Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1335010
16 W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y E ach year, the Cinema Audio Society is tasked with creating an annual membership meeting event. This event is important because it allows us the opportunity to discuss any large challenges facing our industry, as well as get to know each other in an informal setting. It is a chance to meet the hardworking, dedicated volunteers that lead your committees and occupy your Board. And, most importantly, it is an occasion for you to communicate your concerns and ideas while exploring ways to get more involved. There has rarely been a time more desperate for the kinship of colleagues than 2020. When looking at our membership meeting, we wanted to find a way to feel like we were at an event together while still keeping us all safe. We needed a technical solution that allowed for one-on- one conversation, conversation in small groups, the ability to mingle with all attendees freely, to see who was attending, and to address the room. It was a long road, but we did find it. On Sat., Dec. 5, at 12 p.m. PST, we held the first-ever virtual CAS Annual Membership Meeting and Holiday Mixer. Members and guests were greeted with the debut of our "Year in Review" video and teaser for our upcoming virtual awards event. Once all were settled into the meeting space, there were brief greetings from key committees' chairs. As attendees mingled from virtual table to virtual table, door prizes were awarded randomly to those in attendance every 15 minutes. Prizes included gift cards to Lectrosonics and LMC Sound, an X2P from Focusrite, a Stingray Utility Hip Pack from K-Tek, an Everything Pack Native from McDSP, a Sound Ideas General Series 6000 sound effects library, Elite Monitor headphones, and multiple licenses of Absentia DX and Actors Mobile ADR Editor (Pro and Standard license versions). The interface, custom-designed just for the event, felt like a reception hall where guests mingled with their friends at their leisure, hopping between tables of two, four, and six seats. A lovely result of the virtual event was the attendance of those from outside of Los Angeles. During the two- hour event, we had members and their guests from all over the United States, as well as the UK and Columbia. More than three- fourths of the attendees stayed on for more than 90 minutes of the two-hour event. At our close, 70 percent of attendees were still chatting away! We consider the event an incredible success, although there was one consistent piece of criticism: The event was just too short! We are so delighted to hear that everyone enjoyed visiting with one another and will make sure to allow for more time in the future. A big thanks to all who participated. It was a fantastic way to cap off our 2020 events. by Karol Urban CAS MPSE CAS Annual Membership Meeting and Holiday Mixer Membership Committee chair and Board member Mathew Waters CAS joins the mixer from his seat on the dub stage.