Editing Pros From West Wing and Sex and the City Lead List of Keynote Speakers at Avid World East

The four-day Avid World & Pro Tools Conference event willfeature a stellar line-up of keynote speakers and leading industryprofessionals, which include experienced editors, engineers andproducers from audio and video, who work in television, motion picturesand the music industry.

Among the keynote highlights this year will be a presentation led bythe editing team behind HBO’s Sex and the City: MichaelBerenbaum, Wendey Stanzler, Craig Cobb and Carrie Puchkoff. Thispresentation will focus on the creative and technical steps that arerequired to get the show on the air, once the cameras have stoppedrolling.

“Sex and the City is unique for a TV show, in that eachepisode is almost a little movie,” says Berenbaum. “Thereare no commercials, and since it’s on cable, the content can be abit more daring. It’s definitely a fun show to work on.We’re going to cover the telecine process, getting the footageinto the Avid systems, the editor’s cut, working with dailies,working with directors, producers and sound editors and final mixing.In other words, the process required to finish a show and get it readyto be broadcast.”

Tina Hirsch, whose editing credits include The West Wing,will lead another presentation. In addition to her TV and film editingexperience, she’s also president of American Cinema Editors,which increased her interest in participating in an event like AvidWorld. “We are dedicated to accomplishing the goals of ourorganization, the most important of which is to educate filmmakers,film students and the public at large about the contributions made bythe editor in the filmmaking process,” she says.

Her presentation, titled, “How to Make a Good FilmBetter,” should also go a long way toward accomplishing thisgoal. She will show a half-hour piece in its original form, then askmembers of the audience to come up with ideas on how to improve thepiece simply by re-editing.

“I will then show the re-edited piece and go over the changeswith the audience,” she says. “I hope that the attendeeswill realize the dramatic improvements that can be made in a filmwithout the need to re-shoot, and that editing can take something thatis basically ‘O.K.’ and make it somethingspecial.”

Some of the other keynote presenters scheduled for the conferenceinclude:

• Mark Goldblatt, A.C.E., an Academy-Award-nominated motion pictureeditor and longtime Avid user whose credits include this summer’sblockbuster Pearl Harbor, as well as Hollow Man, TrueLies and Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

• Andy Mondshein, an Oscar-nominated film editor, whose creditsinclude Chocolate, The Sixth Sense, Making Mr.Right and Desperately Seeking Susan.

• David Krall, president and CEO of Avid Technology, will speak aboutAvid’s current message of the importance of creating, managingand moving media.

• Eugene Gearty, a sound editor who’s worked on CrouchingTiger, Hidden Dragon; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; andFargo.

• Larry Blake, a sound editor who has worked on Traffic,Erin Brockovich, and The Limey.

• Phil Benson, a sound editor at Skywalker Sound, and an Academy Awardnominee (Best Sound Editing) for such films as Forrest Gump,Contact and Space Cowboys.

For information on the event visit www.avidworldeast.com.