Von Johnson, founder and CEO of VJA, has over twenty-five years experience in the entertainment industry including electronic distribution, global post-production, technical services, project management, systems development and implementation, business and systems integration.

Mr. Johnson has held senior management positions with the Walt Disney Company, Universal Television Distribution, Turner Broadcasting, ITC Entertainment and DIVA Systems (a video-on-demand technology pioneer in Menlo Park, CA).  Mr. Johnson is also co-founder of White Ash Broadcasting, Inc., licensee for central California’s NPR affiliate, KVPR-FM Valley Public Radio.

A member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Mr. Johnson is co-inventor of “Method and apparatus for transmission of full frequency digital audio.” (U.S. patent 5,544,228).  Mr. Johnson is a native of Southern California and holds a Bachelor Degree in Mass Communications from California State University, Fresno and an M.B.A. from Woodbury University in Los Angeles, California, where he is an adjunct professor in the MBA program. Mr. Johnson also lectures at UCLA Extension and Woodbury University on THE BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT, a program devoted to studying evolutionary business models in entertainment financing, distribution and technology. 

View Von Johnson's career highlights

Brian Finegold is President of BTF Consulting, Inc. and has 19 years of information technology experience gained either as a consultant or director with large corporations. Mr. Finegold is widely recognized as one of the foremost information technology experts within the entertainment industry and has led consulting engagements for many large media and entertainment concerns such as CBS, Paramount Pictures, NBCU, Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting.

Mr. Finegold’s professional affiliations include membership in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a seat on the Corporate Advisory Board member of the Technology Managers Forum and acting as an advisor to the University of Southern California's Entertainment Technology Center.  Mr. Finegold is recognized in Who's Who for Media and Communications and other biographical reference publications.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in political science and conducted his graduate studies within the business school of Sacramento State University where he specialized in the masters of science program in information systems.

Please visit www.btfconsulting.com for more information. 

Jean-Charles Hourcade is President of Red Cat Consulting, based in Paris, and is among the world's most recognized experts in advanced technology research and development.  Until recently, Mr. Hourcade was senior executive vice president & CTO of Thomson SA where he directed four operating units: Corporate Research, Intellectual Property and Licensing, Thomson Silicon Solutions and Software and Technology Solutions.

Mr. Hourcade was among the original pioneers of 3D computer graphics, initially as an engineer and then as head of research at Institut National de l’Audiovisuel.  Mr. Hourcade also built a 3D facility and composed among the first 3D animations and visual effects for motion pictures and commercials. After Thomson Digital Image absorbed the 3D team in 1986, Mr. Hourcade helped steer the newly empowered organization into a global leadership position, first as director of 3D Software & Systems, and then President and CEO. Wavefront Technologies purchased the technology and company assets in the early nineteen-nineties.

Mr. Hourcade joined the Thales Group as director of development and then as vice president of strategic planning.  Mr. Hourcade negotiated strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions with major global players such as Siemens, Samsung, Indra Systemas, and Johnson Controls; extended the company into aerospace defense; and managed the operation of several initiatives in the electronics, industrial automation and telecommunications sectors.

Mr. Hourcade is chair of the steering board of the Networked & Electronic Media (NEM) European technology platform initiative, a multinational program supporting the exploration and development of digital media technology and services. He previously served as Chairman of RIAM (Réseau Innovation et Recherche en Multimédia), a French consortium of government and industry leaders overseeing the allocation of national funding for multimedia innovation. Most recently, Mr. Hourcade created “Red Cat Technologies”, a consulting firm focused on Innovation Management and Investment Consulting.

Hourcade was born in Pau, France and holds degrees from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications.  

James Hubbert is President of Sirius Ltd, based in Tokyo, and has nearly 20 years experience managing language localization systems and quality assurance. During a decade overseeing the operations of Disney Character Voices, Inc./Asia, he was responsible for delivering thousands of local-language program adaptations for distribution in markets throughout Asia. As a consultant, he has supervised foreign ADR for numerous feature film and television titles for distribution in Japan. He is also a published translator of Japanese fiction and has worked as a translator for the U.S. government. Mr. Hubbert is based in Tokyo and holds an M.B.A. from the University of Washington.

Allan Schollnick has over two decades of experience in film and video post-production, international distribution, total quality management and technical services at such companies as The Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks SKG, Turner Broadcasting and THX Ltd.

Mr. Schollnick serves as Secretary and Treasurer for the Hollywood section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).  Schollnick is currently earning a degree in Global Business Management at UOP and holds Certificates in Total Quality Management, Audio Engineering and Communications.

Ms. Winters is president of Smoke & Mirrors, a boutique public relations firm she founded in 1993.  Ms. Winters provides communications and public relations services for global entertainment corporations, technology research centers, filmmakers and advertising agencies.

Ms. Winters programmed filmmaker- and stereoscopic 3D-focused sessions for the 2008 and 2009 NAB Shows, including the inaugural Content Theater, a three-day conference about content and technology across all platforms.  Ms. Winters also oversaw the Show’s Hollywood-focused marketing campaigns for both years, honing messaging, spearheading advertising, setting up sponsorship relationships, booking media, writing brochure and radio copy and more. Her efforts significantly raised Hollywood awareness of, and attendance to, the event.

Ms. Winters also orchestrated the public relations campaign for SMPTE 2008, substantially growing the conference’s audience, and helped build USC’s Entertainment Technology Center into the nexus of the digital cinema industry with a multi-pronged public relations and education campaign.  Other recent clientele include AnimationMentor.com, Thomson, IOSONO Sound and Gray Matter FX.

Ms. Winters served as head of corporate public relations for a leading Hollywood public relations firm, Bumble Ward & Associates (BWA). There, she represented FremantleMedia North America (“American Idol”), writer/director Randall Wallace (“When We Were Soldiers”), Radar Pictures (“The Last Samurai”), among others.  Ms. Winters oversaw the 2002 Academy Award campaign for Sony Pictures Imageworks’ “Spider-Man” and “Stuart Little 2” and was instrumental in helping the company win the Best Animated Film Oscar for the “TheChubbChubbs,” its first Academy Award.  Ms. Winters was director of public relations for Harmony Holdings and its five divisions, where she was an important strategist in taking the corporation public.

Winters' public relations skills are enhanced by her journalism experience and knowledge of photography and design. She has written business analyses for leading international corporations, Website content for creative and technical clients, and feature articles for The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety and American Cinematographer.  For four years, Rochelle Winters was an assistant cameraman and set still photographer on independent features and spots. Learn more at http://sampr.net.