IT and Operations Execs in Media and Entertainment Converge Oct. 18 for HITS: Fall in Hollywood

Cloud technology, new workflows, improving data analytics, making the most of metadata, transitioning from the B2B to B2C business model … Hollywood’s reliance on IT to keep up with today’s unpredictable digital world has never been more prevalent.

And on Oct. 18, at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, information technology and entertainment converge when industry CEOs, CTOs and executives from major studios, independents and service providers take the stage at the HITS: Fall conference, offering the latest insights into how IT is impacting marketing, production, distribution and sales in the media and entertainment space.

“The Hollywood IT community’s Fall meeting is literally a ‘Digipalooza,’ offering numerous technology ‘rock stars’ a chance to take the stage and address cross-industry issues,” said Devendra Mishra, conference chair and executive director of the Hollywood IT Society (HITS). “HITS: Fall also provides our members and guests a second opportunity in the year to learn, network and share best practices with their industry peers.”

One of Pixar’s top storytellers and a leading expert on the impact of data for entertainment from Carnegie Mellon will be keynote presenters for the daylong conference. Executives from Fox, Warner, Viacom and Disney will share their insights into IT and data best practices. Analytics experts from Hearst, Netflix and Fandango will offer their perspective on data and predicting the needs of viewers. And a host of companies in the M&E space will share how their tech is changing the content business, especially in the realm of business intelligence.

Later in the afternoon, the SoCal Women’s Leadership Group is co-locating their first-ever Cross-Industry Mixer at HITS: Fall. The event, produced by Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and Women in Technology: Hollywood (WiTH) will bring together the women’s technology groups of Disney, Fox Sports, NBC Universal, Netflix, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. to network and learn how they are contributing to the advancement of women executives at their respective organizations in our industry.

MESA’s executive director, Guy Finley added, “We are especially proud to be hosting the first-ever SoCal Women’s Leadership Group meeting this year, which is attracting over 300 additional senior executives to the annual HITS: Fall event.”

Here’s a rundown of what attendees of the HITS: Fall “Digipalooza” conference” can expect:

• Following remarks by conference chair Mishra and Eric Belcher (president and CEO of Cast & Crew Entertainment Services), the first panel of the day — “Processes, People and Technology: Challenges for Hollywood’s Transformation” — sees both the content and tech sides discussing what’s been done right, what’s failed, and what needs to happen going forward for Hollywood to fully adapt to the digital era. Speakers include John Koscheka, EVP of digital manufacturing and distribution for 20th Century Fox, and Eliot Sakhartov, media and entertainment account technology strategist for Microsoft.

• The first keynote of the day — “Synthesizing Creativity and Business Success in Hollywood” — will ask attendees to look at content creation in a different way, one that leverages big data for storytelling, in everything from content development, to the corporate culture of the studio itself. Matthew Luhn — a 23-year Pixar Animation Studios vet, as a storyteller, consultant, writer and instructor — will share how the characters and stories he helped create (the “Toy Story” and “Monsters Inc.” franchises, “Finding Nemo,” “Up,” “Cars” and “Ratatouille”) incorporated data at all stages.

“I will be sharing how big data has being successfully used at Pixar to make stronger connections with people through the stories and characters we create,” Luhn said. “I’m hoping that attendees will take away how big data can help create memorable, impactful, and personal stories and companies.”

• In “Hollywood Goes B2C: New Behaviors and Analytics for Consumers,” content companies will hear what lessons they should take from retail partners when deciding to go directly after the consumers, with panelists discussing predictive analytics and the importance of keeping mobile in mind. Allen Duan, SVP of corporate technology for Hearst, Todd Holloway, director of content science and algorithms for Netflix, and Braxton Woodham, CTO for Fandango, will be on hand.

• The second keynote of the conference — “Big Data and the Future of Entertainment” — aims to be a call to arms for Hollywood’s established players, when it comes to data analytics and competing in today’s digital, consumer-first world. Michael Smith, professor of information technology and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College — co-author of “Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment,” with Rahul Telang, who moderates a session later in the afternoon — will share insights into how disruptors like Netflix and Amazon use analytics to upend the long-established studio order of the industry.

“We hope attendees will take away a clear understanding of why the business is changing and how today’s business leaders can respond to these threats; and also a strong sense of optimism about the opportunities these changes hold for future of the business and the future of creativity,” Smith said.

• Next, “Self-Service Platform for Advanced Analytics: Built and They Are Coming!” presents a trio of data experts from Viacom who will discuss the media giant’s use of cloud-based analytics, and how it drives decisions both internally and externally. They’ll also demonstrate how Viacom’s platform is used by the company to make decisions on programming, marketing and distribution. Viacom’s Fabio Luzzi, VP of data science strategy, Chris McGrath, SVP of data strategy and consumer intelligence, and Amy Sinensky, director of data science, insights and strategy, will be on stage.

• Rahul Telang, assistant professor of information systems at Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III College — and co-author of “Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the Future of Entertainment” — will moderate the afternoon panel “Data Analytics – Converting Elusive Science to Practical Business Applications.” That discussion will tackle how legacy media and entertainment silos fail to make the most of data analytics, and how a change in organization (and mindset) is needed in finance, marketing and operations departments. Keith Camoosa, SVP of consumer intelligence for Warner Bros., Dominique Hanssens, Bud Knapp Distinguished Professor of Marketing for UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, and Wayne Peacock, VP of analytic insights and business intelligence for The Walt Disney Co., are set to discuss.

• In the panel “An Innovator’s Perspective on Data & Analytics,” HITS attendees will get a look at Gigster and SigOpt, companies whose technologies around data and analytics are impacting the content business. This session is hosted by and includes and an introduction from Naithan Jones, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz which has a portfolio of more than 150 companies.

• Closing the main stage is Cameron Kashani, “godmother” of Silicon Beach and founder of CoAccel, who offers a presentation (“#WEdynamic: Human Acceleration is the New Innovation”) on how better collaboration around the human element of a corporation can result in better profits in the media and entertainment sector.

• Attendees will then have the choice of a series of breakout sessions (an intimate setting to have more in-depth discussions) covering “Digital Disruption and the Entertainment Production Lifecycle” by Cast & Crew Entertainment Services; “We Are Humans Not Machines: Uncovering Dark Data to Transform Your Business” by GrayMeta; “A Further Perspective on Data and Innovation” by Andreessen Horowitz; and “Taking Charge of the Customer Journey in the Age of Direct-to-Consumer” by Teradata.

Taking place at Loews Hollywood Hotel, the HITS: Fall “Digipalooza” Conference is produced by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and the Hollywood IT Society (HITS) and presented by Cast & Crew Entertainment Services with sponsorships from GrayMeta, Teradata, Okta, Microsoft Azure, FilmTrack, Zaszou IT Consulting and Datameer.

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