Burlington, MA, 3/2/2018

Award-winning editors discuss their collaboration with directors and experiences editing for film and TV genres in two SXSW panel sessions

Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID), a leading global media technology provider for the creation, distribution and monetization of media assets for global media organizations, enterprise users and individual creative professionals, today announced two South by Southwest (SXSW) panels featuring award-winning editors of some of today’s most popular films and TV series. At the annual event celebrating the convergence of the interactive, film and music industries (Austin, Texas, March 9-17), Avid customers will share valuable insights on their experiences and creative processes, which rely on creative tools and platforms from Avid, including the Avid Media Composer® editing system powered by MediaCentral®, the industry’s most open and efficient platform designed for media.

Making the cut: Film editing secrets revealed—Sunday, March 11, 2018 at 2pm CST

Award-winning film editors Sandra Adair, ACE (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused), Catherine Haight, ACE (Transparent, Girls), and Edie Ichioka ACE (Toy Story 2, The Boxtrolls) will share the secrets to their success and discuss their long-time collaborations with high-profile directors. Moderated by Avid’s director of product and segment marketing for pro video, Matt Feury, the panel will discuss their creative tools and processes and tips for aspiring filmmakers.

“Avid has been my go-to editing platform for as long as I can remember, so I’m very excited to be able to sit down with Matt Feury of Avid, and fellow editors Catherine Haight and Edie Ichioka, to chat about editing features, TV, and docs,” said Adair. “I’m sure there will be a lot of sage editing advice to come from this awesome group of panelists.”

Telling tales in episodic TV—Saturday, March 10 at 12:30pm CST

No matter what genre, editing plays a critical role in creating TV series that educate, enlighten and entertain. Award-winning editors, Kabir Akhtar, ACE (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, New Girl), Kelley Dixon, ACE (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) and Josh Earl, ACE (Deadliest Catch, Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest), will discuss the differences in editing for drama, comedy, documentary and reality TV. Attendees will discover the creative and technical tools and processes the editors rely on, and their tips for creating compelling stories that keep audiences coming back for more.

Due to the popularity of this session, a second session will be held at 5pm the same day for those unable to attend the 12:30pm session. To stay up-to-date on the second session, visit the SXSW listing page here https://schedule.sxsw.com/2018/03/10/events.

“We’re privileged that our distinguished customer community includes some of the world’s most talented editors who are willing to share their editing secrets, collaboration stories, and tips for aspiring editors at SXSW,” said Avid President and CEO Jeff Rosica. “These panels will give SXSW attendees unique insights into their creative processes and why they continue to choose Avid’s comprehensive ecosystem of creative tools to bring some of the biggest films and TV series to life.”

One of the most difficult tasks in the post-production process is fixing footage and “invisible effects”. Whether it is a feature film, commercial or episodic TV – removing objects when the camera is not locked down can be challenging for even the most experienced visual effects artist.

Imagineer’s mocha Pro software is the secret weapon for difficult fixes and object removal. mocha Pro takes the multi-step process of motion tracking, cloning, paint and match moving to a new level by automating tasks into a simplified process. The great news for Avid Media Composer editors, is that mocha Pro is available as an integrated AVX plug-in, giving editors an efficient workflow without leaving their Avid project.

In this useful video tutorial, colorist and finishing artist Dan Harvey shows Avid editors how to remove an actress from a shot using mocha’s planar tracking and powerful Remove Module.

Click here to watch the video on Vimeo

Avid underscored two of its most important commitments – its commitment to education, and its commitment to emerging technologies – through a robust sponsorship of this year’s SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) Conference & Exhibition in Hollywood, CA. In addition to sponsoring the conference’s celebrated gala, Avid provided demos, teaching events and support for the popular SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival, as well.

SMPTE, which celebrated its 100 year anniversary this year, and boasts over 7000 global members, has the lead the way in entertainment technology since its founding, developing thousands of standards, best practices, and engineering guidelines across the media, technology and entertainment industries. SMPTE also sponsors Student Chapters at colleges and universities all over the world, focusing on institutions that offer courses in technical areas of film, video and television.

“We hold our partnership with SMPTE in the highest regard,” says Andy Cook, who leads Avid’s Global Education Strategy. “They are literally setting industry standards and we have a shared vision to educate the next generation of artists, engineers and content producers.  Together, we strive to provide a platform for fostering future innovations.” Nowhere was this commitment more apparent than in Avid’s support of SMPTE’s Student Film Festival, where this year’s entries doubled last year’s, and garnered more participation, internationally, than ever before.

“We were truly impressed with the level of work that we saw,” added Cook. “These students exceeded our expectations in both their technical expertise and creative abilities.” One such student was Anna Dining, who won an Audience Choice Award for her Virtual Reality piece.

Dining is a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology, majoring in Motion Picture Sciences. The program, which only accepts about 15 applicants a year, is a science- and engineering – based education geared towards the motion picture industry. Dining’s entry, “At the Game: An RIT Hockey Experience”, received the film festival’s Audience Choice Award. [Continue Reading…]