Panels Feature Award-Winning Industry Experts

Burbank, CA – Kristin Petrovich, Executive Producer of HD EXPO, announces the educational platform of this Thursday’s event, "HD EXPO: HIGH DEF MARDIS GRAS." To be held at Gearhouse Broadcast in Burbank on March 6th from 5:00 to 9:30 PM, the informative panel discussions will begin at 6:00 PM with "Independent Filmmaking – HD."

The "Independent Filmmaking – HD" panel will be moderated by journalist Debra Kaufman, post production editor for American Cinematographer and frequent contributor for The Hollywood Reporter and various other trade publications. Beginning at 6:00 pm and concluding at 6:45 pm, this panel will showcase excerpts from three short films shot entirely in HD, as well as a Q & A and a discussion on the issues that arise during HD filmmaking. Participating in the panel will be the makers of "Living in Walter’s World" (Director/Producer Phil Kaufman and Camera Operator/Engineer Keith J. Duggan), "QIK 2 JDG" (Director Melissa Balin and Director of Photography Joe DiGennaro) and "Quest for the Holy Porcelain" (Writer/Director Ari Eisner, Director of Photography Jay Holden, and Producer Michael Spenelli).

From 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm, Panasonic will highlight HD EXPO’s panel discussions with an in-depth look at the soon-to-be-released independent film "Hitters," produced by Three Kings Entertainment. The full-length theatrical feature is an Eric Weston Film which was shot entirely with Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27 Varicam. The film stars Carol Alt, Costas Mandylor, Robert Davi, Joey De Pinto, and Frank Stallone. Participating in the panel to discuss production values and techniques will be Panasonic’s representative Doug Leighton as well as the film’s Director of Photography, Irv Goodnoff, and Producer, Eric Weston.

The final panel discussion of the evening, "The HD Production and Post Production Process," will be moderated by Carolyn Giardina, industry journalist whose work has appeared in Digital Cinema, Shoot and Film & Video. Beginning at 8:15 pm and ending at 9:00 pm, this panel will feature and in-depth dialogue between Robert Primes (Emmy and ASC-winning Director of Photography) and Josh Touber (Chief Operating Officer of Ascent Media Creative Services).

Buoyed by the resounding success and continuing growth of what is becoming the only expo event for high definition, HD EXPO’s Kristin Petrovich announces The Hollywood Reporter as HD EXPO’s first official media sponsor and partner. The Hollywood Reporter will help promote the event over the course of the next twelve months and take an active role in participating in HD EXPO’s educational panel discussions.