At the 141st SMPTE Technical Conference and Exhibition in New York this month, some of the most technically astute minds in the business will be throwing light on the subjects that are being discussed with varying levels of clarity from post facility machine rooms to agency watering holes everywhere. The theme of the conference is "Sprockets, Samples and Satellites: Moving Imaging into the Third Millennium." Conference seminars include 1080x1920/24P Video; Digital Post Production, which covers some of the nittiest and grittiest HDTV post issues; Non-broadcast Digital Video; Electronic Media Storage; Networking for Production; Format Conversion; Audio Post for DTV; and Film in the Digital World.

For the post-production industry, these subjects represent ongoing change taking place in the industry and reflect the central challenge of the next few years as facilities make decisions that will significantly affect their competitive positions in the marketplace.

Stepping away from the technical minutiae, in business terms, the industry has several large fish to fry and now industry organization the Association of Imaging Technology and Sound is calling on the US government to provide a little butter.

Terry Rainey, president of the ITS, says the organization is devoting its efforts to mitigating the burden of transition to DTV and HDTV, partially by helping to institute a tax credit or other financial support to post shops bearing the cost of the change. In August, the ITS teamed up with The Advocacy Group, a Washington, DC-based lobbying firm, to turn up the volume on the voice of the industry in the ears of policy makers. The ITS also recently created a white paper to help clearly define the activities and scope of the industry.

On October 21, members of the ITS and the Advocacy Group met with legislators in Washington to discuss the challenges faced by the industry.

The issue of DTV retooling - what equipment to buy and when - is top of mind for post shops now, says Rainey, and while the role of the ITS has largely been one of communication and education, the organization is now aiming to address the issue with legislative initiatives.

"Our primary role has been educational - a source of communication between manufacturers and facilities and setting up a network where people can communicate about these things," says Rainey. "Now we're also beginning a legislative and regulatory effort to make congress and the FCC more aware of the DTV retooling in our industry."

Rainey says his organization is looking for a tax credit for the purchase of equipment to be used towards the stipulated DTV switch. "That's one thing we hope will resonate," says Rainey.

The ITS is trying to make the point that conforming to a digital TV universe is not a matter of the post industry deciding on its own to reinvest in itself, but rather an industry reacting to a government-mandated situation. "We're on the receiving end of this kind of change," Rainey points out.

The ITS is aiming its efforts at a number of government bodies, including the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Rainey calls securing tax legislation a "formidable goal," and suggests other avenues that may be traveled to ease the burden faced by the industry, including a small business administration program in the form of loans for the purchase of equipment.

"This is going to be an issue of awareness. This industry is not composed of very large players," says Rainey. "In many cases, it's not the big studios and broadcasters we're talking about; it's a lot of small players who are affected."