Join the Westside Urban Forum to discuss how the industry that defines Los Angeles for its residents, businesses and the world is evolving to affect how we use space today.
Since the early 1900s, film and television production has been a key economic catalyst, defining cultural influence in the Los Angeles region. In the “Silent Era”, filming took place in warehouses and on outdoor stages within an enclosed campus. These campuses transitioned into mini-cities run by corporate studios during the “Golden Era” of Hollywood when studios included all the many facilities needed to transform movies from script and storyboard to the prints sent to theaters across the globe. With the introduction of television, studios downsized and evolved into the campuses that exist and operate today.
Outside the walls of famed studios like Disney, MGM and Paramount, production also takes places on location. And now with the emergence of user- based content, production is being created and produced in smaller but highly customized private studio spaces.
But not everything is getting smaller. As the forces of Hollywood and Silicon Valley overlap to embrace and adapt to new technological advancements that enhance the entertainment experience, 21st century production requires bigger soundstages, high-capacity broadband, 24-hour facilities that challenge typical traffic patterns, and flexibility in location and space type to move an idea to a screen.
Moderator
Tony Pleskow, AIA - Founder and Principal of Pleskow Architects, Former Planning Commissioner for Culver City
Tony founded his architectural practice 20 years ago after working as an art director in the film and commercial industry. His wide ranging practice includes progressive design solutions for film exhibitors, directors and Silicon Valley tech companies. Specifically he designed the Landmark Theatre in west Los Angeles, the Sunshine Theatre in New York City, the Intel/CAA media lab, a personal screening/editing room for an Oscar winning director and the On-Air newsroom for the Channel One Network at Raleigh Studios. He is currently working on a series of new theatres nationally for LOOK Cinema - an exhibiter startup that is exploring multiple, diverse auditorium environments for the general public to experience commercial film. He also has one screen acting credit to his name as a gang member in the film classic "The Wanderers" directed by Phil Kaufman many, many years ago.
Panelists
Christopher Barton, Executive VP, Operations and Development, Hudson Pacific Properties
With 20 years of experience in development and construction, encompassing mixed use, office, industrial, and residential projects, Chris has developed over 2.5 million square feet of commercial property, from conceptual site plan analysis and entitlements through completion. Importantly, he managed the development and construction of the former Columbia Pictures building and renovation activity at the Sunset Gower and Sunset Bronson Studios which provide end to end production capabilities including multiple stages.
Michael Hackman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Hackman Capital Investments
Michael founded Hackman Capital in 1986 and serves as the company's Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 33 years of experience in the acquisition, development, management and disposition of real estate and capital assets. Michael has successfully completed hundreds of real estate transactions and capital asset liquidations across four continents, representing in excess of $1 billion in value. Recently, Hackman Capitol, has been investing in the Hayden Tract section of Culver City transforming dormant properties into exciting creative office space catering to the growing community of technology based content creators.
Dan Szeto - Creative Director, There Productions
Dan is the West Coast Creative Director of THERE Productions which has "studios" in Venice, CA and New York City. Dan got his start in 2003 at an indie VFX studio called Dieselfx where he worked on features with the likes of Oliver Stone while also being part of print campaigns for Coca Cola and other major brands. He founded There in 2011 in Venice Beach - a production company that specializes in creating amazing scenes with scope and scale that go beyond what's practical in a traditional shoot due to their LiveLocation process of bringing real-time digital environments to green screen shoots. In addition to recent work with Lucas Film and Virgin America, There has developed award winning campaigns for Bravo, ESPN, and ABC and has handled all the VFX for three feature films in the past two years.
