its members’ needs.
In addition to building enhanced value into its educational offerings, standards work and networking events, the Society is developing plans to promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion within SMPTE and the industry as a whole.
“SMPTE is transforming every element of its business to meet the changing needs of creative and technology professionals in the digital media industry,” commented Patrick Griffis, president of SMPTE. “Dramatic reimagination of our logo, website, and the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal — as well as this year’s virtual annual technical conference — may be the first things you notice. But look more deeply, and you’ll see that we’re creating strategic changes to give all our members even better access to the tools, expertise, educational offerings, and rich global network of colleagues that are vital to their career success.”
The new SMPTE logo features an updated typeface and iconic camera iris graphic represented in the SMPTE Color Bar colours. The redesigned website (smpte.org) features this new logo as well as a refreshed user experience. Changes to both site structure and content bring convenient access to relevant, timely, and useful information and educational material. Over time, the Society says it will continue to expand this offering and the utility of the new site.
The ongoing process of “reimagining” SMPTE is being steered by a three-year strategic plan launched in 2019. Over the past two years, the Society has re-examined its guiding principles, vision, mission and value propositions and refined them to emphasise the Society’s role as a global organisation while stressing its ongoing commitment to being both inclusive and objective in considering all perspectives.
SMPTE plans to promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion, and will continue to amplify the talents of a broader spectrum of media technology professionals of every nationality, race, gender and career stage. The Society has taken a first step by being the industry’s first standards body to scrub its documents and replace technical terms that could be considered racially offensive with more accurate and thoughtful language.
In terms of standards work, SMPTE is adapting to be nimbler and more responsive to quickly changing media technologies, creative techniques, and business models. Changes include focusing on more software-oriented standards and using more software-based tools to manage and streamline the standardisation process. SMPTE is also augmenting its standards development process with new models that allow members and the public at large to contribute to various standards-like documents.
The evolution of SMPTE will also be clearly evident in this year’s annual technical conference, SMPTE 2020: “Game On”, a virtual event running from November 10-12. The most accessible SMPTE conference yet, it will make technical presentations, educational sessions, exhibits and networking opportunities available to members around the world. Special pricing options are designed to eliminate cost as a barrier for any participant, whether student or professional.