"Lost," "Heroes," "The Middleman," and "CSI" Executive Producers Anchor Next Generation Content Panel at SMPTE 2008.

Trailblazing Creators to Discuss Multiplatform Entertainment at Annual Tech Conference & Expo

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Pioneering show runners Jesse Alexander ("Heroes," "Lost"), Tim Kring ("Heroes," "Crossing Jordan"), Javier Grillo-Marxuach ("The Middleman," "Medium") and Naren Shankar ("CSI," "UC: Undercover") will partake in an in-depth panel discussion about transmedia--branding and storytelling across multiple media channels--at SMPTE 2008: Annual Tech Conference & Expo (http://smpte2008.org). They are the first of several top creative talents to be named to the trend-defining session, which will be moderated by noted author and journalist David Kushner and sponsored by Fast Company magazine.

"Rebel Alliance - Geeks Lead Hollywood into a New Era" will take place Tuesday, October 28 from 10:15 AM - 11:45 AM, at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, California. Produced by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the leading technical society for the international motion imaging industry, SMPTE 2008 is dedicated to content creation, management, distribution and display technologies.

"These amazing talents are harnessing technology to transform entertainment," explained Kimberly Maki, SMPTE and SMPTE 2008 executive director. "It will be inspirational to see the work our engineers have enabled and to gain a sense of what we need to invent next."

"Rebel Alliance" is the outgrowth of a Kushner/Fast Company feature in which the writer detailed how a group of Hollywood creatives is redefining branding and entertainment for the convergent, interactive age. The transmedia session is part of SMPTE 2008's opening morning activities, which also include an address by world-renowned scientist Karlheinz Brandenburg, widely called the "father of MP3."

SMPTE 2008 is a professional, educational conference and trade show featuring the latest media technologies and the innovations likely to become reality within the next five years. International thought leaders will present peer-reviewed white papers, case studies and tutorials, and leading entertainment hardware, software and service companies will provide hands on demonstrations of their latest solutions. SMPTE 2008 will shine a light on a wide range of issues including:

* Digital convergence: 3-D games and movies in the home

* DTV - moving toward an analogue-free future

* New displays

* Digital image acquisition and quality standards

* IPTV and Internet video

Kushner reports on the key leaders and innovators of the information age as a contributing editor at Wired and Rolling Stone magazines and a frequent guest on CNN and NPR.

Companies interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at SMPTE 2008 should contact Kimberly Maki, 914 761-1100 x4960.

About SMPTE 2008: Annual Tech Conference & Expo

SMPTE 2008: Annual Tech Conference & Expo takes place October 28 - 30, 2008 at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, CA. It is preceded by the full-day symposium, Filmmaking and Live Event Broadcast, on October 27, 2008, at the same location. Produced by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry, SMPTE 2008 is created by entertainment technology professionals, for entertainment technology professionals. It features educational sessions and a hands-on show floor that highlight new and emerging media technologies of practical use to content creation, management, distribution and display professionals. Register at: (http://smpte2008.org/register).

About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. As an internationally recognized and accredited standards-setting body, SMPTE develops standards, recommended practices and guidelines and spearheads educational activities to advance engineering and moving imagery. Since its founding in 1916, the Society has established close to 600 standards, including the physical dimensions of 35mm film and the SMPTE time code. More recently, it codified the MXF file format to support the exchange of professional AV content and crafted the Digital Cinema Standards, which paved the way for digital movie theaters. Headquartered in New York, SMPTE is comprised of engineers and other technical specialists, IT and new media professionals, filmmakers, manufacturers, educators and consultants in more than 65 countries. They are joined at SMPTE by more than 200 sponsoring corporations, principal players in content creation, production and delivery for all platforms and in entertainment hardware and software. Http://smpte.org